This week, Yvonne Chartrand is in the studio with company dancers Eloi Homier and Julia Carr. Yvonne is joined by Davida Monk, of Calgary's Dancers' Studio West and M-Body, who is there to facilitate the research phase of a new creation. This is the first phase toward a new contemporary dance piece, tentatively titled Eagle Dancer.

What do Davida Monk and Yvonne Chartrand have in common?

YC: We both have a love of asking questions, especially during the choreographic process. And my favorite question is: "Davida, what do I do now?"

DM: First you have to ask what you saw and what interested you. You need to practice developing a way of mining your own responses that are in fact the source of your aesthetic preferences. For example, can you name three things that you would like to dig into?  

YC: Do you mean responding quickly, trusting in your own vision and your own voice?

DM: Exactly, don't second-guess yourself. Try to get to the point as directly as possible. Take a risk to commit to what you think it should be.

Read on for more information about the creative process (written by Davida Monk)...