Merián Soto/ Branch Dances: November 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Photos of Postcards from the Woods by Cylla Von Tiedeman

Postcards from the Woods premiered at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival in September.

Below are some photos by Cylla Von Tiedeman. Also click here for Jonathan Stein's review in the Broad Street Review.

Noemí Segarra:

Olive Prince:

Jumatatu Poe:

Jumatatu & Olive:

The Branch Dances

Welcome to Branch Dances Blog documenting and reflecting upon ongoing Branch Dance explorations.

The branch dances are slow meditative works designed as performance frames for an improvisational movement practice I have been developing since 2005 . Focusing attention on connecting somatic, energetic, and mental processes, the dances with branches are centered on consciousness in action, in performance, in practice. The work involves the practice of moving into stillness, the detailed sequencing of movement through inner pathways; the investigation of gravity through dynamic shifting into balance and alignment; and the investigation of speed including very slow movement approaching stillness.

Since 2005 I have created dozens of park performances as well as seven branch dances for the stage including the critically acclaimed Three Branch Songs, Balancing Acts, States of Gravity & Light #2, and What is Love?, commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The One Year Wissahickon Park Project (OYWPP) was a series of performances in Wissahickon Park throughout 07-08 This award-winning creative research project consisting of 16 performances in the park (four during each season) shaped a number of performance experiences in nature in order to experience their evolution over time, the seasons, temperature, and weather. For more information see the
project blog: www.meriansoto.blogspot.com