Goode earned a B.F.A. in drama from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1973 and subsequently moved to New York City to become an actor, director, and choreographer. In New York he studied dance with Merce Cunningham and Viola Farber before relocating to the Bay Area in 1979, where he danced with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company for four years.
The Joe Goode Performance Group was formed in 1986 under the artistic direction and choreography of Mr. Goode himself. Joe's unique approach of combining movement with song, poetry and visual imagery have earned him numerous awards and fellowships including The American Council on the Arts, the New York Dance and Performance Award(Bessies), The Isadora Duncan Dance Award, John Simon Guggenheim and the United States Artists Glover Fellowship.
I want to make “human scale” dances. By human in scale, I mean placing the emphasis on the unglamorized body, the body in more intimate moments, when it is fallible or agitated or inept. My intent is not to create merely pedestrian movement, but to make dynamic movement that is a combination of gesture and partnering. The challenge is to find the velocity and force in the movement and yet still retain its intimate, conversational quality. My interest in “human scale” extends beyond an interest in an expanded movement vocabulary, however. I am equally interested in the texture of the human voice and the effect it has on movement. Since my early days as a choreographer, I have been trying to forge some territory where dance and language/sound could co-exist.
I want each dance to be a “telling”; telling with the body (where have I been? where does my longing reside?), and telling with the voice (this is how I see the world). Far from being contradictory, I see these two ways of telling as innately linked. I want to liberate the dancer from his/her silence and create a total theater that is rigorously crafted but intimately personal.
-Joe
I had never heard of Joe Goode before hearing you mention him in class. I enjoyed the video clip here, especially the part with the puppet. It was humorous, yet it seemed to have a deeper meaning connected with the way the puppet was being manipulated to match the movements of the dancer. I like his concept of "human scale" and I'd be interested to see more of his work! Thanks for sharing and I'm excited to see what is next!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelly because I had never heard about Joe Goode either. He has an excellent use of partnering in his work which is important as a modern choreographer. I thought the puppet part was one of the most creative choreographic choices! It was something so minute, but at the same time it made me smile, kind of laugh, and drew me into the piece even further. I am interested to learn more about where he comes from. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI noticed how Goode makes a reference to creating an experience of "total theater", and after I have been researching Lester Horton and realizing that this was an important aspect of his artistic life as well, I am wondering if their products are in any way similar. Horton was obviously in an earlier time than Goode, but it seems like they were both working toward the same goal.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of "human scale" dances. The idea that dance can be about technique and emotion. Using the spectacle of dance technique in the right ways creates the emotional relationships where the viewer can connect with the performance. I really enjoy the way he thinks about and approaches dance choreography.
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