Dear All,
Today marked a significant departure in our process and put to test several skills simultaneously. Building on last week's success of learning a sequence and delivering it as an ensemble, we advanced the work by making the sequence develop in pairs. To create this sequence we drew on a range of physical techniques learnt through the process and strung them together into a smooth routine. Once the routine was embedded into your own bodies we then asked of you a very specific task. And this is where the process moved on and provided a glimpse of the order of things to follow.
By allowing you to develop your own sequences in pairs in the spirit, energy and pace of what we taught you - we opened up a vast creative space. You could make the work as simple or complex, as pedestrian or abstract and as demanding or contained as you wished. It hopefully got you used to the idea of using the language we have been learning to create physical dialogues and exchanges.
The range of work generated was refreshing, original, some pushing boundaries more than others, but all in small ways taking small steps towards claiming your own creative voice. This was great to see.
Questions for this week:
1. What challenges did you experience in learning the first routine?
2. How did this routine build on the nature of last week's routine?
3. Describe the rewarding nature of learning the routine.
4. Describe the challenges and rewards of creating and developing your own partner work following on from the sequence we taught you.
5. How did this add to the palette?
6. 3 words for today's session.
Looking forward to your responses.
Royona
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Gemma's Response:
ReplyDeleteLearning a routine in itself is always a challenge for me! It takes me a long time to pick up routines and I always have to be shown a number of times, phrase by phrase, before the piece sits comfortably in my body memory. I have accepted that this is my learning style in physical/dance pieces and with this; I can overcome the challenge and complete the task, rather than be hindered by choreography.
Today’s session brought together two principles; (1) learning a set routine and (2) piecing together moves we have already learnt in previous weeks. Having being introduced to a new way of learning last week we already knew what to expect (in terms of the teaching style of Royona and Paul) and so we already had the first building block. The rest was up to us to naturally develop. Piecing together the last eight weeks should now give us a fairly wide scope for creation.
I felt rewarded three times in the session as a result of learning the routine. Firstly, as I mentioned above, I find routines an enjoyable challenge, so successfully remembering each phrase was rewarding. Secondly, watching everyone else was rewarding because you can see what it looks like from a secondary source rather than primary, but also because it’s good to support one another and see how people are developing week by week. Thirdly; creating our own work was rewarding.
The creation of our own work was extremely rewarding as the clinical nature of previous sessions had been subtracted, and the freedom for play and exploration was given to us – allowing our palette to shine through body memory. The challenge was if we could use the palette in such a way that represented the last eight weeks.
If we can keep up the same discipline, then we can be more creative in our exploration – knowing that when we are in a certain position or stance, then the palette will hold numerous ways of manoeuvring from that to another. Palette recall should come into effect
Today was creative, resourceful, and open
During last week’s session I felt like I had hit a brick wall as I found the work extremely tough and tiring. This was probably because I was feeling really under the weather that morning and was poorly the night before and so did not get much sleep. As a result of this, it had an impact on the effort and quality of my work which made me feel slightly behind from the rest of the group. I now realise how important a person’s state of health is when undertaking physical theatre and the effect it can have on the work which is produced.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, I think the group seemed more settled into the work this week after the ensemble work in the previous session which introduced routine. This idea of creating a routine, similar to the JV workshop, was not completely new and therefore the task was quickly accepting from the group and we got straight to work. We have explored individual work with JV, ensemble work in class and paired work in the last session which reflects the different approaches to working in physical theatre.
The routine was fairly simple, accumulating all the techniques learnt in the previous sessions, and even included some of the movements from last week’s ensemble work such as the ‘spider jump’.
As soon as the group had learnt the routine there was a sense of achievement among the class and it seemed they were pleased to have learnt a piece of physical theatre in such a small amount of time. Once the routine was put to music it felt more like a performance as the music added its layer and context to the piece. The sessions have been building up to routines and I think we are at an exciting process of the module, more of which is to come.
It was challenging to pick from our expanding palette to create a short sequence, there are so many possibilities in physical theatre. It was also hard sticking to one idea as we could do so many different things. It was good to see what other pairs had come up with and what elements from the palette they had selected. Despite my timing errors when showing our piece to the rest of the group, I felt a sense of achievement and now feel positive that we are all at the stage where we can produce work independently.
