On Thanksgiving Eve i did a piece at Movement Research's Open Performance, which was held at The Space on Oxford Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I had asked a young composer to select five short tracks of various kinds of music, which i played for the first time during the performance, dancing to the music and talking to the audience in between (and sometimes during) the tracks. This was an attempt to combine two things i like to do: improvising dance to music and talking to the audience, either one of which would have been less interesting by itself. I didn't like some of the selections but got into them as best i could.
Afterwards there was a discussion, and most comments were very favorable — this new format seemed to work! Later i realized that the music was in a way my partner, and it gave me a structure to work within, plus a certain amount of suspense that held the audience's attention. At one point i even said, "The Golden Rule of performance is: Thou shalt not bore." I also told them that a big influence on me was Victor Borge, who would, similarly, talk to the audience in between playing the piano. The whole experience was so positive for me that now i'm looking for other places to do it.
There's something special about the way i move to music the first time i hear it, because i'm listening very intently and responding very naturally. It's the same in playing jazz. When you perform something you've memorized, often a lot of your attention is on remembering and not making a mistake, which can make you less present, which in turn can make the audience uncomfortable. But if you can let go and not judge yourself while you're doing it, improvising can be very effective, as the audience shares the exploration with you.
I'll write some more about improvising in future blogs, but now it's time for lunch and a nap.
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