When your computer doesn't cooperate...

Here I am a week left of school, thinking I have everything under control. I have four papers due (including one 40 pg curriculum) and two presentations to make. This is doable.

On the technology end of things, however, I am a little stressed. I have to burn a DVD with footage of me teaching a class, which I've uploaded onto my computer already so shouldn't be a big deal, right? Well, my computer doesn't want to cooperate. It tells me it's burning the DVD, it gets almost all the way through 'burning' the DVD, and then the computer either shuts down completely or the DVD is ejected without notice or explanation. At times like these I REALLY wish I was more computer literate. I wish I could look inside my computer and find out what was wrong, and fix it. But I can't. So I'll have to go to the computer lab to burn the DVD. Not the worst thing in the world.

But then there's also the assignments for this class I still need to finish, most notably the flash animation. I uploaded the software, no problem. But then my computer won't open it. There is an 'error', apparently that is prohibiting it from opening. What this error is I have no clue. I hope the computer lab can help me with this issue as well, because there's no way I'll be able to get my computer fixed by Thursday.

Lesson: Technology can be the greatest blessing in the world, but when it doesn't work, and you have a deadline to meet, one can feel pretty powerless.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) = amazing!

Tuesday night I went to see The Mountain Goats perform at Webster Hall with my sister. I had heard that their opening act, Final Fantasy, was supposed to be good, but I didn't have any expectations. To my surprise I ended up enjoying Final Fantasy, aka Owen Pallett, more that I enjoyed The Mountain Goats!

Pallett uses technology to add depth and layers to his music. I am not a musician, and I don't know anything about the technology he uses, or how common this certain type of technology is amongst musicians these days. This was the first time I've been exposed to it, and I was blown away. The way the technology appears to work is that Pallett hooks his Violin up to a recording device; he then records bars of music he plays live and loops those sounds repeatedly to create a backround for the new live music to layer on top of, etc. etc.

To see an example click below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_nw7bODiQ4


Normally when I think of technology being used as a tool in music, I think of it as a tool that most often makes the musician's life easier. It was apparent in watching Pallett, however, that this use of technology takes an incredibly sensitive musical ear. To be able to keep your ear tuned in to all those different layers going on at once, and then creating new music to add on top of it seems extremely difficult. (Not to imply that other forms of music technology do not take phenomenal skill and talent...)

I think I just mean that sometimes when I think of an artist using technology in performance, I think of Britney Spears or Madonna using technology to improve their vocals or even lip sync their songs. This technology, is clearly at the opposite end of that spectrum, challenging the artist to keep his ear in tune with many different versions of his own music being recorded and played back simultaneously, and layering these variances on top of one another multiple times, all the while rhythmically are hamoniously complimenting each other. Wow, even trying to explain the process is confusing, I can't imagine actually trying to tackle it all, live, in front of hundreds of people, with out any room for human error...

In other words, I am in awe.

Why can't we all just get along?

I'm getting frustrated with being a pc owner in what seems to have become an increasingly mac-friendly world. Especially because I am a pc owner who would describe herself as the opposite of tech savvy.

I have long been a fan of the pc and throughout my 26 years have never owned, or even thought about owning, a mac. But since being back in school, I've started wondering if maybe life would be easier if I just broke down and made the switch.

For instance, the choreographer for a show I did about a month back gave me the dvd of our performance last night. Upon putting it into my computer to watch, however, I discover the dvd won't play. Why is this? I think because the dvd was burned on a mac. The reason I think this is because I've had this problem before. The last time I was finally able to get the dvd to play on my computer after MUCH coaxing and prodding... this alone was enough to make me reconsider my pc loyalties.

The good side of having a pc is that it lasts. I've had this desktop for years; it's made it through one cross-country move and a summer in storage and is still alive and well. My Sony laptop from 2002 is also still in pretty good condition, although I don't use it anymore because if I tried to carry it anywhere the weight of it would surely give me back problems.

However I hear time and time again how much easier life can be with a mac. And as I progress in my career I realize that I can't hide from technology forever.

Basically what it comes down to is that I just wish we could all use the same system, mac or pc, I don't really care. I guess what would make my life easiest would be to pop a dvd into my computer and it playing immediately no matter what operating system it was made on... I'm thinking this probably means I should abandon my loyalties and start saving.

Gaining empowerment through technological literacy

Looking back on everything we've learned in this class so far-- building a webpage, editing music, creating animations, and finally creating a movie-- it's nice to feel like I've gained some really practical knowledge during the course, knowledge that I can use in the future to help better my own work as an artist.

The area in which I've learned the most is creating a personal webpage. Web design is something that until now I knew practically nothing about, and I assumed that if I ever needed to create a webpage in the future I would have no choice but to enlist outside help. Thanks to this class I now feel that I've learned enough so I could at least begin to figure out how to make a web page on my own in the future.

This class has also sparked my interest to continue learning webpage design. I'm considering taking another class with a similar focus next semester if I have room in my schedule.

