s w i f t s  &  s l o w s: a quarterly of crisscrossings

Waiting 
Cristiano Bocci & Daniel Barbiero

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Cristiano Bocci, Metro

Cristiano Bocci, Sinsations

Cristiano Bocci, Ft. Collins

Waiting as Action & Availability

One is waiting for someone or something. There is nothing to be done until X shows up or Y takes place. A state of suspended activity or forced inactivity that—ironically–is itself an activity. (Thus, “to wait” being a verb and belonging to a class of words describing actions.) And thus the paradox of waiting: It’s an activity that involves no activity. In waiting, one does something by (apparently) doing nothing. One has to occupy oneself by being unoccupied.

There’s a natural relationship between waiting and boredom, waiting and impatience. Impatience that the awaited person should arrive or event should be realized in order that one can get on with one’s life. Boredom until that happens.

At the same time, waiting entails a state of availability, of being open to whatever it is we are expecting. (Expectation is a variety of availability—availability in one of its more acute modes.) The tension built into waiting is the tension of anticipation or, put another way, the other side of impatience. One is impatient to the extent that one expects something and wishes to surmount whatever it is—in this case, time—that separates one from what is expected.

From “Notes on Waiting” written as background for a dance piece choreographed by Sandra Roachford and presented at Dance Place in September of 2018.

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Daniel Barbiero is an improvising double bassist who composes graphic scores and writes on music, art and related subjects. He is a regular contributor to Avant Music News and Perfect Sound Forever. His most recent release is Transparent Points on Four Axes, with Ken Moore and Dave Vosh.

In addition to pursuing photography, Cristiano Bocci plays electric and acoustic basses and theremin, and provides sound synthesis and live electronics. He collaborates on theater/dance and visual arts projects, and holds seminars on sound synthesis and its applications to improvisation in various music schools.