WEEK 8 CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT- SESSION 2
This creative session has been productive and I have roughly finished about 2 minutes of my dance, which I am quite happy with considering our timeframe. One of the things I struggled with was transition steps, I often found myself either repeating the same transition steps like running/walking or running out of ideas on how to link certain movements together. To combat this, next lesson I will improvise to my song (choreographic device: improvisation around a stimulus) and observe how my body naturally wants to move from one place to another; hopefully I will gain some new ideas and help me overcome this problem.
I feel that I have successfully been able to convey my stimulus through the choreographic devices I have incorporated so far. For example, the difference between my slow floor work and faster elevated movements conveyed the mood swings that people who suffer from schizophrenia experience. I have also incorporated the use of levels; throughout the dance I transition between standing and floor work quite often which hopefully gives an erratic, frantic feel to correlate to how drastic mood swings can be. The use of the choreographic device contrast portrayed how drastic a psychotic episode can become. Something else I have also really tried to draw attention to was facial expression as I think this can really enhance a performance, especially if you have a narrative or are trying to convey a message. During my research I found that schizophrenic people experience psychosis which is where they experience things differently to other people (NHS uk, 2019). In my dance I have also included the device argumentation wherein a movement is repeated but bigger- this is to demonstrate the difference in the perspectives of people affected and unaffected by the illness. I don't think my research has dramatically changed however I do believe it has become more detailed as it's what I refer to when I run out of ideas.
Many elements of my piece have been influenced by my chosen practitioner, crystal Pite. There are still many classical components, which is similar to Pite's "distinct choreographic language" (Kidd Pivot, 2019) For example there is a part where I do an arabesque however it swings into a parallel plie position which relates more to the "complexity and freedom of structured improvisation" (Kidd Pivot, 2019) side of Pite's creative process. Pite's choreography is mainly driven by a narrative and my passage of movement that is influenced by her work is in the beginning of my dance. I start sitting on the floor which is quite similar to beginning Pite's piece 'Flight Pattern', I feel that starting at a low level emits a feeling of vulnerability and the way I am sitting is also quite casual which can suggest that anyone can be affected by the illness.
References
Kidd Pivot. (2019). Company - Kidd Pivot. [online] Available at: https://kiddpivot.org/company-info/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
nhs.uk. (2019). Psychosis. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psychosis/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
Dance Magazine. (2019). "Choreography in Focus" with Crystal Pite. [online] Available at: https://www.dancemagazine.com/choreography-in-focus-crystal-pite-2306900399.html [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019]
I feel that I have successfully been able to convey my stimulus through the choreographic devices I have incorporated so far. For example, the difference between my slow floor work and faster elevated movements conveyed the mood swings that people who suffer from schizophrenia experience. I have also incorporated the use of levels; throughout the dance I transition between standing and floor work quite often which hopefully gives an erratic, frantic feel to correlate to how drastic mood swings can be. The use of the choreographic device contrast portrayed how drastic a psychotic episode can become. Something else I have also really tried to draw attention to was facial expression as I think this can really enhance a performance, especially if you have a narrative or are trying to convey a message. During my research I found that schizophrenic people experience psychosis which is where they experience things differently to other people (NHS uk, 2019). In my dance I have also included the device argumentation wherein a movement is repeated but bigger- this is to demonstrate the difference in the perspectives of people affected and unaffected by the illness. I don't think my research has dramatically changed however I do believe it has become more detailed as it's what I refer to when I run out of ideas.
Many elements of my piece have been influenced by my chosen practitioner, crystal Pite. There are still many classical components, which is similar to Pite's "distinct choreographic language" (Kidd Pivot, 2019) For example there is a part where I do an arabesque however it swings into a parallel plie position which relates more to the "complexity and freedom of structured improvisation" (Kidd Pivot, 2019) side of Pite's creative process. Pite's choreography is mainly driven by a narrative and my passage of movement that is influenced by her work is in the beginning of my dance. I start sitting on the floor which is quite similar to beginning Pite's piece 'Flight Pattern', I feel that starting at a low level emits a feeling of vulnerability and the way I am sitting is also quite casual which can suggest that anyone can be affected by the illness.
References
Kidd Pivot. (2019). Company - Kidd Pivot. [online] Available at: https://kiddpivot.org/company-info/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
nhs.uk. (2019). Psychosis. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psychosis/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].
Dance Magazine. (2019). "Choreography in Focus" with Crystal Pite. [online] Available at: https://www.dancemagazine.com/choreography-in-focus-crystal-pite-2306900399.html [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019]
I think it is useful that you have thought of a way to overcome your main struggle during your choreographic process and improvisation sounds as though it would be an effective method for you to use. What have you focused on doing with your facial expressions throughout the piece and what emotions will this help you to convey? It is great that you have started your piece with an image that establishes your theme straight away.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have planned to have one section of my dance where the focus is mainly on my facial expression. There is a part in the song where the lyrics are "it's kind of funny" - during this part I am going to have a pleasant/ laughing expression but in the next few counts of that phrase I literally wipe the smile of my face and the dark and desperate expression returns. Hopefully this will convey the contrast in emotions of a schizophrenic person.
DeleteThis is an excellent start. ! The structure of your post is well thought out and clearly describes your creative work in relation to the stimulus and research as well as your chosen practitioner. In relation to the criteria, I would say that this post currently sits around the 2:1 mark. For further development, discuss how your current creative process may differ to the process you used at the start of your development. I found it very interesting how you use improvisation to overcome the challenge of avoiding repetition. Do you have any videos of this? What movements did you pick out when experimenting with this process? It would also be great to see a video of your creative passage inspired by your chosen choreographer as well as creative work you have created in relation to your stimulus and research.
ReplyDeleteIn the earlier part of my development my creative process was very elaborate and involved many steps. However this wasted a lot of time and was not overall effective, I then began to change the way I approached choreographing and started to use improvisational methods. I picked out lots of small movements as it was easy to allow my body to move naturally and it looked quite nice too.
DeleteI found it very interesting to read about your processes in the piece, using improvisation to help you create new material. I also like you how have included movement which links to your chosen practitioner. I was wondering, if you were to do further research into your stimulus, what would you research in greater detail? How would this impact your solo at this stage in the choreographic process?
ReplyDeleteIf I were to do more research I would probably do more research on what factors can cause schizophrenia or what specific lifestyle choices/environment can cause someone to be more likely to develop it. This would improve my creative process greatly- the more research the better and I would probably gain more ideas for my choreography.
Delete