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This task was a solo improvisation task. The task was set by our lecturer. We had to imagine that we were dancing with a ball. As dancers we had to be aware of how we were using our bodies in the moment. We also had to be aware of the parts of our bodies that were initiating a specific movement produced. For this task we were allowed to play around with the variation of speed and tempo of our movements. As dancers, we were able to think about the textures and layers created by our bodies in order to create a series of movements.
Overall, this task provided both a mental and physical challenge because when dancing we had a lot of aspects to think about, in order to make our movements visually and aesthetically interesting to watch. Personally, I really enjoyed taking part in this task.

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This task was another improvisation task, however, this time we had to work collaboratively in pairs. This was in-keeping with social distancing regulations. We still had to embody the idea of dancing with a ball. For this task we needed to ensure and be aware of the energy which we were giving our partners when throwing the ball to them. This was important in order for the other dancer receiving the ball to then take on the energy and perceive the energy, in order to generate a series of movements with regards to the energy received.
This task was great fun because I loved the idea of working collaboratively with another dancer and receiving and perceiving the energy the dancer passed on to me.

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The audio Recording highlights the answers to the following three questions:

1) How was your energy and focus for the session?
2) How did you connect to your new company?
3) What are you looking forwards to for next week?

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The image below shows useful and helpful quotes which I gathered from this weeks reading. I have also annotated the notes and simplified the notes for my understanding.
This weeks reading:

Parker. S (2019) ‘The Dancer as Documenter: An emergent dancer-led approach to choreographic documentation.’ Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices. 11(1) pp. 67-80. Intellect Limited 2019.

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When Performing I...

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When Performing I Do Not...

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This task was a task set by our lecturer. The task involved moving in and out of the screen using different body parts, being in near proximity to the camera or as far away as possible, the notion of appearing or disappearing from the camera and creating illusions with our bodies.
I thoroughly enjoyed this task as I enjoyed playing around with different body parts appearing a disappearing from the camera.

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This task is similar to the first task, however, this task was collaborating with another dancer.
This task was interesting because I loved the foreground and background effect created, and the contrast in movements and dynamics really adds flavor, diversity and variety, which makes it visually interesting when watching it on screen.

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This task comprised of reaching and yearning actions of the arms. As dancers and creators, we could play around with the dynamics (how sharp or how soft the arm is moving).

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Adair WL, Hideg I, Spence JR. The Culturally Intelligent Team: The Impact of Team Cultural Intelligence and Cultural Heterogeneity on Team Shared Values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

This reading was about the importance of Cultural Intelligence (CQ).

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Belbin, R. Meredith. Team Roles at Work, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kingston/detail.action?docID=535053

This reading was about how roles in the workplace have evolved and emerged.

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Belbin, R. Meredith. Team Roles at Work, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kingston/detail.action?docID=535053

This reading was about the art and foundations of building a team.

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Jo Butterworth (2004) Teaching Choreography in Higher Education: A Process Continuum Model, Research in Dance Education.

For this reading, I primarily focused on the five different processes to creating a piece of choreography, called the ‘Continuum Model’.

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How do you see your company?
My company seems very intrigued, interested and determined to creating and collaborating together to make a striking piece.

What do you want to your company to ‘feel’ like?
I would like my company to feel like a safe space where everyone can be open to expressing their opinions both vocally and through dance.

How are you adding to your company?
I feel that within my company I am a very disciplined and hardworking individual who likes to express my views and share opinions. I really love exploring and creating through dance and I really enjoy to collaborate with others too.

When are your key skills in your company?
My key skills within my company are as follows:
A great listener.
An avid learner.
Love to collaborate.
Dancing as a form of communication.
A disciplined and determined individual.
Love sharing ideas.
Always open to taking risks.
I have a positive frame of mind.

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https://www.123test.com/team-roles-test/

My results consisted of me being efficient, practical, systematic, organized, diligent, practical, ambitious, energetic, conscientious, responsible, skillful, confident, reserved, critical, imaginative, independent, problem solver, respectful, cheerful, gregarious, investigative and always interested.

