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moss@ucalgary.ca
Michèle
Moss
Dancer,
Choreographer, Educator, Lecturer
Since co-founding Decidedly Jazz Danceworks with Vicki Adams Willis
and Hannah Stilwell in 1984 she has dedicated her work to the
development of jazz dance in a concert setting. For this proposed
project I will continue in the spirit of paying respect to the
history of the jazz dance form by incorporating some of the rhythmic
and performance principles and practices of early jazz, as far back
as its West African roots. As well I will continue to innovate,
moving the form forward, incorporating the current manifestations of
contemporary jazz dance and music. The improvisational voice is
central to this work. Improvisation as a method of exploration and
discovering movement is value-laden and the process requires the
practitioner/participant to draw upon ideas, experiences, emotions
and knowledge in a spontaneous process. Bringing improvisation to
the concert stage draws upon authentic responses, celebrating self
and community. Much has been written about how to improvise and
about spontaneous creation but not much consideration has been
focused on the community/audience and how they respond to or
“read” improvised dances. I believe that dance improvisation is
revealed as a state of engagement that provides an entry point for
experiencing deep self-knowledge and rich experiential learning and
powerful performance practice.
Searching for the significance of my passion for dance and
dancing has lead me to investigate notions of identity (culture and
gender) and embodiment. I recognize the transformative powers of
movement as a tool for empowerment and will explore this
transformative potential in the creation process.
Description of my
work/philosophy/cont
ribution
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks was created by myself, Michèle Moss,
Hannah Stilwell and Vicki Adams Willis in 1984. The mandate was (is)
“to create an awareness of, and encourage respect for the
integrity, spirit and traditions of jazz”. I continue in this
spirit; to respect the history by incorporating some of the rhythmic
and performance principles and practices of early jazz, as far back
as its West African roots. As well I endeavour to innovate, moving
the form forward, incorporating the current manifestations of
contemporary jazz dance and music. The improvisational voice is
central to this work. Improvisation as a method of exploration and
discovering movement is value-laden and the process requires the
practitioner/participant to draw upon beliefs, experiences, emotions
and knowledge in a spontaneous process. Bringing improvisation to
the concert stage draws upon authentic responses, celebrating self
and community. Much has been written on how to improvise,
spontaneous creation but not much on why, the community resonance of
this ephemeral process. As well not much has been disseminated
regarding the impact on the viewer, the audience, I hope to fill
this void by providing a forum for the audience to respond to what
they see, so that we may estimate our impact
Through my work I have contributed to the development of the
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) aesthetic, its own ever-evolving,
historically- grounded voice. My own work as well as that of DJD is
African-rooted, swing-based, rhythmically focused and musically
propelled. I believe creation is a powerful way the artist/academic
distinguishes themselves within the academy, and carries as much
credence as publication in text. Through my interpretive
investigations I am interested in revealing and celebrating the
artists’ viewpoint to bring meaning through analytical impulse and
intuitive response, to collect and disseminate data that might have
some application in training/education/performance and life in
general.
Many disciplines are using dance and movement/performance to collect
and disseminate information it is a powerful source of information
of ‘self’ and ‘other’. I am interested in developing and
articulating some theories that may assist in our ways knowing and
understanding the world through dance. Searching for the
significance of my passion for dance and dancing has lead me to
investigate the notions of identity (culture and gender) and
embodiment, endeavouring to find meaning through the arts,
celebrating and demystifying it. I recognize the transformative
powers of movement- a tool for empowerment. Disseminating this data
through creation projects, equivalent of a publication, is very
important to me as artist, researcher, educator, dancer, mother and
woman.
The significance of dance as an area of investigation is validated
by many theorists, adding my voice/body to the discourse through my
practice is important to me.
I believe that dance improvisation is revealed as a state of
engagement that provides an entry point for experiencing deep
self-knowledge and rich experiential learning and powerful
performance practice.
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