1) How well have you used the stimulus?
In my opinion I have used the stimulus quite well and thought about different aspects regarding my stimulus to include in the dance piece. These include plane motifs because the buildings were attacked by terrorists who had hijacked planes and crashed them into the towers. The other common themes in the dance include panic and fear, which I think reflects on the stimulus as it shows the feelings of the people who were panicked as they were trapped, and also the general panicked state New York was in at that particular time.
2) Have you used original and varied action content?
All of my actions and motifs have been developed originally from the events of the day. I think most of my action content are quite original and there is a great variation in style.
3) Have you got contrasts in dynamics in your dance?
Yes, sometimes the actions are very slow and steady, and at other times the actions are quick fast. Sometimes, the music also highlights the dynamics in the movement because the music is sometimes fast and at other times slow. There is also a variation in the volume in the music, which reflects on the movements sometimes.
4) Is there variety in the use of relationships?
There are two dancers in the piece which allows me to use a wider range of choreographic technique such as unison, canon and contrast which would have been more difficult to do if the dance was done in a solo. For example, there is evidence in my dance piece of both dancers performing the same actions at the same time. But there are also different points in time where the dancers are performing actions to highly contrast each other.
5) Have you thought about your use of space, levels, pathways, entrances and exits?
Throughout the dance, I think both dancers cover a wide space - sometimes an extremely large space in a small time, at other times an extremely small space. There are also different levels through the dance as there are rolls on the ground at a low level and also high jumps and lifts at a high level. The entrance and exit of the dancers are explained further below.
6) Have you included several motifs which encapsulate the dance idea?
I have 2 main motifs that are repeated often in the dance. However, as I had intended the piece to be episodic, I decided to only have few motifs to be repeated throughout and to instead, focus more on conveying the message and telling a story. I think the overall dance accurately shows the dance idea of the feelings of the people who were at the attacks.
7) What about repetition and development, contrast and variation, and unison/canon? Have you thought about where these might feature in your dance?
There is not very much repetition of sections or movements in my dance, however there is the repetition of motifs and developed motifs. Because the dance is episodic, I did not think it was necessary for the same motifs to be repeated throughout the whole dance as the main motive of mine was to produce a story - which would have required more than a few motifs to come up with.
8) Have you thought about creating a good start and finish (onstage/offstage)?
I have thought about my start and finish. My dance starts with both dancers walking onto the stage one at a time. I did this because I wanted the casual feeling and introduction of the dancers - to suggest that when the attacks took place, everyone was unaware and carrying out their everyday activities.
The dance ends with Dancer 2 lying on the floor dead and Dancer 1 breaking the 4th wall to address the audience the same way President Bush did at that time.
9) Is there a climax in your dance, and are there highlights leading up to it?
There are two explosions in my dance, which I think are the climaxes of my dance. However there are no highlights leading up to it as I wanted the audience to be unable to anticipate the explosions as this was how the people in the building at that time felt when they were unable to escape.
10) Are there smooth and efficient transitions in the piece?
The transitions between the different sections in the dance are quite efficient and smooth. The first transition in my piece is after the first section and after the first explosion. The dancers simply collapse during the explosion and run off stage - I did this to introduce the themes of the dance before continuing with the dance.
11) Is there a clear structure to your dance?
As far as I know, there is quite a clear structure to my dance as it is episodic and the accompaniment which includes the 2 explosions clearly paints a picture of the timeline for the audience. These blasts enable the audience to realise when the first attack and when the second attack has taken place. Due to these crashes, there are two obvious climaxes in my dance piece.
12) Have you thought about choreographing the use of focus into the dance?
Focus in my piece is especially important as without it, the message behind the dance will not be conveyed to the audience.
13) Do you have moments of pause and stillness?
Yes there are moments of pause and stillness in my dance. And often these moments correlate with my music - so if there is a pause in my music, there may be a pause and the dancers may be still. Throughout the dance piece, there are quite a few moments of stillness.
14) Have you chosen an appropriate accompaniment to enhance your dance idea?
I think the accompaniment I have chosen is highly appropriate for my dance as the melody is reflective which enhances the deep meanings behind the dance. Also, the news flashes in the music enhances the dance idea by giving everyone in the audience a flashback to the shock and chaos of the day.
Tuesday 1 April 2014
Dance relationships
Definitions
- Unison --> when dancers perform the same movements at the same time.
- There is a section in the dance when the two dancers, facing the same direction, perform the same motif at the same time. I think having actions performed in unison is particularly effective as it emphasises the motifs and actions.
- Canon --> when movements overlap in time.
- In the dance, there is a section where Dancer 1 and 2 perform the same short phrase. However, Dancer 2 starts first and Dancer 1 follows the same direction and performs the same motif 2 counts later.
- Mirror Image --> when the same movements are done in the opposite direction, as it would be seen if looking at a mirror.
- Complementary --> actions or shapes that are similar but not exactly the same.
- Contrast--> shapes or movements that are very different from each other.
- Accumulation --> when a dancer begins a series of movements and others join in until they all dance in unison.
- Contact --> when dancers touch, lean, lift or support each other.
- There is a lift in the dance with contact involved. Dancer 1 supports Dancer 2 on her back as they hold in the lift and Dancer 2 kicks her legs upwards 3 times.
- Question and Answer --> when one dancer performs a series of movements, and the other dancer 'replies' to her movements.
- Counterpoint --> when two or more dancers perform different phrases at the same time.
