Founded by Karen Klein, teXtmoVes works in the interdisciplinary intersection between spoken word and movement, poetry and dance, experimentally exploring their boundaries and connections. It is the goal of this collective to bring intergenerational performance works which integrate dance and poetry to diverse audiences.
teXtmoVes does not simply have a poet recite and dancers move, but explores multiple innovative ways to integrate words/meaning/movement. Words are not literally translated into movement, making dance illustrate words, a practice which has a rich history in dance and choreography. Instead, our work interrogates the relationship between the two modes more deeply and complexly through choreographic and vocal practices. For example, dance movements take their own shapes while the roles of poet and dancers are fully integrated; the dancers are involved in speaking and the poet is one of the movers. Unlike spontaneous or improvised spoken word, the integrity of the poem is respected; its stanzaic trajectory underlies the narrative of movement. Repetition, a technique common in both poetry and dance, is used as speakers repeat words or phrases to emphasize their meaning and to guide audience comprehension. Repetition with variation in the dancers’ movements unites with verbal repetitions to form patterns of cohesion. Unless specified, there is no music. The voiced poem and its rhythm constitute the music. The poem is the score. Musicians, however, while playing their instrument, may join the dancers/speakers and move with them. Our performances are geared to audiences who come to both poetry readings and dance concerts and who appreciate the challenge of innovative presentations and creative interdisciplinary work in art forms.