Discussion in relation to the duet: with Angie

As Angie wasn't involved in either my choreography or performance, I had my discussion with her. 

I told Angie how at the beginning of the assignment I was excited to have the only male/ female duet, as it flooded my brain with loads of potential ideas and concepts to challenge. 

Deborah was a brilliant choreographic partner, and we bounced off each others input to create a range of ideas to test out. 

However, absences and lateness from the performers made me anxious and nervous about how secure our end result would be. Nevertheless, we were able to produce a performance that communicated the choreographic idea and after speaking to several audience members after the show, had the desired affect: they kept guessing to see what they were going to do next, which demonstrated a journey. 

I found it hard, however, in the choreographic process to communicate feedback and ideas due to resistance and apprehensiveness. Though Angie told me how her experiences were the same, which didn't make me feel so at a loss to others in my group. 

As a performer, I was open to new ideas from my choreographers and we had good communication throughout the assignment. I felt at ease throughout the whole process, which made me comfortable and confident to suggest ideas and say when I felt something wasn't working. I enjoyed performing with Kelly and working with Abbie and Natasha as my choreographers, as there was always a sense of group coherence and a good vibe.
The overall experience for me was an eye-opener, and showed me what I am in fact capable of. I have learnt so much from this experience, including communication skills, openness to new ideas, and my ability to perform as well as choreograph.

Listening to Angie's experience, I felt she had similar issues to me involving the 'commitments' we had established as a group at the beginning of the process. She overcame them by speaking to her performers/choreographers to establish a mutual understanding. Angie also had to choreograph by herself, which added extra pressure for her. But I thought her choreography was something to be proud of and communicated a clear choreographic intention. 

Questions in Response to the Duets.

How has my perception of myself as a dance artist changed?

I am more capable than what I originally thought at the start of this assessment of choreographing a dance piece for other people. As the course grows, I am simultaneously growing and becoming more open to create and perceive dance in a new way. It is hard adapting to a new practise, but I feel the longer I am here the more open I am becoming and the more I understand and want to work in this way.

What was the biggest challenge I faced? & How did I resolve and work with that challenge?

Getting a mutual understanding of what is required from both roles i.e. the choreographer and the performer. It was hard for some people to distinguish between the relationships outside of the studio and inside of the studio, which made it hard to get a full rehearsal without interruptions occurring. I overcame this challenge by reminding the performers of the rules we, as a whole group, decided upon at the start of the assignment, such as being prepared, being punctual etc.

Identify and describe a moment of transformation in the process.

Similar to the first question, I felt a huge change in my own perception of myself in a sense that I thought "I can do this after all." I am forever learning on this course, and mine and Deborah's choreographic idea was taken from a Improvisation/ Instant Composition session with Nicola; at first I couldn't see how I could produce a duet from one idea, but as the material churned, my confidence grew, and I surprised myself with how capable I was of creating something that even kept me as a choreographer guessing.

If you could offer some advice to a group of first years, what would it be? 

When mutually making the commitments as a group, stick to them. Don't just say them as you think they are good things to say to impress your tutor, say them and stick to them to avoid any disruptions or problems.

Performance! #FirstYearShow #CoventryUniversity

I managed to film Gabby and Lewis in their first rehearsal today as we were unable to watch the performances on the night. 

I feel the lighting and the costumes really add to a 'journey' theme, and add interest and thought into how they move. 

Me and Deborah spoke with Katye at the end, and decided that the points to give them to be aware of included:

- not to over dramatize the impossible tasks, which we appreciate is hard as they have to believe they are in these tasks and are genuinely involved in them. However with things like when Gabby is gripped onto Lewis' ankles at the end, those things are genuinely hard, and don't need any extra fake noises as the difficulty can be shown through authentic noises of struggle.

- if Lewis is going to bang on the curtain after the 'human shadow' section, then he needs to do it harder but be careful not to rattle the chains at the bottom of them. 

- and to walk into the darkness with Gabby still gripped on to Lewis' ankles, as it looks more effective and as though their journey is continuing somewhere else.

They both agreed, and said they did the performance with these things in mind and felt good about how it went, which made me feel very proud and happy. Both I and Deborah are very pleased with what we have choreographed and how it was being performed in the rehearsals, and are excited for any feedback next week. 

For my performance, I felt it was successful in demonstrating the choreographic idea as I could feel my breath leading my movement, which was a scary thing to share with an audience as it is unusual, but was exciting at the same time. I was nervous about running as changing corners and directions can potentially cause someone to fall over or slip, but thankfully it didn't happen, and I was able to continue with the choreography and allow myself to really 'be in the moment' and explore the breath.