Last week’s session added a number of paints to the palette; the idea of working in pairs, the use of exploration and creative means to create a short sequence and revising through body memory all the techniques utilised in the module so far.
I would sum up the session as tough and tiring but creative.
Rachel O'Connor
The challenges I faced in learning the routine centred around co-ordination. I find it difficult to stay in sync with the beat count, especially when focusing on getting the routine slick! However, when my body memory is confident with a routine and I no longer need to think about what I’m doing, the count of 8 beats becomes easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteThe routine was basically the same as the one we learned last week, we just added to the dynamic of the sequence by adapting to it in pairs. It wasn’t as difficult as learning it first time round, as we were already used to the beats and general flow of the piece. The nature of the routine was built upon as we reworked techniques to allow the addition of working with a partner enhance the overall impact- consequently building relationships/connections (there were various relationships forming within the ensemble).
It was a positive experience to rework the routine in pairs, as it added a whole new meaning behind the piece. Last week we focused on the ‘territory’ of the ensemble space, this week we layered this by adding different emotional connections and partnerships within the ensemble. It gave the routine a completely new dynamic, and in terms of performance potential- became significantly considerable.
When we were told to develop the routine in our pairs, following on from the sequence we were already taught, I was initially intrigued. We’d had the comfort of being taught a routine, then suddenly were allowed to add to it whatever we wanted. I was surprised at how quickly everyone got on with the task. When we did a similar activity with the JVC company there was a lot of apprehension in the room. It was rewarding to see the development in people, especially when we showed our individual creations to the rest of the class. Everyone seemed to take risks in the work and really explored the palette of skills we’ve collected throughout the module so far.
This work added to the palette as it opened up access to creativity. We now have the freedom to toy with the techniques and incorporate our individual personalities into exploring them on an emotional level.
3 words to describe the session- explorative, challenging and rewarding.
Sophie Horton
Learning the new routine we did today was challenging in numerous ways for me. One of he major challenges was facing the fact that not only did I worry about my presence in the space, I also found myself concerned about my partners presence. This was mainly due to making sure I was in a place where it was safe to perform the moves and making sure no one around us would get hurt. I also felt it challenging to pick up to begin with, but as the routine settled into my body memory, it just came naturally.
ReplyDeleteThis new routine built on move interaction between the bodies in the space. Last week, we were a community performing together the same routine. This week, we were interacting with other people and I felt there was more of a narrative and more exploration was possible.
The routine for me is extremely rewarding, because I seem to forget the trouble I had with the techniques involved and just do them because that's what a routine requires. It builds on from the techniques and allows you to use them in ways you didn't think possible.
When allowed to explore the routine and add to it, I found it challenging to begin with as I was thinking to much through my brin and not enough through the body, However, as we began working on our routine, it became more instinctual rather than thought out and because of this, it was much more rewarding. It was also rewarding to watch what others had added because this is where the individual begins to shine and this is where the basis for a performance begins, which for me is very exciting.
It gave us the beginnings to what could become a performance. It gave us the chance to add a whole new level to what we have learnt. Although we have all learnt the same technique and the same moment to use with this, we will each move in different ways and we are now beginning to use our individuality to create new meanings in the movements.
The session was fun, creative and exciting.
Toni Alonzo
In all honesty, the routine for me wasn’t much of a challenge as I am used to learning longer more complexed routines in dance. However if anything, getting the timing perfect and the narrative clear for the audience was hard to grasp at first but with thorough practice and as the session developed the routine, its timing and narrative were all instilled into my body memory.
ReplyDeleteYou could tell that this week’s routine was focused more on a narrative than last weeks and the routine this week made us more aware of working in pairs, as an ensemble and with a narrative. It added more layers that our overall performance will need hence you could tell we are now starting to apply these techniques and work towards our final product.
For me the most rewarding part of learning the routine was seeing it all completed, rehearsed and with clear intention. When we had all grasped and learnt the routine we were all open to therefore letting our body memory take over so we could then focus on the narrative.
Also through the opportunity we were given to work in pairs, it allowed for us to contribute to the lesson and explore the techniques in our own way. Therefore making us feel more comfortable and at ease with the techniques and what we are all capable of, as individuals and an ensemble.
Fun, exciting and creative.
Charlotte Swaby