Map Dance Performance

Wednesday 28th March 2012

1.   See

Solo

Stillness

Intricate, small detailed hand gestures

2.   Edges

Minimalistic sound scape

Random became organised

Martial arts inspired?

Does the style of costume represent the possible martial arts theme?

Busy space

Intricate movement in unison

3.   Listen

Same idea as no. 1 but as a duet

Movement reflects quality in the music

4.   Strange Journey (2010)

Stomping

Dialogue on track

Lifting

Interchanging between solo, duet, trio and group dance sequences

Dancers speaking

Change in atmosphere

Unison changing patterns

Dramatic

Solemn/ Fear

Circling the space

Symbolism- 2 people

Traditional folk became tribal drums

Freedom

Dancers coming and out of centre in turn

Physically demanding

5.   Wrong Songs

Talking nonsense

Books

Clicking/ Whistling

Began without music but was introduced later

Piano music

Confusing

Gasp and pause

Random

Staring

Percussive

Comical

6.   Here

Same idea as no. 1 and no. 3 but with 4 dancers

Accumulation

All pieces has orchestrated string music

Same motif ideas throughout all three pieces

7.   XX

Change in lighting

Layering music

Adding clothes

 Stereotypes of men and women

Twitches

Shouting

Staccato movements

Imitating men

Foil

Rugby

Variety in styles of music/ sound scape

Abuse?

Fighting

1 dress became 2 dresses

Became more lyrical style of dancing

Heart felt

Representative movements

Speaking through the meaning of movements  

The Finished Duet!

Recorded: 14.03.12

This was recorded once we had finished our duet in order for us to just look back at it to see if we wanted to make any changes and to just keep a record of it. We also wanted to have an idea of how long the duet was.

When we were assessed today, it was obviously a lot different with the pressure and having the audience within the dance space. Emma and I didn't have a chance to practise with this layout beforehand, but the audience were aware of this and were able to move out of the way if necessary.

Im sorry that my blog has been neglected the past week or so but there is so much to do at the moment!!! I'm trying to do little bits, but when everything has calmed down, I will try and update everything on here :)
xx

Dance and Disability Discussion

Wednesday 29th February

We spent time during our Improvisation lesson to discuss dance and disability. It is something that I haven't worked with before coming to University and therefore, I am interested to learn more about it.

We spoke about the difference between the disabilities you can see and those that you can't. As a member of Perspective Dance Company, I work with both Karen and Fiona very closely who both have disabilities, so I have began to experience first what it is like. I find it the same as any other class I would take normally. You have to work with things and around things but in the end it is still the same.

I enjoyed hearing Fiona perspective of dealing with Aspergers because I know she can find it difficult to communicate with people at times. Its nice to know more in order to be able to help her if she needs it.

"Different, not necessarily bad."  Fiona Butler

Karen lead a workshop with Hayley on how she has to adapt the practical work in order to accommodate the movement she has in her body. The movements have the same principle but just done in a slightly different way.

Overall, I'm glad I know more about it because it is something I could consider for the future but also helping the people around me now.

Weekly Overview

Monday 5th March- Friday 9th March

The choreographic workshop lesson  gave me time with my partner to practice our duet and to spend time discussing as well. We found it most effective to work in short bursts, swapping between talking/ journalling and dancing. This was a new way to structure our rehearsals and I think we should continue this way because it was best for us.

We made a timeline of our piece in order to structure it into sections. We are coming to the end of our making and beginning to see the end. After performing our duet to some members of the class they gave us some feedback to think about. We were advised to make the work more dynamic by adding a range of tempos and pauses.

Later on in the week, we had made time for another duet rehearsal. I feel as thoughwe have done the improvised section so many times that we are becoming bored of it and we repeat what we have done before. Its not spontaneous, its vague and unclear. In order to recover this, I think that we should ignore the improvised section for a short time before returning to it again.

In SRT this week, I really feel as though I engaged with the lesson fully. I found it easy to grasp the feeling of the movements and this is the reason why I was so focused. The idea of loose legs was present within my body. I could imagine a ragdoll with two legs hanging from the body. I enjoy SRT more when I am fully engaged, so I hope to maintain this every week.

