Articles

"EBB & FLOW"

May 24, 2007

SARAH BRUMGART has a universal approach to movement. Rather than specializing in one specific style of dance, she is interested in exploring how many different ways a human body can move. Throughout this ongoing pursuit, she continually discovers new forms that are totally original to her, or ones that resemble those of different cultures throughout the world. Whatever she finds or reinvents, she always aim to express it in a way that is fresh and unique. The result is a seemingly endless variety of movement that is both startlingly new and comfortably familiar. As The Washington Post has described her, she is "a phenomenon...both virtuosic and heroic, an almost encyclopedic marathon of movement possibilities."

For her dance "Ebb & Flow," the recorded musical accompaniment "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass has a similar timeless and global quality about it. In the CD insert notes, the composer himself is quoted as saying, "This is music that might conceivably have been written at any period in history. I find this sort of 'ahistory' very interesting...And yet it's 'new,' don't you think?" And while both dance and music appear highly intricate and dense, the basis for both are minimalist in nature. "The harmonies are spare and consonant, the arrangement is starkly simple," Glass further states, while Brumgart's choreography develops from only six, simple, basic movements.

The dance was originally conceived and performed a cappella, meaning without musical accompaniment. Brumgart prefers to initially work this way in order not to be influenced and constrained by specific styles of music. "That way," she says, "I can 'hear' and 'feel' the intrinsic rhythms and melodies of the movement and allow the dance to have its own course of development rather than having it follow the score created by a composer. I want the dance to be experienced as 'visual music', knowing that it can stand on its own without the enhancement and support of audible music." This a cappella version, entitled "Flow," was choreographed as a stream of perpetual movement propelled by an inner current of energy and rhythm, requiring high stamina and intense concentration. Upon its completion, she realized that its overall structure paralleled that of "Koyaanisqatsi." Having wanted to choreograph to this music since 1985 (when she had first heard it as the score to the movie with the same title), she decided to incorporate it with the original a cappella version, reworking the dance only slightly while maintaining its independent integrity.

She adapted the dance by reconfiguring the tempo changes somewhat to more closely fit those of the music. While "Flow" had a diversity of dynamic changes that evolved gradually and merged seamlessly from each other into one long crescendo and decrescendo, this current dance involves more abrupt and alternating dynamic changes, hence the name "Ebb & Flow." It begins in a meditational mode, then develops into a variety of moods, ranging, as the music is described in the insert notes, from "idyllic lyricism" through "agitated turmoil," then to whirling "furiously and exhaustively" and on through a "haunting" chanting, finally ending in the same beginning meditational state. The entire dance is about 75 minutes long. And although Brumgart is known for an athleticism and high endurance that her marathon dances require, she admits that the force and pace of this Philip Glass composition is the most difficult and challenging endeavor she has ever pursued in her fifty years of dancing.

BRUMGART'S BODY SYMPHONIC "At first sight, her small head, compact figure and finely chiseled features give an impression of cherubic innocence...but her appearance in no way prepares you for the power and intricacy of her dancing." The Washington Post

To achieve the physical mastery that is necessary for her dances, Brumgart employs three techniques. The dances themselves are based in her pedagogy that she has developed over the years from studying movement analysis. In this system, she strives to work every part of her body within the full spectra of space, time, and tension. This schema involves all the elemental components of movement that she has formulated into the sentence, "What moves where, when, and how." Although she occasionally choreographs the traditional way, where select movements are set into a routine, she prefers the freedom of structured improvisations. In this format, a general outline is decided upon beforehand, but each specific movement is created in the moment. This approach encourages a continual exploration and discovery of movement. The Austin Chronicle has stated, "In improvising, she creates dances far more powerful and beautiful than most dancers could even dream of creating through extensive set choreography."

Her second technique is a strengthening routine combining gymnastics and ballet skills. It involves floor and standing exercises that address the torso, upper limbs, and lower limbs. Though similar to Pilates, she had systematized and customized her own version long before that particular European method was introduced in America.

Her third technique is traditional yoga combined with innovative stretches she invented from her teaching experience. Acknowledging that even beginning yoga poses can be difficult for anyone, Brumgart has devised an introductory warm-up that provides a gentle and gradual progression of pre-yoga positions. As in her dancing, she also improvises within a pose to personally investigate and ultimately better understand the classical form. Although yoga is well known for its physical conditioning and restorative properties, Brumgart also depends heavily upon it for its concentration and meditative practices. Since she aspires to become "a clear and well-tuned instrument through which light and energy can flow freely into an infinite variety of shapes and movements," spiritual disciplines are essential to her regular workout regimen as well. As Yoga Journal states, "Her structured improvisations amount to a meditation in motion, with constant attention to every detail. The result is powerful to watch." The New York Times Critics' Choices also writes, "And finally, Sarah Brumgart, lithe, possessed of extraordinary concentration...moves as if the dance were flowing through her."