Global Underscore 2018

SCHEDULE for BANGALORE GLOBAL UNDERSCORE :: 5:00pm-5:45pm :: TALKTHROUGH, an explanation of the dynamic states of the Underscore (Please bring pencil and paper.) SHORT BREAK 6pm-9pm :: UNDERSCORE This Underscore will be facilitated by Elise Knudson and Karthik. * Participants should be prepared to commit to the entire practice of the Underscore and Harvest. (It's worth it.) ** The Talkthrough can also be arranged prior to June 23rd if you cannot make 6pm on the 23rd. PM me through Facebook for appointment. UNDERSCORE :: The Underscore is a long-form dance improvisation structure developed by Nancy Stark Smith. It has been evolving since 1990 and is practiced all over the globe. The Underscore is a vehicle for incorporating Contact Improvisation into a broader arena of improvisational dance practice; for developing greater ease dancing in spherical space—alone and with others; and for integrating kinesthetic and compositional concerns while improvising. It allows for a full spectrum of energetic and physical expressions, embodying a range of forms and changing states. Its practice is familiar yet unpredictable. The practice—usually 3 to 4 hours in length—progresses through a broad range of dynamic states, including long periods of very small, private, and quiet internal activity and other times of higher energy and interactive dancing. ***To participate in an Underscore, one should attend a talk-through of the Underscore, which often takes about an hour.*** The GLOBAL UNDERSCORE (GUS) is an annual event in which the Underscore is practiced simultaneously for a 4 hour period by people all over the world near the summer solstice (northern hemisphere). There have been 50-70+ sites participating in GUS in recent years. Claire Filmon proposed the event to Nancy in 2000 from a desire to connect dancers all around the planet to dance and to compose together in the moment. Claire organized it until 2010 – with the help of Laura Blackburn, Aline Leclerc, and Anne-Claire Lafait, in various years. Jesse Johnson, Brandin Steffensen, Rebecca Bone, Mark Messer, and Dey Summer all played a role organizing GUS in 2011 and 2012. Brandin Steffensen and Nancy Hughes coordinated GUS 2013-2016. Nancy Hughes and Patrick Crowley have coordinated GUS since 2017 with Brandin as an advisor. For the most recent news on the Global Underscore, go to: www.globalunderscore.com ELISE KNUDSON is a New York City based dance artist. She is invited to perform the Underscore with Nancy Stark Smith and other CI practitioners in "Glimpse 4", Salt Lake City, Utah 2018. Elise teaches CI through Movement Research in NYC and teaches/facilitates CI at festivals and studios such as Touch Festival (China), Leviathan Studio (Canada) WCCI Jam (Berkeley, USA) and BKSD (Brooklyn). She created NEXToNow, modeled after The Impermanent Society of Philadelphia to provided a platform for the practice of performing interdisciplinary improvisation. (see http://nextonow.org) She has had the pleasure of performing improvisation with Bradley Teal Ellis, Sarah Konner, David Appel, Nancy Stark Smith, Chris Aiken&Angie Hauser, Yoshiko Chuma, Eun Jung Gonzales and Dai Jian. Elise has also enjoyed performing choreography with various Artists in New York and beyond including Jenni Hong, Kiori Kawai/Purring Tiger, Risa Jaroslow, Noemie LaFrance, Luke Gutgsell, Jody Oberfelder and Koosil-ja/DANCE KUMIKO.