Estonia: 27/01/15

Morning Session

I am still, (even though very tired from travelling), excited to work with dancers from another culture/country/dance background and see what Estonia has to offer and what we are going to make together. I am ready to explore and I am carrying with me something which I learnt from the previous performance projects back in December: 

be comfortable with the uncomfortable... embrace it... time and space are always moving... this chance and and these moments will never repeat themselves. 

We have established that because we are dancers, we communicate better via movement rather than speech; this is extremely convenient for this particular situation as there is a language barrier, of where none of us Coventry Students speak Estonian, and English is not the Estonian students' first language. 

Via talking, however, I have discovered how the Estonian students do not engage within contact improvisation sessions for as lon as we do, and I noticed how their attentions and focus' often wandered. 

Afternoon Session

I feel that the morning session, was in theory, an ice-breaker as this afternoon we seem to all be much more comfortable working and moving with eachother.

"Time and space are always shifting"

I have surprised myself by finding that I am in ways enjoying not being able to understand what the Estonian dancers are saying, as it has made more room for curiosity and increased my hunger for a journey and to explore. 

During an improvisation task I worked closely with an Estonian student called Jelena Melts, who described my movement as "like an 'Aero' chocolate bar, light & bubbly" ...interesting!

International Field Trip : ESTONIA! 26/01/15 (day of travelling)

The big day has come and I am finally travelling to Estonia! I have waited so long for this experience, and even though we have a big day of travelling ahead of us I am so excited, not just for the dancing, but to experience a new culture and country that I was unfamiliar with before the announcement of this trip.

For me especially, I am looking forward to finding out more about myself, and hopefully surprising myself along the way. Having 'Anxiety Disorder' I often stay within my comfort zone and feel even though I am independent financially etc, quite attached to home and being with my family. Even though this trip is only a week long, I want to make myself and my family proud by coping in another country where English is not necessarily a vital language to know, and embrace it. Here I come Estonia!

Performance! 'The Work The Work Reworked' 04/12/14

I felt that the performance of 'The Work The Work Reworked' went really well. I felt that we all had a beautiful sense of group cohesion which bought the piece together to show the intention, and the relationships between us movers. Due to disregarding 'repetition' as a choreographic device and therefore a problem to interrupt my performance, I had no worries or sense of apprehension and felt as though I performed as best as I could according to the score I was provided. 

I have really enjoyed worked with Fitzgerald and Stapleton; they have once again shifted my thinking (which seems to be happening the longer I am at Coventry University) and I have rethought about myself as a dancer and maker, and where I want to be heading. 

Fitzgerald & Stapleton, 2nd set of intensive sessions 19/11/14

Above is my journal entry from Day One of the 2nd set of intensive sessions with our choreographers Fitzgerald and Stapleton. It was really nice showing them a run of the performance in our costumes after the weeks of rehearsing and preparing by ourselves without them. They were very pleased with our progress which made us all very excited for tomorrow of where we will practise in the performance space of room 221 in the Ellen Terry building. 

After we performed a run through, which lasted an hour, of the choroegraphy, we split into our two groups again to finalize anything else that we need to in relation to the separate scores we have. My group went on to structure and record our self interviews, to be played whilst we are sitting facing the wall "untroubled by boredom" and "remembering to turn your fucking head". 

Here is my original interview that I produced: 

Hey Chelsea

Hey

How are you?

I’m okay thank-you

How are you on this particular day?

I’m tired, but feeling positive non-the-less. I say the same thing to myself every morning, that not every day is a good day, but there is something good in every day

Do you want to get up?

Not really

Why?

I’m really cold

What will happen when you get up?

I will have a shower, which when stepping out of it will make me even colder, hence why I don’t want to get up

What will happen after your shower?

I will get dressed, brush my teeth, and leave the house to go to classes

Is your life boring?

No

Why is it not boring?

I am always busy with university, work, dance, seeing family and friends

Chelsea, do you have any religious beliefs?

Yes I do

What are they?

I believe in God, and I believe in heaven. I have to believe in God, and I have to believe in heaven. I have to believe that I will see my little sisters again one day. Losing them left a deep whole in my heart. I remember staring at their still chests wishing they’d rise and fall, touching their cold cheeks wishing they were warm, and placing my finger in their hands wishing they’d squeeze back, but they didn’t. I know there is a God and I know there is a heaven, because I know that they are both waiting for me.

Do you have a close relationship with your parents?

Yes I have a close relationship with both of my parents

How is this expressed?

I love them both and spend a lot of time with them

What do you do together?

We go to the theatre, for meals, general family day trips with my other brothers and sisters, holidays, and other things

Do you think love exists?