Overall, I really enjoyed choreographing a piece for the first year show, as well as performing in it (including the group piece). The overall assignment and experience involved a variety of emotions (which sometimes all came together at once!) but was all worth it in the end. 

Lighting & Costume Rehearsals 19/03/14

Today we had to work with Cath and John the technicians to decide about the lighting options and changes to happen throughout the performances. 

For my choreography, we originally weren't going to adapt the lighting as we didn't want to take the attention away from what was happening. Then after feedback from Jenny Coogan, we decided to have the lighting dimmed to add to the 'mystery' of the performance. Yet now Gabby and Lewis were in costume: cagoules and combat-like trousers to add to the 'going on a journey' theme, we thought we'd adapt the lighting to this too. So for the beginning we had lighting to highlight the back wall that Lewis was travelling across, and the floor that Gabby was shadowing him on. This then changed to a warm bright lighting to match the impossible task of 'walking on the sun', and then changed again to a cooler lighting that signified the start of the new tasks to follow, such as 'speaking without speaking', and then the final lighting change of a fade out as Gabby and Lewis travel from Downstage Center, to upstage keeping contact with each other, and still travelling even once the lighting has gone completely. 

I was really happy with the results of the lighting and the costumes as they added to the feel that I have been experiencing more and more since the choreographic idea blossomed: that the two performers are on a journey, moving through different atmospheres, worlds, places, realities (tasks), sometimes separate, and sometimes finding each other to complete the changing-journey together. 

For my performance, my choreographers Abbie and Natasha decided on a blue wash to cover the performance space as we let the breath lead our movements such as gestures that show the origination of the breath, and repetition of a variety of breathing techniques e.g. panting, blowing, sighing etc. Then for the ending, 2 spotlights which highlight both mine and Kelly's bodies appear as we first breath whilst pushing the pelvis, then the head, then the chest, then finally 8 heaving breaths that force the head from side to side, until the 8th one is completed and a blackout happens. I felt the ending was quite dramatic, but matched the idea of this 'Eternal Breath' that has flowed continuously throughout the performance and lead the bodies into various activities. Our costumes were blue shirts and grey trousers to connotate associations made with the breath and its flow. 

'Get In' #FirstYearShow

Today we had the 'get in' for our first year show, where we will perform and also present our choreography.

We first discussed costume; from this, I also went down to the room where all the costumes are kept and helped pick out an extra pieces of costume we needed.

After this, I participated in the 'get in' by cleaning the stage floor, and helping John with the lights.

 

 

Duet: Rehearsal 17/03/14

Today we went over the material from the last rehearsal so it is firmly in our movement memorys for Thursday's 'First Year Show'.

We also addressed any issues and made changes to things so that the desirable effect is enhanced. For example, to really demonstrate the idea of the breath leading the movement instead of the movement leading the breath, we needed to test out different ways of showing this to the audience. So we have added a motif of where I will make a variety of breathing noises/movements such as blowing, panting, sucking the air in etc and Kelly will respond by moving her body in the direction of where my breath is going. This along with other added motifs demonstrates that the breath is the leader and is therefore initiating the movements which follow.

The idea of us running at the beginning is really having a positive effect on the performance as the breath is real and active, and more importantly not forced; which increases it's authenticity.

Duet: Choreography Research

After the 'work-in-progress' we had which provided us with feedback on what we had produced so far for our duets, me and Deborah were told to watch work by Jerome Bel, who is a french choreographer and dancer. I had already done some research on him for our 'placing practise in context' work, but decided to do some more and see if it can assist me when choreographing.

 

Many articles and information that I found on the artist, described his work as "non-dance", such as 'The Show Must Go On.':

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpBbafP-Qdk 

 

However, I know that as my time on this course has grew, my open-mind has simultaneously: I have become more open to what is considered to be 'dance' after particpating in exercises in choreography workshop lessons, improvisation/instant composition lessons, and watching work by a variety of artists, including Liz Aggiss. What me and Deborah have produced, some may not consider to be dance, however, both of our performers move through the tasks they have been given and embody themselves in its nature, much like the performer's in Jerome Bel's work.

 

We began the Duet assignment by agreeing we were lucky to have the only male/female duet to choreograph with. We therefore looked at in depth the work we briefly watched in Choreography Workshop by Rosemary Lee: 'The Suchness of Heni and Eddie'. The work addresses the issue of assuming a stereotypical relationship between a male and female in space together. Me and Deborah said we also wanted to challenge this assumption. The interview I found shows Rosemary Lee's processes and ideas, and how she concentrates more on age differences than gender differences:

 

http://www.rescen.net/Rosemary_Lee/suchness_int.html

Duet: Choreography 13/03/14

In todays rehearsal with our performers we re-arranged the order of the tasks. This was due to feedback from Jenny Coogan, as we needed to increase the 'togetherness' between Gabby and Lewis to show it is a duet. The result was positive as it gave the performance a clearer view of the 'journey' that they both are travelling on, both separately and together. It also gives a clearer invitation to the audience to go on this journey with them; this is mainly due to the audience not knowing the nature of the tasks and therefore their own imaginations can interpret Gabby's and Lewis' movements.

