In late October, TU Dance and Bon Iver spent a weekend in residence at April Base Studios to begin work on their spring 2018 Liquid Music world premiere. We asked Elayna Waxse of TU Dance to reflect on the excitement, challenges, and "buzzing" creativity involved in early project development.

How did you come to be part of this project?

I first officially met Toni and Uri [Artistic Directors of TU Dance] in 2011, and was invited to join the company in 2012. Being involved in this project is one of many perks of my job.

What excites/intrigues/challenges you in creating with Bon Iver (and performing live with the ensemble)?

I’ve already experienced the power of Uri Sands’ choreography when he is working with just the dancers, and I’ve experienced the power of Bon Iver’s music. Now I’m excited to see what happens when these powers combine.

Have you done anything similar to this before?

I’ve been involved in several projects that utilize original musical compositions, but none quite as collaborative as this one. In the past it's been more remote, with musicians and dancers creating their work separately, and collaborating to make the two independent works merge into one cohesive unit. It’s been straight up magical to witness both the dance and music taking shape at the same time and in the same space.

Tell us about the first residency weekend with Bon Iver at April Base in October. What was your method for collaboration?

The first word that comes to mind is surreal. It felt like the room was literally buzzing with the amount of creative energy being cultivated. We came with some raw movement material, but mostly worked with ideas generated in the moment in response to the music. Customarily dancers respond to the music with movement, so it was pretty electrifying to realize that at times the reverse was happening and the music was responding to our movements.

Do you have any insights, inspirations or curiosities as you observe the musicians’ process?

It’s really inspiring to see the musicians bring their individual artistry and brilliance to the group, while also feeding off one another as they create new material. One of the things I love about working with TU Dance is that everyone brings 100% of their commitment, intensity, drive, and creativity to the work. I sense the same from the musicians. I can’t wait to see what the combination of these two groups produces.

Finally, on a more personal note, why is this project important to you?

I believe live music drastically alters the space in which dance exists, and maybe the opposite can occur as well? I think it’s important to explore the connection.

Elayna Waxse is a Twin Cities-based dancer, choreographer, teacher and member of TU Dance. She's performed locally with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project and Live Action Set, and internationally with Cie. Ismael Ivo e Grupo Biblioteca do Corpo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival 2014 and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Waxse also creates her own choreographic work, which has been presented by Minnesota Dance Theatre, Zenon Dance Zone, Bryant Lake Bowl 9x22, Detroit Dance Race, Public Functionary, and Future Interstates.

Waxse will perform with TU Dance in collaboration with Bon Iver at the Palace Theater, commissioned by Liquid Music, on April 19, 20, and 21, 2018. Tickets are currently SOLD OUT. Follow Waxse and TU Dance to keep an eye out for additional local performances in the future:

Follow Elayna Waxse:
Website: https://www.elaynawaxse.com
Twitter: @ewaxse

Follow TU Dance:
Website: http://www.tudance.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TU.Dance.MN/
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/tudance

Follow Liquid Music for updates and announcements:
Twitter: @LiquidMusicSPCO (twitter.com/LiquidMusicSPCO)
Instagram: @LiquidMusicSeries (instagram.com/liquidmusicseries)
Facebook: facebook.com/SPCOLiquidMusic

In late October, local powerhouses TU Dance and Bon Iver met up for a weekend-long residency at April Base Studios just outside of Eau Claire to begin work on their spring premiere for Liquid Music. We spoke with JT Bates, a Saint Paul-based drummer, curator, and producer who will be featured as one of the band members on the project.

By Katie Hare
All photos: Graham Tolbert

For decades, drummer JT Bates has been involved in a wide array of musical things. As an artist, he has dabbled in many genres and worked closely with a variety of musicians. He has toured with fellow improvisers Tony Malaby, Anthony Cox, John Medesk, and Craig Taborn; and has played alongside some of his personal favorite singer/songwriters Pieta Brown, Phil Cook, Erik Koskinen, Dead Man Winter, and the Pines. For 20 years, Bates’ well-loved modern jazz/avant garde series “Jazz Implosion” has maintained a strong identity as a significant staple of the Twin Cities music and jazz scene. He is a recipient of American Composer Forum’s “MECA” grant, with which he made his first solo recording, Open Relationships, in 2015. Bates is also a lifelong member of two bands: Fat Kid Wednesdays, a jazz trio featuring Adam Linz and Michael Lewis, and rock 'n roll outfit Alpha Consumer featuring Jeremy Ylvisaker and Michael Lewis. Currently he is working on two records – one for Michael Rossetto and David Huckfelt, and another with the Bates/Cox/Malaby trio and his latest group Grain, a Hammond B3 organ trio.

