Dance Choreography

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Summer teaching

It has been a while since my last post. Back home, and I am teaching at Brookside again. Each class has been good, although I am nervous for hip hop. The age range is huge in that class. But I am reminded how much I like teaching. It will be a good summer I think. I have to decide if I want to teach any of the classes a short combo to show their parents. I can ask Brianna, but is it even feasible since we have 2 short sessions rather than 1 long session?

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Tumblr Reflections

Compared to my previous comp classes and the journals I was required to write, I have enjoyed using Tumblr much more. It has been a very useful place to upload videos of my work. I know that it is all in one place. Having an account specifically set aside for choreography keeps this space uncluttered from the other parts of my life. Since it is online, I can access it anywhere through any internet-capable device. I have enjoyed being able to include videos and music clips, leaving ideas for future inspiration here. Being able to find my old videos here to recreate dances for the concert has been a great help. This became a much more dynamic tool than a notebook. I still anticipate using paper a lot for writing out actual dances, but this account is so helpful for brainstorming as well as evaluation. Even though the semester has come to an end, I plan to actively use this blog in the future. I will keep it private, so that I know it is a safe creative space. I am excited to see what it will look like after say, five years. What new works will be here? Will my choreography have changed in style? Ready to find out

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Frankenstein Insight (The Royal Ballet)

Join choreographer Liam Scarlett in the rehearsal studio just weeks before the world premiere of his latest ballet, Frankenstein. Featuring rehearsals and in...

I have a small obsession for the Royal Ballet. Watching their rehearsal videos is a huge inspiration for me as a dancer and a choreographer. Liam Scarlett has become a high-demand choreographer for ballet companies over the last 5 or so years. Watching him rehearse in this video, I am impressed with how well he communicates with his dancers. By demonstration and words, he is able to pull the emotions and energy he wants from them. I think this is an important reminder of how essential it is to take time to discuss intent and meaning of a piece with the dancers. They need to have a clear understanding of the choreographer’s vision in order to be successful. Scarlett does a great job sharing his vision.

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The most essential thing in dance discipline is devotion, the steadfast and willing devotion to the labor that makes the classwork not a gymnastic hour and a half, or at the lowest level, a daily drudgery, but a devotion that allows the classroom discipline to become moments of dancing too...

Merce Cunningham

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Remembrences

Watching DK’s broadcast of Remembrances on tv tonight. It is about the Holocaust, and it was choreoraphed by a Jewish guest choreographer. I am really impressed because even though he is a guest with the company, he used Graham, the company’s main technique. 

I thought the pacing was very successful. No portion of the Holocaust was dwelt on for long, but neither was any part ignored. Although the story was being told through dance, pedestrian movement was used when it would be most effective. When the jews were being shot, they did not do a dramatic port de bras and slide to the floor. they just jerked and fell. The train car scene was also very moving, as dancers would collapse from exhaustion into each other.

This was a successful piece of choreography. I was moved by it, saddened, pained. 

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Teacher influences

Yesterday I took class with Gregory Hancock and his company. We learned three pieces of repertoire. I have already had class with Professor Thacker, who used to dance with Mr. Hancock. I noticed how similar their styles are. Both use ballet to influence their modern dance. They both use pitches, spirals, and lots of jumps and attitude positions. It is safe to say that Mr. Hancock influenced Professor Thacker in her choreography. If I go back and look at my last works, would I notice similarities to styles from my other teachers?

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Rain Chance Dance

I am currently working on my presentation for my senior project in which I created a dance using chance. I collaborated with a composer. we each took the same theme and time length, but otherwise we did not consult each other in our work. we wanted the music and dance to exist in the same space but not neccessarily directly relate. 

As I look back at the dance and music, I realize how incredible it is that I have an original piece of music created just to be played with my dance. Talk abotu spoiled! I might never have this opportunity again, but i am extremely thankful that it happened once. To Andy, it was a pleasure working with you. 

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Final spring into dance performance. Senior year is coming to an end

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Reduction Feedback

Downstage pathway was powerful. Since my requirement was to only use linear pathways, and since in the last study my audience mentioned how nice it would have been if I had started the piece traveling toward them, this seemed a good time to test it out. I was worried the movement would become 2-dimensional, however the corner facings and turns I added seemed to prevent that from happening.

With the downstage path and such direct connection to the audience, performance qualities need to be strong. This is an area I will work on for the concert.

I received good feedback on tempo changes again. Pacing of a piece and dynamics are areas that I really feel I have grown in this semester.

Because I had little horizontal movement, there was a lot of empty side space. Do I want to fill it out more? WIll that take away at all from the downstage path? I am not sure yet what I want to do about that.

Overall, I am very pleased with this study. I think the picture i began with, plus the music and directions made me break away from my technical tendencies. I enjoyed the mystery and rawness of what I created. That the audience did as well is a valuable confidence boost. 

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Core of Reduction Study

The core of my previous study was wildness. I really wanted the audience to sense the untamed and non-human in the piece. As i focus on this idea for the reduction study, here are some synonyms i have found for wild: untamed, feral, uncivilized, primitive, rowdy, disorderly, savage, barbaric and unrestrained. Looking at these words, I am drawn to the words “primitive” “savage” “untamed” and “unrestrained.” I plan to focus on these ideas, the animalistic and freedom of the wild. 

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Call From the Wild feedback

Opening was interpreted by sarah as searching or listening for something. My idea behind the movement was to hear a call, so that was successful. 

The dynamic changes of sustained balances and jumps were effactive and well used.

Soundscape became white noise after awhile. It did not take away, but it did not really enhance either. However, all said it made them place the piece immediately in the forest, and it made some see me as an animal. I think the sounds were useful them to help me create my setting, in the forest, in the dark, becoming part of Nature. I would like to have added some drums or maybe even just chanting in, to give the sound some rise and fall of its own.

The diagonal line was very strong. Perhaps it would have been more powerful if i had traveled downstage towards the audience? Leaving the diagonal, I lost some of my power to the audience, and they wanted me to stick with it longer. Thinking about spacial patterns in general, I know that circles are typically a more ancient pattern. Since I was trying to convey the idea of becoming more wild and primitive, I think i would try to make the dance more circular. If the whole piece traveled in a circle, would it have added to the atmosphere?

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Working on my piece this morning in a new location. I chose this room bc it has lots of space and windows. I am trying to get my wild side out!

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Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call, mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, and to plunge into the forest, and on and on, he knew not where or why; nor did he wonder where or why, the call sounding imperiously, deep in the forest.”

Jack London, Call of the Wild

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Saw the show on Thursday. My favorite number was Sieze the Day. The Newsies all danced on the sheets of newspaper. They slid on them, pivoted, and even switched who was standing on which sheet. It was a clever take on a prop which some might only dance with in their hand. Not only was it creative, it helped carry the storyline. The boys were stomping on the paper and telling the wealthy newspaper owner that he could not step on them. Successful choreography.

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Rotation feedback

Climbing on counter, and going behind counter were effective. Good choice of beginning, smooth, clear connection to title. Timing worked well. Maybe stay longer close to audience. That would have been a good opportunity to break the fourth wall. I could have exited through the door. Consider using sound scapes, like a washer. If I did this piece again, I would do it at a time the laundry room was in use. Standing on the island - some said this broke the theme of rotation. I really enjoyed the change in height, so this is hard for me to let go. Mikayla also said the jumps back on the counter did not work. Watching the video, I agree with her; it broke the travel pattern I was building. On next study, spend more time investigating. This study worked very well, but didn't quite reach its full potential.