ICDS6: Untitled Solo for One

ICDS6: Ecologies of practice in music and movement (02 - 05 August 2023, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA).

Movement interpretation & performance: Loretta D Fois

In this piece, the soloist presents a dance, not-yet-a-dance, could-have-been-a-dance, wanted-to-make-a-dance – as an overall conceit about the creative process and the very act of performing.

The subtle layering of performance inside a performance inside a performance places the performer in the situation of explaining and showing the audience what she was thinking of doing for the performance and causally coercing the audience into helping her ‘finish’ something that is yet to be finished. Breaking the fourth wall, this piece asks the question, “what happens when you are unprepared?” and explores the art of the impromptu! Each performance varies in text and song according to the performance space and audience.

The piece is structured so that the timing and phrasing of sections and repeats do not sink into familiar grooves or patterns. Using repetition as building blocks of narrative allows the audience to fill in the meaning as they see thematic gestures return in slightly altered ways.

The duration of the piece is roughly 7 minutes, although the time may vary as it is a spoken word piece that involves some improvisation. There is no music, although there is a recorded spoken statement at the end of the work.