Dancing "Across the Ether"

This past Sunday I participated in a collaboration of four schools (NYU, Bergen CC, Stony Brook, and UCSC) who together using computer technology were able to perform and collaborate 'together' on stage, pushing the boundaries of a typical concert experience, and as is stated in the concert title, "dissolving borders of time and space."

In the Frederick Loewe Theatre at NYU the setting was quite a site to see. Along with the usual set up one might expect from a music concert, there were screens with images of the other three universities' performances being broad casted live throughout the concert. Along with this, all four colleges were able to communicate with each other between performance pieces. In one piece, "Medea Monologue", Bergen CC performed a spoken monologue while NYU acted as the Greek Chorus, performing 'together' on stage even though in reality the universities are miles apart.

My part in the performance was as a dancer, performing guided improvisations during four of NYU's music pieces. It was a great challenge to rise to, never having heard the music before hand, and only being told minutes before going on stage what the "theme" or "direction" of the improvisation was to be.

Performing usually gives me anxiety, but I actually wasn't nervous before this event. I enjoy improvisation; it gives me comfort to know that in improv there really isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer. I also take comfort in knowing that unlike performing a set piece of choreography, I don't have to embody someone else's interpretation of the music. Instead I get to react to it in virtually any way I wish, which is both empowering and exhilarating.

To be involved with such a fresh and innovative concert experience was inspiring for me, and I think to all involved. Sometimes technology can get a bad rep as being one of the culprits responsible for diminishing the need for community in our culture. This concert, however, proved that technology can be used to help build community in a way that serves our increasingly trans-global lives.

Rhythm is the birthright of every human being

Today a friend sent me one of those "baby dances to rap song, lol!" youtube clips.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=193835835672&ref=nf



I had fun watching it, and I did laugh a lot. But it also got me thinking about how some children mature much faster than others in terms of their motor skill development. I definitely believe in Constructivism-- the idea that genes and environment together construct how we see the world. I also believe that many children are capable of learning at a much faster pace than we give them credit for.



Of course the baby in this video is merely copying dance moves he's probably watched his parents do or seen done in the media, but I think that by watching this video, or any of the other thousands of videos similar to this one on the web, one can see that dancing is an innate quality in humans... in other words, adults do not teach children how to dance. We may teach them steps, or specific styles or techniques based on our cultural and social values, but we are merely a "more knowledgeable other" in the learning process. Dancing is inborn in us the same way rhythm is inborn in us. This innate connection to rhythm, the reason I think that music is such an important part of our lives, serves as our connection with the rest of the world and the universe. Rhythm sustains life through the beating heart, and it is one of the most powerful way to connect people and communities.



So although movement is a combination of nature and nurture in that there are aspects of movement that are specifically learned (like swimming for example), and some children advance in motor skill development at a faster pace than others, rhythm is the birthright of every human being. It is one of the most effective ways in which to express ourselves and to connect with other people and communities, and it is necessary in order to feel a inter-connectedness with the world.

Using technology to motivate a smoother and higher achieving learning process.

Okay, here we go, my first blog post ever!

About a month ago I started setting my most recent work-in-progress on three dancers for the upcoming NYU MA Concert this November. When working out the rehearsal schedule I wanted to allow for enough time so the piece would come out the way I envision it, but I also had to consider all of our busy schedules, so I decided one rehearsal a week for two hours would be sufficient. With a week lag time in between each rehearsal, however, part of me worried about whether the choreography I taught each week would get watered down or lost somewhere in the back of my dancers' brains... kind of like a game of telephone, only with a dance composition.

So I tried something I haven't done before, I videotaped the routine at the end of each rehearsal and posted it on facebook that night so my dancers would have access to it throughout the week. I know my dancers are busy people just like the rest of NYC, and I understand that with all our responsibilities, practicing a piece of choreography-- especially in NY where space is not readily available-- can drop to the bottom of one's priority list. I also know that most of us spend more time than we should in front of our computers, so by putting a video of my dancers on the web, I made it much easier for them to retain the information we'd learned from week to week.

Now here we are a little over a month into the choreographic process, and my dancers look incredible. Not only have they retained the choreography, but they are dancing with a uniform quality that one rarely sees on a group that's only been rehearsing together for a few weeks. They've told me that the video posting ritual has really helped them, not just because it helps them retain the choreography, but also because it allows them to see what they look like on camera, and in some cases, this inspires them to try harder after they see what they 'actually' look like. One of my dancers said she saw herself on tape and thought, "What? I can do better than that!"

Of course there are some limitations to watching a video of yourself dancing rather than practicing the choreography on your body. One of these drawbacks can include an accidental execution of a step with the opposite arm or leg, or maybe even traveling in the opposite direction, because you've watched yourself dance facing the camera too many times. It's amazing how the brain retains this backwards information and all of a sudden you're dancing with the wrong arm up without even realizing it, ha.

I'm definitely going to keep experimenting with using video technology to motivate my dancers and students, both when setting choreography and also, in the future, with teaching dance technique. I had a feeling it would be helpful, but I had no idea to what extent. I'm also very happy to have found one way facebook can actually function as a beneficial use of one's time. :)