National Gallery Dance Project by

week beginning 31/10/22:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 13:52:53 UTC

Tuesday was the first day, full briefing and introduction to our project in the morning, we discussed the aims of the collaboration and what we need to do in order to make it successful. In the afternoon, we went on a supervised visit to The National Gallery, where we were told which rooms we would be allowed to perform in; these ranged from rooms 30-32 and rooms 35-40. We were told to walk around the rooms and make note of which paintings interested us and that we would potentially like to work with:

notes + findings from paintings

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:09:14 UTC

Ballet dancers 1888
Saint Micheal triumphs over the Devil 1468
The death of Acteon 1559-1575
Diana, goddess of the hunt
Scorn 1875
The mystic marriage of Saint Catherine 1827-1831
Saint George and the dragon 1555
An allegory with Venus and Time 1784-1788
Esther before Ahasuerus 1730-1734
The finding of Moses 1630s
Time unveiling Truth 1733
Psyche showing her sisters her gifts from Cupid 1753
An experiment on a bird in the air pump 1768
A nymph by a stream 1869-1870
Faa Iheihe 1898
Peasant girls bathing in the sea at dusk 1875-1876
Pan and Syrinx 1759
Judith in the Tent of Holofernes 1622
Susannah and the Elders 1616
Room 32:
Perseus turning Phineas and his followers to Stone
The Toilet of Venus 1620-1625
Italian baroque
Room 30:
The Immaculate Conception 1618-1619
The Toilet of Venus (The Rokeby Venus) 1647-1651
Room 31:
The Annunciation 1657
The Marquise de Seignevay and two of her sons 1691
The Finding of Moses; some look poor, some rich, Moses found by the pharaohs’ daughter, found by the River Nile, drawn from water.

week beginning 7/11/22:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:15:00 UTC

Notes from Monday’s introductory seminar with Andy:
- What do we need for an ensemble/ensemble work?

Support
Punctuality
Patience
Inclusion
Optimism
Time management
Communication
Confidence in others and myself
Clear thought process
Energy and Enthusiasm
Open attitude
Engagement
Use your initiative

lab session 8/11/2022:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:21:06 UTC

This was our first lab session with Lee and Malakai, here are my notes and feelings from the session;

Duet with Alice, focus word ‘Sassy’
Quartet with Alice, Kacper & Ellie= good flow
Golden ratio/Spirals
Eye contact and angles
Hold an audience's gaze
Intention & Opposition/ conflict
Doing what comes naturally for my body
Linear movements & Rounded movements
Having a motif and adding to it/building
Closeness and distance
Awareness of space
Creating a clear story and relationships
Intuition ( ancestors saying yes or no to something)
‘ I am dream. I am real’ vs ‘ I am being. I am thought.’
Good eye contact
Find a moment to breathe in unison

lab session 10/11/22

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:22:19 UTC

- Warm up & check in
- Trust exercises
- Posture
- Contact
- Gestures, 15 counts, canon

lab session 15/11/2022:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:24:21 UTC

- Arrogance
- Entitlement
- Vanity
- Pompous
- Use of mirror?

lab session 17/11/22:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:29:17 UTC

My day at a glance;
‘ act in solidarity with your neighbours’ - daily affirmation.

Finding tension
The 7 States;
1 = Catatonic
2 = Relaxed
3 = Neutral Energy
4 = Alert (Farce)
5 = Suspense/Melodrama
6 = Passionate (Opera)
7 = Tragic/Theatrical
Hold partners gaze in neutral
Eye contact, moving through the different states
Duet in the middle, changing states around them
‘ The passion of submission.’
Opposition and Conflict

week beginning 21/11/22:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:29:57 UTC

Monday’s Lecture with Andy:
Notes from Tuesday & Thursday’s Lab Sessions;

Warm up & movement in unison
Eye contact, connection, floating, focus
Attention within movement
Using curves & lines
Use of chairs
Light, Indirect, Sustained
My painting: dark, twisted, gore, grotesque
Theme: violence
Physical actions = grabbing, kicking, biting, scratching, retching, screaming, running, pushing, ripping, breaking = movement sequence

lab sessions 29/11/22 & 1/12/22:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:41:59 UTC

Exploring the inner child, making connections to where I am, who I am and the people around me
Pour and channel the essence
Silence is powerful
Use the breath
Know your truth

In today’s exercise, I felt so connected to everyone around me. For once, my head was quiet, and I felt completely present, so grounded and deeply human. Gliding through the planes of time. I felt free. I don’t remember much of my childhood, so I wasn’t able to draw feeling from a lot of specifically, but I do remember the feelings, and how it felt to be a child.
- Words for today;

