Jean-Francois Charles

Above is the manuscript of Perpetuum mobile , the second part of PPP for dancing clarinetist. The music is to be performed legato sempre using circular breathing . When the clarinetist reaches the end, s/he circles back to the top, and can play it for as long as desired. The dance movement is notated in Labanotation / Kinetography Laban (just one side is notated). It should be looped as well. The movement should be very slow, inspired by the Butoh art of dancing . Perpetuum mobile starts at 2:25 in the PPP video This section of PPP is more minimalist than Stockhausen 's In Freundschaft , Harlekin , Tanze Luzefa , and other innovative pieces created by Suzanne Stephens . If you're a clarinet player, I hope you enjoy performing it!

Puppet: the manuscript Last week, I posted the live video recording of PPP for dancing clarinetist . The first part is called Puppet . You can read on my manuscript score different layers composed between 2007 and 2009. I wrote the music in Helsinki in 2007, along with a naive puppet story and guidelines for the movement composition. I actually choreographed the piece between February and May 2009.

A few months ago, I invited you to the première performance of PPP, a series of three studies for dancing clarinetist. Here is the video , recorded live on May 2, 2009, in Lowell Hall (Cambridge). Puppet Perpetuum mobile (at 2:25) Pipo (at 3:18) Next week, I'm going to post on this blog an excerpt of the manuscript.

On Saturday, May 2nd, I will be performing the premiere of PPP , a new series of three short studies for dancing clarinetist: Puppet a reflection on puppetry in music and dance Perpetuum mobile remembering a Butoh performance Pipo a clarinet is just a piece of wood Arts First is Harvard's huge annual celebration of the arts. This year, hundreds of students and faculty take part to performances all around the campus, from April 30th to May 3rd. The crazy Performance Fair is taking place on Saturday May 2nd, 1-5 pm in 12 sites around Harvard Yard. I'll be performing on Saturday at 2:30pm in the Dance Festival, in Lowell Hall . If you attend, make sure to stop by and say hello after the performance!

Do you remember of the announce of the Dancers' Dozen show ? Here is the video of Ballade : Ballade is one of the " 12 Études for Clarinetist Dancer ." As written in my original plan, the piece includes several references: First, the form of the piece is modeled after the classical verse form ballade . It is therefore made of 3 eight-line stanzas and a final envoi. The opening clarinet phrase could be heard (and analyzed) as a variation on the solo overtures of Debussy’s “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune”, and Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps.” Similarly to the music, the choreography makes use of three sources of inspiration. During the first part ("stanza"), the dance builds upon movements from Nijinsky’s Prélude à l’après- midi d’un faune . In the second part, music and movement become more earthy. The dance is developed mainly after a cell from Nijinsky’s Rite of Spring . In the third part, I use gestures referencing François Villon ’s Ballade d...

One of my on-going projects has been the composition of “ 12 Études for clarinetist dancer .” In the tradition of musical studies designed for the musician to improve his/her skills in a precise domain, each piece will actualize a different approach in terms of: musical composition technique choreographic style relation between music and dance proportion of written and improvised elements notation Here is the (provisional) May 2007 version of my plan for these 12 studies: I cleaned-up this plan to include it in my final presentation for a course I took in the Spring of 2007: Music and Movement Tomie Hahn is a singular artist. I quote the bio on her sweet website: Tomie Hahn is a performer and ethnologist whose activities span a wide range of topics including: Japanese traditional performing arts, Monster Truck rallies, issues of identity and creative expression of multiracial individuals, and relationships of technology and culture; interactive dance/movement performance; ...

May has been a great dance season at Harvard . I invite you to Dancers' Dozen - New dances by 12 student choreographers created in Dramatic Arts 14a , a course taught by Lecturer Elizabeth Bergmann, with Assistant Joshua Legg (meet the Dance Staff ). Wednesday, May 7 , 2008 at 7PM - Free. Harvard Dance Center - 60 Garden Street - Cambridge, MA I will perform for the first time my composition Ballade for clarinetist dancer (or dancing clarinetist?), and there will be awesome choreographers and dancers. In the meantime, have a look at Liz Bergmann's great little book: Connecting to Creativity: Ten Keys to Unlocking Your Creative Potential More information about Dance at Harvard .