Improvisation in a Magpie performance is not the antithesis of choreography or composition; it is how the choreographies and compositions are made, out of practice both in the studio setting and the newness of real time improvised performance. A magpie performance is about the experience of being there, you are participating in the event and thus, in a sense, the work.
Magpie was spearheaded by Katie Duck and was founded in Amsterdam in 1995 by dancers Eileen Stanley, Vincent Cacialono, Martin Sonderkamp, Sharon Smith, Masako Naguchi, Michael Schumacher and Vitor Garcia, with musicians Michael Vatcher and Mary Oliver and with light designer Ellen Knops. Magpie was formed in direct response to a need the artists had to re-consider and re-present Improvised performance within a contemporary context in Amsterdam and, as the work developed, internationally.
Several of the founding group members were lecturers or former students at the school for new dance development (SNDO). The School had a rich history in the study and practice of improvisation with specific connections to the American Judson Church movement but the work was largely isolated within a community of dancers specializing in contact improvisation and improvisation methods. In Amsterdam, within the larger context of contemporary dance, improvised performance as an explicit choreographic approach was underdeveloped. The founding members of Magpie wanted to develop the work in a contemporary context, which was one motivation to re-look at improvised performance as a fundamental choreographic approach to a live event.
From 1995 to 2000 the Magpie artists practiced privately in rehearsal studios and publicly in performances. With Katie Duck acting as main project co-ordinate, Magpie presented a monthly series in their Amsterdam base at the Fijnhout Theater, Melkweg theatre, Panama and OT301 cultural center. They also did extensive tours during this time in national and international programs and festivals, exposing the work to a broad range of cultures, viewers and contexts. Every performance combined different artists from the Magpie collective of artists with Ellen Knops as light designer in each situation.
From 2000-2006 Magpie toured nationally with publicly funded projects around themes related to collectivity, site specific performance and public interaction: Fingers in the pie / PI-PIED / BLINK / and Magnamedia. In 2005 they celebrated 10 years of performing nationally and internationally with the ‘10 years in a blink’ festival which took place at the Bimhuis and OT301 cultural center Amsterdam and gathered together all magpie artists, guests and friends as well as other key practitioners in the field of improvisation.
Since 2006 Magpie has evolved from a single-focus (MMDC) music and dance company to an umbrella organization. This is the result to the fact that it has expanded due to the inclusion of new artist members to the original company who have brought fresh ideas and vision. Magpie continues to present performances as they have done since 1995. Now, however, the dancers and musicians in the company can initiate and organize a variety of performance projects underneath the Magpie Stichting (foundation) umbrella. Magpie has chosen project titles for these performance projects so that the individual artists can define what is particular about the project they will be leading: i.e Melt, Blink, Wonderland and Open Frames. All of these project titles can be combined and placed for national and international tours and used for national project applications (Stichting Magpie): What specifically defines all Magpie Umbrella Projects is that they include a combination of live dance and music within real time.
Project Descriptions
Magpie
Magpie is the title used for any performance which combines the founding member artists. Other artists who are now involved with Magpie can be added, however founding member artists must be involved. It includes up to four dancers and three musicians with Ellen Knops as light designer.
Melt
Melt are Magpie residencies with a Dance Company, Music group, festival or theater combining rehearsals and performances. Melt contains intensive rehearsals and at least one performance by the Magpie artists alone and at least one performance as Melt with the local artists. Magpie artists work closely with the producer and artistic directors who establishes the artists whom Magpie will collaborate with. Magpie-Melt residencies have included New Zealand, Korea, Russia, Thailand and the USA among many others. Magpie conducted in 2008 a Melt project in Amsterdam hosting the Trust Dance Company (see Trust week – Melt).
Wonderland
Wonderland is a music and dance performance for children and their parents. The performance moves from being for the children to being with the children and offers them a carefully guided theatrical adventure. It includes musicians and dancers out of the collective who hold a series of Wonderland performances on every second Sunday of the month at OT301 Amsterdam.
Wonderland Blog: http://wonderlandweb.wordpress.com/
Open Frames
This area has been developed for projects by Magpie artists where they incorporate composition, choreography, scores, streaming interactive international performances or any kind of structures within the arena of real time events. The Magpie artists who initiate an Open Frame project usually collaborates with a funding body in order to support preparations for their composition experiment.
Amsterdam Community, Outreach and Educational Projects:
Music / Dance 301
Music / Dance 301 is a monthly music and dance improvisation event happening on the last Friday of the month at OT301, Amsterdam. Performers come from a core group who organize the event and invite guest artists to play with them. Music / Dance 301 started in February 2005 with a focus on free-form collective improvisation where both the music and dance elements have equally important and complementary roles.
