Intimate Encounters; Staging Intimacy and Sensuality

This text is a partial record of the conception and development of Reflections of Red in a Mirror of Desire that opened on February 20th 2006 for a three day run ending on February 22nd. The majority of the text is focused on the events and research that provided the concept for the show. Some of the research includes influential choreographers and companies such as Pina Bausch, Graziela Daniele, Moses Pendleton, Pilobolus, Momix, Julie Tayrnor, and Merce Cunningham. Included in the analysis of this event are the experiences and lessons that came about during the process of directing Reflections of Red in a Mirror of desire. The result of this evaluation is the creation of an approach to choreographing and directing sexual or intimate scenes for the stage. Further reflections on directing, choreographing, collaboration, creative process, and aesthetics serve as the culmination of lessons inherent in both the creation of the production and the author\u27s three years of study at the Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre Pedagogy Program with an emphasis in Movement and Choreography