This week, we completed our second solo session. I have managed to create 1 minute and 3/4 worth of choreography - slightly behind schedule as I planned to have completed a minimum of 2 minutes by session 2.
I have come across a few challenges while choreographing - one being loitering and pondering with my ideas. It has taken large amounts of time in lessons and studio free-time to decide upon which movements I feel satisfied with. I feel this is simply because I am trying to make it as perfect as I can make it as well as making sure I am portraying and expressing the key qualities of my story line with the movements I am using. I feel the slow choreographic process will only be overcome if I set myself small targets;for example in half an hour I aim to choreograph 25 seconds worth of a motif. I also believe with more time and experience I will become faster at settling and trusting my ideas.
This week I created a small motif representing the start of the panic and anger dementia causes. This small segment is the start of the gradual build up to the climax. This motif was developed and inspired by watching a section of the "The Tempest" by Crystal Pite. From watching this I saw how she portrays anger and fear through movement. She consistently uses short, sharp and crisp moves. This inspired me to create my motif as I tried to make mine full of small and detailed steps. This type of choreography is also linked to my stimulus. I wanted to portray sharp detailed movement because the picture is so intricate and detailed. I have included a variety of choreographic device however the one I mainly focused on was embellishment. This also links to the idea of action I want to project.
I was particularly influenced by one of the movements included in The Tempest, the outreached arms. I feel it represents vulnerability and frustration, as if you are trying to touch something just out of reach.
Although I was no stranger to the research I conducted in my previous task, it has provoked new ideas about how I will portray certain messages to the audience. These include: the reduced ability to judge distance and 3D and the final colour a dementia patient sees. I have portrayed the lack of judgement by miming the inability to bring my hands together and reaching out for something that is not there. I have also thought of wearing something red to represent the reduction of sight. In my research I found out that the last colour a patient will see is red.
The video below is the very beginning of my solo. This was inspired by my chosen choreographer, Crystal Pite. After reviewing Flight Pattern, the acting at the start was extremely effective as it set the scene and tone of the piece. Similarly, I wanted to start off with something like this. To do so, I followed the choreographic process Crystal Pite uses, being influenced by the music. This has helped me create an intense opening the audience will be captured by and connected to.
I feel the creative difference between the processes I am using and the ones I mentioned in creative session 1 is that I am focusing on adjectives, like panic and dread, when I choreograph. This helps me to embody the emotions which are projected through my movements. However, I have also used the 2 processes I said I would use in creative session 1; improvisation and allowing myself to be influenced by the music. Overall, I have found them very effective processes and have thoroughly enjoyed using them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI OjTd4Oa-js
This is a detailed blog and you have a lot of ideas for your choreography. I was wondering what kind of embellishment you were going to add to your work and what this will add to the piece?
ReplyDeleteI am intending to use sharp and intricate embellishment throughout my piece. However, I will be focusing on this choreographic device particularly within the motif inspired by my chosen choreographer. This section will be high intensity and I feel lots of crisp and connected movements will be needed in order for me to achieve the intended effect. Embellishment will add consistent action to my piece. This will result in rising anticipation within the audience - hopefully unable to predict my next move.
DeleteExcellent work! You have clearly answered all the questions set within the task, clearly describing where you are currently at within your work, with a great use of visual tools to display your writing. In relation to the criteria, I would say that this post currently sits around the 2:1 mark. For further development, discuss how you will make up for the time used for finalising your ideas. In what way did you incorporate ‘embellishment’ into your piece? Have you incorporated any other choreographic devices? If so how?
ReplyDeleteI am aware I have lost a fair amount of time procrastinating over movement during class sessions. Because of this, I have dedicated a large amount of my own time, after class and during the weekend, to focus on finishing and perfecting my choreography.
DeleteI incorporated embellishment into my piece by having a set foundation of movement and then evaluating how I could add more depth and dynamic. I considered the energy levels present and asked myself, how can I expand on making my movements more exciting and unpredictable? This then led me to integrate smaller and more precise movements like quick arm gestures and head tilts. I found this process very useful and felt that it helped ideas develop.
I have focused on using other choreographic devices throughout my solo - one being, accumulation. I perform a roll and then an arm lunge into the floor. The roll is repeated and then I lean low, but instead I draw two large circles on the floor and then take the hand and knock my head in frustration. Another choreographic device I have used is fragmentation. Originally, I had incorporated two body shoves during the panicked section. However for the first, I manipulated this movement and isolated each section: the hips, chest, foot dig and then the arms to the floor. This became visually very effective and added to the idea of being unable to control my body.
This is an excellent blog. You have clearly stated the challenges you have been faced with already throughout this process and how overcoming these issues will improve you choreography. As well as this you managed to explain how you interpreted Crystal Pite’s choreography and include it in your own. Did you face any challenges when completing this task? If so, how did you overcome them?
ReplyDeleteThank you. Initially when choreographing the motif inspired by Crystal Pite I was uncertain on how I could use some of her movements in my choreography but still make it my own. When it came to using the outstretched arms I considered how I could change the standing position into something different. This resulted in me coming up with the idea of lying on the floor with my hips lifted upwards and my arms lengthened in front of me. I am pleased I used Crystal Pites movements as a platform to form my own ideas. I believe doing this process helped greatly to expand my choreography skills.
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