Next Projekt
I have a few new projects in the works, at different stages of creation. They are moving forward simultaneously, which is a new development for me. It is all because time has allowed it… thank you Corona virus!
With Light Art Dance we will have a performance on the 3rd and 4th of October at the Kulturforum in Wiesbaden. The concept for the new piece has been developed over many months and most of the choreography is finished. It has been a fantastic process for me, pulling together many thoughts and ideas around the theme emotions, to present in a dance piece. They are ideas I have been working on over the last year and the process of creating and focusing has grown grown them even more. The great thing about a performance is always to express the work that I and the dancers have done.
Emotions - they make up such a large part of who we are and how we approach life. Even the short moments influence us profoundly in how we think and act. They are our “caveman” response. Emotions defined are physical reactions and expression inside of our body. Linking this to dance is personally very deep because through dance we express ourselves and our thoughts physically, reflecting on who we are and how we are in that moment.
There are so many different emotions that we experience, that in the creation process and for sake of clarity, I had to I had to narrow them down to a smaller more manageable amount. The eight basic emotions defined by Robert Plutcik as I have previously written about in this blog have been taken as a basis. The 8 emotions are are universal, experienced by all people of different cultures and in theory recognisable to all. Their beauty is also in how they connect and combine to create complexity. Just as we are complex in our being, so are the emotions we experience.
In drawing parallels, the importance of emotions is well known. Advertisers realise that most often the reason why we buy a product is the way it makes us feel. Hollywood its has the emotional pathos that draws us to films especially those which incite emotional responses inside of us with highs and lows. Intrigue is also created by connecting us emotionally to characters, leaving us wanting to learn even more about them and their lives. Instant gratification in Social Media uses emotion to entangle us and incite response often inciting emotions such as envy and outrage. This is much deeper and perhaps a theme for another post, suffice to say that there is plenty of emotion involved!
A piece about a single basic emotion would be interesting in itself, but lack any dramaturgical impact. What is needed is contrast. In exploring ideas that use basic emotions combined, I have found much more interesting forms of expression and ways to create dance.
To create a piece of dance I am looking firstly at the theme, finding a piece of music that expresses this theme and then filling in the music with choreography to represent the idea. Coherency is key, that every ingredient connects and supports each other.
The music that inspired me to create this time has been pop music. There is something emotional to pop music that is much more common and easier to relate to. Yes, a great piece of classical music is extremely powerful and emotive, but I think the reason why I chose pop music was it’s relatability. It is something that surrounds us in our daily lives, whether jingles in advertisements, streaming music services, radio and television or background music in a shop or restaurant, it is always not too far away.
To form the basis of the choreography, through my classes, I have been working on how movement and emotion connect. Emotions are physical reactions, so there is a natural connection to expression there. Each person has a slightly different form of expression making us unique, but there are a lot of generalisations that we can reach in analysing the movement. Using Laban Movement Analysis has helped to distinguish and define typical types of movement that each emotion has. The research I have done has been focused on using authentic expression - connection to an emotion through conscious focus on memories, images, sounds etc. Then it is a process of allowing the body move in its own way through following internal impulses relating to the feeling involved. It’s a process that has been deeply engrossing. Through it I have learned much about the depth that dance has.
More to about the piece itself to follow…
Short Update
My first blog post in a while. Many thoughts but as always I need tot start somewhere!
The phase with the Corona virus has been an amazing time. For all the restrictions and limitations, there has been a certain ease in the changes that have helped me in my life. For me it’s been focusing on my health, myself and most importantly what I want in life. This has previously been clear at times, but the extra time that I have had, through not running from one commitment to the next, has meant I have had time to focus and actually focused on doing the things that I love… Creating!
Creation is always a time consuming, step by step process. Anything that is worthwhile takes a bit of time to achieve and develop. When you have a passion for something, that time and effort put in makes me feel alive. I’ve noticed a certain resistance I have to putting the energy and focus in, though it has more to do with getting started than the actual process. A weakness of mine, that I want to improve on. But once I am in, engrossed in the task at hand, time flies! Setting reachable goals in bite size chunks has been the key. Even just setting aside 10 mins at the start of my “working” morning to focus gets me going. Sometimes I set a timer to create a space and purposely intensify or tunnel my attention. This has really helped. The distractions go away for those 10 mins (that often turn into 45 mins or more). It’s a positive tunnel that I enter, being able to block out externalities and having random thoughts disappear. It has given me a general improvement in my focusing ability and this is very productive. Combining that with prioritising and putting the important tasks first each day no matter what, I feel like I am making progress, developing myself, spending more time doing that which I love, which creates a feedback loop, wanting to doing more and more!
