realising a dance - unit 2

Question 1

what is the intention of your piece?

Answer 1

The intention I have chosen depicts someone stuck on a line being pulled by two invisible forces. They explore the different forces and search outside of the line for another possible answer.

Question 2

where did you first get inspiration and how did you conduct research to develop the intention

Answer 2

• My first part of inspiration for this piece was the image of gum being pulled in different ways and how it can remain intact whilst being pulled in separate directions.
• watching different dances; Kunstkarma by Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon, Marco Goecke, and Crystal Pite, Watching the perfect lines produced by the dancers and the different formations in the group pieces influenced the idea of the diagonal line and how I could manipulate that to look like I was stuck to it.

Question 3

how did you plan your solo

Answer 3

• first I found my intention (on line, off line, on line)
• then I found the music (small, big, small, Near Light by Olafur Arnalds)
• Length of the sections (being divided up into thirds to fit with the music and the story)

Question 4

how did you use improvisation to create movement

Answer 4

• I first tried to create spontaneous movements that explored the idea of low level and pulling (arm and leg in different directions)
• Then, without music, I experimented with higher level and using more distance
• Then experimented with faster movements of being off the line

Question 5

how did you select movement when choreographing

Answer 5

From my improvisation process I took a few movements that I wanted to incorporate into my piece. I filmed my improvisation phrases, with and without music and also from different places such as dance and at home, then I reviewed the video and selected the movements I thought conveyed the intention for example I used a turn that landed in a fondus with my leg in a side arabesque and then fouette to face the other side. I chose this movement because it represented the chosen intention and the pull movement.

Question 6

how did you organise/arrange phrases into sections to communicate the intention

Answer 6

• first section; slow and controlled phrases and the pulling (such as the arm and leg) so that it showed the two forces of attraction
• second section; faster more rapid phrases when moving off the line to show the unsteadiness and the difference (use of higher level and distance)
• third section; went back to slow and controlled phrases (repeating some of the same ones from the starting section) to show the attraction was still there

Question 7

describe 2 movements or phrases you refined in your dance

Answer 7

first change; started on the floor with head on the ground and then leg and arm reaching out in different directions. problem was I couldn’t find a way off the floor from there. Changed it to start on my knees and have my arms being pulled backwards’
second change; to explore the area outside of the line. initially going to stay on the line but changed because I found myself repeating to many movements/phrases that I had already incorporated

Question 8

how did you evaluate movement

Answer 8

I evaluated movement by dancing them with and without music to see if it suited and then I would record them and review them to see if it fit the intention. This helped to see how movements would convey the intention and how to use more depth and dance area.

Question 9

describe 2 movements that you needed to rehearse and what did you do to require the skills

Answer 9

first; tabletop position with my body standing on one leg. I needed to improve balance to keep it fluid so I completed calf raises and practiced going into a retire and doing a plie and rise on one leg, gaining balance
second; turning jump with bottom leg coming up to the other one and my arm coming above my head. needed to achieve height so I completed clam exercises to strengthen my glutes and footwork to achieve the height in my jump

Question 10

what pre-performance processes did you use

Answer 10

During pre-performance I thought of what I needed to do in the dance and tried to work my warm up around that. So I knew I had quite a lot of stretch and pull so I did a bit of stretching in my legs and upper body. I also knew I had turns and jumps so I warmed up my ankles by doing rises and little jumps.
I also did a mental preparation by thinking through the dance and if I forgot or struggled with a step I would go back and watch the video or try to refigure it so that I could execute it well. I also went through the music and listened to that so that it was familiar.

Question 11

what performance process did you use

Answer 11

During the performance I thought through the intention and how each movement can relate to the pull of the two forces and how to show the difference of being on and off the line. Certain movements such as sudden stops and especially the turning jump bring my bottom leg up also required different things so if I would do the processes that make the movements look aesthetically pleasing and also to execute them well.

Question 12

how did you use space to communicate intention

Answer 12

floor pathways; direct - diagonal line to communicate that the person is trapped and the two forces. indirect - the outside of the line to show more freedom in movement
dimension; large - throughout the whole dance, whilst on the line I used reaching movements with larger body dimension, off the line used things like the wide legged jump and reaching fouette to show freedom of movement

Question 13

how did you use time in your piece

Answer 13

speed; slow - on the line to match the music and to represent the pulling at the beginning of the piece (arm and leg) and to also show confusion. fast - outside of the line to show the difference of the two places and to represent the freedom of being off the line
duration; long - to show the pull and the attraction of the 2 points (one might be stronger than the other). short - used to show a feeling of hesitance and the pull back or rebound from the forces

Question 14

how did you use energy in your piece

Answer 14

force; strong - outside the line to contrast the movements on the inside of the line and they also helped to achieve higher jumps and more sudden movements. light - pulling and reaching movements to show the slow sense of attraction towards the two points
flow; bound - on the line, especially at the start of the dance when I was looking at the two points. highlight confusion and curiosity the person was feeling with being on the line. fluent - off the line and doing continuous movements to represent freedom and the contrast of being on and off the line

Question 15

what is the form of your solo

Answer 15

Ternary form or ABA structure. start on the line with the attraction, get off the line with freedom, end back on the line trying to decide between forces

Question 16

describe the process of learning your learnt dance

Answer 16

my learnt dance was from the group piece Napoli. When learning we listened to the music and my teacher demonstrated it as we went. learn a phrase, repeat it 3 times, do it with music, learn new phrase, repeat and link to previous phrase. had to adapt to the area especially since it was classical ballet I couldn’t achieve the higher jumps or well executed turns in the smaller area so then once we had the larger dance area to work I had to adapt to that space to use more height and distance with my movements

Question 17

how did you ensure you remembered the learnt dance

Answer 17

videoing one of the rehearsals and reviewing it, especially over the holidays so that it stayed fresh in my mind for the performance. during rehearsal we would go over it and repeat phrases so that it remained well known

Question 17

how did you rehearse safely for your learnt dance

Answer 17

ensuring the surrounding were suitable for the dance and when rehearsing I had a smaller area to work with, so I had to keep the jumps minimal and use the area as well as I could then apply the distance and execution when in the larger area

Question 18

what pre-performance and performance processes did you use

Answer 18

pre-performance - made sure I warmed up my legs and ankles for the jumps and turns and then went over the steps that were difficult such as the jumping beats and made sure I knew them properly. re-watched the video so I could review the steps and music and then ran the dance in the performance space before as well

performance - think about adapting to the larger area and how to use distance throughout and trying to remember how I could execute the more difficult movements to make the dance look complete and well polished