Week 7 - Research
In this blog post I will be discussing my research into my stimulus of DNA which will
help me explore different ideas in my choreography.
From my stimulus of DNA I’ve decided to create my solo based around the idea of dementia which is primarily caused from Alzheimer’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disease causing brain cells to die.
Dementia is usually diagnosed in people aged 65 and over, but can also affect someone younger in early onset dementia. Although there are 200 types of dementia, there are 5 more common subtypes; Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease. It is caused when an abnormal protein surrounds the brain cells and another protein damages it. This damages the nerve cells meaning that messages cannot be passed from the brain to the body. When the brain cells die, the DNA is broken down meaning it is no longer useful, causing the symptoms of dementia (Alzheimer's Society, 2019).
I thought this research would be useful as it helps me understand the disease more but also could give me a story line to follow as I could start my dance as someone with a normal functioning brain and show the deterioration of their brain function throughout the dance.
I may also be able to suggest this through the use of levels, such as being high near the start, using jumps, leg extensions and turns and getting lower to the ground and using more floor work including rolls towards the end.
Additionally I researched into the symptoms of dementia as I thought they could help me with movement ideas. Some of the symptoms include; memory loss and becoming increasingly forgetful, decreasing cognitive ability such as losing the ability to reason and struggling to make decision. They may experience mood swings, depression and anxiety and reading and writing may become difficult (Dementia UK, 2019). This research will be very useful within my choreography as it can act as a starting point for movement. For example, I could use the idea of memory loss within my dance by using lots of repetition of movements, or I could use fragments of different motifs to be repeated. To show confusion and decreasing cognitive ability I could try to use hand gestures, maybe on my head and change in direction to show confusion. The symptoms also give me an emotion to portray in my dance as mental health problems may arise from dementia. I could try and use facial expressions to suggest being depressed or anxious, or I could do the movements in slower dynamics such as slow arm movements or turns to suggest being depressed and faster such as jumps, leaps and rolls to suggest panicking or being anxious.
Bibliography
Dementia UK. (2019). What is dementia? What are the symptoms? - Dementia UK. [online] Available at: https://www.dementiauk.org/get-support/diagnosis-and-next-steps/what-is-dementia/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].
Alzheimer's Society. (2019). What causes dementia?. [online] Available at: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/dementia-causes [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].
You have made a good start researching behind your final idea. You have clearly described what the piece will be about and have used research to give depth and greater understanding behind your idea. I would say that the post currently sits around the 2:1 mark; if you wish to increase this towards a 1:1, you should consider the quality of your sources, thinking outside the box to incorporate further primary sources within your work. Think about how you can further your research to develop your idea as well as the movement and characteristics of your creative piece, thinking about how will you incorporate your research into your creative process. How will you ensure your idea successfully comes across to the audience?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. To further enhance my knowledge on dementia I have done further research into what it is like to have dementia. I watched a video (now linked in the original post) which takes you through a day in the life of someone with dementia from their point of view. This has helped me engage more with the stimulus as I now feel more connected and I understand the confusion and anxiety they may feel. I could use this knowledge within my solo as I could make some of my movements seem uncertain, suggesting the confusion and disorientation they may experience. Furthermore, to make this fully come across to the audience I will use my facial expression, perhaps pained, to try to show the emotions of confusions and sadness which dementia patients experience.
DeleteI think this blog is very clear and it goes well into detail about your research, well done. What choreographic devices will you use in your solo? How will these link to your stimulus?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I am going to use repetition and fragmentation. I aim to use repetition and fragmentation within my dance as DNA is replicated rapidly many times, but also because people with dementia suffer with memory loss so the use of repetition may also portray memory loss. It can also help portray the idea of confusion which someone with dementia may experience as their cognitive abilities decrease.
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