My interview on twitter with @mdgmcclelland
I just had a request asking to interview about our approaches to young people with dance and digital media. As Michelle was in Canada and on Twitter I thought it might be interesting to do this interview over twitter. Here is our conversation all in one place
@MercurialD is me but the transcript is laid out with a mention format. So ‘To @MercurialD’ is @mdgmcclelland asking, with ‘To @mdgmcclelland’ being my reply.
To @MercurialD: okay! First one: What inspired you to create a company geared towards youth?
To @mdgmcclelland: I started Mercurial Dance after touring with @MotionhouseDT as a dancer 10 years ago in January !
working with #young #people in #dance has always been a part of what I do – even before I trained.
So making dance performance for #youth – as audience followed on from choreographing shows with them as performers
To @MercurialD: interesting! What did you work on with them before you began your training?
To @mdgmcclelland: as i was drawn into dance I shadowed and supported a dance animator, ending up delivering workshops at festivals for children
To @MercurialD: 2. What do you think children gain in learning through movement versus a traditional classroom setting?
To @mdgmcclelland: wow! lets un-pick this question a bit as there is a phd in just that! – ‘lots’ is not so descriptive?
To @mdgmcclelland: Q2: here is an example of applying #dance to learning non dance subjects #literacy in/out of classroom http://mercurialdance.co.uk/portfolio.asp?id=31
To @MercurialD: in my lighting course, we have talked a lot about Jean Rosenthal & her ideas on how light exists to support a dance piece
To @MercurialD: the topic for the assigned paper is to discuss how a company/artist is using digital light/projections in their work
To @MercurialD I’m taking this further to discuss how light can not only be a feature part of a show…
To @MercurialD:… but it can be an interactive, living “entity” that people (children) can learn from and explore new ideas.
To @MercurialD: Your video “Cascades” inspired me to wonder how children learn & how is their learning evolving in a media saturated world
To @MercurialD: the ideas are much bigger than a 2000 word paper, but this will be useful info for my thesis next yr. so inspired by your work!
To @mdgmcclelland: so the #dancingtolearn project http://mercurialdance.co.uk/pdf/dancing-to-learn.pdf is a completely different aspect of how dance is applied to #learning
To @mdgmcclelland: for me children learn through play as does their creativity and imagination and this is an important theme for all my work
To @mdgmcclelland: lighting technology has move on SO far since 1969 as has the medium of dance bit.ly/Yj54xM is very traditional
To @mdgmcclelland: ‘feature’ vs ‘entity’ 4 me this highlights a constant tension between audience & performer, presented work & interaction
To @MercurialD: 3. What is your creative process when creating a work that is meant to instruct?T
To @mdgmcclelland: with yp a question starts my creative process, and this question is shared with the group acting as a guide or starting point
To @mdgmcclelland: eg bit.ly/SsiELk a site specific work in #emptyshops, we started with-what if you could buy forgiveness?
To @MercurialD: fantastic! What were some of your pupil’s observations from this experience?
To @mdgmcclelland: it prompted a massive debate at the outset between the yp, could you? should you? was this right? what would you pay with?
To @MercurialD: 4. Kids r regularly saturated w/ media. is exploring interactive light diff. from other forms of inter-media they engage with?
To @mdgmcclelland: it is about the creative use of media to make/present art, rather than for young people to consume media as entertainment
To @MercurialD: handed in paper! Thanks SO much 4 your time/wonderful answers. Will expand this idea 4 thesis nxt yr, hopefully keep in contact!