Composer Aaron Edgcomb Shares About His Collaboration with Hannah Garner (2nd Best Dance Company) During His Residency

Starting in January 2022, choreographer Hannah Garner (2nd Best Dance Company) and composer Aaron Edgcomb were in residence at Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL) for the second installment of Redtail Artist Residencies. Aaron writes about his time at JCAL, his collaboration with Hannah, and their inspiration for a dance film they created during the residency.

From Aaron Edgcomb:

The combination of access to space and a defined work period are some of the most valuable things an artist residency provides. JCAL provided the space for this work to happen, and the Redtail Artist Residency provided the prerogative, and we are so thankful to them both. I met Hannah during a concert in 2018 in upstate NY - I was playing percussion in a piece, and Hannah had choreographed a different piece on the same program. That piece (entitled Sour) was hilarious and profound, and I was immediately drawn to the idea of a collaboration. So when we discovered this residency, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make something happen.

But then, of course: where to draw the inspiration, and what to do with the inspiration?

Hannah Garner, Courtney Ffrench (Artistic Director of JCAL) & Aaron Edgcomb in Studio B at JCAL

A lot of my compositional work is focused on little bizarre tidbits of history or etymology (which is the history of words always gratifyingly bizarre!) At the time, I had been thinking of where the word limn came from and did it have any tie to the word limb. And what is up with that strange combination of ‘m’ and ‘n’? And why is it such a meme in today's academic and art world? Hannah and I got together to discuss this residency opportunity and threw around a bunch of ideas, and this became one of the early bits of inspiration for the piece: it seemed to work with our goal of combining humor and sincerity with the general sense of uncertainty and searching brought about for many, and many artists, by COVID. So we ran with it. We came up with a bunch of historical uses of the word from various dictionaries and read some interesting articles (including one about the liminality of slumber party rituals) and used that to inspire ideas and poetry and eventually the music and movement. Hannah shares her thoughts at the beginning of our work and inspiration: 

When entering the studio to initially work on this piece (a new film addressing the unknown, thresholds, and in-between spaces), I was struck by the possibility of beginning something new. I was excited to work with Aaron on our first collaboration because it meant not starting from scratch. We had a synergistic relationship that allowed us to be in constant communication. Aaron would send me a voice memo of a new rhythmic pattern; I would send back a movement phrase. I would send some written words, and Aaron would respond with their own. This written penpal, dubbed our “libretto penpal,” became the basis for the lyrics used in the final music composition. It was exciting to layer our works together and see how they pushed different pieces forward, each step informed by the last. 

As far as the music is concerned - I am a percussionist, and I knew I wanted to use that sound pallet which I am familiar with, and also knew I wanted to highlight the text we were using as inspiration - so that meant vocalist(s). Community is a fundamental aspect of artistic creation, and when I knew vocalists were to be involved, I jumped at the opportunity to write for Chatterbox Trio, an amazing vocal trio who were also friends of mine.

Audio Track: Priya Carlberg, Isabel Crespo-Pardo, Jolee Gordon, Aaron Edgcomb

The text led to the structuring of the composition, sort of a painting of the words kind of approach, and because so many of the historical uses of the word limn referenced this ritual quality, there was this immediate gravity and sense of ceremony in the music. At the same time, the piece is more about the significance of transition, and so I tried to avoid being too directly liturgical with varying degrees of success. Ultimately the piece ended up existing in these little vignettes, some solo percussion, some solo voice, and some combinations thereof. 

After the Residency was up, we had most of a recording of a piece of music and most of the choreography to go with that music - we just needed to finalize the idea. From the beginning, we knew that this would likely end up as a video piece, and Hannah had some connections to a beautiful church nearby that evoked the ritualistic theme of the piece. We spent two intense days setting up and filming, and tearing down. The final stage is a new collaboration, the editing phase. We now invite our editor Colleen McLaughlin to add her understanding of the work to create. 

Follow Hannah on Instagram @2ndbestdance or visit 2ndbestdance.com and aaronedgcomb.com for more information and updates.

Untitled Dance Film: Dancers: Courtney Barth, Will Noling, and Ryan Yamauchi; Director of Photography: Alexa Carroll; Key grip/gaffer: Prannoy Jacob; First AC: Adam Roberts; Editor: Colleen McLaughlin

About The Artists:

Hannah Garner (she/her/hers), recently named ‘25 to Watch’ by Dance Magazine, is a NYC based dancer/choreographer making dance theatre work that “tackles topics like death and queer identity through rigorous, inventive movement and wit” (Dance Magazine). Having graduated SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance Performance and Composition, minor in Arts Management, and semester at the Beijing Dance Academy, Hannah has gone on to work with Doug Varone & Dancers, Raja Feather Kelly, Sue Bernhard, and Megan Williams, in venues such as The Joyce Theater, NY City Center, the Park Avenue Armory, and New York Live Arts. Her work as 2nd Best has been commissioned by GroundWorks DanceTheater, Gibney’s ‘dance-mobile’ series, Kizuna Dance, GALLIM x CreateArt, musical artists (Snail Mail, Frankie Cosmos, and Half Waif), Hartt School, and SUNY Purchase, among others. Hannah currently teaches at Gibney Dance Center.

Aaron Edgcomb (he/they) is a composer, drummer, and percussionist from Reno, NV, currently based in Brooklyn, NY whose work appears in such contexts as improvisational music, jazz, “new music”, noise, and song. Aaron has performed in and composed for the experimental rock band Clak; the solo percussion and electronics project REA; The Gown of Entry - an improvisational trio incorporating poetry; and the improvising hardcore trio Trigger. They have collaborated with artists including Ted Reichman, Chris Williams, John Zorn, Lisa Hoppe, Adam Dunson, Joanna Mattrey, and Anthony Coleman. Aaron has performed extensively around the world at venues kuje MoMA PS1, Roulette, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Sarajevo Jazz Festival, and the Jazz Em Agosto Festival in Lisbon – not to mention the invaluable living rooms, garages, basements, and DIY spaces that work so hard to keep creative music alive.