Setting fixed routines yet being flexible about what happens inside the time or the way of doing them has helped too. Helped me to stick to my goals!
Also having small tangible goals, that I can achieve within a few days and growing my skills at the same time have helped. Writing applications, pulling out a piece of music that I want to choreograph to and mapping a plan. Spending time in the studio for myself, to create. Organising rehearsals with other dancers so that I actually come to creation. Now, again blogging my thoughts. Reflecting on classes and watching videos of where I am with my choreography. It’s a passion and a love for the process which I have managed to continually make time for. Nothing is a waste. I’m not afraid to make mistakes and I actually even enjoy them, for I learn a lot more! The whole time spent is developing me, my skills and my knowledge of who I am - giving to myself.
It is a phase itself, but as my life gets busier with classes returning and more projects filling up my time, I am determined to keep the balance that “Corona” has given me. And also move further in the direction of creating, researching and exploring - the things that I love doing!
Dance and Life
I’m preparing a new course (Ritmovida, Thurdsays at 18:45 and 20:15 in Mainz) about dance, feeling and expression. It’s a culmination of me putting my current ideas together and being able to present them as a coherent concept. It’s exciting as I am forcing myself to be clear about all aspects of what I am trying to teach. To be able to explain an idea or concept and to teach it to others, I need to know and understand it truly myself.
There are a few things that are becoming clearer and clearer to me. They are more philosophical than practical. They give me a concept, the details of which, such as exercises and goals, fill in themselves. The ideas are not really new, but their importance and connection to each other is growing in my mind. They originate from to my desire to investigate the reasons as to why people dance. I keep coming back to the belief that we live and dance to experience life. So here is my list:
We live to experience life
Movement is key to life
Physical Awareness helps us sense what we live
Authenticity and connection is key to self
The emotions that we create make us feel alive and connected to our self
Creating and learning are our expressions of growth
We learn through experience (experiential learning)
The amazing thing about the above list is that dance has all of this. Dance in itself, is an extension of movement, with self-expression and (biology 101) movement being the basis of life.
I’m pretty convinced that most things that we do and desire in life are for the experience. Sure, we often do things to move away from fear or harm. Yet for fulfilment, it all lies in the experience. Whether it is seeing a movie, spending time with friends/family, travel, working on a project, dancing… our motivation can be broad, but the experience of doing these things is key. It is how it affects us physically through our emotions.
The importance of movement to life can never be understated. I could go so far as to say that movement is life (for without it nothing would change). The physical body moves and dance is an extension of this movement. To distinguish dance from movement, dance is about quality of movement, how we move. Of course, how we move is also a sign of our state of being and health. Our quality of life is directly influenced by our freedom of movement, expressed through our physical body.
Awareness of our physical body is key here. How the body feels right now in this moment. It is a picture of exactly where we stand and therefore what we are also capable of. Taking the time to really feel where we are can be scary, but also satisfying. There is no other me! Through feeling and listening to the body we can get in touch with ourselves creating and deepening our connection with who we are.
Having a deep connection with oneself allows for authenticity. Knowing how I move, how my body feels, being aware of me, my thoughts and feelings, I am then able (through trust and allowing vulnerability) to express myself. I express feelings and emotions that come from inside my body. To be able do this also requires a level self-acceptance. The more I express my authentic self, the more I feel alive, seen and true to me, deepening and enriching my experience of life.
Awareness also facilitates our ability to change, influence and direct our physical experience. In doing so we create and learn. Awareness helps us to express ourselves more clearly.
Dance is so lucky to be an experiential learning subject. The only way to learn dance is through experience. Being there in the moment and physically going through movement, allowing the body with all it’s receptors to sense and learn creates physical stimulation that is much greater and more powerful than any thought (see post on body mind ideas from November 2019). There is little that you can understand from theory alone and the body itself learns through movement.
