Week 8 - Creative Development - Session 2


In this week’s choreography lesson, I continued creating my solo based on dementia. So far, I have managed to create the beginning section, part of the middle and a few core motifs which I aim to use choreographic devices to develop within my piece. A challenge I having been facing recently is trying to link my movement to my stimulus and chosen practitioner. To overcome this, I decided to re-watch some of Wayne McGregor work and made notes on different movements that he uses to ensure his influence and processes are clear within my piece. Some movements he frequently uses are leg extensions, body ripples and lots of sharp and precise footwork and arm placements. I have started to show this by doing arabesques, low développés and kicks with resistance. In the future, I want to add more sharp, angular movements to try and include his stylisation more. I also did further research into the effects that dementia has on someone mentally and physically so I have a deeper understanding of the emotions I am portraying within my solo. As mental illness is prevalent in a lot of dementia patients this sets the tone for me piece as quite sad and slow but the symptoms of confusion/forgetfulness/ frustration add a contrasting dynamic as they could be shown as stronger and quicker movements.

In contrast to my creative process in creative session 1, I have been doing less improvisation and more thought out phrases which represent my stimulus or are inspired by my chosen practitioner. I have found this helped me more during this session as I had more structure within my creative processes and it was easier to achieve the goals I had set for the day.

In the video below I demonstrate a motif I created using McGregor’s processes which also links to my stimulus. I previously mentioned in my vlog from creative session 1 that I wanted to use McGregor’s process of taking a word and making the movement from different body parts. I decided to try and spell out the word ‘dementia’ to connect the movement to my stimulus while also integrating my chosen practitioner. I really enjoyed trying to use my whole body to represent the word. By using McGregor’s process, I have been able to create a phrase which I will be able to develop and adapt by using choreographic devices. I have already started to do this by using fragmentation, for example I have taken the movement for ‘D’ and repeated it in a different part of my dance. This has enabled my dance to link together with the stimulus as I plan to continue to use fragments of the ‘dementia’ motif throughout my solo. I am also going to experiment with using retrograde or reverse with this motif to develop it more. Additionally, by doing this it can link to the research I have done as it could represent memories or memory loss, which people with dementia suffer with.


Comments

  1. elizahill12 November 2019 at 07:56

    You have thought of some good choreographic devices to represent the symptoms of dementia. For example the use of reverse to represent memory loss. Unfortunately I can't access your motif. What made you choose McGregor's process of taking a word and turning it into a movement?

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    1. Mhairi Wallace12 November 2019 at 12:46

      I wanted to use this process as I will be incorporating his choreographic process into my own work while also linking my solo to the stimulus of dementia.

      Delete
  2. Daisy Stonier12 November 2019 at 09:11

    You have considered a variety of choreographic devices and dynamics that you want to include in your choreography and I can see that you have a clear vision of how you are going to progress your work. Has the research you have found made you consider your facial expressions or performance? The creative process that you are using connects well to your chosen practitioner's work and I think that this will be a very successful method for you to use.

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    1. Mhairi Wallace12 November 2019 at 12:49

      Yes it has! I have decided I want to try to portray the idea of depression within my dance as that is a symptom/ side effect of dementia, by doing this I can set the emotion of the piece and try to represent this through the use of facial expressions!

      Delete
  3. Miss Norman24 November 2019 at 07:45

    You have made a good start to your reflective post and have clearly described where you are currently at within your work. In relation to the criteria, I would say that this post currently sits around the 2:1 mark. For further development, please discuss your movement in relation to your stimulus as well as your research further. Are there any examples of where your use of research behind your stimulus has added depth to your piece? Additionally, think about how your research may have evolved over the past few weeks. It would also be great to see a video of your creative work in relation to your stimulus and research.

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    Replies
    1. Mhairi Wallace2 December 2019 at 13:37

      Thank you for your comment. I also did further research into the effects that dementia has on someone mentally and physically so I have a deeper understanding of the emotions I am portraying within my solo. As mental illness is prevalent in a lot of dementia patients this sets the tone for me piece as quite sad and slow but the symptoms of confusion/forgetfulness/ frustration add a contrasting dynamic as they could be shown as stronger and quicker movements.This has enabled me to create an emotion for the piece and allows me to use facial expressions to enhance the performance and intention of the piece. A video example of my dementia motif is linked in the original post!

      Delete
  4. caitlynfrancisco2 December 2019 at 15:40

    Well done! In this blog it is interesting to see how your creative process has developed since your first creative session. Do you prefer using processes like spelling out certain words with body parts or do you feel that other processes like improvising around a stimulus are more helpful?

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    Replies
    1. Mhairi Wallace3 December 2019 at 11:09

      Thank you for your comment. I prefer having a task such as spelling out a word with body parts as it gives me something to aim to and work towards whereas I find it more challenging to have a vaguer task such as improvisation. However, I do feel that improvisation does create more unique and unexpected movements and phrases.

      Delete

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