Since being put into our final groups and using the past week to develop our stimulus idea, we used the first portion of the lesson to share our ideas with the class and give a clear vision of what we hope to do. We then split into twos within our group and were assigned the task of coming up with a motif which could be repeated and expanded on within our piece. Our group decided it would be most effective to use words to inspire us and so Megan and Abi used 'connected', Mhairi and Devanshi used 'uncertain' and me and Caitlyn used 'influence'. Inspired by the idea of being drawn in by what others are doing and feeling compelled to copy them to fit in, me and Caitlyn wanted to create a motif with movements such as checking over our shoulder and leaning sideways to show the pull of following the lead of others. Using words as inspiration was a really effective way of developing movement, however we struggled to think of ways to connect these movements together with equally eye-catching transitions. We overcame this by thinking about how we could incorporate changes of direction to add intrigue to the previously simple phrase, and using our breath to establish a sense of flow and continuity within the motif.
Once we had established our motif in our twos, we developed it with the whole group, using canon to show how each person influences the next and ending with an almost machine like motion; stepping forward with a hunched over posture as if being pulled by a factory-like machine. We filmed ourselves after this initial development and have noted that we must act and perform these series of movements to help bring the idea to life and convey the pressure to copy and fit in, rather than it looking like we are out of time and don't know what we're doing. Furthermore, once we have refined the counts of the canon and are able to exaggerate each movement with more confidence, we feel as though this will be a powerful and endearing entrance to the stage.
Here is a video showing how each motif developed: https://youtu.be/tQJyB3uRDxk
Although we took a greater focus on mine and Caitlyn's motif this week, we hope to expand on the other two motifs which were created in the next few sessions, as we feel as though these will also be effective additions to our choreography. Here we began to explore the possibilities of the 'connection' motif:
Throughout this blog post, you have managed to explain with great detail the progress you and your group made during the lesson and what you hope to achieve in the upcoming lessons. I particularly enjoy how you have so precisely explained the movement that you and Caitlin created and the specific links it has to the word 'influence'. This suggests to me the in-depth thought behind each movement performed. Do you believe that using a word was the best way to create this motif or do you think you would have been able to explore your creativity more if you were able to have more freedom and just use your final stimulus as a general starting point for movement?
ReplyDeleteThankyou Storm. I think that using a word is a really good way for us to create a motif because it allowed us to have a definite focus and meaning behind our movement. Furthermore, our words were specifically chosen as they had a connection to our stimulus and therefore we are showing how we have generated ideas that have stemmed from our initial rooted theme. I think that our choreography would have less purpose and intention if we just used our stimulus idea as the focus, however I would consider choreographing more freely, perhaps with improvisation, to explore our creativity more openly.
DeleteYou have expanded greatly on the development of this motif. I like how you have seen this task in multiple angles which has helped you develop a very impactful beginning section.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression that your dance is very dependant on how you and your group perform together. How are you finding the process of refining everything to the detail in order to get your message across to the audience? Has it been quite challenging to be so identical in these sections?
Thankyou Louisa, yes I definitely agree that the refinement of these sections is very important for expressing our theme. So far it has been one of the most challenging and time consuming tasks for us to establish the counts for each section, especially when having to adapt movement created in counts of 8, to music that is counted in 6. Not only does the timing have to be correct, but the execution of each movement also needs to be the same to ensure that there is an obvious contrast between the conformity section of our piece and the individuality section of this piece. Although it has been difficult, we wanted to give this area of our process one of the highest amounts of importance as we know that it will be vital and effective for projecting our stimulus clearly.
DeleteThis is a really interesting motif and I like the use of levels, its also great to see how this motif has developed further to the final piece. Did you find choreographing to one specific word limiting? If so do you think limitations help or hinder creativity?
ReplyDeleteThankyou Nathan. No we didn't find it limiting as it helped us to have a secure focus, rather than getting lost with all the ideas we had in our head about our stimulus. I think that methods like these, using lots of words rather than just one too, help you to explore each avenue of your creativity, rather than getting lost and losing inspiration when looking at your stimulus as a whole.
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