14/09/17
Our goal is to create an ensemble dance/physical theatre piece for a performance in November. This piece takes inspiration from Motionhouse’s 'perfect', it has a stimulus of time and explores the ideas of "waiting, nurturing and growing" and touches upon feelings of being out of control- as if being manipulated by unseen hands as well as the idea of our individual perceptions of time. We then mind-mapped what we felt "Time" meant to us or what time itself is/ what it represents, some ideas included: that time is a social construct that we all conform to- this could be shown though unison; the stages of life e.g. both as a child and an elderly person we require looking after- this could be shown through a cyclical/rondo structure; personal development - this could be shown through a simple motif being repeated multiple times, with each repetition more complex than the previous.
In groups we began a devising task around the theme of time and waiting, my immediate thought was to do something similar to/inspired by Frantic Assembly's 'chair duets’. I took lead of my group and suggested that we create one section of material that we repeat three times (to show time passing) but in different roles. It begins with Person 1 sitting down, then Person 2 sitting next to them before Person 1 switches chairs, Person 3 then walks in and sits down without facing the others, before Person 4 takes Person 1’s original chair and drags it backwards in the space before sitting down. As we improvised material I noticed that we were all on the same level, which didn’t look very visually interesting, so at the point when Person 2 walks forward, I stood on my chair while one of my peers leaned forward and the other sat on the floor. I think this was effective because the rest of the material is performed on the same level, and changing levels at this point created more visual interest. I found working with this group quite difficult initially, as they didn’t understand my idea- which is understandable as my ideas are usually quite complex- but I found this a little bit frustrating because I felt like I wasn’t communicating with them very well, but I was stuck in the position of being the person who was naturally leading the group as no other ideas had been put forward. After rehearsing the material multiple times I felt that the others had grasped the concept of my idea and that we were working better as a team, considering the short amount of time we had, I think what we created successfully showed the passing of time and the nervous/impatient habits we perform when waiting and that the concept could look highly effective if it were refined and rehearsed.
21/09/17
In this lesson we focused on travelling and methods of getting into and out of the floor, to apply to our idea of being manipulated by the unseen hands of time. In groups we created a travelling phrase initiated by action words such as: suspend, run, roll, fling and twist. However, the phase my group initially created was in complete unison and used a very simple linear pathway. We then developed this through the use of canon, contact work and additive. The use of canon effectively showed that everyone has a different perception of time which impacts each of us differently, but the use of contact work successfully conveys how time forces us to unify and conform at certain times. Additionally, by adding the 'suspension, run and using the floor' exercise, my group effectively created more interesting individual pathways. Again showing that the unseen hands of time impact everyone differently. Personally, I think I effectively conveyed the idea of being manipulated through my use of suspension into sudden drops and rolls and shifting my weight as if being pushed about by an unseen entity. Also, I feel that I worked well with my peers in creating this phrase as I taught one of them how to do a fish roll, which she wasn't able to do before, as well as making sure that I went through each movement she found difficult to understand, to help to build her confidence. In the future, I need to try to be more original with my movement content as I am currently only sticking to what I know and am comfortable with rather than pushing boundaries to create new and innovative movement. I also need to overcome my fear of being overpowering or taking too much of a lead in group tasks, and accept that I naturally fall into the role of leading due to the fact that I have a larger dance experience in comparison to my peers.
28/09/17
In groups we focused on a devising task which involved each of us creating three moves beginning with an impulse from one body part as if being picked out by an unseen hand (inspired by Motionhouse's 'Perfect') I focused on thinking outside of the obvious in order to create original movement, for example rather than dropping forward into a lunge lead by an impulse from my wrists, I pushed out of my comfort zone and dropped down into a plank after suspending my weight forward. With my second move I chose to make the impulse start at my foot and extend upwards in order to effectively create a clear range of levels and my third movement clearly showed this again as I dropped into a lunge forward, giving my movements three different levels. To develop my simple lunge forward, I changed the pathway of my right arm from straight forward to an 's' shape, finishing with my head and torso facing down and my arm reaching behind me towards the ceiling. I think this creates a more violent look to the movement, as the impulse forces my torso to twist both ways before I drop forward, enforcing the idea that I'm being manipulated by unseen hands. To improve I need to continue to focus on creating new and innovative movement and pushing outside of my comfort zone. Because we were given a sheet for the task that provided clear detail and structure, I didn't feel a need to lead the group as no significant ideas needed to be put forward in order to complete the task. However, I feel that we worked well as a cohesive team as we kept good timing with each other as well as showing clear differentiation between levels as well as all of us focusing on making sure that it was obvious to the audience as to which body part was being 'pulled'.
