Day One

We met our dancers today in the studio for our first real practice. Adrian, unfortunately, was missing, having hurt his back the day before (at our contact jam, trying to lift a new dancer), so it was me, Hofan, and our three women movers, Karina (Canadian), Haruka (Japanese), and Wynne
(Chinese), plus our amazing musician Seu-Yan, who will probably compose original music for us, and Hofan's uncle, who was manning the video camera.

What a wonderful thing it was to have a real group present. The dancers are marvelous. Besides the substantial and various skills they bring, they are all eager to dig into the work and generate material. They gave, in other words, and tomorrow we're going to allow even more space for them to give. The latter half of today's practice was particularly interesting. We had everyone get up, one by one, and tell a story which they accompanied with movement. Haruka's was virtually performance ready (and virtually no words!), and all three were impressively performed and, as Hofan would say, strong proposals.

Hofan and I also told stories. In mine, I found a possible element to the math/dance piece I've been wanting to do since last year, and a suggestive way to move that project forward, if I ever have time to pursue it. Language and dance together might be just the thing.

Speaking of math, I'm digging Hartshorne more than ever right now, though it's tricky to find time, outside of the commute, which isn't exactly prime. Hofan and I spent two hours after rehearsal talking about the project (and tomorrow's rehearsal), after which I crammed onto a packed subway, transfered, transfered, arrived home, ate, and here we are with me pretty much ready for bed. Notwithstanding, the subject is getting better and better for me. Though I still wonder whether I'll ever be a true expert in the subject. I think I'm reading it in a more active way, now. And I am succeeding in doing at least a little every day.

So it's a life of work. I think I have a few humps to climb over--I notice I get briefly exhausted at intervals throughout the day.

So many other little things here. Hofan's family is often in the news, since her dad is one of the trailblazing environmentalists around these parts. I'm in one of the greenest households in Hong Kong. There's the octopus, which is a magical subway card that can be read through your wallet, and you can use it in supermarkets too. Then there's the megatropolis that I won't get to see too much of, since I'm looking at the ceiling of a studio. That's a strange through-line to my dancing career: I've spent a lot of time looking at studio ceilings.

Well, tomorrow is another thick day in the studio. I'd better rest up for it.