Dynamics

In Monday's technique lesson we had Mona again, and were going over the exorcises and phrases we did with her last time. I found the main focus for me was concentrating on the dynamic feel of the movement.
Whilst thinking through the main phrase of movement I felt the more I prolonged and suspended certain movements, then the sharper dynamic contrast when I dropped and the momentum was able to carry me more.

I also got quite confused with the timing in the main phrase as some parts are quick and sharp and others are soft. To make the most of the movement and the counts I needed to slow some parts down and go through my maximum. For example, whilst kneeling on the floor and brushing around from behind to in front of myself, to maximise this movement and use all of the counts I made sure I was reaching out as far as I could instead of cutting it short.

Also linking to my use of dynamics and giving moves quality I thought about Rebekah’s lessons and how I tend to rush through the movement and not think over the dynamic qualities. To help me with this I need to use my breath to calm myself and stop rushing. As holding my breath and forgetting to breathe at certain moments makes me tense up and rush more.

The body emotion

In Wednesday’s class we were concentrating on our tail bones and our head to tail connectivity. We were thinking about how our tail bone and head is connected by our spine and feeling in our bodies how this connection made us want to move. At the start of the lesson just warming up our bodies this made me really exaggerate my torso movement and use my spine to its maximum.

http://polestarpilatesasia.com/pilates-continuing-education/ceu-study-options/pathokinesiology-of-the-lumbar-spine

During the lesson I kept thinking about my head to tail connection and it made me think about my core distal as everything is connected to my centre in someway and thinking about my head/tail connection reminded me of my relationship with my limbs and how each one is connected to my centre and has a relationship with the other.

In this class I also realised to let emotion come out in our movement if that’s how we feel. As we do classes every morning and I concentrate on feeling the flow of the movement sometimes the movement can create a feeling that I can express through a certain phrase. To really feel the movement flow can cause me to express an emotion which therefore gives the movement a real sense of freedom.

In the reading ‘Motion and emotion’ it talks about how our emotions are ‘doorways’, and some of the stronger emotions are ‘gateway’ emotions that permeate the entire body like fear or anger for example. These emotions lead to more diverse emotions and sensations (e.g. relief) and protect us from some feelings that are overwhelming. I can think about myself personally reading this as I can see how feeling sadness or loss is sometimes followed by frustration and anger, to protect ourselves from the overwhelming feelings of sadness that can lead to depression.

Linking emotions to dance can increase out resources to work with; and can ‘open more doorways’.

“When we can surrender to a feeling of participation in out emotions, creativity abounds” pg 198.

Letting you feel certain emotions and work with them to create movement and choreography that if you were feeling another emotion at the time; would not have been created.

I was particularly interested with the exorcises at the end of this extract that track our emotions in the body. Using breath, sensing emotions and the physical changes that they cause in our bodies. One exorcise notices the capacity to change mood with mind and asks me to ‘talk myself’ into a bad mood, and then again into a good mood. Noticing what happens to my body; get hot, get irritable and fidgety or remain calm and serene. This can then be linked to movement and posture, as there are certain postures which can cause an emotion. E.g. upright and weight above the legs will feel energetic whereas slouching with shoulders hunched and head slightly hanging will cause a sad and calm emotion. ‘Movement affects mind, and mind affects movement’

Eye flight

Today I read an interesting collection of independent artists talking about how they approach a practice of presence in performance. I was really interested at the different views as I have thought about me being present as a performer. I am going to talk about a couple that I really found interesting and connected with.

Wendy Houstoun. Performer, director, filmmaker. (2003)

Houstoun talks about performances she enjoys being ones that create ‘danger’ for the spectator. She enjoys the feeling of ‘not knowing’; where you can sense something is going on but you cannot see it. The idea of choreography not being ‘obvious’ and holding mystery for the audience really interests me, as I sometimes think I am too literal whilst choreographing and really enjoy pieces of work that make me think about what’s really going on. Houstoun also says a performance can be “more about what you hold back than what you give. Allowing people to witness. I like to think of it as hiding in front of something”

Mary Prestidge (2003)

The idea of presence in performance is clear as Prestidge talks of performers being ‘real’ and how she is hooked on and attracted to somebody’s journey when they are truly engaged in what they are doing. “I like to see people as real as possible.” When I think of a performance being ‘real’ I think of something really raw and the performer being genuine; truly connected and have a purpose for being on the stage, moving the way they are moving and feeling the way that they portray.

Maedee Depres (2004)

I was really interested whilst reading Depres’ ideas of presence as she speaks about the performer ‘giving their all’ which is something I have wrote about me as a performer and dancer numerous times. She says a performer ‘gives their all’ due to a learnt channelling of energy to project a choreographic meaning to an audience (which entails talent, of course).

She speaks also of the use of focus and the eyes as a performer. “The role of the eyes provides a vehicle for that clarity of intention” this is something that I am also interested in as I struggle with my use of focus in my technique. Knowing where my focus is and using my eyes as part of the choreography rather than an ‘add on’ will help me portray meaning and clarity to my movement.

First class with Juliet

In our first class with Juliet I realised how I definitely need to build the strength in my thighs; as she asked us to hold a certain position in plie and I really struggled to stay without shaking or straightening my legs.