05/10/17
We began this lesson with a technical phrase focusing on using the arms and spine, I think that my timing was good throughout this phrase as the whole thing was in even 4 counts therefore making it simple to remain in time. I also think that my arm placement was decent as I particularly focused on extending my arms fully and creating a clear curve shape when I contracted as well as showing a clear dynamic change when I dropped my arms suddenly showing a contrast to the controlled arm placement throughout the phrase. To improve my performance of this technical exercise I need to focus on not embellishing movements unnecessarily, for example I over embellished the lunges into pliés, which in effect meant that the purpose of the phrase was lost as I wasn't twisting through my spine to shift my weight. Additionally, I needed to keep my feet on the floor as lifting them off after shifting my weight also resulted in the twist of the spine being lost as I was turning in my leg causing the twist to come from my hips. The second exercise we did was a jumpy travelling phrase from the corner, I'm very confident with the timings of this phrase as I have now done it multiple times in both my A-level Dance and RSL classes. However, I think I could work on improving the height of my jumps by plié-ing into the floor more as well as making sure I work through my feet properly. After this, myself and three others learnt a floor phrase focused on panic and restriction. Personally I think that I picked up this choreography very quickly and found the movements quite easy as they felt very natural to perform as one of my main strengths in dance is floor work, this therefore meant that I was quite confident with the phrase resulting in my timing being strong. In order to improve my performance of this phrase I would need to rehearse and refine it to ensure that all the details are clear and that I am extending movements to their fullest extent. We then learnt Olivia's solo motif, I also picked up this phrase very quickly and found the movements quite easy as none of them were unfamiliar to me, this therefore meant that I was able to clearly show the change in dynamic between the fluid rolls and round de jambe and the sharp contraction up from the ground and the sudden wrist grab. To improve my performance of this motif I need to ensure that I plié into the first turn as well as focusing on keeping my leg on the floor as I have a habit of instinctively pulling it up into retiré, to make sure that I remain unified with the rest of the group. Additionally, I need to make sure that I don't rush into things (such as the contraction up from the floor) through over confidence as this affects the unison of the group, I can ensure that I am unified by sensing the energy of the others around me to know when to contract up. I feel that I worked well with others in this lesson, especially the three that I learnt the floor phrase with. As I was very confident with the timings and movement content of the phrase, I made sure to break things down slowly for them to ensure that we were in unison and that we were all confident in the timings and details.
12/10/17
In this lesson we began to structure our ensemble performance piece from motifs we've created in previous lessons. Personally, I think that I picked up the order and timings quite well in a short amount of time and therefore was I able to focus on making specific details of the movements clear. This also allowed me to think about how I could develop things to challenge myself , for example I took the initiative to change my travel across the space from a simple turn and dive roll to a moment of suspension as I run backwards before melting into the floor and fish rolling split legs. This change both challenged me to do a more complex movement sequence and also looks as if I'm being 'pushed by the unseen had of time' effectively showing the theme of our piece. Next lesson, I need to work with the original three who perform the floor phrase as we need to correct our spacing after the slide forward as Charlotte and Harriet needsto clearly be in front of Laura and I- This could be rectified by Charlotte and Harriet aiming to slide further or by Laura and I starting the slide slightly further back in the space, so that we don't travel as far. I think that I worked particularly well with Charlotte in this lesson as we had to create a short duet for the beginning of the piece, as we communicated well we were able to create an effective phrase that used counter-balance to show the way time pushes and pulls us around. Initially we found this task quite difficult as we were confined only to our kinespheres and had to finish the phrase facing the audience in order to start the next motif, however when I suggested that we should remain linked throughout the phrase this made the task slightly simpler as we had already made contact when I stop her running, this effectively led into a counter-balance lean away from each other (supporting each other by the wrists) which we agreed had to then be followed by a turn as we both needed to face the front however this led me to having a twisted arm and the two of us needing to split to start the next motif. To resolve this I suggested that we should both circle our left arms backwards while bending the right knee to drop our weight forward before rolling up to a neutral parallel position.