We decided to begin with the 'human shadow' task:

 

 

 

Despite the range of dynamics that conflict and can show the spearation of one task from another, the new order also has a sense of clarity which shows the flow and therefore unravels the journey of the 2 performers.

We made some adaptations such as facings, and included the task of 'speaking without speaking' which brings them together from either side of the studio on a diagnol pathway, which with what we dicussed with Jenny Coogan: cuts the space. They then end the performance with the 'walking in space' section they created together by interpreting the task separately then using both sets of material came into contact with eachother.

 

Now its just about tightening any timing issues, and really engaging in the task so that they believe what they are performing, and hopefully so will the audience. 

Duet: Performance, Rehearsal 13/03/14

I felt pain in my shins from the last rehearsal we had due to running without the correct footwear, but I feel by changing directions more whilst doing this at the start of the routine, and therefore being more agile, I will avoid this from now on.
My choreographers, Abbie and Natasha, decided to adapt the routine again today so that the idea based upon the 'breath leading the movement' is realistic and is actually what is happening with our bodies. We now run at the beginning of the routine whilst changing directions, which leads to running with the occassional movement from another set piece of choreography based upon the breath. These new adaptations are powerful as I can genuinely feel my breath leading my movement, which shows the choreographic intention clearly.
I often feel slightly dizzy at the beginning of the routine as the running combined with odd movements from the set piece, as well as the following 'gliding with whirlpool' idea from Skinner-Releasing technique, involves a lot of spiralling. At one point me and Kelly bumped into eachother which told me that as well as being embodied in the movement, I also need to maintain my spacial awareness and my proiferal vision so I am aware where Kelly is to avoid any accidents.

Duet: Performance, Rehearsal 11/03/14

After the feedback that Katye and Andrea gave to my choreographers: Abbie and Natasha in the work-in-progress session, they decided to take on board the points that were made and start again. The idea of the breath seemed to have been lost whilst me and Kelly were performing, and one point of feedback was that maybe me and Kelly should run before the performance so that our breath is clear and realistic. Abbie and Natasha have decided to include the 'run' as part of the performance, which then lead to a variety of movement ideas such as breathing that leads the movement of the skull, the pelvis, the spine etc. We also added some more contact work including body surfing, and alternate breathing that forces the other person to move too.

 

We now have around 5 minutes of material to perform, all of which is based around the breath and how the breath can lead or initiate a movement, instead of the other way round. 

Duet: Choreography 10/03/14

In todays rehearsal, Gabby and Lewis went over the material we have so far which include the 'impossible tasks' of:

- Lifting the sky

- Taking the colours out of the rainbow

- Hiding from the light

- Human shadow

- Walking on the sun

- Listening to the centre of the earth

- Re-arranging the skeletal system

Me and Deborah have now again decided to add another task which will bring them eventually together into some contact work, produced by improvisation. We gave them the task of 'walking on the moon', and told them to interpret it separately. I really love watching people's interpretations of a dance idea as it's always going to be different to another person's approach. Gabby produced material that was slow, consistent, and doesnt travel much. Whereas Lewis' choreography travelled around the perimeter of the studio, and included elevations, walking, and contrasts of dynamics. We then told them that once their pathways cross, they should remember the impossible task at hand and the material that have just produced and improvise around it. It was a working progress, but the result was interesting and showed both of their indivudual ideas as well as variations that arose due to them now being in contact.

In the next rehearsal, me and Deborah have decided to get our performers to rehearse what they have so far as one piece rather than lots of individual motifs. We have also decided to include the task from todays Improvisation/ Instant Composition class of 'speaking without speaking'. From the feedback from the 'work in progress' we had, we feel our duet is looking like 2 solos and therefore hopefully the task from today and the next task we introduce will simultaneously introduce some established relationship between Gabby and Lewis, without it being a stereotypical one between a male and a female in space.

Work In Progress 04/03/14

Today we presented to Katye and Andrea, as well as the class, what we had all choreographed so far for our duets, and what we have learnt so far in our performance duets. 

As mine and Deborah's choreography isn't pieced together yet and is simply in separate sections, we decided to show it in the separate sections. We told the audience that the dance idea was based around your interpretation of a given impossible task, of which there are several throughout the performance. The dancers then performed and we awaited feedback. 

