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.

How can a blog support you as an artist

When we was creating our choreography for the duet assessment, I researched blogs that I thought could assist me in my making. Now we have been given our 'placing practice in context' essays to complete over Easter, some of the blogs are still relevant to my new research:

I was told to watch work by Jerome Bel for my duet as it could potentially help me with what I was working with. Therefore I researched various blogs that made comments upon his work to get a wider range of views based upon his choreography and what he works like. Blogs included: 

- http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2014/01/09/jeanne-calvit-on-disabled-theater-by-jerome-bel/

- https://cap.ucla.edu/blog/?tag=jerome-bel 

- http://www.newyorklivearts.org/blog/?p=3291

Though these blogs can still aid me in the development and construction of my essay as Jerome Bel is one of my choices of choreographers to consider, I also researched blogs by Rosemary Lee as her work was also relevant to what me and Deborah was working with:

-http://www.exberliner.com/blogs/the-blog/a-chat-with-rosemary-lee/

Contact Improvisation 25/03/14

Here is an entry from my Artist Journal of what I recorded from a partner graphic we did in today's lesson.

I was really delighted that I was able to let go and give up the weight and responsibility of my skull, as I normally really struggle with tasks like this, especially due to me holding so much tension in my jaw.

I felt such a difference in my skull and enjoyed the experience that much that I am going to take Katye's advice and repeat this graphic outside of the lesson as I loved being able to "give my skull a break". I also think its an experience everyone should be able to enjoy so I am going to share the graphic with my family, as I know my mom will definitely appreciate it like I did.

It was also an accomplished feeling being a successful supporter and hearing that Angie felt safe in my care and was also able to let go without a feeling of doubt or nervousness.

Improvisation / Instant Composition 24/03/14

Today was Nicola's first session back with us, but was a shorter session due to our group and Polly's group going to watch Katye's class show us what they have been working on in their sessions.

Nicola first told us to go outside and collect 3 movements that we see people do as they go about their every day lives. My 3 movements were:

- folding the arms

- brushing your fringe out of your face continuously (due to the wind)

- pointing

We then came back in and also performed those movements for ourselves. After making associations such as: folding arms = protection, cold, angry. pointing = curious, instructive... We paired up and exchanged with a partner what we had. Then choosing the words that stood out for us, we used them as our guidelines / instructions to perform our movements with and make a sequence together out of them. By being true to the words we had chosen, we managed to create a sequence that asked questions and created associations. By watching each others performances we then used our associations with another's duet and made another version of there's, for example: me and my partner watched another duet and for me it demonstrated a 'class system' with an ill poor person and a rich ignorant person, so we created something from this.

I would have loved to have done the full class today instead of I being a shorter version as I was amazed at how much material could be created from such a simple task. The pedestrian movements we collected transformed into something that suggested a variety of associations and meanings, and then those associations and meanings created something else, which I found fascinating.

I'm sad these sessions are now over, but I am grateful I have a new knowledge of choreographic techniques and approaches and am excited to use them.

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.