- There is a section where Dancer 2 is performing a side jump to the side before collapsing to the floor. On the other hand, Dancer 1 falls onto the ground before slowly rising up. These two phrases performed at the same time are different but in my opinion when performed at the same time look very good because they are not only counterpoints, but also contrast each other highly in levels.
- Unison --> when dancers perform the same movements at the same time.
- There is a section in the dance when the two dancers, facing the same direction, perform the same motif at the same time. I think having actions performed in unison is particularly effective as it emphasises the motifs and actions.
- Canon --> when movements overlap in time.
- In the dance, there is a section where Dancer 1 and 2 perform the same short phrase. However, Dancer 2 starts first and Dancer 1 follows the same direction and performs the same motif 2 counts later.
- Mirror Image --> when the same movements are done in the opposite direction, as it would be seen if looking at a mirror.
- Complementary --> actions or shapes that are similar but not exactly the same.
- Contrast--> shapes or movements that are very different from each other.
- Accumulation --> when a dancer begins a series of movements and others join in until they all dance in unison.
- Contact --> when dancers touch, lean, lift or support each other.
- There is a lift in the dance with contact involved. Dancer 1 supports Dancer 2 on her back as they hold in the lift and Dancer 2 kicks her legs upwards 3 times.
- Question and Answer --> when one dancer performs a series of movements, and the other dancer 'replies' to her movements.
- Counterpoint --> when two or more dancers perform different phrases at the same time.
- There is a section where Dancer 2 is performing a side jump to the side before collapsing to the floor. On the other hand, Dancer 1 falls onto the ground before slowly rising up. These two phrases performed at the same time are different but in my opinion when performed at the same time look very good because they are not only counterpoints, but also contrast each other highly in levels.
Definition of development techniques
These definitions should be used to develop motifs.
- Levels --> the distance from the ground, changing the motifs to incorporate more heights such as jumps and also low positions on the floor.
- I have used levels throughout my dance as I transition between sequences of movements. There are points in my dance where I roll on the floor, using a low level. And there are other times where there are jumps and stretches upwards, using a high level.
- Dynamics --> the way in which a movement is executed including the speed, fluidity and sharpness.
- Direction --> the pathway taken to get from one movement to another.
- Extremes of Space --> taking either a lot of space or a only very little space in a section of dance.
- There are sections in the dance where the dancers travel a great space, running and jumping. On the other hand, there are moments in my dance of small movements where there is extremely little space travelled.
- Air pathways --> a pattern made in the air by body parts to get from one position to another.
- Addition --> adding more actions
- It is obvious that in the 2:30 minute long dance, there would have to be a great amount of addition to the motifs in order to create the final dance. As a result, a great amount of additional actions have been added to the motifs to create my final dance.
- Subtraction --> removing some actions from a motif
- In reference to my previous point, there is a contrast because sometimes I have taken very specific movements from my motifs and used it in the final dance. In my opinion, it would be slightly boring if the whole dance only consisted of motifs and motif developments, thus I think it is important to also subtract small movements from the motifs to make them shorter so these smaller sections of dance can be used throughout the piece.
- Fragmentation --> to divide up the movements of a dance and re-order it, or to simply repeat movements.
- Instrumentation --> performing the same movement using a different body part.
- An example of instrumentation is when I have developed the 'plane' motif - a motif performed with the hands. However, I decided that I would develop it using instrumentation. Instead of using my hands, I changed it to use my legs instead. As a result, my legs stretch and go 360 degrees much like the hands of a clock, a motif development that came from my 'plane' motif.
- Retrograde --> reversing the sequence of movements.
- Levels --> the distance from the ground, changing the motifs to incorporate more heights such as jumps and also low positions on the floor.
- I have used levels throughout my dance as I transition between sequences of movements. There are points in my dance where I roll on the floor, using a low level. And there are other times where there are jumps and stretches upwards, using a high level.
- Dynamics --> the way in which a movement is executed including the speed, fluidity and sharpness.
- Direction --> the pathway taken to get from one movement to another.
- Extremes of Space --> taking either a lot of space or a only very little space in a section of dance.
- There are sections in the dance where the dancers travel a great space, running and jumping. On the other hand, there are moments in my dance of small movements where there is extremely little space travelled.
- Air pathways --> a pattern made in the air by body parts to get from one position to another.
- Addition --> adding more actions
- It is obvious that in the 2:30 minute long dance, there would have to be a great amount of addition to the motifs in order to create the final dance. As a result, a great amount of additional actions have been added to the motifs to create my final dance.
- Subtraction --> removing some actions from a motif
- In reference to my previous point, there is a contrast because sometimes I have taken very specific movements from my motifs and used it in the final dance. In my opinion, it would be slightly boring if the whole dance only consisted of motifs and motif developments, thus I think it is important to also subtract small movements from the motifs to make them shorter so these smaller sections of dance can be used throughout the piece.
- Fragmentation --> to divide up the movements of a dance and re-order it, or to simply repeat movements.
- Instrumentation --> performing the same movement using a different body part.
- An example of instrumentation is when I have developed the 'plane' motif - a motif performed with the hands. However, I decided that I would develop it using instrumentation. Instead of using my hands, I changed it to use my legs instead. As a result, my legs stretch and go 360 degrees much like the hands of a clock, a motif development that came from my 'plane' motif.
- Retrograde --> reversing the sequence of movements.
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