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This video shows an isolated body part moving in an agitated and fidgety manner.

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This video is showing myself getting ready for a zoom call.

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This video is showing the idea of staring at the camera.

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This video is displaying the notion of feeling trapped and irritated.

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In today’s session we devised a choreographic score where we had to create a solo based on the choreographic score of ‘reaching’.
For my solo I primarily used my arms as a starting point, where I typically performed arm gestures and reaching gestures with my arms. A foreground-background effect was created as my arms were the main focal point and in the foreground of the camera, whereas the rest of my body is in the background of the camera.

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This movement phrase was developed by selecting fragments from my solo, merged together with my duet partners movement phrase.

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Released-based Solo Performed in the Park

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Released-based Solo Performed in the Park

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Here, I am refining, polishing and tweaking my released-based solo in class before finally filming the solo outdoors.

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As a class, we selected key movements from our released-based solos and collaborated together to create a unison phrase with all our movement material.

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Personally, I felt that the film, for being the first draft, was very well edited and refined. With the camera at different angles, the use of filming indoors and outdoors and filming in duos and trios was very effective and visually interesting to watch. The intention of tension and release was very clear. The idea of using the arms and hands to show frustration and tension goes to show that even the smallest movements can be the most effective movements. Also, the sense of release was evident as all the dancers looked free when they performed their release-based phrases, which is contrasting the tension phrases. Spoken word was also implemented into the film, which communicated and expressed how the dancers felt during lockdown. By using spoken word in a dance film the viewers get a sense of the dancers own perspectives and opinions on specific issues.

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Company B - While we were waiting (first edit)

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This is our finalized video.

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For the second half on teaching block one, we will be focusing on the concept of 'freedom'. What does freedom mean? What is it like to be free? The term 'freedom' is merely subjective, and many individuals have different definitions for freedom and what it is like to be free.

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Freedom is the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc, whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.

"The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free."
John F. Kennedy

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What does freedom mean to you?

Personally, I feel that the word 'freedom' is extremely empowering. Freedom is the sense of being unrestricted from rules and regulations. Freedom is the power of being determined and independent as an individual. Freedom is the ability of letting go of your fears and expressing your true and authentic self in a free-like manner.

In what areas in your life do you feel like you have freedom?

When dancing I feel free and limitless. For me, dancing allows me to let go of negativity and restrictions and enables me to express my feelings and emotions through movement when the words are insufficient.
I also feel free when surrounded by my family. Due to our closeness, I feel free when spending quality time with my family because I can be myself when with them, I know I will not be judged by them, they truly know my personality and identity, and I know that they love me dearly.

In what ways do you feel that your freedom has been taken away from you?

2020 has not been a good year for anyone. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, countries have suffered, the economy has suffered, businesses have suffered and people have suffered. Personally, I feel that this year my sense of freedom has been stripped from me, due to lockdown and restrictions. Understandably, in order to suppress the virus, restrictions and new rules have to be implemented to keep everyone safe, however, this year I feel as though I am not dancing as much as I would like. Since I have such a passion and drive for dance I feel most free when performing and dancing, and that fragment of freedom has been taken away from me.

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With regards to the concept of freedom, together with our leader, as a company we devised 1:30 secs of choreography. We used improvisation tasks and we learnt set choreography from our lecturer. In our piece we have our lecturers interpretation and understanding of freedom as well as all the dancers’ understandings and interpretations of the concept of freedom.

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Butterworth. J (2004) Teaching Choreography in higher education: a process continuum model, Research in Dance Education. 5:1 p.55

The tables from this reading on page 55 is very useful when exploring the assortment of ways in how a company works, the relationship between the dancer and the choreographer and what roles the dancers and choreographers have when in a company.

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What style of work is your choreographer working with now?
Within our work our choreographer is basing our piece around a style of urban-contemporary fusion, as well as imploring our own styles into the piece to create variety. Our piece is entitled ‘Freedom’ and our choreographer has left the title quite open in order for us dancers to interpret the term ‘Freedom’ using our own perceptions.

