Listen 7/11/11

Siren - Uncomfortable because of connotations?
Unknown noises/static - unnerving, worrying, ugly
Laughter - unnerving, very unfamiliar
Footsteps - soothing and familiar, beautiful, rhythmic

Score from recording

Listen 1/11/11

I find it difficult not to get distracted by other senses and overwhelmed with sounds. Is the distraction a useful/good thing?

Some noise made me jump
Breath filling a hollow space, swirling
Belly noise,
Sharp,
Memorable
Musical scales lifted body from the insisde and imitated falling inside
Sounds reverberated depending on pitch and volume

Don't usually notice the sounds when walking. - Something I do many times a day but never pay attention to.

Knowing is not experiencing

"Once while doing a plie I suddently had the feeling that I was standing on the whole sphere of the planet. This was the first time that I actually experienced the earth to be something other than flat" (Dance Imagery for Technique and performance)

Connected to the earth

Lava flow

The richness of the earth

Part of the earth

Walking on water

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields.
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is evergreen;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!


Welcoming
Calling
Opening

Expressing self through words is very different from expressing through dance and words

Voice is part of the moving body - how it changes when moving

Need to find comfort and confidnece working at all levels

In the quest for washboard abs, we must remember we carry a lot inside of us.

Heavy weighty head

Brain is light a jellyfish, reaches through the whole body

Witnessing myself work: Uncomfortable
Look tense and strained, not natural

Dance Transformations Symposium

We are our own archive!
Does anyone want to see the process in a commercial environment?
Do we look for sameness or difference in inclusive dance? (do we need to sub-group?)
     Unison
     Human nature impulse to work as a unit but also individually
What does it mean to be an artist?
     Always wanting more, Responsibility, uniqe way of seeing the world
Is art only art if recognised as art? (Context)
What is the role of criticism in inclusive dance? (again do we need to sub-group?)
     Who is allowed to critique?
     Are there different standards by which we are critical, depending on the artist?
     Depends which stage the dancers are at.
Where does inclusive work sit within the broader dance ecology?
     Why are there labels?
     'Gatekeepers' controlling access to dance
     Seperate selves?
At what point does an artist need to go it alone?
When is the playing field level?
     Does anyone ever go it alone?
     Not constrained
     Never a level playing field for anyone
     Building up resources to deal with barriers.
How do we own our choreography?
     Acknowledgement? Belong to? Share? Embody?
     Why do we need to own?

SRT 5/10/11

How can I let go of the voices on my shoulder??

I'm wrong?
I'm right?

Year 2 Begins

After thinking over last year:
-All of my energy all of the time
-Show knowledge of my body in movement practice (Spend more time with my own movement)
-Treat my dance practice as one, rather than seperate componants
-Respond to all feedback
-QUESTION EVERYTHING

Setting myself aims I would like to acheive by each term and by the end of this year.

Plants and Ghosts (2002)

I used the online archive siobhandaviesreplay.com, to watch Plants and Ghosts (2002)
There were various sections to the piece which were very clear but there were recurring themes throughout.
The use of lighting and staging was very interesting as it wasn't the typical procenium arch staging and both this and the lighting created varying atmospheres and effects. For example, the lighting at the beginning and also part way through, which, both times highlighted a solo showed a dull blue light connontating cold or supernatural?
There were many instances of repetition in each individual section but also throughout the whole piece.
The most interesting part for myself was the solo performed by a woman using sign language and pre-recorded sound. The story was repeated multiple times whilst the woman moved to different points in the space translating the story into sign language. The story gradually became more and more complex, introducing new details to the story and was quite comical in parts.

Translated into movement creation?

Siobhan Davies Replay

http://www.siobhandaviesreplay.com/lightbox.php
Most of the pieces I have scrapbooked on the online archive are a collaboration between various artists, not just Siobhan Davies herself. I also included Bridge the Distance (1985) into my scrapbook as I chose to use this piece as a stimlus for the A Level graded piece.

Feedback/Work in Progress sharing

-use the actual sound of the breath
-use of eyes and focus, play with difference between having the eyes closed and moments of open.
-definately need to warm mind and body beforehand
-see each other
-longer movement before sound is included
-hear and see at different times
-not class based phrases

Duet Site

Reflection of self

Recently noticing my focus and awareness has developed.

Beginning of the year I asked myself what it meant to be active whilst just walking or in stillness.

After today I feel I have a slightly better understanding.
I think I can thank SRT for this as I felt I connected to the concepts given.

More aware now, I think, of my awareness of my own body and others'.

Bones, Muscle, Skin

Duet Feedback

Katye

Projections on sideline, for now (save for later choreography )

Sound of body
Sounds of relationship
Sounds of outside

Research artisits involved in sensory work
Work with relationship in first circle relationship sound/stillness exercise

Duet Score

Score for duet, spacing and 2nd section of peice.

Ideas

Touch
sound
smell
sight


contact
improvisation

multi-media
multi-sensory

participation
manipulation

2nd Year Performances

"At the age of 40" Kirstie Richardson
-use of photos on slideshow, unrelated, random life photos?
-work in progress sharing, more interesting to witness as creater of work
-pedestrian movement (use of ring- normal movement)
-use of voice (stating the obvious) "I'm married", "I shouldn't be"

"I am still..." Chameleon Dance Collective
-difficult to see, was that the aim?
-audience choose how much or how little they want to see, force the audience to include themselves?
-tight spaces make the audience more aware of own bodies? or to make the audience feel involved? or uncomfortable?