Co-ordinators: Colin McLean [music] + Alexandra Manasse [dance]
Contact: musicdance301@gmail.com
www.musicdance301.blogspot.com
Saturday Sessions
Improvisation Saturday sessions are centralized by Magpie dancers two Saturdays per month in Amsterdam. The sessions are open to all dancers, performers and musicians who have a desire to meet, dance, play, discuss and collect. These sessions have a leader from the Magpie collective. The rent is split between the groups of artists who come on the Saturdays. You can join the mailing list for Saturday sessions to be informed about dates, place and times.
Brain Study
Brain study is a laboratory aimed to all artists who are interested in confronting their work with sessions, lectures and field trips involving neuron scientists. Any of the artists can propose a theme for the Brain studies series. You can join the mailing list in order to receive dates and themes for activities. You will also receive reports about the results of our findings.
Workshops
(local and combined with international or national tours)
Magpie has been scheduling workshops in Amsterdam since 1995. They hold a Magpie collective workshop every last week of August yearly and schedule workshops through out the year for both musicians and dancers. Each workshop is lead by professional artists who has an interest in experimental activity in performance, music or dance and provide a combination of both practice and theory within their workshop structures.
Apprentice Program
Magpie receives apprentices each year who are incorporated within the Magpie body of local work. The apprentice program begins in March and finishes in August with the Magpie collective workshop. Apprentices need to have had a professional background or be a part of masters or PHD program. You need to find your own funding options with our invitation. You can apply by sending your information to the coordinator of this program. Coordinator: Katie Duck
Magpie History 1995-2007
Katie Duck initiated with Robert Steijn an improvisation festival held at the Frascati Theater Amsterdam (1995-2000). This was done with a five year plan in mind so that improvisation dance could be recognized in the Nederlands. In the same period, Magpie formed in with dancers Katie Duck, Eileen Standley, Vincent Cacialono, Martin Sonderkamp, Sharon Smith and musician Michael Vatcher Katie met Ellen Knops at the Fijnhout Theater where she was employed as the house light designer.
Katie and Ellen did performances at the Fijnhout collaborating on choreography’s and improvised events. Ellen joined the Magpie collective as a light designer. Isabelle Vigier began taking photographs of Magpie in rehearsals and performances. She developed this into a series of posters which were used monthly in Amsterdam to announce their performances. http://www.lumen.nu/isabelle.vigier/magpie.html.
Magpie initiated a performance series at the Muiderpoort Theater in Amsterdam doing one Magpie performance on the last Sunday of each month. This series has evolved into the “Mad Sunday” events which are still taking place toady. Music artists from the Ex band, modern musicians, electronic musicians, lap top musicians among many others were invited to participate. Dancers such as Michael Schumacher, Vitor Garcia, David Zamrano, Lily Kiara, Juliyen Hamilton, Amanda Miller, Anouk van Dijk, and Gonne Heggen were invited to participate. Michael Schumacher, Vitor Garcia, Mary Oliver and Andy Moore were added to the collective.
Magpie moved their series to the Melkweg Theater; a more centralized location in Amsterdam. Dancers Masako Noguchi and Sylvain Meret were added to the collective. The Melkweg series highlighted the collective’s ability to maintain a high quality of performance and gather publics opening their option to apply for Nederland public funding. Magpie received national project funding (FPK): Fingers in the pie / PI-PIED / BLINK / Magnamedia and Michael Schumacher was asked to create a project for the Holland Dance festival and extended this to the Magpie collective for two years running.
Magpie shifted their Amsterdam series to the OT301 in 2005 and held a mini festival “10 years in a blink” to celebrate 10 years of international touring, national touring and their series in Amsterdam. This was a one week intensive event including performances in their former base Muiderpoort, in the BimHuis, a workshop, a conference, an exhibition of all of their posters and video footage and four performances with a final party at the OT301.
Magpie added dancer Justin Morrison to the collective who invited them to experiment with technologies such as streaming video and with internet toys like youtube.com. They conducted several streaming events from one country to another playing with time delay and the orientation of the locations as part of their improvisation approach. They published on youtube.com joining the popular culture in celebration of live, real time events.
Magpie developed a stage, apprentice and workshops organization. Out of this work with apprentices, Makiko Ito joined the collective. Makiko developed the Wonderland project aimed at bringing the Magpie work to children and parents and Sylvain Meret created the brain series lab based on a continued curiosity about the workings of the human being; emotions, feelings and love. Magpie has added Alexandra Manasse and Kyungsun Beak in 2007 both heading projects within the new formed magpie umbrella.
Magpie has continued to tour internationally receiving national travel funds and embassy support. With their national funding projects they have toured the Nederland’s several times playing in spaces and theaters out side of accepted dance venues.
Magpie has continued to enforce the need to create public groups around their work and to incorporate the ever growing need to have an interactive relationship with the people for whom they play.