How is this different from weeks 1-5?
As an individual I have come to a realisation that weeks 1-5 is completely different to weeks 7-12. The way the class was taught and the tasks we were set in weeks 1-5 is completely contrasting to how we are currently taught by our choreographer.
With regards to Butterworth's Didactic-Democratic Spectrum, the company in weeks 1-5 was taught using the forth process. The tutors role was as the facilitator and the dancers were the creators. Therefore, the tutor set the dancers tasks and the dancers took the tasks on board independently. The tutor provided leadership, communicated the intention of the piece, contributed to providing a stimulus, came up with a score and structure for the final piece. Moreover, the dancers created the content, developed the piece and responded to the tasks given by the choreographer. The interactions in class were socially interactive and the teaching methods provided by our tutor was quite nurturing as well as mentoring.
I learnt a lot from my company tutor in weeks 1-5. I felt that I responded well to tasks, I problem solved, I contributed to the development of the piece as well as actively participated in group tasks.

In contrast, the company tutor I am with currently as from week 7 has different approaches to teaching. I feel with regards to Butterworth's Didactic-Democratic Spectrum our company is working using the third process. The tutor or choreographers role is as the pilot, whereas the dancers have quite a contributing role. The choreographer applies different skills, such as: initiating a concept, he is able to direct the class, he is able to set and develop tasks through improvisations or imagery and he is able to shape the material of the piece. Furthermore, the dancers are able to replicate movement created by the choreographer, they can develop content, create content, improvise and respond well to tasks set by the choreographer. The interactions in class are quite active and the teaching methods used are to lead as well as guide the class. So far, I am learning to respond to tasks, contribute to activities and replicate movement material from the dancers and the choreographer.

How has this allowed you to progress as a performer and also a collective?
Working with two completely contrasting company directors has been a rather fun experience. This has enabled me to grow as a dancer and it shows how diverse I can be as a dancer, seeing two different methods and styles of teaching.

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Below is a voice note with questions and answers regarding todays session (week eight).

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Below, is a video of the trio we devised in class. The task was to teach each other our individual solos, learn the solos and mould the solos together in order to create a trio, still keeping in mind the concept of ‘Freedom’.  In total, our trio was six counts of eight.

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The term dynamics in dance has come to mean the energy, or effort, or force, or weight applied to movement over time. The element of dynamics is affected when you manipulate aspects of time.

Wauchop, 2009

The dynamics of movement can provide meaning to an audience in the same way as the use of space, music and visual elements can. Conscious manipulation of dynamics will enhance meaning in your composition ‘Work’. As a dancer, you will need to understand the relationship between time and dynamics through the control and manipulation of these to convey your overall concept/intent.

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Brainstorm of Different Dynamics in Dance

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Brainstorm of Different Dynamics in Dance

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Below is a video where we are performing the choreography. We are showing the different variations of the dynamic element of the piece. From the smooth and fluid element of the piece to the sharp and jerky motions of the piece. Having contrasting dynamics in a piece adds different layers and textures to the piece, where the piece creates a sense of visual interest to the audience.

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This theory was firstly developed in an academic journal in 1945. It is the main component within psychological analysis. The hierarchy was created by a 35 year old Jewish psychologist  with Russian origins named Abraham Maslow, who was merely looking for the meaning of life. What makes life purposeful?  was his main question. Maslow felt that psychology would allow people to find answers to the deep questions that people had once taken to religion.
Maslow then stated that humans have five different kinds of needs. These five needs are then divided into three sections of needs. The psychological needs, the spiritual needs and the material needs.
The first of the five needs for Maslow, is that we all start with the physiological needs, such as food, water, warmth and rest. In addition, we humans have urgent safety needs, like bodily protection and security and defending ourselves  from harm or attack. Then we start to enter the spiritual domain, where we require belongingness and love. We humans need friends and lovers. We humans also have esteem needs where we indulge on respect. Lastly, Maslow claimed that we humans also have self actualization needs where Maslow described as living according to ones full potential and becoming who we really are. These five needs within the hierarchy has been proved as so persuasive is because of its ability of captivating a profound structural truth.

