James Tomasello
For food to be considered “locally” grown it must be purchased or consumed within 100 miles of its point of origin. If a local experimental and improvised collaboration between Milwaukee dancers and musicians is to be believed, for art to be “hyperlocal” it must be consumed the very moment it comes into existence. Hyperlocal extemporizes its sixth installment this Sunday, September 27, from 5-6 p.m. at the Milwaukee Friends Meeting House (3224 N. Gordon Place). Tickets are $10 (cash, please) or $5 for students with an ID.
Mauriah Kraker – the feet behind kitchendances – offered the following reflections on the value of improvisation, the state of improvisational art in Milwaukee and why you (yes, you) should check out Hyperlocal this Sunday:
“Improvisation, for me, is a way of choosing to interact with every moment every day. It is more than a physical dance practice, it is how I hope to approach all moments – with curious senses ready to investigate. Improvisation as a dance and music practice allows an artist to investigate the habitual nature of their choices and to tune their bodies and minds to other movers and makers in a very present way. And improvisation as performance challenges both the viewer and artist to ask questions such as ‘what is performance?’ and ‘how does one watch and then choose to interact with it all?’
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“Improvisational practices have been present in Milwaukee for a long while; for instance, Tom Thoreson has led community based improvisation classes for years, Unrehearsed MKE in the music realm occurs monthly, Wild Space Dance Company builds a good deal of their material from improvisational structures, Daniel and Andrea Burkholder have recently begun the monthly series RealTime, investigations into time and space.
“Hyperlocal is a wonderful way for an audience to peek into this practice and see honest investigations – some that work, some that might not – both are very exciting to witness. Hyperlocal offers our community an opportunity to retrain our eyes and ears by removing dance from the proscenium-perfected realm and reminding us of the humanness that makes movers and makers interesting and relevant.”