Eagerly awaiting his performance with TU Dance and Bon Iver next Spring (April 19-21) at the Palace Theater in Saint Paul, we asked Bates to tell us a bit about the project's creative process thus far. Here, he discusses what he experienced within the first residency at April Base and reflects on the challenges, curiosities, and motivations of collaboration.

Initially, how did you become a part of this collaboratative project?
Justin [Vernon] asked me if I was up for being in the band. The answer was "yes".

In creating new music and performing with Bon Iver/TU Dance, what excites, intrigues, or challenges you?
Improvising is definitely a home base for me, so creating new music and collaborating is something I always look forward to. It's fascinating to watch the different combinations of mediums and people and what comes of them. This, of course, can also be a challenge. Collaboration doesn't always fall into place right away – people have to learn each others' processes. Creating in groups is such a growing experience. Putting up what you might consider to be some of your best ideas and having them fall to wayside can be difficult, but learning to rise through those frustrations is ultimately a beautiful lesson in understanding that a collaboration is about creating something larger than any one of us could on our own.

Have you worked with dancers or dance companies before?
I have been involved in a fair amount of dance projects, and in different capacities, as both composer and performer. I was involved in a great collaboration in 2015 called Stripe Tease through the Walker Art Center (and toured multiple other cities) with choreographer Chris Schlichting and composer Jeremy Ylvisaker. Initially for that project, we did some days of improvising, but in different areas of the building as Chris wanted to have the sounds and movements not necessarily dictated by one another. Chris and Jeremy then took audio and video recordings and began to find combinations that they liked and, after that, brought myself and Michael Lewis back in to develop and rehearse those ideas. That was an interesting way to see what stuck from what we had worked on initially, and how those things had grown/morphed into their own. I have also worked with Zenon Dance Company on a few different pieces, including Luciana Achugar's "Molten Substances."

Tell us about the residency weekend at April Base in October. What was your method for collaboration?
I just tried to be open to the sights and sounds around me. Specifically as an instrumentalist, I brought a variety of gear along – I didn't really know what the palette would be. I started with a rather traditional drum set and eventually added more electronic percussion in as it seemed to be leaning in that direction. Conversely, the third day, we ended up in a very beautiful, quieter vibe with voice, guitar, brushes and saxophone. Not sure how much of all of that will remain in the final piece, but this is exactly the unknown map that I love to follow on these initial days of creating.

What are your hopes for the project as it continues to move forward?
I hope that the collaboration continues to grow more and more into it's own. That we all can find something new together, as well as for ourselves. Something we can feel proud of as a group, and something that we can take away with us to other things we are involved in. And that the audience might see or hear something unexpected or new to them – that they might feel something different or maybe think about something in their own life a little differently. I guess that's my hope with most art.

On a more personal note, why is this project important to you?
Three things:
- I finally get to be a part of Liquid Music!
- I get to play some shows at the Palace Theater.
- Justin got BJ Burton to play some shows, and I get to play those shows too.

Bates will perform with Bon Iver in collaboration with TU Dance at the Palace Theater, commissioned by Liquid Music, on April 19, 20, and 21, 2018. Tickets are currently SOLD OUT, but it's hard to miss Bates considering his active involvement in the Twin Cities music scene...

Follow JT Bates for updates and event listings:
Website: http://www.jtbatesdrums.com/
Instagram: @floortomhanks
Twitter: @jt_bates

Liquid Music

Interview: Elayna Waxse on Collaboration / December 12, 2017 by Liquid Music

JT Bates on Collaboration / December 8, 2017 by Liquid Music

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