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Below is an audio recording of myself answering questions with regards to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

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Quested, Eleanor, and Duda, Joan L. “Exploring the Social-Environmental Determinants of Well- and Ill-Being in Dancers: A Test of Basic Needs Theory.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 32.1 (2010): pp 39-60

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How have you related the following terms in the last five weeks: 

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How have you related the following terms in the last five weeks: 

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Competence: Throughout the past five weeks I have found many aspects thrilling and successful. The ability to pick up choreography devised by our lecturer and the ability to learn other dancers choreography was a point of success. As well as creating choreography yourself and then teaching your own choreography to other dancers was exciting because it allows you to externally view your own choreography on the bodies of other dancers who move differently to you. The tasks set out by our lecturer were also very efficient and straightforward and proved to be a success.

Autonomy: I feel that I had the right of self-government when creating my own choreography because I had the ability to devise my own choreography without any restrictions or boundaries. In the solo sections of our overall piece, every single dancer, including myself, could show off the way they move, by adding their own style and element to the choreography. I also felt a sense of self-government when performing the final piece this week because I knew the choreography well and I had the ability to really perform the piece and give it my 100%.

Relatedness: I have really felt a strong sense of relatedness or being connected within my company. Whilst collaborating as a company and learning, teaching and devising the choreography, you feel a sense of connection with your peers around you. Also, doing the meditation session at the beginning of every class really helped with being grounded, relaxed, calm and at peace with yourself and everyone else around you. The meditation also helped with being connected to your inner self, and it also aided us both mentally and physically. Lastly, I also felt really connected to the choreography. It was thoroughly an enjoyable piece to dance in and like the title of the piece elucidates, gave us all a sense of ‘Freedom’.

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The article states: “Self-determination theory assumes that characteristics of the social environment are critical to the level of need satisfaction that individuals experience and their resultant cognitive, behavioral, and affective responses.” (Amoroso, 2007; Deci & Well- and Ill-Being in Dancers and Basic Needs Theory 41 Ryan, 2000).

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During today’s online session, we learnt that our final assessed piece is going to be based on the theme of ‘Identity’. The piece will be exploring the way we each identify with ourselves as dancers and what identity means to each of us.

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Below is a spider diagram highlighting the different attributes of the word ‘identity’.

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Below is a short excerpt of what makes me, me.

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Below is a video recording of the questions set out for this week.

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Below, is an audio recording of this weeks self-reflection questions.

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52 Portraits is collaboration with Francesca Fargion, Hugo Glendinning, Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion.
The trio is performed sitting down with a table in front of them. It starts off with a duet of a male a female sitting opposite each other on the table playing instruments and creating beats. They then begin to sing, whilst the male sitting in the middle of the table performs quite fast and repetitive hand gestures. Towards the end the middle male joins in by playing an instrument, whilst the other male and female are still singing.

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Dynamic Qualities that Explore my Sense of SELF

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Dynamic Qualities that Explore my Sense of SELF

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Fast: Could communicate how anxious or worried I sometimes feel, especially deriving from me being a perfectionist.
Slow: Could communicate how calm and at peace I am with myself.
Sharp: Could communicate how strong and powerful I sometimes feel.

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Below, is a video of my identity solo.
This solo was inspired by my personality and shy, timid and introverted nature and characteristics.

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Below, is a video recording of my table solo. Still, in-keeping the inspiration of my personality traits.

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Below, is a video recording of the identity solo.
I feel like I use various dynamic qualities throughout this solo, in order to enhance the phrase and give it more texture and flavor, as well as to make it visually and aesthetically interesting for the viewers.
This solo phrase is communicating my personality, I am shy, timid and an introvert.

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Below, is a video recording of the table solo.
My primary focal point is the screen itself, as I am intensely making eye contact with the cameras lens’s, this therefore adds tension to the solo and creates some sort of anger.
The dynamic qualities in this table solo are quite strong and sharp which emphasizes and adds to the overall mood and atmosphere, which is quite tense.

