behind the scenes: A look into the rehearsal process...

What’s new in the new year?! We are in rehearsals for Her Holiness, The Winter Dog. A new opera presented by the New Hazlett Theater and Kamratōn, scheduled to premier May 30/31! 

In our rehearsals, we combat many things movement based, but for me, the most difficult is fully embodying a certain character or creature....

Our first couple of rehearsals focused on qualities that dogs and cats have - and also the differences. Yes, we are going to be cats and my fellow dancer/just awesome person all around, Jamie, is the Winter Dog. 

We spent a majority of time differentiating movement qualities of both animals and creating a combination of movements that match each one. Not going to lie, being a cat is HARD. 

Many hours spent crawling... but not just crawling, we were finding the perfect wrist flick, shoulder roll, and back arch. IT TOOK TIME. I, for one, still have a ways to go. 

Workshopping different movements helps to bounce ideas off of one another creatively. We had many silly moments in rehearsal experimenting different ways of traveling, pouncing, and sitting. We tried to jump like a cat from all fours and land on all fours and run like a dog where their feet and arms are outstretched at the same time and come together to push off the floor at the same time (near impossible).

For me, the hardest part is believing I am a cat. We will be aiming to perfect these movements in rehearsals until May, so keep in touch and I will update along the way....

Signing off,
Emily 

PS. Peek below for a preview!



Quote of the Rehearsal: “what’s an otter man?” -Brady Sanders