• portraying the sensual rather than sexual intent I would like to utilise in my movement

• the use of shapes and clean lines and unusual held posture - unique

Being -

prophetic

recurring

lucid

nightmares

healing

With five members in our group, we realised we could take advantage of this and each take on a dream. to distribute each dream type, we had first discussed our own experiences of dreams and which ones we might be inspired to use. this helped with the process of choosing which dream we would have as, Lucy for example, had discussed a dream she once had as drowning. after discussing this dream she had chosen it as her theme and then felt best aligned with the healing dream as that is how she felt in her own experience. equally, sashana raised that she has experienced many recurring dreams and that she could relate and create best with that.

from there we distributed the rest of the dream types at random as the three of us that was left did not have a particular inspiration, but had a new set goal to find inspirations for our now chosen theme.

outcome :

nightmares - Jahmiah

lucid - Tamzin

healing - Lucy

recurring - sash

To help us who had not already had an idea for our section, we had discussed keeping track of all of our own dreams and writing them in our notes in this journal, to be discussed and remembered in our rehearsals in case it inspires each other.

My theme chosen was a prophetic dream, which in simple form is in its simplest form a divination which uses dreams to predict the future.

At the beginning of my brainstorming for my idea this week I had struggled to find inspiration as there was not many , if any resources on other peoples experiences of their prophetic dream experiences. furthermore, I had desired to use my own experience to draw inspiration on to make my rehearsal process and choreography ideas more raw and original rather than 'copying'.

my brainstorm included the idea of being chased, seeing my future self and being proud and happy for her in relation to where I am now and for a more unsettling theme: loosing everyone and everything I love in order to make me realise how grateful I am.

However, my final idea was none of the above as, I was in a crowded area on a walk and took inspiration from it. the pathway was really crowded because it was a warm day and everyone seemed happy and like they was nice people, however the mass of people overwhelmed me and subsequently made me feel paranoid. the paranoia distracted me from enjoying my walk and I got so much in my head about it that I had cut my journey short and went home.

This was all about the anticipation and me making fake scenarios of the future in my brain that had not actually happened yet. therefore, I had chosen last minute at the end of the week to draw inspiration upon this for my piece as I had a direct feeling and memory of how it felt. my body language, thoughts, feelings, change in movement and posture etc had an effect on me and, after experiencing I had hoped that it would be easier to direct and choreograph movement to.

• punch drunk - immersive theatre - there performance is unique because it is designed so that no audience member has the same experience whilst watching. each individual has the freedom to walk where they want, when they want to, allowing the experience to feel personal and chosen by them. after speaking to my tutor she expressed that she had met individuals that had gone to the same performance several times and still experienced something completely different.

  from this we had discussed as a group possibly having us in separate rooms to begin, where the audience can choose where they start, where we will all lead to the final joint room together.

• free your mind - Jahmiah had discussed her personal experience watching the performance 'free your mind'. after our discussion we was most inspired by the coloured wrist bands that they included. we hope to utilise this and perhaps have it as symbolic for movement- e.g. when your wrist band turns red you can move around the space as you please etc.

  
  

  
  

started discussing order-

when discussing the order we had struggled to come to a conclusion. to help this, I had remembered a method that was used in a previous project I was involved in, the merge Cunningham method. merge Cunningham devised a dice method where he would designate each idea as a number and roll the dice to decide upon which idea would come first. we completed this 4 separate times and discussed each outcome, which helped us conclude with our final order.

workshopped motif - within this week we had decided to begin workshopping motifs each - our motif would represent our emotional state and be a metaphor for our parts of the piece. mine was a motion of my shaky hands grasping my head to show anxiety and stress (when I am stressed or overwhelmed sometimes I grasp my head and let it sit into my hands, therefore I have used this as a natural response that I use).

began choreography - a constraint we had faced since the last rehearsal log was availability. Due to being in the holidays, most of the group was at home long hours away. in hope to still be productive, me and Jahmiah had booked the studio in advance to be used in the holidays and began piecing together our sections. we had made a WhatsApp group chat so we could communicate anything needed with the rest of the group who was not there and began the choreographic process. in Jahmiahs section there are many duet sections, which I was able to step in and be a body for the people who could not make it so she could experiment which partner work worked and which did not.

