off/set (2014)
Commission for Karin Stevens Dance collaborating with the Sam Boshnack Quintet.
"His piece is amazingly fine,... Inspired by the interplay between syncopation and groove in ... Boshnack’s music, he has created a piece that plays with group time and individual time, unison and division. ... I could sense an honest joy in the work, along with his trademark dry wit. It was truly a pleasant surprise..."
Choreography: Jürg Koch with the dancers
Dancers: Emily Durand, Maya Felten, Katherine Freeman, Karin Stevens, Amy Weaver
Company and Rehearsal Director: Karin Stevens
Music: Samantha Boshnack
Musicians: Samantha Boshnack, Isaac Castillo, Alex Chadsey, Beth Fleenor, Max Wood
Costumes: Ali Rose Panzarella
Lighting: Kent Cubbage
Video: Ian Knippel
Duration: 18 minutes
Performance: Velocity Dance Center, Seattle WA, October, 2014
Being “off set” as the choreographer, working long-distance between Seattle and Bern, tasks, written instructions, diagrams, online video clips, and skype sessions, became essential parts of the process.
The compositional aspects of ostinatos and cadenzas in Boshnack's sumptuous composition, motivated me to work with the contrast between analytically 'set' parts and 'going off' into intuitive structures.