Rooted
Grounded
Free
Core
Playful
Oblivious
Seeking
Reckless
Naive
The Earth
The Elements
Chakra<3
Warmth
Adoration
Admiration
Immaturity
Love
Life
The Universe
Shapes
Sounds
Thoughts
Deep
Higher
Intuition
Harmony

my solo work:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:48:03 UTC

Draw inspiration from paintings
Fluidity/Jagged movements and their contrast
Work with stillness
Incorporate a back bend?
Explore tempo
Levels
Floor work
Create a character
Costume (base around)
Space
Distress
The idea of Rebirth (the start of a fire), a journey?
Opposition
Curiosity
Head/chest/fists = where I feel anger/fire
What question is driving my piece? What is my intention? Where have I been? What am I feeling?
The elements; Water, Fire*, Earth*, Air
Am I a heroine, or the damsel in distress?
Fear
Feeling calm/grounded in my legs= Earth
Grotesque
A girl at a window
The Toilet of Venus
Flickering

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:54:34 UTC

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:55:48 UTC

Throughout this project, I have found myself feeling stressed, anxious and very tense. As an actor, there are many instances where holding tension is noticed less, however in dance, I have been taught through the years not to hold tensions in my shoulders and neck. From observing myself, I have noticed that when I am stressed, I tend to hold a lot of tension in my shoulders, fists and the back of my neck. To help with this during rehearsals, I learnt to take two minutes or so to myself while everyone was still arriving or conversing amongst themselves, to sit and meditate or breathe rhythmically to help regulate my thought, calm down and relieve tension, which I found vital for my creative process.

initial costume draft:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:57:10 UTC

This was the initial first design for my costume made by my designer. To create this, she took screenshots from a rehearsal video of my duet with Myles, and took screenshots of my body in different shapes. She then drew the design in a way that shows how the costume would look during movement and how it would compliment the angles of my body. From the beginning I was very intrigued by the mask that she intended to be a part of the costume, as she had no intention of me wearing it, and gave me an opportunity to think about how it could be an effective and interesting tool to add depth to my character.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:58:30 UTC

This was also sent to me by Yuli, and it shows the process of her trying different things for the costume and seeing how they fit my body. I really liked being able to see her trial and error and how the costume developed the more she tried different things.

textures&inspiration

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 14:58:57 UTC

This shows some of the different themes, textures and colours that Yuli wanted to use and explore for my costume.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 15:00:14 UTC

As a result of my Scoliosis, one side of my body is longer than the other, therefore getting even and exact measurements the first time around is usually quite difficult. After the first draft of the catsuit was created and I was able to try it on, it was clear to see that it did not fit with my body and the curve of my spine, likely due to the way that I was standing when being measured the first time. New measurements were taking during this first catsuit fitting, and it was altered successfully to fit my body and flatter the curve.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-01-04 15:00:43 UTC

week beginning 9/1/23

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-08 05:16:24 UTC

my thoughts and feelings on the last 3 weeks of rehearsal:
After Christmas, the remaining rehearsals were very fast paced and practical. I definitely pushed myself and reflected a lot on the progress I had made before the break. We did a lot of fixing and perfecting, and I found myself feeling very frustrated at times. In our second week we added the moving wall section, and I had the opportunity to create a duet with Nejla, which I really enjoyed. I have been very inconsistent with my notes these last few weeks, but I have been working hard to perfect my solos and duets and give everything I have to the piece. This project has helped me rediscover my love for dance and how much mire interesting a dance is to watch when there is heavy acting through it and a clear story is told. I have been reminding myself when rehearsing about my intentions and constantly creating new relationships with the other characters to add authenticity to the story and build from. I so wish that we had more time to develop and add to this piece, our time has been too short, but I aim am so happy with what we have created and as actor, I know that this will be a performance and process that I will remember and reflect on for the rest of my life and career if I am successful.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-15 20:22:37 UTC

our board of knowledge, findings and exploration:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-15 20:22:53 UTC

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-15 20:23:06 UTC

final costume outcome!

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-15 20:25:41 UTC

This was the final design for my costume, and this was taken at our dress run at The National Gallery. Yuli and I experimented with different variations of gold makeup, and she made me some fantastic earrings to go with the costume, which I wasn't wearing here. I feel that the hard work really payed off and dancing this costume was such a dream! I think it worked so well with my solo, and it was very comfortable, and I felt like there was a glimmer of my personality within the costume.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-15 20:26:15 UTC

Although you cannot see all of Aaliyah's costume, coincidently our costumes worked well together and assisted in the telling of the story and with creating intentions for our characters. In the boat section at the beginning off the piece, Aaliyah's character controls me and I submit to her, I link my character to hers as we are both wearing gold, which I feel is interesting as later in the piece, as seen in the picture above, we are both in a frame section, where we are fighting to be the centre of attention and. the most beautiful, powerful ect. I considered this when creating the intentions for my character during this part as before, my character bowed down to her and worshipped her, whereas now I have decided to rise against her and battle with her as I feel that I am better than her, however I am forced to submit once more. In the end of the frame we all take her down and consume her, and I felt that this introduced a theme of karma in the piece, as Nejla was also controlled by her in the first section, and now both of us have turned against her and together, managed to overthrow her and steal the crown that we were made to give to her in the beginning.

