Annotations for People: Speaker 3

Can we take a moment for room tone?

I'm going to record some room tones

We just have to be super quiet for 30 seconds.

All right. Perfect, thanks.

It's five after three.

We'll probably cut most of that.

Can we take a moment for room tone?

I'm going to record some room tones

We just have to be super quiet for 30 seconds.

All right. Perfect, thanks.

It's five after three.

We'll probably cut most of that.

Pause for a second.

[inaudible 00:13:05]

Picking it up again?

Yeah, reset.

Do you want a chair?

[inaudible 00:46:18]

We came to see you Donald. [inaudible 00:00:58]

In case.

In case.

Terrific.

Do you have a microphone on in the show?

On the floor.

Really.

There was Anna Sokolow.

And Josée Lamothe [inaudible 00:22:28].

[crosstalk 00:22:43]

He was, well in 63 when I was there, Martha Hill came in and said, "Class, I'm introducing you to your teacher this week is Donald McKayle." One girl went. She said, "Yes?" She said, "Who's Donald McKayle?" She said, "You'll find out." He walks in the room. "Oh my God. How am I going to get my legs to look like that" Then off we went shaking by the end of the class. Yeah, we had a good week, several weeks, Donald. We were changed people.

At 17 years old.

Changed.

U were just a bit. Not too much. You were a young one.

It was amazing. "You will find out," is what she said.

Right.

[crosstalk 00:26:50]

My question is when you start, what position will the audience see you in? Rear, front or your body sideways?

You're upstage. You're upstage, right?

It's a stage?

The only thing we saw was from this angle, anyway, was your backside. Maybe a little angled so that.

Because it's in the corner, so we see your body tool.

Yeah, a bundle. Mm-hmm (affirmative), sure.

Here Donny does the arm go straight up or straight out? That should be straight out from the chin.

Not up.

Don't go up.

Straight out, straight out. Don't go up.

[crosstalk 00:29:10]

Then you open your legs like a [inaudible 00:29:28] with your hands on the floor. Keep it on [fos 00:29:31].

Yeah. Is there two of them you do or one?

That one.

Straight up.

Don't be at an angle.

There's another one you do when you fall on that position too [crosstalk 00:31:06].

Go fall when your leg is crossed over and you fall.

When your leg is crossed.

Yes, and then you fall [crosstalk 00:31:27].

Keep the leg up high and cross it.

Yeah, cross it over and go ahead. Really fall to the right.

Straight down, or is it a fall?

The next one. All the way. Yeah.

Yeah, that's big step.

The last thing that I recall is the Medusa fingers. Do you want them on top of the head Donald or to the side of the head? Somehow I recall it being over the head like a crown. Is that right.

Mm-hmm (affirmative), okay.

Yeah, okay. Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Like [inaudible 00:33:05].

Yeah, and that leg straight all the way. Way, way. No, no you're fine. Just keep it stretched and as far away as you can so it's big. Yeah.

Keep your leg far from you. Deep. There you go.

When [inaudible 00:34:22] is the head down or up?

Don't bring your face up because [inaudible 00:34:31] boom, boom. Open and then drop. Right.

Are there one, two, three, four of them or just two on the wall?

Yeah, it seemed like you only did two or three.

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Is your foot with the toes ... point your foot as hard as you can and then flex the toes. That one over there too in the beginning, the same way. Full stretch in the arch.

Yeah, really show that. Flex your toes. Is it different between an unpointed foot and a pointed foot?

Or a flexed toe.

It's hard.

That's amazing. How do you do that?

No, all of them.

Hold it from under. Stretch the whole leg. Stretch the knee. Yeah, there you go. Stretch the knee. Yeah. There you go.

Teach it to everybody.

42

Do you have anything on your head by the way, for this?

Just the scarf?

Your hair is spectacular.

Even without the bandana.

By the way you [inaudible 00:43:10]. Don't look back at her when you take off your clothes. It looks like [crosstalk 00:43:10].

By yourself, you know?

You engage with her while you're taking off your clothing. What's he going to do?

It looks too much.

Did you wear pants in this?

So we see the leggings.

That looks [crosstalk 00:44:39].

What did you wear Donald? You know, as what did you [crosstalk 00:45:11]?

What was your outfit?

Just loose rags for a guy?

[crosstalk 00:46:03] no. I don't think this is public either.

Don't fix the collar too nicely.

Put one of them inside. Just put one of the collars inside so it's disheveled.

When you're moving it will ... yeah.

[crosstalk 00:48:45]

A little more, yeah. [inaudible 00:49:05]

Death cut the string. Do we want the hand straight across the throat like you slice the throat, or a across the chest?

Like that.

Keep the elbow straight away so it's very clear. I like your hair.

Her hair is beautiful now. Do you like her hair?

I like it better without the bandana.

Oh, anyway, that's me. Your face is so clear and it doesn't look like you're trying to keep your hair up.

You do?

Nevermind.

The last thing that I recall is the hands, when you're looking at them both times, is it nothing in your hands? You have nothing? Is that basically it?

Don't let them get buried in your costume.

Somehow you've got to show, "I've got nothing.

Then it goes out.

Beautiful.

Thank you.

That's good.

Beautiful.

Thank you for sharing. Thank you for sharing with us your work.

This is so relevant. [crosstalk 01:01:15]

[crosstalk 01:01:44] ahead of his time.

Oh yeah.

We find today, a lot of the choreography of today [inaudible 01:08:51] major choreographer. It's not the human experience. It's becoming robotic. It's like our computers instead of the human contact. We never had these things before. We are always in contact with each other in the studio, on the stage, wherever.

We spoke to each other on the phone all the time. I think Donald's work, it's so human. Every aspect of his works are the human being. Dancers are human beings. They're not machinery. The experience or the communication that comes across is the human experience, not the machinery. You can have all the lighting in the world and bebop music. That doesn't mean anything. It doesn't touch the soul like his ballets do. When you're making new works what do they mean to us anymore? Like you said it was not [inaudible 01:09:49]. But you need those [inaudible 01:09:51] to make what you did happen. It's a whole different kind of experience looking at dance today and what's coming out.

That makes it even more interesting.

Thank you.

Bravo. Bravo.

You're great.

Good luck.

What's the date of your showing?