I wanted to consider further the various components of performance, I created the above mind map and looked into my personal experience of these. I found upon analysis that each component overlapped with another, I therefore grouped some of the similar titles together. I hope the following will bring about further questions to ask as part of my inquiry.
Influence and Meaning of Movements
From my own experiences of creating choreography and watching dance performance I feel that the movements should embody the
emotions the dancer, the movements initially created by the choreographer.
I plan to discover how choreographers explore human emotion and the influence
upon the movement which is created. I feel awareness and appreciation of meanings
behind movement will enable the dancer to cultivate expression and develop
their own creativity, versatility and chorographical skills.
Below is a clip of contemporary
choreographer and director Akram Khan discussing ‘Dust’ a piece created for English
National Ballet commemorating the centennial of the First World War. Here, Mr
Khan discusses how he considered words surrounding death - Life, Death, Absence
and Memory, which originally came from a poem. This interview is evidence of
how much research, thought and meaning is behind this piece of dance, he
describes how he created movements have to utilise the classical dancers effectively.
Akram said: “The piece is inspired
by two things. First, the concept of a trench, of the young men and old men all
going into trenches, and disappearing. The other substantial part was inspired
by the women. In WW1 there was a huge social shift towards women. They needed
weapons made for the war, they needed a huge workforce. I felt this shift in
role was interesting. They knew they would be letting go of fathers, husbands,
and sons; they might lose them. Yet they were making weapons that would kill
others’ fathers, husbands, and sons. It didn’t matter which side you were on –
they both felt loss and death. But in order for someone to live someone else
was putting their life on the line. That cyclical thing was what I wanted to
explore.”( http://blog.ballet.org.uk/lest-forget-akram-khan-tamara-rojo-perform-together/
15.11.15)
In the following clip we see how
Mr Khan has explored this powerful concept through movement
Music Genre
The genre of music will of course influence the style, feel
and subject of the dance, it is usually the starting point when creating
choreography. When studying to be a teacher we were taught the importance of
using a broad spectrum of genres in order to develop student’s versatility in style
and expression. We were also encouraged to educate our students on the history and
origins of a particular genre.
I remember having a lengthy discussion in class on the
subject of Blues, we talked about how the slaves had created a genre based
around the rhythm of the train, helping them along with their work to boost
morale. We discussed how they would be feeling working long hours in the heat,
innocent, desperate and longing for freedom. We put these thoughts and feelings
into the choreography our teacher had created, the discussion informed the
expression of the movements to bring it to life. We used visualisation
throughout practising the choreography given by our teacher, she created a
story on which to base the expression and quality of our movements. I am hoping
to interview this particular teacher (who has since become an ISTD examiner) as
I found her ideas and teaching so inspirational and effective in my own practice.
When studying for my ISTD CDE teaching qualifications I
worked part time in an independent record store, one of the last few. I credit
this experience with a positive influence on my teaching as it enabled me to explore
new artists and genres of music. It opened my eyes to an eclectic array of music and it
was delightful spending my days surrounded by friends who were as passionate
about music as me. Each member of staff was employed based on their prior
music knowledge and individual taste, it meant that we could each have a
specialised area and we could also learn from one another. It was especially
helpful to have my employer recommend music for my practical teaching examinations and classes. Although the shop
is now long gone and I am teaching full time, my former colleagues and I keep
in touch via Facebook sharing new findings of albums and songs we think each other
might like.
As a dancer, teacher and music lover I am constantly on the
lookout for unique pieces of music for my students. My personal music taste
explores a huge range of styles including; Rock, Hip Hop, Funk and Soul, Blues,
World, Electro and Classical. During my time at the record shop I discovered
that many genres continually cross over thus creating new sounds. This concept has
influenced me to experiment particularly with Ballet, allowing me to explore
the modernisation of this, a trend currently emerging in
commercial theatre. Through the exposure to diverse genres and the encouragement of
student’s awareness, I feel that the teacher can encourage a diverse ability to express.
A particular song can be deeply meaningful for one
individual but not for another, I feel that each individual will relate to songs
differently and will therefore express their feelings and dance in their own
unique way. Choreographing and indeed dancing to a piece of music you love is
far more joyful than being forced to use a piece with which you cannot relate. This
thought has influenced me to investigate; can music preference influence a dancer’s
ability to perform effectively? Can a greater awareness of influence encourage a greater sense of performance?
Thanks Ruth
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