meta_creation lab, beirut, lebanon

8/3/2019 meta_creation lab, Beirut, Lebanon

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Report for The Suitcase Fund of New York Live Artsmeta creation labBeirut, Lebanonby marion barrios solano

The support of The Suitcase Fund of New York Live Arts as part of the Africa and Middle EastCultural Partnerships Program, partially enabled me to develop and teach a workshop in Beirut,Lebanon.The workshop was organized by Maqamat Dance Studio and was a part of a professionaldevelopment program called TAKWEEN-BCDS.

AKWEEN-BCDS is an intensive dance-training program for young artists who are serious aboutpursuing professional careers in contemporary dance. This full-time intensive training programis offered over a period of three months at Maqamat Dance Studio in Beirut, Lebanon.Designed to produce highly skilled, creative and intellectually curious dance artists, TAKWEEN-BCDS encourages students to take ownership of their training and the direction of their careers.The annual, three-month program consists of full-time physical dance training with professionalteachers and choreographers alongside courses in both choreographic composition and


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conceptual thinking.Besides me, these are the other artists invited for Takween 2011 as teachers:

o Mey Sefano Omar Rajeho Isabelle Rocamorao Thierry Smitho Marcel Leemanno Emilyn Claido Jens Bjerregaardo Eszter Salamono Mia Habiso Emilie Thomaso Luc Dunberryo Alia Hamdan

The Takween participants are selected via an application process and some of them are inpartial or full scholarship.In this year cycle, 7 participants were selected:3 from lebanon2 from Palestine1 from Egipt1 from Norway doing her internship from The School of Contemporary Dance fromCopenhagen directed by Jeremy Nelson.There were 2 females and 5 males.I stayed in Omar Rajeh and Mia Habbis home in the central Hanra area just half a block fromthe studio and they provided me with a per diem of 40 $.The Maqamat Dance House is located in the 2nd floor of a commercial building. It has anoffice, a multipurpose dance studio/theater and a bathroom. The space is also used for weeklyperformances from local and international artists.From this space, they also run BIPOD and the Arab Dance PlatformIn the last three weeks there has been performances from other three invited artists and fromOmar and Ali Chahrour. Ali has been in residency with the Sasha Waltz Company in Belin forsix months. The Berlin company is also an important partner in the realization of the Takweenprogram.

I led the workshop called "meta_creation lab: Inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics ofcomplexity".This support allow me to spend two weeks at PAF Performing Arts Forum in Saint Erme,France. There, I did preliminary research and develop some of the material for the workshop.I led a collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portablecomputation and networked systems.


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I approached it as a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches,practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamiccouplings of mind, body and information/data flows designed for real-time performances(improvisation).An embodied/distributed cognition approach was used to generate physical activities andgames, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploringthe aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.Open source technologies, methodologies and dramaturges/scores were explored within a real-time composition.This workshop was an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well definedtheoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in differentnode projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-uparchitectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes.It explored interactivity plus generativity: interfacing with computational system but also the useof rule systems, computational and hybrid algorithms and "scores" to activate the performancespace as a cognitive system. So, the increase the embodied and distributed intelligence (group)is the main goal. An intelligence that is embedded in the hybrid designed system.Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations were encouraged and the diversity was the mainasset.The workshop was 5 to 6 hours every day after the students had a technique class fromMonday to SaturdaySeveral nodes of research projects were explored suggested:Sampling, re-combinations and mash upsNew Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creationPost-pc technologies: apps, tablets and mobile technologiesLife logging and creative processMedia Capturing and Real time processingBottom-up architectures of generative systemsHybrid realities and alternative sitesPortable cameras and video productionOnline video and video streamingCloud/social computingLocative media/MobilePerformance, rule systems and algorithms.Computer aided choreographyPortable hardware as interfaces/interactive media controlSocial media for distributed creativity and knowledge productionNetworked documentaries/storytelling.This workshop ended with an open showing as an installation/ performance of one hourduration: October 8th 2011 from 8:30 to 9:30The performance/installation scores and technological platforms were developed and practicedduring the workshop.


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During the workshop sessions, we practiced several scores and it became obvious that theparticipants were trained very well but they had a strong influence of dance theater. We neededto work harder towards a more functional approach to movement. It was very hard from them toperform just physical actions without the character oriented performance approach.They expressed how liberating this was; To be focused on the game like tasks instead. Thiseffort also requited to give a lot of historical back ground and the ideas lineages going backto Cage, Judson Church and the NO Manifesto by Yvonne Rainer. We spent a lot of timeexploring these scores and how the operate creating a different dramaturgy. I think that wasvery new for them and I felt like an ambassador of New York post- postmodern and minimalistapproaches.Participants were offered audio visual and reading references and they opened accounts indance-tech.net and twitter that were necessary during the workshop.Five members brought their own laptops, smart phones, cameras and mp3 players.It was also interesting to notice the hybridity of their languages and religions.The theme of home emerged as topic and we worked with it in several of the scores.This is the text of "scores" that was practiced by the participants and also given to theaudience in with the program.I feel very good because I will be teaching this workshop in Spain and Amsterdam. It felst verygood to be supported by a New York city organization.About the installation performance:The performance was titled:50/50X7

There were approximately 20 visitorsText added to the program50/50 X 7Conceived by Marlon Barrios Solano in collaboration with performersThe space is activated by multiple scores or instructions for actions. Performers and visitorscreate a whole together. We all have the same options following the scores.The performers and audience develop knowledge by sapling, connecting and recombining.The work emerges by meta_creation in real-time following very simple instructions.This an exploration on the potential of generative hybrid systems.We invite visitors to invest on following the score.Important: the space will be active for an hour and there will be questions and answersession after. Starts at 8:30 ends at 9:30pm. You may leave/enter again whenever youwant.