I can do this by getting down into my legs more during class and pushing everything to my maximum. I also need to apply the idea of pushing beyond myself and finding my maximum movement during all technique classes. For example during travelling phrases instead of just stepping out to where I usually would, I need to shun forward to further than myself and make the most of the movement and how far my leg can reach-stop playing it safe!

Another point I noticed in Juliet’s lesson that affects me across the board in technique is my mindset. I’ve noticed that if I feel confused or unsure about a certain phrase this will affect how I dance. Juliet made us imagine that when we ‘performed’ the movement in lesson we were actually performing at an audition or on a stage and I noticed how much this changed my mindset which in turn changed how I attacked the movement. I think as a class we are so used to dancing with and in front of each other that I’m personally very comfortable in lessons and maybe this is why I don’t push myself as much as I should. Using the idea of ‘performing’ the movement in lesson made me think about it in a different way and attack the phrases with confidence that showed in my body and gave the movement more intention.

something old, something new..

Something old, something new…

Today I read an interesting reading talking about eclecticism in postmodern dance. As at first I was unsure what eclecticism actually was so was really intrigued at Joshua Monten’s description of it. He says that eclecticism is a distinguishing feature of postmodern dance, and is a mixture of different dance styles and languages that choreographers draw upon to make a new language of their own.

He gives an example of Alvin Ailey’s revelations; as there are lots of different sections, a broad range and demanding on performers. Despite this the movement language and choreography is reflective of Ailey’s techniques and very consistent to the company style (an outsider could have seen the work and guessed it was from Ailey’s company; which is in no way a bad thing) but therefore is not eclectic.

Monten goes on to talk about Tywla Tharp and how she was ‘a pioneer for using eclectic methods of dance composition.’ She did this by drawing movement ideas from a number of sources, using unlikely combinations whilst thriving for something ‘new’. She wanted a different way of moving instead of just a range of different moves.

Monten also talk about himself as a dance performer, and how he was trained in a great number of techniques. These techniques proposed specific and varied demands on the dancer, and in his experience he found he got confused. For example he had advanced training in ballet, then the next day would have training in caopeira, and found that his kicks in caopeira were light, and had a ballet essence to them.

This made me think about myself as a dancer, how I am being trained in a number of techniques and whether I feel confused at all. Although I find different aspects of every class difficult and struggle with certain things in every lesson, I don’t think I am confused, as the outline and feeling of my classes are very clear.

Nowadays I think many dancers are trained to be versatile, and have the ability to do a number of varied and sometimes contrasting techniques. Monten uses the term “hired body” as a dancer who is trained to be versatile and would be the prime choice for post-modern choreographers who choose to be electic.

Tharp talked about this when she said she suffered from being eclectic as she had ‘too many options.’ “To fly straight into an arabesque with no hesitation or to hold the body serenely in balance for eight pirouettes demands a solid, unquestioned technique”

As Tharp was trained in many techniques I imagine that she would have faults in ballet where a dancer who trained only in ballet would not. Where she triumphs though is her ability to use her many technique experiences and her dance background to combine these and make a new language that has not been seen before.

Mona

Today we had technique class with Mona as Juliet is busy working with Ballet Lorent.
I really enjoyed this mornings class and was excited by a new way of moving and new technique exorsizes. As we have the same lessons and teachers every week I feel i should make the most of every other technique class we have with a different teacher.

As it was a new class and new movement i tried to make a concious effort to apply what I have been in other lessons. The main thing in this lesson that i felt i needed to improve and to think about more was keeping my shoulders down in my back. In the warm up exorsizes during arm swings when I raise my arms above my head i tend to tense up my shoulders. I need to work on releasing them so they're down in my back.

In this class I also realised that if i'm confused or need to go over anything that I should just ask. We also used peer feedback in this lesson which i found really usefull, as watching other people and seeing what they can do better made me think about my own technique and use of dynamics in movement. I think watching whilst other people work can be as helpful as marking it through myself by the side.

In the exorcise below I really needed to use my core stability and hopefully doing this everyday will improve my core strength.

“Just push through it!”

On Friday we had Rebekah for Graham technique for the first time this semester, and although I’m sure these lessons will get easier over time, I was very glad it was on a Friday so I could rest the next day!

As it was the first lesson I was quite intimidated by the new material but I’m sure over the weeks the exorcizes will become second nature to me. I picked up the steps quite quickly but need to be more confident with the movement to be sure of the dynamics and flow. As my back was feeling a little stiff I used the time before class and the stretches at the beginning of class to really stretch out my back. If I’m still feeling seized up I should take the time before class to work through this so I can dance safely without injuring myself.

With this particular technique lesson I am going to work on building up my strength in particular. As we did a ‘sixes’ exorcize (knelt on the floor but keeping our sits bones away from our feet, and moving our back)

I could feel that my quadriceps were very shaky and I found it hard to keep movement fluid as was struggling to keep upright and balanced. I found it particularly difficult to push my hips forward whilst keeping my hands on my feet, I’m sure I’ll find it easier the more I keep doing this exorcize as my quads will build in strength.