Yes

In what form do you think love exists?

The love between family members, like a mother to her child and vice versa

Do you believe it can exist in another form?

Yes, like the love between two people in a relationship together, the love between friends, and the love of an activity or hobby

How do you feel about being a woman in England?

I feel privileged

Why?

I have equal rights and opportunities, which is a beautiful thing

Do you care for the environment?

Yes

How?

I recycle

You said you work which is a reason why your life is not boring, where do you work?

In a night club

What do you do there?

I dance on stage, and I also work behind the bar

Do you like it?

I love it

We have now chopped each persons down, decided upon the questions that we will be asked, who asks them, and whose answers will be given. Today we recorded the final version, of which we are all very happy with. I really enjoyed writing and recording the self interviews as for me it adds a personal touch to another's choreography, and it was also something to add a collective aspect and cohesion to our group so that we can relate to each other more as well as the score itself. 

Studio Practise 18/11/14

Today my spine felt cold, which I find effects my mobility; therefore I decided to use this as my main point of focus in the warm up of today's class with Andrea.

The new movement phrase we were taught today felt very beautiful and fluent to move through. Me and Abbie worked together in rehearsing it and found that we moved in similar ways, so that when we performed the phrase in unison, it has a lovely collective feeling with fluency and clarity.

The travelling phrases that we perform each week again felt very natural now in my muscle memory, however my feedback was very similar to the previous week of that I need to prepare less when beginning the phrases. I know that I do this a lot and it is something I am trying hard to leave behind me. New feedback for this week however was that I need more clarity in my arms during the travelling phrases to allow full extension and to show the journey that they take in each position of the phrase. 

Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion Performance 17/11/14

I was very excited to watch the performance today due to Jonathan Burrows being the author of the book we received last year 'A Choreographers Handbook'.

The first duet for me sparked ideas of sign language as a form of communication, although there were some parts in sync with each other which then suggested otherwise. Some parts were quite comical which demonstrated the playfulness of Burrows and Fargion's relationship with each other as well as with the audience. They used books to read their scores from, which during the post discussion they revealed that Burrows was notes in context of how a dancer would write them, and Matteo Fargion's were produced by music notations due to his background of being a musician and not a dancer.

The second part of the performance although was a separate dance, I felt had a strong connection with he first performance. The use of musical instruments as well as voice was strong in comparison to the first dance of where the sound originated from clapping or friction etc. Again the performance was comical and very clever that it allowed interpretation from the audience to create a meaning for themselves, but simultaneously demonstrated togetherness and intention.

The post show discussion was very enlightening and inspiring, and one thing that Jonathan Burrows did say has stuck with me in relation to my own practise within the performance projects: "Rehearsing is boring." We as a group discovered how our improvisation has become predictable due to over rehearsing, which was my relation to what Burrow's said about his practise.

I really enjoyed the performance and it has broadened my perspective again to dance including both the performance and making process.

Instant Composition 17/11/14

Today I had Polly for this session, and the main focus was upon giving a partner graphic in trios.

I worked with Gabby and Melissa from the third year, and the graphic concentrated mainly upon the upper half of the body e.g. mapping out the clavicle, getting under the shoulder blades, identifying the bones within the arms and hands, then the muscles etc, until eventually the support of the 2 people giving the graphic will enable the person receiving it to come o their feet with their eyes closed and relinquish weight to be able to move around in a different way to perhaps we would normally move. Eventually the two people supporting the receiver will completely loose physical contact to allow the mover to explore and play with their bodies at that particular point, although the other 2 people still stay present to ensure the mover is safe.

Giving the graphic:
- I don't enjoy the responsibility of another's body and therefore safety. However, it was interesting to feel and discover another's bones and muscles as everybody's are differently positioned and shaped.
- It was a delight to see another relinquishing weight and really giving up their bodies to allow them to move in a different way
- Being aware of another's injury made me feel cautious and I would therefore hold back when applying pressure to that area.
It was hard to perform the graphic when the receiver doesn't relinquish weight easily, as you cannot progress throughout the procedure if they keep returning to the original state of having tension in the muscles.

Receiving the graphic:
Due to my anxiety disorder I have a fear of losing control, and therefore I automatically assumed that this graphic would take away the control of my body, which made me feel apprehensive on taking part. However, after Melissa was the receiver she assured me that the 2 people performing the graphic can only have as much control as you allow them to have. This made me feel much more comfortable and keen to take part. I preferred the first part of the graphic of where my bones and muscles were being mapped out and acknowledged, in comparison to the 2nd part where I was on my feet with my eyes closed as this felt very alien whilst moving around.