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-17 02:11:51 UTC

This was my first time performing my solo in my costume and this exercise was very helpful, as you can see in the video, my mask moved during my movements. It was beneficial for myself and my costume designer to see what parts of the costume worked with my movements and what parts would need to be tweaked or fixed. To resolve the issue of my mask, we secured it in a different position using hair pins and I tried the back bend multiple times to see if the same thing would happen again, which it didn't. This was crucial to discover before the formal dress runs and the performance as it may have cause me some problems if it had moved during the performance, and as a result, the position and vision for the mask would have been lost. After comparing this video and final version of my solo to the the first time I recorded myself doing it on the day that I created it, I found it very interesting to see how it developed and which bits I kept the same and made into motifs. I was very pleased to see the way that the mask looked with my movements, as when it was made, I had the initial idea due to the placement that my costume designer chose, that it almost looked like another face. I decided that I wanted to play on this by making it seem like my character had two sides, or two personalities and I feel that this fit well with the grotesque theme of my solo and showed through my intentions in the piece as the gold side showed when I was being more submissive and passive, and low to the ground, which I felt also showed the status of my character, and the journey that I took to rise up and fight for my place. I feel that it looked aesthetically pleasing and effective in the gallery due to the lighting and the colours and added an eerie element to my character, as it seemed like I was always watching, even when my head was down. I wanted to make the audience feel slightly unsettled and curious about my character and what sort of being my character was.

alternating stills quartet

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-17 02:12:27 UTC

For this quartet, we chose four different paintings and each chose poses to hold. We need created our own transitions from one to the other and used these to form relationships between our characters, and I again tried to explore the recurring relationship between mine and Aaliyahs characters.

duet with nejla

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-17 02:13:03 UTC

As we have added a new section to the piece where we link and perform our duets, I had the opportunity to create a duet with Nejla that will come before my duet with Alice. My duet with Alice and the frame section are the only pieces so far that have been included in the performance, as my other duets with Myles, Josie and Aaliyah weren't developed enough or didn't fit with the story. Therefore I am very pleased to have been able to create a new duet, and I was veery surprised that it came to us so naturally. It took us about 10 minutes to create this duet, and we drew inspiration from other duets and solos that we had seen in class. In this duet, the initial idea is that I am a curious, twisted creature that approaches Nejla, and she is fascinated by me and controls me, and sees the beauty in something ugly, and it plays again on the theme that my character can be very submissive, which is a reflection of my status. I am interested in working with breath more as I think it could be very effective in this section as there will be no music, and a lot of the movements are sustained, but the transitions are quick.

first draft of solo!

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-17 02:16:08 UTC

This is my first draft of my solo. In creating this, I have drawn inspiration from my duet with Josie and tired to play with opposition. After speaking with Malakai, I observed that most of the other performers solo's were more fluid and water-like, so I want to play on that and make mine different. I initially imagine myself as a flame or holding one and I am trying to incorporate more jagged, sudden and sustained movements, however I still feel that it is quite fluid, so I am working to find a good balance. I am interested to see how my costume will affect my movements, and what elements of my costume I can use to decide the intentions of my character during my solo. I definitely have a lot of tweaking and experimenting to do but I feel that I have created a solid foundation to work with.

the vanity frame part 1:

christianamayjoseph — 2023-02-17 02:22:56 UTC

We have decided to call this quartet section 'The Vanity Frame', as the words and directions we were giving before devising this were vanity, power, jealousy and to add an element of violence. There is an ongoing theme of power play throughout this piece, and I wanted to play on there fact that Nejla and I had been controlled by Aaliyah's character at there start, but were now rising up against her and instead of giving her the crown, we were trying to take it from her. I would like to incorporate more animalistic and bizarre facial expressions as I feel we can go even further with these and really tap in to the grotesque, twisted and inhuman element and show a different side to our characters. I am very interested to see how this will look once all of our costumes are ready, and we will need to make sure that the movements work well with our costumes and whether we will need to change certain things as some of us may be in long skirts, headgear and larger volumes of material ect.

the vanity frame part 2:

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