San Francisco-based choreographer Brian Gibbs of TAGsf sat down with PianoFight’s Evan Winchester to talk about his two new dance films, and discuss the creative process in the Bay Area. We will be covering those two projects on the blog here. See examples of Brian’s work here and here. Part two of this interview and the two dance shorts can be found here.

EVAN: Tell me about what you’re working on.

BRIAN: Grey Halos one and two is a short film by The Artist Group San Francisco (TAGsf) and a nod to the odd.

EW: How important is the title of a piece?

BG: The importance of a good title is so that the audience has a gauge for what to expect. Association. Oftentimes people get too caught up in the title of a piece and expect that a good title will help float whatever piece further into the viewers’ minds. For me personally the proof is in the pudding and the work will speak for itself which is why I had such a hard time thinking of a title for the film. Originally I wanted to call attention to dumb titles by calling this particular film “My Butt whispers softly during the night” but that quickly got shot down. I don’t really care because it is still funny to me. The reason why I ended up naming the film Grey Halo’s one and two is because Grey to me is very ambiguous. It’s not black or white but caught in-between in this weird indefinable area. When I think of nothing, the lack of space and time, everything else, what I see is Grey. With a title like Grey it’s hard to come up with any big ideas for what to expect. Hell, I can’t even call this a dance film. I don’t know what it is truth be told. One other reason Grey ended up being the title is that San Francisco is known for the fog, which is the one connector of both films.

EW: What is it about the mask that interests you?

BG: I like the idea of being somebody else or bringing to life an ideology. Who does not enjoy wearing the mask or dressing up? With the mask your able to become whoever you want to be with your true self concealed and that fascinates me. I grew up reading comics and watching anime and I always loved the alter ego. Bruce Wayne uses his mask of the Batman to fight for justice, which is something that Bruce Wayne could never do with Batman’s villangte methods. I also enjoyed the Shakespearian Fool who would show you something in his right hand while picking your pocket with his left but I’m a dork like that.

Halo Two came about during the same period as the TAGsf home season at Kunst-Stoff Arts back in September that you were part of. I was creating a dance theater work titled NEMESIS that explored the random life encounters that could lead a person to good or evil and delve’s into the concept of identity/the mask. How you see yourself vs how you are seen. Halo Two is the Bside of that session.

EW: Tell me about how you chose the moments you liked best from Halo One.

BG: Halo one started with a very simple thought–that I wanted to keep my claws sharp. I think as an artist it’s very important to keep practicing your craft and to play around with it so you can find new places and hopefully evolve and keep growing so I contacted my friend Martyn Garside and asked if he wanted to play around with some movement ideas. I was lucky that he had said yes because he is such an amazing artist. He is profound in mind, body, spirit and technique. We started the session off with a sesh and what ended up happening was me giving a couple phrases that I wanted him to figure out how to get in and out of to keep it organic and not take all of the ownership of the material. This assignment ended up naturally turning into improv which is where it needed to go. Once I jumped in with my own personal task we ended up just dancing around with a YouTube playlist in the background. I look back fondly on the session because we were not looking to do anything amazing or even had a goal in mind. For us it was all about being honest in the moment and having fun. After it was all said and done the whole session was broken up into 6 takes with solos, duets along with some motherfucking Frames. The difficult part came once we sat down and watched the footage figuring out what it’s all about and what to do with it. We both knew that we wanted something clean and nothing too effect-heavy. We wanted to have something honest to the spirit of that strange, majestical day. As dancers we picked the moments that of course looked the best aesthetically which took some time to sort through because we also had a whole bunch of shit. I chose music that related to the same mood we were in because that ended up being the point of this film, to communicate how we felt that day to everyone else. Let’s see if that happens.

EW: Who are the dancers in the pieces? Where can I see more of their work?

BG: Halo one features Martyn Garside who is a freelance artist who has worked with SFB, Ballet Meinze and Zhkov Dance Theater and myself. Halo two features Dores Andre and Garen Scribner both in the San Francisco Ballet. You can catch both of them at the War Memorial Opera House.

EW: The first time I worked with you, you choreographed a comic dance fight for me and another actor, Ray Hobbs. This project is very different. Can you talk about what you like to explore in comedy versus what you would like to explore in more serious material?

BG: For me they are not that different. I take all of my projects seriously whether it be concert dance, film, art or comedy. I am a creationist and always have been. Whenever I look at something I break it down to the cogs– nasty habit of mine that can oftentimes spoil all of the fun. I always dissect things to their points of origin. In school I always excelled at Science because I enjoy the outside world and I’m interested in how things came to be, so it makes sense that I ended up an artist. Because of my varied background in the arts I can easily shift mediums, which is fun for me. I have too much ADHD to be locked down working in just one particular medium, which is why choreography is the perfect vehicle for me. Choreography is not just about the steps, which is the easiest part. You have to think about music, set design, lights, costumes and of course start with intention. Add in film/multi-media and your options are limitless. When I was working with you and Ray I had a great time working with the both of you because I love comedy and I’m a pretty funny motherfucker (depending on who you ask) and we got to set up a brand new world through physical theater. I like to think that my work shifts from project to project and a lot of that has to do with my particular interest or mood at the time, not to mention commissions. This past year has been really great for me because I have been able to pursue many different passions of mine while learning more about who I am as an artist. And isn’t comedy serious business? You and I are working on a new script for the 2012 year [Duck Lake] that is very silly by design but with real human emotions. I enjoy walking that fine line.

See part two of this interview and the dance shorts here.

Posted December 29, 2011 at 10:28 am