Where did this idea start? I think as public pools were deciding whether to open or not, I felt sadness for the many children and adults who needed, depended on, or just loved going to the pool to cool off, socialize, and get exercise. The idea of a "water ballet" popped in my head (this is the older term for synchronized swimming, now an Olympic sport) and I envisioned a backyard "pool" where I could dance/swim drawing on my years of ballet training and swimming. I began to gather a costume somewhere between a ballerina, Olympic competitor, vaudevillian, and diva. At each step I had to fight my inner editor that questioned my sanity thinking all this was just silly. Going off the deep end?
I pulled out a tub I had used in The Linen Closet, and painted it swimming pool, Hockney-esque colors, rigged an even older costume from a 1980's solo called Gigi, found the swim cap, bought the tubes and ball and found the Scriabin music (with rights). It slowly came together as I crafted precise but flamboyant movement, and sought to hit the right tone of utter commitment to the moment I was in and to the music's romantic arc, and create a steady accrual of absurdity - as is life in a pandemic within a social revolution. Throwing us into the deep end?
Researching David Hockney's swimming pool paintings, and researching the history of swimming pools revealed additional layers of Americana and gender, class, and race lines in and around swimming pools: who is let in, who is kept out, where they're private, where they're public. While obviously this piece has humor, it feels connected to more profound connotations, so my earnest delivery of the over-the-top choreography in a tiny tub reflects my devotion to having courage, and to do labor, and it teaches me (you?) something about not being afraid to act. Jump into the deep end?
Lastly, a note on technicalities: My son William helped with the props and he helped me with just the right tosses and timings. After many tries, the camera ended up on a tripod, aimed at a receding corner of our garden, atop a table, so that we could capture more of the inside of the tub. My blue-tooth earbuds are under the cap so I could dance to the music, but the camera could catch the natural sounds and we could layer the music track in the editing. Climbing into the tub with the tutu at the finish was the first and only time I did it - previous rehearsals in the water I had only imagined something like it.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/435588066
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