19/10/17
We began this lesson with a swing exercise that focused on use of extension, parallel, use of weight, suspension and second position, my peer feedback to improve my performance of this exercise was to focus on always coming back to parallel as I have a tendency to turn out my feet. After this, we then continued to structure our ensemble performance piece through a creative task, this was to create a solo, that was a minimum length of 4x8, by developing all of the material we have created so far. I decided to begin facing a diagonal to create a contrast to most of the other motifs which start with a dominant front facing. I created the majority of my solo through fragmentation; by putting together singular movements from each of the motifs we had created so far, effectively creating a completely different phrase with contrasting facings and levels. However, I developed the 's' shape arm movement (from our trio travel phrase 28/09/17) through instrumentation, to be accompanied by my right leg following the same pathway to an arabesque then lunge. I think this creates an effective change in dynamic and also helps to convey the idea that I am being pulled by the 'unseen hand of time'. I also developed this motif through additive to successfully create a smooth transition between floor work and a standing movement, and I further developed this motif through embellishment as I developed the first turn of Olivia's phrase to have tilted spine and placement of the left arm. Next lesson I personally need to work on refining the reverse of my solo motif to match the dynamics, particularly in the roll, to ensure that I make it appear effortless in reverse even though it is slightly harder- I can do this by focusing on my preparation into the roll and also by checking my alignment in the mirror to make sure it looks as neat in reverse as it does normally. I also need to continue to focus on challenging myself to create new and innovative movement and pushing outside of my comfort zone- I can achieve this by developing movements that I frequently do either through embellishment, inversion or retrograde to create more challenging movement content. I feel that I worked well with others in this lesson as I taught Jamie and Amy mine and Charlotte's duet and adapted it to suit their spacing, I think that I lead them effectively as I broke down each movement for them as well as clearly demonstrating with charlotte how each of the movements should look. |I also worked well as team with Dom when recapping our group travel phrase we created 28/09/17, as we both communicated well with each other, we were able to recap the phrase very quickly.
02/11/17
The focus of today's lesson was finishing structuring the piece. This meant recapping and adding our solos onto the end. Personally, I didn't feel I needed the amount of time that was given to recap my solo as I was confident I knew it well. This extra time therefore allowed me to work on separate task- retrograding the original motif to create a solo for the ending- subsequently creating a cyclical structure. I found this task easy to accomplish as I am confident in using retrograde to develop motifs as it is one I have used frequently in GCSE and A-Level dance. However, I need to focus on the dynamic quality of this phrase and making sure that I don't rush through the movements. I should be able to achieve this by rehearsing and refining the movements so that I am completely confident with this phrase.
In this lesson, I think that one of my strengths was being confident in my knowledge of the movement material, this allowed my to ensure that all of my transitions were clean and seamless and also gave me a chance to add moments of dynamic change. For example, in my solo I developed the suspend backwards into fish roll, wrist grab into 'upside down V' from continuous and flowing, to the wrist grab being sharp and the 'upside down V' having a sudden pause in the middle of it to create dynamic contrast throughout this motif.
Ithink I worked well with others when retrograding original duet with charlotte, I took lead in this task as I am confident with this choreographic device and personally found it very easy to reverse this motif. However, Charlotte found doing the same motif backwards quite confusing, so I broke down each movement into the specific body parts and facings, to help her make sense of the motif in both directions.
07/12/17
09/01/18
In this lesson we focused on developing our movement phrases from the Parents scene in Hope Springs. We successfully developed the movement to be more contemporary based rather that physical theatre, for example we added more contact after the walks forward as well as developing the assisted lean into a supported arabesque with a low centre of gravity. I think that the use of the weighty drop into arabesque and the use of a lower centre of gravity shows the idea of manipulation and control more effectively. I also believe that this movement content is far more challenging and effectively pushes outside of my existing movement vocabulary, for example the chin stand into a shoulder roll, was new to me and came about through experimenting with what we could do out of a fish roll. However,
The main challenge we faced when we were given this task was developing the material from a trio into a quartet as there was a limited material we had to develop. To resolve this, I suggested that we start from scratch and develop each movement through additive, embellishment and changing the facings to create a more interesting manipulative phrase. This effectively created more movement content. Another challenge we faced was creating movement suitable for one group member who has had significantly less dance experience than the rest of our group, while also making sure its difficult enough to challenge the rest of us.
I think that I worked well with my group when fulfilling task as I'm now more confident in taking leadership and putting forward ideas and adapting movement to suit others for example, Olivia struggled with the shoulder roll out of the supported chin stand, so I adapted it to suit her by getting Scott to lower her back down to allow her to roll out of it another way. Also, the addition of Scott to the class allowed me to do more challenging movements as I knew he’d support me.
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