About this work:
Lucid dreaming is the state of being aware of the progress of a dream while asleep. At times of high lucidity, the dreamer can sometimes control the events of a dream or transform the dream environment. Lucid dreams often include some impossible or unusual occurrence such as flying, meeting the deceased, or having an unlikely erotic encounter. In many folk traditions lucid dreaming is a highly cultivated spiritual practice that allows the dreamer to gain knowledge through experiences in the dream realm.
Lucid Dreams is a multimedia journey along the fringe of human awareness. Music, movement, and images combine to explore archetypal forms underlying human relationships. Like different people dreaming the same dream, the music, dance, and film refer to each other while maintaining their own identities.
The choreography features two physical forms on stage that seem both real and yet somehow imaginary. At times, the dancers move with caution and trepidation while at others, they seem to defy gravity. As the work unfolds, the extraordinarily graceful and agile dancers slowly expose the unspoken desires and fears of their characters.
The landscape of the dancers' bodies creates a parallel world projected above the ensemble. The images, alternately translucent and shadowy; form a ghostly counterpoint to the dancers on stage. As the work progresses, the audience is presented with the question: Who is the dreamer? The dancers or the images? The singer or the disembodied voice?
Work on Lucid Dreams began by first developing the rhythmic material for the piece. This process included improvising on various instruments, as well as vocally, until a cohesive rhythmic language emerged. Only after a fully developed sense of the groove of the work emerged did the process of notation begin.
The organization of the work is based on strings of small rhythmic cells that combine to form larger structures. Meter changes, which are added later in the process, are the result of the sequencing of these smaller cells and are important only as a reference for rehearsal. The rhythmic material forms the foundation of the entire work, including lyrical sections where rhythmic organization is least evident.
Both the harmonic and melodic materials evolve from a collection of intervals organized in a quasimodal fashion. Harmonic motion is created primarily through voice leading. The score requires live sound processing and a computer that plays in synch with the ensemble for additional sound design. All the parts are completely notated with the exception of the bass, saxophones, and vocals, which require some improvisation.