The Creative Process And What Remains

By Brady Sanders
What do I want to say? How do I want to say it? Will what I'm attempting to  say be communicated successfully and in an accessible and impactful way? These questions are vital to my creative process and are helping guide the development of What Remains.  

The WHAT and the HOW.
What Remains is inspired by my experiences with Alzheimer's Disease. I hope to embody not only my own hopes and fears for the future, but also personal experiences of care givers and others who have been impacted by the disease. This video clip is of the What Remains cast experimenting in rehearsal with flash lights and a movement phrase inspired by the words "mood shift", "aggravated", "aggressive", "frustrated", "unsure" and "confused".  I wanted to explore the idea of feeling completely lost; having no idea where you are, who is around you, or who you are.  Though I find it unnerving at times to workshop an idea in real time with the dancers, allowing room for experimentation has become an extremely valuable tool in the creative process and often leads to more unique, innovative and visceral choices. While I don't know how yet or even if this experiment with light and imagery inspired phrase work will be integrated into What Remains I do know that experimenting during the creative process informs what I say, how I say it and how it resonates with an audience.

If you have an experience with Alzheimer's Disease and are willing to share your story please contact me at [email protected]

Thanks for reading!