9 The Art + Science Collaborations of PRF2022

Thursday, 23 June 2022
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

PRF2022 Artist in Residence: THE RESEARCH OF A DANCE | CREATING "CAPACITY/OR: THE WORK OF CRACKLING"

Paper number: 9-2
Program: Sessions
Time: 7:45 PM – 8:30 PM

Authors

  • Melissa Riker Presenting Author
    Kinesis Project Dance Theatre, New York, NY

Abstract

As a choreographer I make dance works over multiple year processes of research and excavation via questions. The dancers of Kinesis Project and I collaborate to find and discover movement answers to these questions. From ideas of Home to concepts of time, memory, the power of vulnerability to the many behaviors of light... we ask, research, create, collaborate and continue asking.

“Capacity/or: the work of Crackling" stems from my sense of parallel between the processes Dr. Missy Eppes describes in her studies - the time, forces and stress process of weathering and cracks and how these process will progress as climate change continues....to our human capacity for grief, love, resilience and the way we crack, reveal ourselves and heal over time.

Not only are those questions necessary right now in our post-pandemic world, but also, in reference to our lessons of human capacity after the last two years: cracks occur at a much lower stress level because the entire being is at a certain point of pressure.

On a human level, it is not the critical force stressors that immediately crack us - those are the elements that test our capacity, stretching our concepts of ourselves - it is the continuation, the time, the tiny moments - we crackle, revealing more of ourselves - possibly giving way to destruction - or - creating the space needed to expand our edges.

On a geological level, as Dr. Eppes has said: "Given sufficient time – and in geology we have plenty of that – cracks will form and propagate under stresses that are much lower (even less than 10%) of the rock’s critical strength.”

For my presentation I will expand upon the processes of research we are using to create this new work, and I will be present to discuss, listen and facilitate as needed. I look forward to building bridges between arts and science through dialogue and cross - inspiration.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022PR-375971

© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.