Structuring Session for Choreography
As usual, its easy to make up structures on paper, but difficult to implement in the studio. I am so out of my body these days! its so painful.
I spent some time attempting to explore structuring options in DanceForms. However, while I could draw and edit spatial pathways, it is extremely tedious to do. I can now manage to highlight sections of movement in the timeline and move them around or apply a single joint change to it, but I can’t do anything more complex than that. So, I’m going back to the tried-and-true method of designing structure ideas on paper.
My first structure try on paper : 3x3x3 as movement types (gesture/ angle/ slouch pedestrian), movement size (small/ med/ large), space options (in place/ linear intention/ curvy) then its just spatial patterns – is it too typical to do a set progression (constantly moving upstage/ downstage) or mapping movement type/ size to a location (YES!). So then I draw a random/ nonsensical map.
This is my nonsensical map:
When I finally got around to trying out the map I made, I found total freedom in the process. As long as I could remember what I needed to vaguely do in the general order and location, my body could figure out something interesting in that place. This session I only did 2 run throughs after marking my way through and imagining movement initiation/ transitions.
The first run through flowed smoothly – no hangups, pretty interesting phrasing, and I naturally found movements and sections of movements to create themes – chunks of movement that could return again and again in different areas of the ‘choreography’. While i didn’t plan on these chunks to be the ‘meaningful’ pieces of the dance (I assume that because they return and repeat that they will be perceived that way) they just seemed to be the easiest choice or transition to return to, that made the most ’embodied’ sense.
The second run felt even stronger – i could do the same thing but with more pauses, more elaboration and stronger use of ‘themes’.
This process stresses even more the need to have a ‘sensical’ decision to make. Really, I just need to make a decision and do it and it will develop itself (well, my body knowledge will develop it). Obviously if I continue to explore this process, the structuring phase could take many many iterations, and exploring performance options, lighting and scenography will make it look like an actual ‘choreography’.
kristin carlson 