However, once continuing to my section I began to struggle as I intended to workshop different movement on each individual. rather than duet sections like jahmiahs, I wanted each person to represent my subconscious thoughts, where there characters felt real to me, but it was apparent that they was just in my head (hence the paranoia). therefore, I wanted to incorporate less tactile and partner work sections, as the rest of the group are in effect 'not real'.

from this issue, I was able to work on my character building for the start of my piece instead, to then leave and postpone the group sections until we was all back together.

To help overcome this, we had set an updated plan via a zoom call. subsequent to having our own sections and choreographic lead on each, we had decided that by next week (when we were all back together) we should have developed a structure and ideas to pitch for our own sections to each other, and if suitable choreography began also that we can develop further together. We utilised the group chat for support, where we discussed any changes, or anything that may need to be learned prior to seeing each other again, and me and Jahmiah sent a video (evidence in a following appendix) explaining the intentions of our sections and what to expect from them once we was back.

constraints: i had originally struggled to create movement that incapsulated the idea of them not being real and just in my head (paranoia). this was because, when creating choreography in the past I have created it only for the music and entertainment rather than for a stimuli.

success criteria: we worked well as a group today, I was able to listen to any contributions made to my choreography and had used some in my piece also.

main words to describe our movement choices:

• ritualistic

• hypnotic

• sleepy

• confused

• lack of control

• surrendering to the unknown

  
  

this includes a full breakdown of the rehearsal

Dreams: Why they happen & what they mean (2024) Sleep Foundation. Available at: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams (Accessed: 10 May 2024).

FOUNTOULAKIS, K.N. (2023) Human connectome: How the brain works. S.l.: SPRINGER.

Jackson, A. (2001) Dreams. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Obringer, L.A. and Jeffcoat, Y. (2021) How dreams work, HowStuffWorks Science. Available at: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/dream.htm (Accessed: 10 May 2024).

Strogatz, S. and Quanta Magazine moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive (2022) Why and how do we dream?, Quanta Magazine. Available at: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-and-how-do-we-dream-20220824/ (Accessed: 10 May 2024).

•(2018) Butterfly Life Cycle. Available at: https://ansp.org/exhibits/online-exhibits/butterflies/lifecycle/ (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

•(2020). YouTube. 1 February. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NAD91AZKkY (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

•12 famous people who failed before succeeding (no date) Wanderlust Worker. Available at: https://www.wanderlustworker.com/12-famous-people-who-failed-before-succeeding/ (Accessed: 15 December 2023).

•All about butterflies (2023) All about butterflies | Department of Horticulture. Available at: https://www.uky.edu/hort/butterflies/all-about-butterflies#:~:text=Like%20all%20other%20insects%2C%20butterflies,two%20antennae%20and%20an%20exoskeleton.&text=Back%20to%20index-,The%20difference%20between%20a%20butterfly%20and%20a%20moth%3F,same%20insect%20group%20called%20Lepidoptera. (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

•Butterfly Body Parts (no date) Butterfly Conservation. Available at: https://butterfly-conservation.org/discover-and-learn/activities-and-resources/butterfly-body-parts (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

•Chapman, C., About The AuthorCameron Chapman is a professional Web and graphic designer with over 6 years of experience. She writes for a number of blogs and is the author of The Smashing …More aboutCameron ↬ and Author, A.T. (2010) Color theory for designers, part 1: The meaning of color, Smashing Magazine. Available at: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/ (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

•Oxford Royale (2021) 9 famous people who failed spectacularly before they found success, Oxford Royale. Available at: https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/9-famous-people-failed-spectacularly-before-success/ (Accessed: 15 December 2023). 

Gutierrez Muñoz, C., Aguilar Andujar, M. and Menendez de Leon, C. (2017) ‘Different markers in idiopathic rapid sleep movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) as possible predictors of conversion to different types of alpha-sinucleinopathies’, Sleep Medicine, 40. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2017.11.361.

What went well when creating the piece?

The main reason for the piece’s productivity was the organisation I made sure to prioritise along the process. I was able to determine which rehearsal techniques worked best for me and which did not (since I was reflecting after every one) and making specific goals for the rehearsals that followed. Making a clear list of the goals I wanted to accomplish made it easier for me to stay focused since it provided discipline and prevented distractions.

What constraints/restrictions did you face?

Due to the high demand for studio space/time around the deadline, studio space became very scarce. As a result, there were occasions when I had to choreograph in my cramped home without access to a full body mirror. In the end, I found that my movement was not as exploratory as I had intended because of the space constraints.

How did the choreographic devices used to inform and aid in the development of the piece?

