The Routine

Hofan and I are settling into our somewhat crazy routine, and we've yet to even get the dancers in the studio. Basically, we get up early every day, get out the door by 8, spend six hours in the studio, and then take care of whatever else needs to get done. This wouldn't be so bad, except our commute is an hour and a half each way, and getting anywhere from anywhere in Hong Kong takes 45 minutes minimum.

Actually, we haven't hit this high gear yet. So far we've been spending just four or five hours in the studio together. We went to Ikea this morning to think about our set, and met with our musician, Sau-Yen, in the space, and danced like demons. And I met our cast yesterday! It's an interesting collection: four people from all over. I can't wait to see how they move and perform.

To the side is the view from my Window and the market near Hofan's house. My early sense of Hong Kong was weirdly provincial. Tonight was the first night that I got to wander around the city without being in a hurry to get somewhere. It feels, of course, as cosmopolitan as any large city I've ever been to. Every bit of time off feels like luxury--Hofan has us scheduled to work without break until Christmas, and I spend commuting time reading math (though the denouement of this chapter of my algebraic geometry textbook makes for compelling reading). Still, what a pleasure it is to work hard at creating something. Hofan and I spend almost every moment together, and we're constantly rehashing, brainstorming, and pushing each other. We work--and dance--very well together. The piece is still in its earliest phases, but we are amazingly productive so far, and hopefully we can keep it up once we actually have the cast in front of us to direct.