Green Coffee

23/01/11

Creating space for experimenting.
Somewhere to make mistakes.


In 10 years time if you were to make a documentary of your life what would you have liked to acheive??

Warm up in different language. Translation.

Creativity from restriction. How can we learn from?

Beginning Duet

Duality
Making decisions is a concious action not a reaction
Staying with one thing is difficult committing
Group score - to witness levels and clear connections an opening when asked to help explore different moments of contact build trust unexpected confidence to just let happen but obviously pre-thought is involved moments of stillness and interruption staying with something e.g unfamiliar (hand on head follow with it, not to do the natural) restriction?
Ending not neccesarilly still or like rest of the group

Getting to know a place

Thinking when not thinking!
Notice how you feel
Don't edit, doesnt have to make sense
Lying on floor in different places, strange how affected.

Body Part Duets

Challenging to stay with own movement and connect
Thinking too much
Starting poing, offering

Space/Place

Polycentric and Non-procenium space
Interior and exterior landscapes
Site-specific (specifically for one place)
Place(designated area)
Space (where you move into? inhabiting?)

Duets with chair



Exploration of Space/Place

Duet beginning

Seeing and reading works important!
Relationships

True duet is that each performer is essential to the whole
JIGSAW (not same but works together)

Conversation with partner (can't answer question because don't know the question)

Stop thinking don't question be confident with self don't try to understand just do be more aware of tasks and of partner don't try to understand feel work together not just you others too don't need to be close don't force just let happen contact can be simple more attractive work together can leave and return enjoy.

srt (session 4)

Florence Peake

8/2/11

Gossomer thread (string, round, middle, finger, spiderweb)
Shoulders, Riblift
Back of hand suggests movement to melt from

Paper Duets

Introduction of paper and pen to improvisations in duet form.
Relationships with partner.
Not being too careful with paper, can rip.
Move from idea of drawing/painting with body parts, draw round.
Choreograph duet from scores just made on paper.

Would it be as effective as a solo?

srt (session 3)

Florence Peake

4/2/11

Large hammock swaying

MARIONETTE STRINGS

Heels down on crouch - work on it!!!

srt (session 2)

Florence

25/1/11

Can I change the way I use my breath?
Can I keep my breath continuous, especially whilst doing sharp movements or sequences?

'Experiment with this in different classes. It is possible to breath with all kinds of dynamics it may change the breath but it is possible-comes with doing!!'

WHITE SMOKE

Shadows

Light and shadow
How light is disturbed or influenced by an object to cause/create shadow.

SRT (Session 1)

Florence Peake
18/1/11

Relieve tension during dance and movement.
With reference to being codefied there seemed to be specific exercises which were used.

Realised my ability to soften, but how can I continue to soften?

Cecillia Macfarlane

Focus on reflection and evaluation.
Dance being the most stereotypical art form (certain expectations)
Diversity

EMPOWERMENT

PASSION

TRANSLATE

FACILITATE

CREATIVE

What stops you?
What blocks you?
Why?

What surprised you?
What do you celebrate about your dance?
What makes you different today?

Alexander technique (Session1)

Lucia Walker

Correct posture-'would have thought it was poker straight, now know different' awareness of the way you hold yourself.

I find it incredibly difficult to notice self, how can I make myself more aware?

Also made aware of the idea that each movement affects another. (e.g the tension in my head and neck would affect the movement in the rest of my body)

Can you put in too much effort, new concept haven't even thought about. Could too much effort hold you back?

Could go the other way? Could change a bad habit for another bad habit, be own worst enemy.

Term 2 begins

First session after the break - incredibly uncomfortable (need to focus on own body and own movement, not what anyone else thinks)
Felt as if I was larger than anyone else, stood out in a negative way.
Just because first day back after lengthy break?
Why is it so difficult to be focused on task and not on insecurities?

Skinner Releasing Techinique

Introduction to SRT.
Taken influence from alexander technique, to question and prepare dancers for performance.
Multi-directional alignment -3.D being
Highly codefied, not random.
Not sure what to expect in class.
How can it be 'highly codefied'?

Reflection on blog

During solo choreography I felt that the blog was completly seperate from my dance progression. Need to share on the blog more often.

Need to look at the blog on a large scale, the reason for carrying on.
Question everything. Comment on other blogs. Don't restrict to dance course only, include inspirations.

Don't restrict, it's personal.

Choreographic solo sketch - Diffidence

My solo piece began with a piece of writing from Daphne Du Maurier's novel Rebecca;

Firstly, I looked at the idea of being 'handicapped' by restricting the movement of one body part. For example, my first improvisation involved leaving the forearm restricted to the floor without any movement. I also completed more improvisations focussing on other body parts, such as the feet and legs.

I found that within these improvisations I wasn't dedicated to keeping the body part restricted. I then decided to see if the movement would change if I physically resticted my movement. As another layer to this, I looked at the writer's focus on the contrast between timid and bold. I found being physically restrained easier to move more freely.

first siobhan davies dance workshop 08/11/2010

From the piece of text (below) we were asked to improvise and take notice of what strikes our curiosity as well as noticing when we were performing movements that we would normally do. We were asked to consider the possibility of challenging ourselves. This score was an accumulation of myself and of two other people who watched my dance improvisation piece.
I found this really helpful as it helped me to see parts of my dance i would have never have noticed before.