Michael Getman

For me, to dance means a continuous journey and a permanent arrival.

To practice dance is to practice physical thinking.

Being creative is instinctive, intuitive, and curious; it is somewhat elusive.

For me, creation can help repair a wound in the present tense.

It is to create or to unravel human experiences.

I explore my understanding of what it is and inquire about the boundaries of my knowledge about it.

I immerse in an active experience- discovering the what through the how- the specificity of a moment. 

Moments, hopefully, reveal themselves unexpectedly.

 

Choreography is the aesthetic approach that defines my arrangement of the combined moments to be seen. It is much about making decisions that impose meaning on what exists.

I see it as a conscious process of assembling, interrogating, interfering, and witnessing the relationship between what is, how it works, its appearance, what it could be, and what didn't happen.

What is- the structured experience we perceive now.

What could- the infinite number of aspects to one experience.

It involves order and chaos and the attempt to reach harmony; with one hand, the act of exploring, with the other hand, grasping.

 

Often, I start with a simple question or an idea, which may introduce a limitation.

The limitation thus poses a problem.

The problem is explored and expressed through the physical body.

The problem disrupts the natural bond between movement and body.

The problem is immanent in the process, both the source and the resolution. One informs the other.

Problems are invisible at the end but manifest the dancer's attention and physical qualities and define the conditions and terms in which dancers move.

 

Bodies are the living entities for interrogating different ideas: physical, intellectual, poetic, subjective, emotional, historical, social, musical, etc.

Movement is the motor for imagining patterns of existence.

Movements are the patterns we live by. They are everywhere. Imagination searches for ways to connect and formulate a vivid structure that makes us aware of our existence. Imagination might be the act of seeing something familiar in a new way. It shifts the conceptual frameworks in our heads to new ways of seeing.

  

I am interested in the relationship between mind and body- qualities of attention- what we think of things, how we do, the body, and its properties. I sometimes communicate with different artistic disciplines, crossing the boundaries to neighboring worlds.

I am interested in combining movement with voice and language and wish to celebrate the richness of possible perspectives embodied on and off stage. I am curious about disciplines that imply specific aesthetics and structures to systems.

I am curious about the gap between what is and our perception.

I prefer the experience rather than the illustrative.

 

I am curious about people and their inherent ability to transcend.

 

I ask to reach one person's eye and soul.

It is about finding the courage to say, "Yes, I know I don't."

I know it wishes to appear as one thing.