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Dance company module focuses on improving and strengthening practical and professional abilities as well as knowledge of interacting and cooperating in a dance company.
This module gives you the opportunity to working as a choreographer, dance artiste and performer.

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First week of dance company we had the opportunity to come up with and develop our own company ethos:

Company C ethos:
"BACK IT", try, explore and contribute
• Supportive environment
• Try to match the collective energy
• Check in with each other
• Collective Empathy Understanding
• Comfortability within the space
• ITS OK NOT TO BE OK
• Collective Responsibility
• Equal Opportunities
Agreed minimum expectations:
•Respect
•Equal Value
•Punctuality and Professionalism
•Open-Mindedness
•Positive and Honest Communication

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Contact improvisation is a form of dance created by choreographer Steve Paxton, which is the communication between two or more moving objects that are in physical contact.
It is based on a combinational relationship with gravity (gravity, impulse, laziness).
Physical principles of touch, momentum, and shared weight.
The goal is for dancers to become more aware of their centre and the nuances of touch. Rolling, falling, being upside down, following a physical point of contact, and supporting and giving weight to a partner are all examples of practise activities.

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This workshop explored and looked at how to use the seven states of tension to generate different atmospheric conditions for a group of performers. We used the 7 states as a way of thinking about how we may generate specific performative climates as a firm. This training will help us as a firm gain a better understanding of how we can work together to create a dynamic, experimental, and diverse set of settings.

The seven states:

Exhausted or catatonic: The Jellyfish, start off relaxed with no tension within the body, then after a while begging to struggle in movement

Laid back/The Californian: at a chilled and relaxed state

Neutral or the “Economic” (contemporary dance): You are totally present and aware. It is the state of tension before something happens, moving with no story behind your movement.

Alert or Curious (farce): Look at things. Sit down. Stand up. Indecision. Think M. Hulot (Jacques Tati) or Mr Bean. Levels 1 – 4 are our everyday states.

Suspense or the Reactive (melodrama):
All the tension is in the body, concentrated between the eyes. An inbreath also a delay to reaction.

Passionate (opera): The tension has exploded out of the body. Feeling anger, fear, hilarity, despair. Difficulty in controlling.

Tragic: Body can’t move. Petrified. The body is solid tension.

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In this weeks workshop we explored:

• Sexure and efficient warm ups and cool downs to increase heart rate

• Exploring stretches and yoga practices

• How these exercises can particularly can enable self awareness and self expressions

The PERMA model identifies five dimensions that make us as individuals happy and positive  By focusing on a combination of feeling good, living meaningfully, building helpful and friendly connections, achieving goals, and being fully engaged with life, PERMA awareness can help you boost your well-being.

These are the five PERMA elements of happiness:

• Positive emotion

• Engagement

• Relationships

• Meaning

• Achievement

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The five levels of Maslow's hierarchy of requirements are frequently portrayed as a pyramid.

BASIC NEEDS:

• Physiological needs:
food, water, warmth, rest (sleep)

• Safety needs:
security, safety, shelter

PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS:

• Esteem needs:
Prestige and feeling of accomplishment

• Belongingness and love needs:
Intimate relationships, friends

SELF-FULFILMENT NEEDS:

Self - actualisation:
achieving one's, full potential, including creative activities

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We were introduced and  had a practice at the Martial art ‘Tai Chi’.
Tai chi is a Chinese mind and body type exercise which involves in performing slow series of movements gracefully with deep breathing, gentle exercises as well as mindful stretches. This exercise allows one to improve in mood, in having a more focused peaceful mind, flexibility and balance. Tai chi martial techniques also promotes one to ground themselves and produce energy from our core.

Tai chi exercise personally was a great method to introduce us to what our choreographer/teacher JP had in store for us, as it was a way for us as a company giving us the ability to explore grounded movements, such as floor work and improve and enhance on our stamina, energy as well as our muscle strengths.

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We were introduced to the theme of our company piece:

Name of the piece: ‘The Storm’
Concept: The Storm' is influenced by the current social structures and how these pressures influence our interactions and how we perceive the world. How the current system counteracts our true nature but we are forced to conform to survive in this world made by man. Living in this Storm of conflicting emotions, the piece focuses on the internal struggles and pressures we take on as a result of modern day society’s code of conduct. 'The Storm' will lead you on a social & politically charged journey with tension, vulnerability and truth.

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We were introduced to the various view techniques and movements which were potentially going to be added to our final piece. This enabled and allowed us to prepare and embody those movements so they would be perfectly embedded within our body through repetition.

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Laban effort actions

Laban movements chart provides a clear direction and understanding of ways to use different various movement and identifying the quality of movement during the action.

The eight efforts:
Slash, punch, flick, dab, press, float, glide, wring

Four components:

Direction: Direct or in direct
Speed: Quick or sustained
Weight: Heavy or light
Flow: Bound or free

Laban effort actions is a great method/theory that I utilised to come up with choreography as it allows myself as a dancer to develop on my dancing abilities that I had no idea to could attain and produce. These ideas allow a more interesting and a different dynamic to a choreography. (Hence why it was important for myself to research and implement that into choreography).

