In the Rhythm Section I wrote this month about the blessedness of homelessness (not, of course, minimizing the hardship of literal homelessness). In writing this, I began to consider my time as a dancer in Germany. I was happy "keeping busy" artistically while in Germany, but after pondering more deeply the idea of "artistic homelessness," I feel even more thankful for my time there. As a dance teacher and choreographer working traditionally, I am so dependent on outside resources. To teach and choreograph as I normally have done, I need students, space, dancers, costumes, lighting designers, etc. etc. I've always envied Scott in that he is never dependent on anything or anyone but himself for his productivity, though he would quickly point out the shortcomings of this approach.
Now I see that I experienced a kind of artistic homelessness. Scott and I knew pretty quickly that we would not be in Germany long-term, so the thought of trying to get started as I normally would have never even occurred to me. The totality of the change of "context" for me gave me the opportunity to flush out/ process many ideas that I've actually had for a long, long time. Before moving to Germany, I kept busy doing what I was comfortable with and never worked out my frustrations and dilemmas with the concert/ institutional dance
world.
world.
I feel miles away from that world now. And, since I've realized the benefit of this homelessness I want to remain slow to re-imagine the future. Since I see our artistic futures dependent upon a collaborative company of artists, the future is even more unpredictable. I only scraped the surface of what I was thinking and reading about; I just hope that I can continue to press deeper. I'm excited and ready to get working again - without a roof over my head.
- Alicia Laumann
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