Feedback included: 

- Watch some of Jerome Bel's work as he may be useful ... I researched Jerome Bel for the previous lesson which was 'placing practice in context' and found the work I had watched very interesting. Therefore I am going to continue with my research and see if I can get any inspiration or ideas for my choreography. 

-Giving people the definition of 'impossible' before the performance would be a good idea. We gave the quote we had after the performance and we were told it'd be good to put in the programme so the audience knows this before they see the piece. So that's what me and Deborah have now decided to do. 

"Impossible isn't something that cant be done, its just something that hasn't been done before."

-Some of the audience wanted to know what the impossible tasks were that Gabby and Lewis were interpreting. However, I said I didn't want to reveal the tasks to the audience as it defeats the object of personal interpretation. We found that as we gave the dancers the tasks to make movement from, that we ourselves would have carried them out in completely different ways and different approaches, which we found very interesting and intriguing; why then would we stop this imagination that the audience can latch onto if we reveal the true nature of the tasks? 

Katye said: "I don'/t know what it is and I don't want to know." This I really agree with, as for example: Gabby made an interpretation of the task: 'raining pillows', but her movement could suggest 'an explosion of teddy bears' to a member of the audience, and therefore the creativity continues. 

-Find a relationship between the two people. Both I and Deborah established our fortune at the very start of the duet assignment, as we were the only choreographers to be given a male/female partnership. Watching Katye and Charlie in their performance triggered an idea that was re-enforced by ‘The Suchness of Heni and Eddie’ by Rosemary Lee: Could we create a piece for a male and female without an audience assuming a stereotypical love-based relationship between them? When watching Katye’s and Charlie’s performance I remember my focus being upon the puzzle I thought they were solving. My focus was also upon the trust and partnership they had, and therefore their relationship, but no stereotypical assumptions were made. This was a similar outcome for me when watching Rosemary Lee’s work; therefore I and Deborah shared this interest and too wanted to experiment with movement ideas that could disperse of stereotypical assumptions. However, our feedback from today’s session suggests that we took this too far so that no relationship was established, which isn't what we wanted. Therefore we are going to work on this development of a relationship being present between Gabby and Lewis, but without an automatic assumption that it must be, for example, love-based.

Duets: Choreography

Me and my choreographic partner, Deborah, decided after a discussion, that we were going to base our choreograohy for Gabby and Lewis on the idea of an 'impossible task'. This idea requires a person to write down an impossible task that could refer to anything e.g. 'A rainbow made out of candyfloss'. The partners then exchange the tasks and they have to interpret the task they have received into movement.
As Lewis was absent, Charity kindly stepped in and performed with Gabby. They exchanged 3 tasks each then performed them. The outcomes were fascinating as each person's interpretation of an idea would be completely unique and unlike another's, therefore is was interesting to find out what each dancer's task was and see how they communicated that via movement. One of the exchanges is above and shows Charity 'moving into darkness' and Gabby 're-arranging the universe'. The contrasts were beautiful and really captured my attention as a spectator. From their interpretations, me and Deborah decided to develop the movement material further and add in moments of unison, contrast, contact etc for the next rehearsal.

One idea we created was to develop Charity's 'moving into darkness' piece. We decided that Gabby should shadow Charity's pathway as she moves along the wall, therefore for Gabby to do the same but on the floor. This stays in connection with the impossible task as a 'human shadow'.

In our second rehearsal, Charity taught Lewis her interpretations of the impossible tasks she received. As this happened, seeing her and Lewis in the space together performing one of the tasks in unison inspired me and Deborah to have Gabby and Lewis start the performance with this, with the task being 'lifting the sky'. From this they went into a second set of impossible tasks which they performed individually but at the same time.
Gabby then tried to map what Lewis did across the wall and be his shadow in the video above, which turned out to be quite difficult for her to do, but looks very intriguing and captivating.

Duet Rehearsal: Performing. #rehearsal1

Today was my first rehearsal as a performer alongside Kelly, for our choreographers: Abbie and Natasha.

The main focus was on the breath. We moved whilst Natasha read from 'Body Space Image' by Miranda Tufnell and Chris Crickmay, then to some music whilst reflecting upon techniques we have learnt in Skinner Releasing and Contact Improvisation.

I found it challenge to sometimes remember which breath I was on as breathing is an involuntary process and can be hard to keep track of when its something you do all the time without thinking.
However, we managed to complete around 2 and a half minutes of material that varied from simply breathing, to moving with the breath, to Skinner Releasing techniques, to moving in unison.

Each time we rehearsed the material it got better due to it becoming more natural in our bodies, and it was easier to let go, enhance the dynamics , and find new ways on moving once the structure was clear in my head.