It was important for myself to connect to the theme of the work so that it will enable to better convey the overall concept to the audience, not only so, connecting to a theme will allow you to connect with movements on a more personal level.

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We had formally began to put choreography and every material we had come up with together as a company throughout the course of these weeks.
We began to piece the first half of the choreography we had been taught and tried perfecting it every chance we had, as an introduction to a piece always creates a first impression and it was important for the beginning to start off strong and done in unison.

We worked on improvisational movements and how we can work closely at bettering our clumps and the collective energies.

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I came up with a way of moving of through stage by incorporating a touch of Afrobeats, but making it more contemporary to complement and be better fitted to the choreography's theme. This move was initially intended to be added to my duet, but it was instead used as a means to travel in a clump together to represent togetherness.
(Shown below)

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We as a company had a group discussion where we conversed on the topic of character building, what character each dancer wants to convey in the piece and also pressures we each have in regards to our life and what life will be like once done with university.
I personally mentioned having a hard time expressing my feelings and emotions. Especially being a Black female in society we’re put in this box and told we’re these ‘strong built women’ and more so our feelings and emotions do get dismissed and disregarded due to societal construct that are put into place.
I also mentioned the pressure with what to do career wise especially being in an African household, it is almost as if you have to have everything figured out so early so you’re not looked down upon, especially myself being the first child in the family to attend university I have this pressure to make family proud and proving that with BA Dance degree you definitely can make a career out of it.

This particular discussion was super important as it overall helped and assisted me to realise why I am doing what I am doing today and it was also definitely character building and enabling myself to portray thst character on stage and showing that vulnerability (in some way)

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PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS:
Water, food, warmth, and sleep are the most basic physiological demands, so if you bring that into a dance company rehearsal we need to consider drinking enough water to keep hydrated at all times as well as keeping us cool.
Also, having eaten something prior to rehearsal in order to have the most energy to execute as much energy as possible through movement.

Making sure warmth of room it’s at an appropriate temperature as well as also making sure you get enough rest and sleep, if not enough sleep or rest this will lead to an unproductive rehearsal and lack of energy which this energy could also be transferred onto other dancers energetically and will negatively effect everyone.

SAFETY:
Making sure studios are safe and clean space for dancers. It is important to set out a risk assessment before every class, making in getting rid of any potential hazards

LOVE AND BELONGING:
It is important to create a safe and nurturing environment for all dancers. Treating all individuals equally and being provided and supported in the environment. Positive environments allows for the fulfilment of desires for belonging to be fulfilled. These positive experiences enable to help and improve one’s self esteem and self concept.

ESTEEM NEEDS:
It is critical that our self-esteem levels are met and exceeded within the dancing company. When we show support as a company by setting positive affirmations, encouraging compliments about one's dancing ability, and their presence and contribution to the group, we build self-esteem and confidence.

SELF ACTUALiSATiON:
Since our self esteem and confidence levels have been met, this will allow each individual within the company to realise their potential and their capabilities feeling a sense of fulfilment while taking part.

Receiving words of encouragement and encouraging compliments motivates me tremendously as a dancer/worker in a company because it allows me to be aware that I'm doing well, whereas not receiving encouragement and compliments causes me to dwell and think negatively that I'm not doing so well, which is why, at the end of each rehearsal, our company's leader JP would give us accolades as a group and individually, as well as what we can do to improve. As a result, I'm able to push myself and my limits as a dancer even further.

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Each group had the opportunity to showcase the materials they had produced over the last couple weeks.
This sharing scratch performance enabled us as a company to further see and take away what had gone well, as well as what we could improve on.
How can we work better to depict and show unity through our piece?
(Unfortunately, I had injured my knee so I was not able to participate)

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Throughout these weeks, we solely focused on coming up with various different, diverse materials, in which we were put into small groups (duet, trio and quartets) to come up with a few counts in which would be added to the final composition. The premise of the group work was to bring as much material into the choreography as possible.

It was important for my partners and I (trio) to use certain and specific movements that we had already been taught during our short skills sessions as we wanted our duet have a relation and link to the overall piece. We attempted utilising and experimenting with the many levels available to create a different dynamic, as well as experimenting with textures (to accentuate and match the flow of the music). It was a little intense to come up with something since I felt like we had to come up with something very perfect and amazing that fits perfectly with the theme and concept of the work, the more we worked on the duet the more ideas we gained and implemented.

Along the way JP made sure to help and assist us on anything we needed help with or whether that also be directing and choreographing bits here & there on what would be better.

We were also introduced to a variety of brief choreography in which JP had experimented with time, where we were taught to use the given choreography but to use our own personal timings, which were generally inconsistent and unpredictable.

Working together to come up with numerous movement and putting them together to produce a short choreography for the trio was the same procedure as choreographing the duet and quartet.

Being apart of  a trio and quartet was special as it gave the potential to bring out that unity and strength that is needed.

Personally, I have struggled along the way here and there but I feel as though I am surrounded by individuals who are always there to help and to better everyone.

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My journey within this module has enabled me to grow into the dancer that I have always wanted to be. I have learned so much about myself and skills along the way that I never thought I would learn and pick up on. This journey has reminded me why I started this journey in the first place and it has reignited that passion within me to continue striving for what I want.