READ THIS PROGRAM WITH SCORES OF ACTION:


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Read and take it with you. Perform the suggested actions following instructions. Read and dothe instructions if you don't know what to do. Just follow the scores.SCORES:SPECTATOR ROLESit on your place on the beeches. Quietly watch. Satisfied and proud. Watch and suddenly clapfor the length of your excitement.GET A DRINKGet a drink in the donation bar. Watch from there. Talk to someone ... social event.CHANGEChange what you are doing whenever you want. Say change very loudly when you feel that theperformance must change. You can disobey to your own order or the other.FLOCKGet closer to another body. Imitate and follow the leader. The leader is anybody that is in thefront of the group. Don't talk to each other. Move while you watch. Slow. Collaborate and makeit easy to follow.

MOVE FROM BENCHES/ChairsWalk or run from bench to bench. Sit on the bench, or on the floor. Stop at any point. Stand onthe bench. Pause and stillness are important. You can also move the benches. Be careful withthe stuff around you and the equipment. Don't move the benches with equipment on them.BEGGERGo to any corner of the room. Be sure that people can see you. Sit on the floor and beg for helpor money in your native language.PHOTOGRAPHERTake a picture with your own camera, mobile, etc. Help the performer with the documentation.Upload the photos as soon as possible to the Flickr website ( http://www.flickr.com/) and TAG:takweenhomeBE THE DJ/VJTouch and plaw with 12 clips created during the workshop and make the sound for theperformance. The participants created 12 videos with their lips.We use App Madpad http://www.smule.com/madpadBE THE DJConnect you music player to our amp PD system and play your favorite songs for all. Play thewhole song ideally. You can play more than one.TWITTER POEM ABOUT HOMEWe are writing a collaborative poem in the internet. Use your twitter (https://twitter.com/)account to collaborate with us with a poem about HOME. What is home for you?use the hash-tag: #takweenhomeBUT DRUMMING
http://www.smule.com/madpadhttp://www.smule.com/madpad


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Place yourself in front of the Ipad with video of naked woman dancing with her but. try to doher score as good as she does it. This is the score: "Pretend that you ass is a drum-kit. Moveyour ass as if the person playing the drums is in fact hitting the drumsticks on your ass. Try tobe 100% synchronized with the music, as the same time as you attempt to change the way youmove your ass gradually so as it keep evolving as a modulations of vibrations." You can showyour ass, be totally naked or totally dressed. Do it the best that you can. You may copy thevideo. Listen to the sound of the video with the headphones.Don't touch the screen.Score created by Mette Ingsvarsten and Licensed under Creative Commons Everybody'sPerformance ToolsVideo from the piece 50/50 by Mette Ingsvarsten performing her own score.

WRITE YOU QUESTIONUsing one of the white papers write your questions or impressions. Youmay share them with us in the Q and A session.NATIONALITY/GENDER PROSTHESISGet I pod touch that is hanging and place it over your mouth with the video of a mouth towersthe outside. I is paying Videos of the mouth of the dancers singing their national anthem in theirlanguage. They loop. It is like you can sing the national anthem of another country. Stand veryproud about your country and if you were looking the flag.SING YOUR SONGUsing you mp3 player and your headphones, playa song that you like and sing it out loud.Stand still. Imagine that you are the singer. Sing it outlaid. Imagine that you are alone. Lookyour self in the mirror.BORROWED PROP(SCORE FOR THE THEATER)Leave a piece of staging/prop from the last performance. Place a note next to the piece withinformation about it. It is a stand alone sculpture. It has to be lit dramatically. Get authorizationfrom the director of the performance.Chandelier used by Ali Chahrour for his piece" On the lips, snow" Performed in MaqamatDanceHouse- 7th October 2011MAP OF FIRST HOMEMake a map on paper of your first home. Map the trajectory from the front of the house to yourroom. Then use the PATTERN to make trajectories in the space. Don't be expressive. Only thearchitecture is in your body.

PERFORM THE TEXT FROM THE HOME POEMRead from the computer the twitter feed that is coming in real time.It is a "poem" written collectively via Twitter. Perform it very slow and soft. Like a secret of if youal talking with GOD.IMITATE THIS DANCERCopy from the movements of this dancer from VSPRS from Alain Platel (Ballet C de la B).Imitate his costumes an movements. Learn it, Do it the best that you can. Do it in differentdistances from the computer. Any time.


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From YouTube video dancing in Undieshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30h70GFgWBsMEMORIES FROM NOT RELEVANT PAST SCAN OR CODES.Scan them with apps suing a smart phones or IPads. We have one that you can use. You mayuse your own smart phone. Scann the OR code and you will receive a video in your device.Iphone and Ipadshttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-code-reader-and-scanner/id388175979?mt=8For Android deviceshttps:llmarket.android.com/details?id=la.droid.qr&hl=en

This score is shared with a Creative Commons License: Attribution, non-commercial, non-derivatives

Online traces:Photos taken by the participants during workshop and performancehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576278651025741http://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576276854 765051Group on dance-tech.nethttp://www.dance-tech.net/group/takweenVideoloop in You tubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2e-byGXwig&feature=share

What is a Maqamat?http://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30h70GFgWBshttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-code-reader-and-scanner/id388175979?mt=8http://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576278651025741http://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576278651025741http://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576276854http://www.dance-tech.net/group/takweenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2e-byGXwig&feature=sharehttp://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat.htmlhttp://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2e-byGXwig&feature=sharehttp://www.dance-tech.net/group/takweenhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576276854http://www.flickr.com/photos/unstablelandscape/sets/721576278651025741http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-code-reader-and-scanner/id388175979?mt=8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30h70GFgWBs

meta_creation lab, beirut, lebanon

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