Full Circle by Shapes On Parade

I met choreographer Kakuti Davis Lin back when we were students in college, and since then, we have continued to be good friends and frequent artistic collaborators. These five pieces are the result of our work together over the last few years with the Baltimore-based Full Circle Dance Company, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources and material. I've very much enjoyed the challenge of scoring these pieces, and the flexible approach to writing and recording music that modern dance requires. The beauty and space of Kakuti's work has continually been a source of real inspiration, and I am very grateful for the generous creative freedom she has always afforded me in creating the music. I'd also like to thank the Full Circle Dance Company and the dancers for bringing these pieces to life so beautifully. It's been a very fun and rewarding process, and I look forward to many more fruitful years of working together.

-Gary

Notes on the pieces from Kakuti Davis Lin:

Full Circle Dance Company is a modern dance company that has been based in Baltimore since 2000. The company has developed a signature way of working that involves exploring a carefully selected theme for up to a year, commissioning work from multiple choreographers on that theme, creating opportunities to involve members of the community in the creative process, and presenting the new works on a single theme together to offer audiences varied perspectives on each topic. Kakuti has been happy to perform and choreograph with Full Circle since 2011, and has been very lucky to collaborate with Gary on each of her pieces for the company.

"(pro)" (2011) was created for "B.A.R.E. Bodies, Attitudes, Reflections, Exposed", Full Circle's exploration of body image. It was inspired by Daniel Nagrin's book, "How to Dance Forever", and how one's relationship to, and perception of, one's body is linked to one's occupation and stage in life.

"state.us" (2012) was created for "Moving Passages", Full Circle's exploration of the connections between dance and literature, movement and writing. Rather than focusing on a particular piece of writing, the piece was inspired by the act of writing itself, and the ways in which people are using public forms of writing more than ever in today's world.

"two such as you" (2013) was originally commissioned by Common Ground Dance Company, but was also included in "Bloodlines: Upheaval and Peace", Full Circle's exploration of family issues. It was inspired by the poem "The Master Speed" by Robert Frost, and the instant emotion two people can feel when they meet and recognize that they will always be connected to each other.

"Musicophilia" (2014) was created for "Impulse: Responses to Music, Rhythm, and Sound", and was inspired by the observations of various auditory phenomena by the neuroscientist and author, Oliver Sacks. The piece used movement vignettes to explore the motor-auditory connection, stereo versus mono hearing, rhythm deafness, musical hallucinations, brainworms, musical memory, and emotional access triggered by music.

"Betty and Gloria and the rest of them and all of us" (2016) was created for "A Woman's Place: Power, Passion, Purpose", Full Circle's tribute to women who shook the world, breaking barriers and defying expectations. It was inspired by the work of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, along with the many other women who have worked in their own ways to change our cultural baseline with respect to expectations placed on women, and who continue that work through their daily lives.