And in relating that back to performance and dance as subject, it is a tool not only for the art form, but also for physical well being and self expression, alive, here and full of life!
EUROLAB Submission
Writing submissions for conferences or applications are always interesting. It’s a good chance to clarify my ideas and get them written down in coherent forms.
Here is my submission for EUROLAB 2020 a conference for people using Laban Movement Analysis
Laban Movement Analysis is a great tool to define and explain the movement that I am working with. Different dance styles have different terms for their movements, but in modern dance where any type of movement is possible LMA helps to deepen the understanding of what is required.
The theme of emotions and connection are those which I have been working with recently. To explain the diagram at the bottom of the page briefly, there are 8 basic emotions and they are grouped in the flower shape by their intensity (closer to the centre, more intense, further away less). Surrounding the flower are words that combine the two nearest emotions together. It would be possible to term these words feelings.
The diagram is a base for my work with emotions to define them in movement and learn to express them at different levels of intensity. This is of course just the beginning…
EUROLAB Submission — Matthew Tusa
Emotions are a physical reaction coming from inside the body. They effect how the body moves, which can be defined using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA).
With 80% of communication being nonverbal, movement is a highly important part of our self-expression. Much of what is expressed physically through the body is emotional. This expression of emotion needs to be congruent and genuine to be believable. Authenticity of movement is critical in dance to convey emotions, portray roles and express ideas to an audience.
As a professional dancer and choreographer I have been using LMA to define and explore emotions in dance. I have found that there are typical movement patterns of shape and effort for different types of emotions. Through identifying a physical movement and recognising its meaning I have sorted them into emotional categories defined by Robert Plutchik (2002).
The use of LMA is to give dancers the knowledge and tools to deeper embody the meaning behind a movement and to be able to clearly and consciously express themselves in their performance. In doing so they develop their self-awareness and broaden their range and intensity of expression.
I would like the opportunity to present on my practical application of LMA in combination with the eight basic human emotions as defined by Robert Plutchik. I would like to show LMA use in developing emotions and expression in movement, from the perspective of a dance instructor and choreographer in the form of a lecture performance or workshop.
Plutchik, R. (2002) Emotions and Life, Amer Psycological Assn
Authenticity
I wrote a post about the Authentic voice in December, a lot about letting go of filtering to be more natural and speak ones mind. It’s about openness and honesty, creating communication and giving space for others to respond.
Well of course there is Authentic Movement too. It’s part of dance therapy and was developed in the 50’s by Mary Whitehouse and then continued by Janet Adler among others.
There is a lot of information in the book (Authentic Movement - Patrizia Pallardo) I am reading about Authentic Movement that I find really interesting. It’s the same authenticity that comes from the inner monologue of our thoughts, though with one main difference. It is an inner monologue of our bodies or physical feeling. I guess you could put it that it is heart based rather than head based.
Whitehouse talks about how as children we expressed ourselves with our whole bodies, when saying yes or no, when looking up or down and how as adults we have trained ourselves to show less in the name of secrecy and efficiency. Yet her opinion is that the body never lies and whether it is connected or disconnected, it is still expressing our real emotions in relation to any situation. You just need to look hard enough!
It is interesting as a study. I was in Paris over the weekend and went to a party. My French being pretty rusty and with a room of people I had only met for the first time, I took some time, just to observe both peoples body language as they were communicating with one another and also as they were dancing together. I had nothing to compare it against except for what was happening, but there was a lot of clear information about how they felt being expressed in their posture and movement.
I also liked Whitehouse’s thought “The body is dead. We give it life by moving!”
In the classes I give, I have been setting exercises with improvisation that actually (unknown to me) touch on the philosophy of Authentic Movement. Quieting the mind, getting in tune with the body, moving from ones own feeling place, going with the feeling and seeing where it takes one. There is more to develop in the improvisation exercise as to where to take it, but I do find that it is quite intuitive if one is true to the philosophy behind it.