Finally we had our workshop with Florence Peak working with pen and paper. The idea was to trace the movements and the shapes your partner made on the paper. I found it difficult to keep up with Emma even though she wasn't moving fast. In every move, there was possible potential for a pen line.

Personally, I prefered to trace than to move because I felt too enclosed on the paper. We then transformed the art into scores and begain moving to other peoples drawings. Emma and I discussed that you see the tempo the dancer was moving at depending on how much colour/lines were on the paper. I would like to try this lesson again but use bigger pieces of paper in order to overcome the feeling of restriction.

Year 2 IPP Performances

Fiona Jackson- The traces left behind

• I liked the idea of creating a journey through space as well as recording ti on the paper at the same time.
• The quotes hanging gave me an insight to what Fiona thought was relevant to her piece. Almost looking at it from her perspective.
• It was interesting to look at the process she has gone through and developed by looking at the work leading up to the work she was creating on the day.
• It was my first experience of walking around a space looking at visual art as well as the movement as well. There was so many things to look at and take in.
• Were the marks on the paper deliberate and thought about or completely random?
• Inspired by other artists using the body to create a picture.

Oana Rotariu- Stages

• Based on the textures of different materials. How you can explore them and mold them to be what you want to be.
• Movement was varied. Sometimes slow, sometimes erratic.
• Putting the material up her top and cradling it- symbolising the relationship of mother and baby? Touch?
• The idea of dancing with just a small lamp is something I hadn't witnessed before. Made me look for closely at what she was  doing.
• The atmosphere in the room felt different to what it normally would in that room. Everyone was almost in a trance watching the piece. Silence.
• The silence meant you could hear the material on the floor or against Oana. I don't know if this is something she intended.

Julia McCaughley- Behind the mask

• This piece seemed very emotional and deep. It seemed a significant thing for Julia to do on a personal level as well as sharing it with an audience.
• I liked the setting for this piece because it is something that I didn't expect and somewhere I haven't been before.
• Hiding behind something that isn't you and then stripping it bare again. Exposing.
• Thought provoking piece. Made me ask questions about myself and society.
• People laughing in the audience- through shock? I think Julia did really well to remain focused at these times in her piece.
• Cleansing away the insecurities, impurities, becoming a new person, coming out into the open.

Joana Tischkau- Fieldwork

• This task seemed to be very personal because all of the items she used belonged to her and obviously represented something.
• Joana was a brave and fearless performed in order to undress whilst surrounded by the audience, especially with it being people she is close to.
• She was organising and categorising the items she had. What groups was she putting them in to?
• I really enjoyed listening to her speak the German language, it made me concentrate so much more than just silence because I was intrigued by it. She was making a list of some of the items she had brought with her.
• The music was interchanging and intermittent. I think that she had selected songs that meant something to her or reminded her of a memory throughout her life.
• I would like to know if this piece was improvised or structured.

SRT 01/03/12

I always find it easier to supportthe writing in my journal  with images I have researched. It especially helps in SRT for me to understand better.

The top image shows a tracing exercise we did in partners. It covers:

The Skull

The Solar Plexus ( yet to be drawn on)

The Pelvis

After tracing in partners we continued with the exercise individually. We were told to imagine the areas that were traced have become globes of light or bubbles, hence the two images at the botttom.

Senses

As mine and Emma's duet is based on the senses, we wanted to develop our understanding more. In our journals we created a page just focusing on the senses and how we would interpret what each one represents. And here is what I created.

Replay

I recently revisited the Siobhan Davies Replay site to look for dances that I could take inspiration from for mine and Emma's duet. I looked in the Scrapbook at all the things I had previously saved in there. The one thing that stood out for me was To Hand.

To Hand
Date: 2011
Venue: Whitechapel Gallery, London
Choreographer: Siobhan Davies
Film Director: Neil Wissink
Dance Artists: Matthias Sperling

I have a lot of questions to ask about this piece because it interests and intrigues me. For example, can it be classed as dance? Where did this ideas and inspiration come from? Was it specifically made for Matthias Sperling? How long did it take to create?

I think I have an interest in this piece because I have seen the work he create for the Yr 2 dancers and their performance projects. To date, I don't know much about his background and other work he has done but I would like to look into this further.