During the process of editing my music I had decided to develop my motif through repetition. After reading a segment of the dance composition book by Jacqueline Autard (Autard,2020) and choreographics by Ann Hutchinson (Hutchinson, 1983) they both discussed motif development and how important it is to further enhance a piece. I had chosen to edit the chorus on top of the forest section to create a motif and intensify my stunt in growth and from the bad place and mindset I was experiencing in the section. This was because I had used the chorus as a representation of entering a different stage of my journey, in which case this one was the most intense and my complete downfall section. Utilising the chorus ‘let me grow, let me grow’ on top of the hard-hitting beats of the section allowed my movement when choreographing this section to replicate the feelings I wanted to portray.

How did wider research inform and impact upon the piece itself and the development?

-              Maintaining consistency in research development in my project allowed me to create with more purpose. Having direct inspirations allowed me to build and push myself further than usual, and being stimulated from others work challenged me to create the same reaction. Although, I had many inspirations in the duration of my solo, i had made it priority to focus more predominantly on my own inspirations and exploration of movement to match the personal message of my stimulus.

How effective was the final piece in relation to your original intentions?

-              I feel my piece was a success and my stimuli was clearly shown. Through my choice of movement, location, camera angles etc. I was able to replicate my personal journey into the piece, so much where I felt myself emotional when watching the completed video once finished. The song choice I had chosen was personal to me, as I had listened to it during the period of my lowest times, therefore making my choreography more intentional and representative of how I felt in that given moment.

What would you change if you were to undertake this process again and why and what impact would this make to the overall development and performance of the piece?

-              Upon viewing the finished product, I felt a stronger emotional connection to the less structured sections in the piece. Perhaps, due to the movement mirroring how I felt in that moment translated as more organic and in tune with my own personal journey. Therefore, if I was to undertake the process again, I would incorporate more freestyle sections.

Group Piece

(500 words)

What went well when creating the piece?

-              Collectively, we demonstrated proficiency in addressing issues and providing mutual support. Distributing our piece into separate segments where we could all have the limelight at some point was rewarding as it allowed us to all feel valued and equal in the piece, and finally being able to have choreographic lead on our individual dreams gave us the opportunity to finalise any ideas given off the rest of the group. Equally, due to us respecting that the dreamer would have the final input on our own sections allowed a quicker choreographic process as there was little to no arguments.

What constraints/restrictions did you face working within a group?

-              During the spring half term break period it was challenging to maintain productivity and motivation as we were separated. Despite maintaining communication via zoom calls, group chats etc it was hard to construct choreography without the bodies in the same space to experiment with.  

How did working in a group differ from working independently?

A group piece requires greater active engagement and collaboration skills; to keep everyone satisfied and guarantee the greatest possible result in the end, you must listen to each other’s ideas. This aspect can be both rewarding and challenging as the more ideas presented open more possibilities for the best result. Whereas, if more than one person is set on an idea it can slow down productivity of the piece and destabilise the group dynamic.

How did the choreographic devices used to inform and aid in the development of the piece?

- We each assigned ourselves a motif that was metaphorical of our dream experience. After reading a segment of the dance composition book by Jacqueline Autard (Autard,2020) I had realised how important motifs can be for storytelling. this was effective as we not only utilised it in our own sections, but in the beginning and end also to remind the audience of our separate experiences and create a cyclical structure.

How did wider research inform and impact upon the piece itself and the development?

-              Maintaining consistency in research development in our project allowed us to create with more purpose. Having direct inspirations allowed us to build and push ourselves further than usual, being stimulated from others work challenged us to create the same reaction.

How effective was the final piece in relation to your original intentions?

-              Subsequent to our hard work as individuals and a group, I feel our piece was successful in its storytelling. The contrast in moods in each dream state seemed to engage the audience and our stimuli was made clear throughout the duration of the piece through our chosen movement and song choices.

What would you change if you were to undertake this process again and why? What impact would the above changes make to the overall development and performance of the piece?

Having seen the final product or reverie, I believe there was more room for deliberate movement during the freestyle sections. This is because, for example in Lucy’s dream on performance day I felt disconnected to the group. Due to not structuring the freestyle in terms of where I would travel to, I had found myself accidentally moving away from the rest of the group creating a disconnect. This jeopardized Lucy’s intentions of us surrounding her as the water that she is ‘drowning’ in and could have caused distractions when watching from the focal point of the lift taking place.