My one comment to the experience of setting the exercise is that I usually see is dancers that start in their bodies but revert back to their head space. I am presuming this is happening, because they start with natural movement which is spontaneous and impulsive, yet at a certain point something changes and they move into doing stylised movement with clear forms. Sure, this is habitual movement that becomes clearer as the size of the movement expands, yet I am thinking that this comes more from a thought space than a feeling space. At least my perception (and I can be wrong) is that the impulses from feeling have less generic form and are more sensual. Or can it be we are just not aware of our habits!
Hopefully, if you continue to practice at something and give it some thought/reflection, you will get better at it. By connecting with ourselves, we definitely get to know ourselves better and experience physically how we feel. Authentic body movement as a continuation of body language helps this cause. In the end it is a connection with ones sensuality and a deeper experience of oneself.
Partner connection, Desire and Suspense continued
I have been working through the ideas that I have previously detailed in other posts and I thought I would write down some thoughts, observations and things that interested me.
There is something very instinctual in us that judges and senses the distance between people. The first time that I was consciously aware of this was a couple of years ago in a Somatic Experiencing session (on the basis of Peter Levine’s work). Somatic Experiencing works with the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) to heal trauma in the body by working with the bodies regulation. (More information can be found here Somatic Experiencing Handout)
The exercise in question is briefly explained, where two people stand facing each other at a distance. One moves slowly towards the other and the person who is standing has the job to listen to how their own body feels and tell the other when to stop based on its reaction. There is a point where our nervous system reacts and shifts from comfort to discomfort. As far as I understand, due to the ANS being much quicker than our thoughts, it is not something that we can influence or decide, rather it is an instinctive reaction. The exercise has to do with boundaries, safety and recognition among other things. What interests me is the bodies response as well as the comfortable distance.
Now to link this to desire:
There is a specific distance that is comfortable. A little further away, either distances the two people causes one to want to move closer -> chase (elastic band effect) to maintain the connection creating longing. Should there be little interest, the connection is dropped.
If the distance is too close it goes in the other way. Being to close either causes discomfort in the ANS (stress), making one push away to maintain the comfortable distance. Should the interest be present, there can be an acceptance of the new distance.
The regulation of space between people has a better picture: a spring between two people.
“I can't live with you But I can't live without you” - Queen
Suspense is especially created, especially when the distance is uncertain or unclear depending on the level of interest. It is also created when the reason for change in distance is unknown.
Each person has their own personal space too, a distance that is often culturally defined as well as to do with one’s upbringing and natural needs.
In general coming closer to each other builds up in intensity. Pulling away creates tension.
It has often intrigued me with latin dance styles, that are based on partner work, what the attraction to them is. Maybe it can be explained as follows:
There is the close distance to a partner that is accepted as part of the dance.
The accepted roles (man leading, woman following) to be able to dance together and the physical and spontaneous (creating a small amount of uncertainty) communication that occurs. This creates a live connection.
There is the feeling (physical intimacy) as one is physically active in close proximity. There are also the continual (and natural) changes in the distance between partners through movement that pulls and pushes like an elastic band, all stimulating the nervous system.
In my dance classes I have been doing various exercises with different groups of dancers, simulating closeness and distance, varying the push and pull and adding in elements of uncertainty and spontaneous decision making.
What I notice is that it’s highly stimulating and a rush. There is a lot of adrenaline (sympathetic arousal) pumped into the body through doing the exercises. It has been described to me by a dancer as sensual…. I notice too, a sense of exhaustion afterwards, which could be due to the need to balance out the senses. The parasympathetic nervous system engages and calms the body down and balances it out.
The human connection is fascinating. Especially as a our reactions are seemingly out of our conscious control…
There is something too about how the situations influence the way we feel. It’s external as we are reacting to what is happening outside of us. It is a different stimulant to the feelings that arise from inside of us.
I go on about dance being an experiential learning form. We learn from the experience… That’s what is great about it…. And so am I!
Still many questions to explore:
I’m still wondering how this relates to self-expression in a broader sense? It’s definitely in the realms of feeling but different as it is externally influenced.
What is the connection between the internal feelings we have and the external?
Is it possible to transfer this to larger groups of people? Or does it have to be an individual?
Is it, the more we care about the person (level of relationship), the higher the intensity?
Partner Connection
What is partner connection? In dance it is a physical communication method to facilitate often synchronised dance movement.