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Below, is a video recording of Stephen’s phrase, which was taught during class time.

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Below, is an audio recording of my ‘Who Am I?’ Monologue.

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Merce Cunningham Studio 55 Bethune Street NYC NY 10014

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Merce Cunningham Studio 55 Bethune Street NYC NY 10014

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10 Rules For Students And Teachers From John Cage

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Continuation of Week 7 Reading Questions 

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Continuation of Week 7 Reading Questions 

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Group Creation Process on the theme of 'Ethnicity'

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Group Creation Process on the theme of 'Ethnicity'

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As a group we collectively devised a series of movements which symbolises our ethnicity.

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Continuation of 'Ethnicity' Movement Material

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Continuation of 'Ethnicity' Movement Material

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What Identity Means in the 21st Century. (speech) 

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What Identity Means in the 21st Century. (speech) 

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What is dance being used to comment about? 

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What is dance being used to comment about? 

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This week I will be reflecting on my work I have undertaken when creating the movement material for this piece which explores our Identity.
I will also be reflecting on the feedback I received from the company teacher, how I responded to the feedback and whether I have improved from the feedback given to me.

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This phrase was developed and devised by the Company teacher.
The main feedback I received from the teacher was to work on the timing and to make sure my dynamics are clear. For instance, when there is a movement which is quite sharp, I need to ensure that I am clearly making the movement sharp and when the movements are slow and controlled, I need to make sure that I am performing the movements in a slow and controlled manner.
I feel that I responded well to the feedback because I made sure that I really rehearsed this movement phrase and asked questions in class when I was unsure about the counts of this phrase. I also made sure that the dynamics were clearly varied.

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My main feedback I received from my Company teacher was to make sure that I flow through the movements succinctly and vary the dynamics.
I feel I responded to the feedback quite well, given that I made sure that I included various dynamics to make my solo visually interesting to watch and the transitions from one movement to another flowed through well.

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The main feedback given to me by the company teacher is to make sure that the movement material is clean and clear and that it is showing me off well on screen.
In regards to his feedback, I made sure that the movement material I devised is clean, clear, and showing me off well on the screen. I also made sure that the phrase was showing off my own personal style well, so I really rehearsed and booked the studios to make sure I reach my full potential.

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The main feedback for this phrase, was to make sure that the hands are clearly visible on the screen and that the hands are right up to the cameras lens.
For this, one of the students had to hold the camera in position and I had to perform this phrase making sure that the camera was capturing every part of the hands movement material and that the movements are as detailed as possible.

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Group B's Company Director claims that I have worked with a good deal of professionalism throughout the year and I have made good contribution to the company. I have been committed to the development of the company and that is reflected through my overall performance to the pieces.

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Development of Technical Expertise and Skills Feedback

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Development of Technical Expertise and Skills Feedback

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The Company Director claims that my technical skills are outstanding which was well executed in the final performance.
He claims I have taken a professional approach to the work throughout this year.
My alignment, placement of weight, shape and line, and range of movements are outstanding. I was able to employ these skills effectively to my movement material  taught to the company and developed in groups.
Moreover, my self-choreographed movement material exploited my strengths and aptitude as a dancer. During the performances my technical skills enabled me to perform with precision and accuracy and communicate my message clearly to the audience.

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The Company Director claims that my expressive skills equally match those of my technical skills. My ability to engage with the audience and communicate meaning is outstanding. I evidenced excellent skills to develop and refine movement material independently and problem solve to ensure you were communicating meaning effectively. My creative work shows that I have been willing to innovate and experiment with some new concepts and to take risks.
My performance was appropriately focused and I projected energy and musicality consistently throughout the performance. I had excellent attention to detail, in relation to dynamic quality and musicality.

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The Company Director claims that I had an outstanding understanding of my role within the company and the overall performance. This is evidenced through my solo work, duet, small group and the entire company. My awareness with others and my role in communicating meaning as a company enabled my work to feature as solos and also for you solo to be developed into a duet quacky and effectively.