TIDAL
2023
a piece about water ... or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change
October 2023…
May 2023…
The first time I saw one of Helen Scholtz's photographs of water I remember diving in with curiosity, confusion, disbelief, and a want for more. What appeared to be an abstract painting was actually an unedited photograph of nature. I saw textures, light, and color in impossible, unimaginable ways. I saw both patterns and unpredictable chaos. I saw movement.
Meanwhile, over on Facebook my good friend Jessica Ardis was sharing an occasional poem. Here is one of my favorites:
Is this seat taken?
Or can aching grief sit next to laughing life?
They're old friends, and
won't mind
how close they'll have to be
Elbows bumping
and touching at the knee
And a recent collaboration at WWU introduced me to the work of composer Charles Halka. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with him again.
Wouldn't it be cool to get these three together, along with several dancers, to see what may happen? So I did, and what emerged is Tidal.
Eighteen dancers, ages 19-79, and I dove into Helen and Jessica’s work. Memories and sensations filled our process as metaphors unfolded and the piece took shape. We have created numerous "movement portraits" offering glimpses into how we live in our world - who we are, how we relate, and what our actions or reactions may mean. Some feel human, some feel environmental, some float perfectly between the two…the resistance and persistence of water carving a path and shaping our landscape lives inside the dynamic of human relations and interactions, the rhythm of tides and the unfolding of change through repetition over time exists in the human body.
As dances take shape, more poetry is written, new photographs are taken and music is composed.
All of these elements came together in Tidal.
Created by Alona Christman, Cara Congelli, Tracy Dahlstedt, Vanessa Daines, Rebecca deGraw, Shoshanah Epstein, Dudley Evenson, Karen Kao, Pam Kuntz, Susan Marriott, Samantha Martin, Marissa Moeri, Lucy Morse, Katy Mullen, Angela Sebastian, and Cindy Whiston. (Annie Molsberry, Bailey Kager, and Joyce Harvey-Morgan early contributors)
a word from Charles about the sound score:
Water plays an important role in our region and is an overarching theme in Tidal. In addition to the sounds, flow, and meaning of Jessica Ardis' recorded poetry, I chose primarily to use the sounds of water from the area, which I've spent the past few months recording: the rushing water of the Nooksack River, the trickle of streams fed by melting snow at Heather Meadows, various intensities of waves on the Whidbey Island seashore, the intimate splashing of small rocks and pebbles into a perfectly still Silver Lake at dawn, the pouring rain in my own backyard, and various other sounds. Other than the sounds of the poetry itself and a couple of plucked string instruments, all other sounds in the score come from these recordings, sometimes in their original form and sometimes heavily manipulated through filtering, layering, and other techniques to yield entirely new sounds, which I then arrange and "orchestrate" into compositions.
environment photos by Helen Scholtz
dancer photos by Jason Ruvelson
Jessica Ardis Instagram