It is the driver of suspense in physical contact. It gives information and signals that can be used to transmit power and energy.
We have:
tension or leverage connection <- ->
Compression connection -> <-
Neutral - -
The three types can also be separated into three contrasting modes:
leading and following where a pair have opposite reactions - one is pulling and the other is resisting but only to an extent that creates tension or leverage to create a movement. This slight resistance builds energy like an elastic band between partners allowing the pair to move “as one”
resistance where we are opposing our partner which can be seen as fight for control or a test of strength. This creates the energy between partners by tension or compression yet the elasticity is gone
neutral where there is no reaction. This can be either completely passive as no-one is creating tension/compression or when one partner pulls or pushes. Movement is contained in the body as there is no resistance from the partner resulting in movement only in the body part where one is manipulated This causes the energy to dissipate
There is a physical connection in feeling the signals from one to another. There can be a transference of control (depending on the type of dance/the movement) where one is leading (giving an impulse) and another is following. There is also a need to be able to understand and feel the amount of energy required to create resistance if so required, build tension or
Exercises to try:
Tension/leverage - moving as if an elastic band connects the pair, trying to maintain the set amount of distance and not let the elastic band fall. This can be done with distance or close by
Compression - the reverse as if a pole or rod is connecting the two. This takes out the elasticity and becomes more aggressive/static
Mixing the three elements of tension, compression or neutral together (perhaps better described as pull, push or relaxed) with a physical connection ie. holding hands.
In each of the exercises, there is no set leader, causing communication between the pairs.
Desire
Define desire:
Wikipedia (link):
Desire is the emotion of longing or hoping for a person, object or outcome. The sense of longing is excited by the enjoyment or thought of the idea or person. It causes us to want to take action to obtain this goal.
So what the f… is with desire? I mean seriously!!! I’ve been in this world 38 years and for some reason it is only now (and I don’t know why it has taken so long) that I recognise what it is and how much it plays a role in life!?! It can be personal relationships, work relationships, material, emotional or experiential. There are a lot more ways that desire works within us, as I am just scratching the surface. Yet the “law of attraction” seems to work well with them all. Not the law I desire something, visualise it and it will come to me type (thought this sometimes works well). I’m talking the desire that creates an emotional pull and feeds our irrationality, causing us to do things that we wouldn’t normally want to do, creating upheaval and turning our world upside down. Why is it that I am only just now learning about these things? Well better late than never ;-)
We all know about it. We were all teenagers with desires and pining, caught in emotional waves, perhaps rollercoasters. There was always things that attracted us and things that we were totally indifferent to. There was also the attitude that if we wanted something badly enough we’d get it, though that never really worked out for me. It’s so simple to say the grass is greener on the other side… ie. we want what we don’t have. But also, if we realise that something we always thought we could have, is suddenly not possible - not there for the taking… Boom! An instinctual flip to can occur, like the fight or flight response summoning energy to chase the object of desire.
Desire is the emotional feeling associated with a goal, the hope or fear of reaching it. It is the drive and motivation that helps us to find food and spurs us into action. Suspense is also a key component of desire.
“In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants and the other is getting it” - Oscar Wilde
Sometimes we desire that which doesn’t want us and that which desires us, we don’t want. Desire often created by the thing that we want but can’t have. Contrarily, to that which we can have, we are indifferent. So there is the thrill of a chase and the indifference to being chased. And both reactions cause a deeper intensity of feeling and/or longing.
“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it and your should grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.” - Oscar Wild
There is a love of the game of desire. There is something riveting to the chase and the uncertainty. This is suspense that I have previously posted about. We all love the feeling of being alive and on edge. Some more than others of course, but it is attractive… There is also a lot to the build up of suspense over time. Its uncertainty heightens our emotional reactions and intensity, amplifying desire.
We also desire things that are perceived as scarce. Scarcity heightens desire and intensifies the longing.
Just as an unknown gap in time creates suspense, the longer desires are resisted, the stronger they become.
“Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained” - William Blake
There is another component here that affects desire. That is attraction…. It seems a fact, that you can’t hide attraction in the face of desire. It may be possible to play with desire and resist that which wants us or chase that which we want (object, person or goal), but should there be enough attraction, there is only a certain amount of resistance that is possible. Or contrarily as the quote suggests, should we not really want it, there is only so far that we will be willing to go / play the game. As soon as the chase in one direction is over, the lack of being chased will cause pursuit in the other direction only if there is enough attraction. Otherwise dissipation ensures, should it not be the case.
