The Toaster project by Thwaites
This book, or should I say manual, was quite unusual to read. I found reading about the author's desire to build his toaster and document the laborious process amusing. It was a bit disheartening to find out that his efforts were not really successful. Thwaites insisted on establishing rules similarly to Lars Von Trier's Dogme 95. I was triggered by rule 2, on page 39, which required all the parts of his toaster to be made from scratch. My mind automatically went to cooking from scratch, which I thought I was pretty comfortable at doing. However, Thwaites shares Dr. Sagan's quote, "if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." (Thwaites, 40) Reading this line redefined my take on what it means to produce "a thing” and how far from being in the kitchen (in the case of baking an apple pie) the labor needs to happen. it's a little bit like the expression "it takes a village." Thus the importance of knowing how to deconstruct in order to re-construct.
Reading The Toaster Project, led me to question my own choreographic process. For instance, as I'm working towards my thesis choreographic work for the fall, I'm thinking about my idea of deconstructing choreography. I decided to take the Kingdom of the Shades section from the classical masterpiece La Bayadère and re-shape it to give it a more "21st-century" flair. The ballet, choreographed by Marius Petipa, initially premiered in 1877. jumping to 2022, 145 years later, I'm curious to see where my work and investigation will lead me. I want the work to be more reflective of the society we currently live in, and I want it to have a human resonance. I'm pretty sure that I, too, like Thwaites, will hit a few walls and encounter some setbacks. I'm hoping for a happier ending, though! Lastly, I wanted to share a picture of my current toaster mood:
-A book of the classical ballet technique: I've been watching a few live performances over the last months, some inspiring and others not. I always find it interesting how certain choreographers use the classical ballet language and what they do with it. Some are transforming and stretching it and find fascinating findings. Others stick with dance combinations commonly seen in a regular technique class; it looks great because it is performed by professional ballet dancers who wear fierce costumes and are surrounded by stunning stage lights and sets. But is this choreography? Or is this an enhancement from class? What defines a choreographic work from a class combination? Where is the vision of classical ballet going? These questions come to my mind as I dive into my own choreographic investigation.
-Drawings from Josephine Baker: La Baker is one artist I've been looking up to because of her authenticity, boldness, her generosity on stage and off stage. She will be, somehow, in my thesis work.
-A picture of Alonzo King Lines Ballet Dancer's Adji Cissoko because Lines has been part of my transformative journey to become a better artist and a more significant human.
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