Gloves Improvisation, for Edge Zones, 9th Miami Performance Festival International 2020

Collaboration with Rachel Joy Weiss, musician and PhD Candidate University of Miami

Flattening the curve
On 23 March 2020 the UK Govt. announced a ‘national emergency’ in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to help the NHS cope with the growing number of people who would potentially require intensive care treatment, a policy of ‘social distancing’ was implemented informing people to stay at home with the aim that this would help ‘flatten the curve’ of the pandemic. For musicians, one of the consequences of enforced social distancing was the inability to rehearse, record or perform with anyone outside their home. Under these conditions, members of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra (GIO) began improvising using Zoom software as a means of maintaining their musical community. Musicians experiencing similar ‘lockdowns’ in other parts of the world were also invited to take part. Sessions were held for two hours twice weekly and developed to include an international group of over 70 musicians all of whom were living under conditions of social distancing.

The 9th Edition of Miami Performance Festival International ‘20” (M/P ’20) will take place through virtual live streaming @MiamiPerformanceInternational.Festiva and virtual platform this year. The live M/P’20 will take place on Miami Beach produced by Edge Zones and will be published in a digital performance platform and thus be connected to a non-local event field in real and virtual spaces. A three-day Streaming-Festival with a program consisting of live performances and the virtual space, as well as interviews and talks, will open the festival starting on September 1, 2020 culminating with a week of live streaming performances September 9-11, 2020 with a series of live and video curated performances with local Miami artists at Faena Forum, Miami Beach, FL locations each day from 9 P.M. to 10:00 PM .