About desire I still have questions: Does desire deepen or develop attraction to certain things? And is the object of desire a need or desire the need itself?
Desire can also have to do with self-love. It is how I feel when I am in the moment. It is that I feel alive and on edge while desiring or that I am being acknowledged when I am being chased. It is the emotional feeling of importance - how I feel about myself.
Furthermore, is the object or goal the aim and desire its facilitator, or do we desire the game itself? It all comes down to how we feel. The more we want something, the stronger the feeling, and the more it doesn’t do what we want (is not under our control or is uncertain), the stronger it gets.
Further reading…
desire-in-relationships-what-really-causes-attraction
Suspense
Moving forward with feelings, I have a few themes that I am working through. They connect together so there may be some overlap. They are about being alive, the feeling of being on the edge. I will start with first one — suspense.
What is suspense? How do we create suspense? What are the ingredients that are needed?
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty or anxiety. Suspense is also the anticipation of an outcome of a plot/scenario/result. It usually involves some risk, which heightens our senses and creates the uncertainty.
It comes down a lot to timing and expectation and anticipation. How long it takes for the moment to arrive? Is it as expected? Any gaps between the aspect of time and its actually occurrence create a void where suspense lives and grows.
Suspense is also created in irregularity. The sudden impulse that comes but is not predictable. The longer we wait for the moment even if we know it will occur, the greater the suspense. The Suspense turns on the nervous system heightening our capacity and focusing our senses. There is a distinction in different sizes of gaps effect. The large (day long) unknown gap moves into creating a feeling of longing, such an intense feeling - anticipation of the next event. The shorter gap creates intense pressure, its effect created in a compressed into a moment of time.
The length of the gap, heightening our feelings by exploiting the difference between expectation and occurrence, can be created for example through contrast in sequencing. After two impulses that were relatively close together or an impulse that occurs regularly, a longer unexpected gap before the next impulse creates uncertainty building up suspense. It strokes fears in our body that cause the build up of anxiety, not knowing when the next impulse is going to come, yet expecting it none the less.
Feeling wise suspense is the buildup of anxiety/ pressure/ tension through uncertainty, fulfilled by a rush of relief caused by its release. This can be and is manufactured! It is an internal emotion that drives us and is powerful enough to cause irrationality.
There is also a component of desire needed. The more we care about the outcome, the greater the suspense. It works best when it is personal or one feels a deep connection with the subject. When we care or are invested in the outcome, it heightens suspense’s intensity.
There is the experiment of rats being fed. When they are fed at a regular interval, they are calm. They trust that the food is going to be there at a certain time. When there is no predictability to the timeframe they are living on edge. The body kicks in a natural preoccupation with sourcing its next food/energy and therefore sets anxiety to move us in different directions ands give us drive all in the name of survival. It is wild!
Risk is also a big component to the intensity of feeling in suspense. It’s the definition of uncertainty. How much is at risk? Are there adverse outcomes that I can / can’t avoid / take. It can be as simple as rejection to life threatening situations. The interesting thing is that our body reacts through the nervous system in the same way. And it is exhilarating, making us feel alive!
There are many exercises that I can put into dance to replicate suspense. Two people running at each other with the aim of stopping as close as possible. Two people moving together in each others personal space with the idea of not touching each other. Both have a risk, uncertainty over an anticipated outcome which sensually are engaging. The first has time shortened to a defined moment, the second - the longer it goes the greater its intensity. Each delve into suspense through heightening the senses.
Suspense is also a key plot component, working around the same feelings and principles as above. The difference is we are the observers instead of the protagonists. Key is an emotional connection to the situation. This makes it believable. Again, emotional connection is created through authenticity and vulnerability, causing a basis for care.
It all links together… ;-)
My Process Creating Dance
There are so many ways to create dance and choreograph. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. While I was in Australia I had a few questions from friends and peers as to my process, asking for some advice, so I thought I would give an insight as to my approach. Though it can vary my first point is to search for meaning.
