#CreateTogether
I was at a dance performance at Eugene’s First Friday Art Walk this month and thought I could tell you about my knitting project from last summer, as well as my favorite local arts organization.
For more than a decade, I have been a regular audience member at #instaballet. I was at the first one (on accident) and have been delighted by this unique performance experience ever since. What is #instaballet? It is unlike anything I know of in the performance art world. The idea is to break the fourth wall of dance performance and make the process of creating a dance accessible to anyone and everyone. Let me explain.
An #instaballet opens with 2 or more professional dancers, a theme, and a small amount of pre-made choreography. A facilitator, Antonio Anacan, then encourages audience ideas for what should happen next in the dance. Slowly, over the course of 2 1/2 hours, ideas are shared with the dancers who take those ideas and turn them into a dance. Some ideas are actual dance steps (“do a tour jete”) and some are not (“can we make 3 of the dancers into a star…or a concept of a star?”). The dancers take all the ideas and turn them into flowing movement. The dance is performed at the end of the evening, choreographed almost entirely by audience members who felt encouraged to share what they imagined. Some pieces are silly and delightful. Some are technically challenging. Some leave me with chills. The idea is that there is something magical that happens when we (as printed on their t-shirts) #CreateTogether.
As executive director, Miranda Atkinson, says:
One of the things I love about #instaballet is that it's meaningful to different people for different reasons. The artists performing often share that they love the opportunity to create art spontaneously and the chance to directly connect with the audience. Parents and youth share that it builds confidence and shows that dance can be for and about everyone. And community audiences share that it provides a change to connect with others while creating something together.
I am getting to the knitting part, promise. Last March I was watching an #instaballet. Earlier that day I had been reading about baseball shawls, where a knitter brings a shawl or scarf project to a ball game and follows the game through their knitting: changing color when the team changes, knitting a certain stitch for a run, an error, a base hit, etc. A fun idea, but not one for me. I simply don’t attend enough baseball games. But what about this idea of creating together? What would a ballet look like if you knit the dance into something?
I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. So I tried it.
With the support of my friends at #instaballet, and some special bulky yarn dyed by Always Be Kind Yarn, I made my plan. I decided to make a cowl, knit flat and horizontally, that could be seamed up when I was done. That way I could make it as long or short as the ballet required. Large needles and bulky yarn that would work up quickly was important too. I spent a lot of time one afternoon with my stitch dictionary, assigning stitches to different common dance movements. And finally, at the first #instaballet Art Walk in May, I tried it out.
I had cast on and done a couple of rows to have something to start. I had slips of paper with my stitch ideas and I taped them to a blank sheet of paper so I would have a growing pattern and both cowl and ballet were shaped over the course of the evening. It’s a two and a half hour event and I knit steadily the entire time. As the audience created the dance, I used their ideas to direct the stitches on each row of the cowl. It was a real challenge. I had to attend to the dance and keep track of my pattern at the same time.
To my surprise, my idea worked surprisingly well. I finished the last stitch as the dancers were taking their bows. I repeated the project at the June, July, and August performances and donated the four finished cowls to the August fundraiser to keep #InstaBallet thriving.
This idea of community creation and accessible performance art that #InstaBallet embodies is doing something absolutely vital. They are breaking the mold, getting people out of their ruts and off their phones and inspiring people in new and connecting ways. They take their magic into communities and into local schools. In the schools they are giving kids a voice to create in a way that a lot of kids haven’t had. There is so much information in this slideshow, I encourage you to check it out.
Letting Miranda sum it up:
I think it matters for so many reasons. For me, it's provided a clear way to use dance, and ballet in particular, as a tool for creating belonging and helping others experience agency. Helping people create something brand new is an incredible way to remind them of their value and agency. I have the chance to use the artform that I love most dearly to do good in the world.
If you are in the Eugene/Springfield area you should check them out. It’s summer, so there are several opportunities to participate in (or just watch) an #InstaBallet.
Saturday, June 28th, at the Hult Center as part of the Oregon Bach Festival. This performance will feature several pieces choreographed by local school kids and the piece created at the June Art Walk. The June 28th audience will get to help finish that Art Walk piece. June 28th, 10:00-12:00, Hult Center Soreng Stage. FREE!
Friday, July 4th, 5:30-8:00 in downtown Eugene, location to be decided. FREE!
Friday, August 1st, 5:30-8:00 at the 5th St. Market Alley in Eugene. FREE!
Friday, September 5th, 5:30-8:00 at Capitello Wine in Eugene. FREE!
All those events are free to anyone wanting to watch and participate. In order to keep things free, there will be the heART in Motion Gala Fundraiser on August 23rd. Good food & drink, lovely people, lots of performance, raffles and auctions…it’s always a fantastic event.
You can find out more about these events HERE and you can donate to #InstaBallet HERE. Every donation keeps their events free and gets them in schools connecting kids with performance art. Given the state of the world, I believe this is actually essential work. We need more connection, art, community, and creativity and #InstaBallet is doing that for so many.
The #CreateTogether Cowl
During my speed knitting during last summer’s performances, I decided I could use the basic idea to make a really simple cowl pattern - the #CreateTogether Cowl.
Nothing crazy, like the cowls I made for the ballets. Just a combination of garter and slip stitches. You can knit up this cowl in just a couple of hours. Add buttons or graft the ends together. Make one for yourself & one for a friend. Even better, get together with friends and make some as a group. #CreateTogether. Through the rest of the #InstaBallet summer season, I will be donating all of my sales from the #CreateTogether to #InstaBallet.
You can get a copy here on Ravelry or here on PayHip.
Octopus Update
So. Close. To. Done.
The head and mantle are stuffed. I thought about this a while, because I wanted the head to have some weight and maintain its shape. The rest if fiberfill and will squish and flop. But octopuses have amazing brains and I wanted to make that a part of my creature. I ended us using leftover yarn and winding a large ball. I stuffed the mantle, got the ball tucked inside, then secured it to the belly so it can’t migrate up into the mantle. I am very happy with the way it is working so far.
I have also seamed up 5 of her legs. Each one takes a little over 45 minutes from tip to belly, so I have about 3 more hours of work on this octopus. Luckily I also have 3 more hours in The Soul of an Octopus. So that should work out well.
I will be able to introduce her, full form and all ends woven in, in my next article. I do have some ideas about names and personalities…but I will leave proper introductions for next time.
Enjoy this season
Love it! What a creative idea to knit to dance.