Forward in Motion: Unwritten Dance Review

Forward in Motion Dance Festival 2011

Shifting Time

Choreographed by Andrea Buckley
Performed by Unwritten Dance

This performance was more like a ‘conventional’ one in the way that the audience were seated and they had to remain there throughout. There was no interaction made between performers and dancers unlike Influx’s piece. The performance had a clear structure from beginning to end and the same group of dancers were used all the way through. They had a very large area to dance in and they made use of the many different entrances, exits and small areas at the side of the performance space.

On the whole, I really enjoyed watching this piece because it flowed so well together. Each sectioned blended into one another and the dancers complimented this with their ease of movement. The style of movement was lovely to watch and it is something I would like to do if I had the opportunity to. It was so fluid and always continuing, I felt as if I could have watched them moving for hours on end. They used the whole space with their movements and they were weaving in and out of each other effortlessly.  I liked the use of props because it was different to the other piece I saw. It was very clever how they were used and where they were placed in the space. On the other hand, they also used vocals like Influx and it was interesting to hear people speaking in their native language.

From watching the piece, I have a lot of unanswered questions which I am still trying to figure out by myself. I believe that the title of the piece, ‘Shifting Time’, was reflected very clearly throughout the performance. When the dancers created a line it almost felt as if they were creating their own time line. The bouncing of the ball represented the seconds. When they created a diagonal line with the props it appeared to me that the old was transferring into the new. More antique, old props were used and they slowly became newer and more recent. This shows the shift in time.

I also feel the name of the company can be seen as a theme during the piece.  When the dancers were talking in their own language and whispering to each other, it made me think that the information was unwritten. When one of the dancers was writing on the wall it didn’t make any sense, this also made me think of unwritten.

Forward in Motion: Influx Review

Forward in Motion Dance Festival 2011

Walking Piece

Choreographed by Matthias Sperling

Performed by Influx

I was able to see this performance several times because I was a member of the front of house team for this company. I have never seen a durational piece before and I think this is what intrigued me the most. In conventional theatre, the audience come in as the piece starts and leave as it ends; they stay in the same place throughout.  However, in this piece, the audience could come and go as they pleased staying for a little or as long as they liked. They were also free to move around the space and interact with the performers. There were two groups of performers who took in turn to come into the space.

Overall I thought the piece was very entertaining and I liked the way in which it moved around the space, it wasn’t stereotypical of a normal dance piece.  The movements seem very pedestrianized yet random at the same time. They could play around with the piece and make it fun to perform. The piece consisted of the same elements every time but done in slightly different ways, this kept the performers on their toes. It meant they never knew what to expect and they could humour themselves without having to worry about keeping a straight face. I liked how vocal was also used by the dancers as it gave the audience the opportunity to interact and answer the question. I also liked the lifts used because I haven’t seen anything like that before in dance.

From watching the performance, I still don’t have a clear understanding of why it was called ‘Walking Piece’.  Having listened to the Yr2 students talk about how they created the piece, I can now understand why it seems so random. They played a series of games with the choreographer Matthias Sperling and then he put those games into an order and this became the piece. The piece did seem to have a lot of walking in it though so that may explain the reasoning behind the title.

Weekly Overview

Monday 28th November - Friday 2nd December 2011

For me, there had been a big build up to this week and I was looking forward to getting to do my solo and get it out the way. Then, I would feel like I have achieved my first major milestone being at uni and something I could be proud of before we break up for the hoildays.

I spent a lot of time this week concentrating on my solo and the written element to go with it. I wanted to convey something that showed my own personal style of dancing but also showed my experimental side and not being scared to try something new. I wanted this to come across in my written work too.

When it came to performing my solo I was nervous however, not as nervous as last week. I think the taster last week helped me to control this because I knew what to expect. I felt like I was being viewed from every angle because the group were sitting in a cirlce around me. I would find it interesting to have been watching myself from different areas of the room to see if my piece portrayed a different perseptive from varied angles. it felt like I was dancing forever, like my piece had become never ending. I almost became lost in the silence and caught in the moment. I began to enjoy dancing my solo rather than being scared of it. Once I had finished, I was overcome with a sense of relief that it was over and I could enjoy and appreciate the work others had done.

Being a member of the audience watching others, was almost as important as the dancing for me. It was the first time I had seen everyone in the group dance individually and I could get to know them as a dancer. Some dances were really engaging to watch because the movement style and quality was something I hadn't witnessed before.  It was challenging to be able to guess what the movement score was because most of them were very deep and complex. I could just about make out the body parts and possibly the quality.

I also found our improvisation lesson very interesting too. Towards the end of the lesson, we had to draw or moving selves, thinking about the skeleton and muscles. My drawings interpreted both of these. I tried to show my muscles in large shapes and the skeleton in thin lines in movements I had used throughout the lesson. I will upload the images when I have chance.

Overall, I was both looking forward to and dreading this week but I must say, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. I can breath as sigh of relief that my solo is complete, on the other hand, I still have other work to think about for next week!

Solo Progression, Video 4

The video I would like to put in this space cannot be uploaded with the internet connection I use in my halls. When I can used the wireless internet, I will upload it. Here is the writing to support my video.

Recorded: 30/11/2011
This video was taken after I was happy with the overall piece of work I created. From the previous video it has been slighty adapted and the end section has been added on. I have used a lot of repetition towards the end of my piece to relate it back to the start. I feel that my piece ends in a good place because the audience can feel comfortable that it starts and ends the same.
Please excuse limited space, pjs and the alcohol collection! And now the lights don't work either!

Solo Progression, Video 3

Video to follow

 

Recorded: 30/11/2011
This video shows the next stage of my choreography. Since showing our work last week, I have really tried to experiment with ways I can move differently and use my hands and feet more intricately. I have kept the majority of the work I previously cretaed and have altered and added to this. I feel I have improved my dance a lot during this time and  showed many different sides to my choreographic score.

Please excuse limited space, pjs and the alcohol collection! And now the lights don't work either!