The Conservation of Matter, choreographed by Loretta Fois and Dawn Pratson, explores movement and vocal improvisation using Michelle Hermann’s two poems, The Conservation of Matter and Advice from Rilke. Drawing from their dance, music, and Dalcroze backgrounds, the performers create an integrated interdisciplinary performance that incorporates movement, song, and text.
As an improvisation, the piece’s development is constantly in flux as each performer affects, responds to, and builds upon the other’s changing rhythmic, melodic, and gestural elements. This negotiation between improvisers allows for discovery in the moment. By adapting to the ever-changing moments of improvisation, the performative outcomes are continuously composed and re-composed, creating something new, unexpected, and unpredictable.