Tom's response:
Dear Carey (and Amii)
TaDa indeed! What a delight it all has been & continues to be even in this 'exit
interview'. It's a brilliant concept and rich in it's depth of experience. I felt
joyous, amused, thrilled, & confused/uncertain (a man was sitting on the second
bench in the park, was I to sit next to him? I chose not to, probably a good idea.)
I also forgot my own answer to something lost....haha hoisted by my own petard and
forgetfulness. I loved it all, from the chance operation of things, the specificity
of details, the gift wrapping and instructions, the kinesthetic approach, being
forgiven was SOOO very emotional, what a gift. I loved watching and being watched
and watching others watch. I was compelled at first to dance along, what a strong
pull that was, so glad I didn't, OK I did one arm circle. And the layer of flotsam
and jetsam on the curb side that you incorporated - loved the chair, the rock for
ipod placement (I didn't want to leave it unattended tho it turned out to be safe)
and synchronicity - a piece of music ended just as you ended a certain phrase of
dancing. The solo's end and disappearing into the distance was brilliant. The
whole thing existing before it began and continuing after it was over. I was glad
to sit with my friends (2 had joined me & were among the park people) as we sat and
talked and shared and watched the full moon rise from the lake. Magical &
pedestrian, playful and abstract, exquisite and ordinary. Thank you.
best,
Tom
Not a comment but Carey's notes on the 'choreography' and the experience:
ReplyDelete*TOM EVIDENCE SOLO*
I asked Tom to be at the 2nd bench at Atwood Park at 7:30. I arrived on my
bike at 7:35. He was standing there waiting. I rode by him looking off
towards the beautiful lake and the coming sunset, saying nothing. Then I
circled around and repeatedly rode right by him circling around in between
each visit. As I rode by I would make an anatomical reference to what I was
doing: rotation of the cervical spine on the transverse plane, femoral
flexion on the sagittal plane, circumduction of the shoulder joint,
concentric contraction of the iliopsoas muscle group. I would repeat the
action as well to make it clear. I tried stringing together all the anatomy
I could into one visit, spouting out words randomly. I stopped and parked my
bike, was about to lock it, but couldn’t find my bike lock key. I went
through a whole thing about this….emptying my bag and cursing myself for
always losing my bike lock key. Then I walked. Tom followed. I ran. I turned
to say, “I forgive you, Tom”. I repeated this from different distances as I
continued to reference my anatomical movements. I began referencing the six
points of connectivity: core-distal, body half, cross lateral, etc. I
danced. I walked to a bench and placed a wrapped gift on the bench and
walked away. Tom opened the gift, put on headphones and pushed play. I cued
up a few good tunes. He followed as I danced away from him down the path. I
continued down the sidewalk dancing, improvising, settling, etc. He followed
about 30 feet behind. He wasn’t alone. I eventually set down a piece of
paper on a rock that said to place down the headphone and exit the solo. As
he placed them down, I was far away and I turned right to him and addressed
him as I danced for him. I continued to retreat away until he could no
longer see me. Tom returned to the park bench. I returned to my bike and I
put on my headset, played the Tennessee Waltz and rode right by him one last
time singing the words aloud. I rode out of the park as he sat chatting with
someone on a park bench.