The first place that I focus my attention and thought is in developing an idea. I ask the question of myself: what am I trying to express? The best ideas stem from a need or a deep burning desire… When I am quiet and take the time and space to just sit, feel and observe myself, there is often something deep inside of me that wants to see the light. A belief that is important to me or idea or observation that is bursting out of my core. It can be something that I would shout at the rooftops if I was given a chance, a theme that I could sit and talk about for hours. I have an inner need to express it… rather than, oh, that would be a good idea.
Of course there can always be limitations to what one can do. But I see these as a good thing that push creativity rather than stymie it. Sometimes the idea is externally dictated. This means I need to find my own perspective relating to it or a personal interest within the idea. I take this perspective, own it and then explore its meaning.
There can also be certain limitations and criteria due to the commission, dancers, budget, space and or time available to create. The framework is there and it is my desire to always make the most out of what is possible. It’s not to say that I shouldn’t be ambitious or demand more, but to work them to their limits. Though this framework is there, interestingly enough, it rarely affects my development of ideas tangibly.
Sometimes the idea also can be influenced or even constructed from pieces within the framework. Certain people, places, the space to be performed in or a musical track can provide inspiration, but then the end I make sure the idea stands by itself. It can be a curious interaction between two sides that develop both parts, but the idea definitely needs to be set before I move forward. It gives the impulse and direction even when the destination may be unknown. I know what the next step forward is!
Next comes a process of creativity with many questions to be answered. What are the facets of the idea that I find interesting and would like to express? Where and how can I find variation or contrast? Is there a narrative that I am expressing to make my point? Does the narrative make sense? I search for meaning and connection. A lot of the time it comes through association. For instance, drawing mind-maps really help here to get a visual concept and then a story line / piece order. With the mind-map I am starting the process of filling in the details. It is a process of top down work to start with a central point and then expand it and develop it into the minute. This repeats itself several times at different levels. The themes that spring out are connected and broad, subsections of the overarching idea, themselves containing sub-ideas that also have their own details. This can be feelings, conditions of the idea, experiments, pictures, visions in my mind, musical pieces that I feel represent the idea, a form or type of movement (ie. improvisation, clearly choreographed, duet, group mirroring, following…). I collect all are possible parts that I feel express the idea and refine them.
There is also a movement quality that I am searching for that represents the feeling expressed. A natural association with the state and its feel. It is really important that there is an authenticity to the movement, that naturally anyone can perceive the idea simply by observation, due to its coherence and our ability to read body language.
The sequencing or storyline is sometimes preset. Should I have any influence on how it develops, it is an intuitive process. Basically I am looking to take the audience on an emotional adventure where flow and contrast are balanced to create suspense and surprise. All of it must be believable.
It is at this point that I move into the studio and come to movement phrases, musical phrases, floor plans, beginnings and endings. A lot of this is inspired by spontaneity, though it can be preplanned too. As long as the idea behind what is being expressed is strong, allowing creative freedom within the tangible creation usually works well here. It is spontaneous ideas, the desire to play and experiment that works well. I believe that groups and working with the actual dancers can create more than I can alone, so I also bounce ideas off the people I am working with, set them tasks and ask them how they would interpret the phrases of movement. There are many moments that are thrown out or reworked. It is simply a gut feeling and an eye that I have developed for what works and what doesn’t.
In the forefront of what I am doing is to create with meaning. This means that every movement has a purpose, or a text to it. For every movement I ask myself why does the dancer do that? Does it fit with the idea to be expressed? Its reason can be superficial or deep, but having one creates connection and authenticity. By doing this it is allowing depth and connection to what I am trying to say, here filling in the actual minute details. They are always first created in draft form, then over the rehearsal process, developed and perfected.
Yes it is a complex and detailed process and that is the beauty of it. It’s what I am passionate about. I love and enjoy every moment from the inspiration to seeing a performance come to fruition. The depth of thinking and engagement and the effort given is very fulfilling and personally rewarding as I go through this process. If I am creating 1 minute of dance or 60, it is still the same. The only difference is how much I can expand and explore an idea in its presentation (meaning what an audience sees). The background work stays the same.
As I go through my next creation process, I will post snippets of ideas to give examples of what this all means!