Choreographic Concerns

 

In concerning myself with choreography, I have found myself looking at the following writings:

 

Jonathan Burows - A Choreographers Handbook

Susan Rethorst - A Choreographic Mind

 

 

My main interest in these particular authors is that they are practitioners - they investigate research with the body and find a language that brings you into their experience of working. 

Burrows presents open access to ideas on choreography that allows the reader to find their own way in. As with Rethorst, her autobodygraphical writings flit between accounts of experiences, an insight into her thoughts & memories and how they influence and help understand the body's mind in composition. Megan Bridge reviewed her writing as "writings for philosophers - lovers of wisdom.The broader, more flexible thinkers that this book speaks to...is one that privledges the dance and choreography as the intellectual rigor. The realm of philosophical choreographers. Rethorst makes a case for allowing language to follow creative process instead of lead it."

 

Bridge further mentions Rethorst's work in relation to the concept of 'affect'

"Affect asks the question of 'what can a body do?' - there is an openess to the possibility. A physical knowing that comes before cognitive tought - a conscious knowing that can serve to drive us toward movement, thought and ever-changing forms of relation."

 

Burrow's speaks of movement as a hard thing to get hold of. No movement can be repeated exactly, and the sense of what we’re doing is constantly altered by our shifting perceptions. (pg: 69) He talks of sourcing movement for choreography as a present experience. 'Putting it together is choreography, the rest is just dancing.' (pg:113)

 

Thinking back to the body and what we can do...what i know so far, Burrow's suggestion enlightens me:

Maybe the things that you do most easily is the most original thing you could do? Or maybe the things you do most easily are the habits you should question? What do you know, that you’ve forgotten that you know? In identifying habit and looking to influences like Rethorst, the idea that a dancer is to understand self in body and mind is here rehiterated, giving emphasis to the potentialities of working with improvisation and choreographic methods in a single approach. 

He however, suggests that "as I read and research the I want to touch upon these mind expanding, horizon stretching, perception shifting thoughts and yet when I get in a studio I'm back to how simple things are in dance." However, what i believe is that the simple things in dance are what creates those mind expanding, horizon stretching, perception shifting thoughts....they come from the body.

 

 

 

 

Moving forward with Rethorst:

Be experiential communicatively with your work, habit that you use all the time -

"take cues from your work" " getting into a conversation with your work" "reading your work" " letting your work tell you how to continue with it" "being modest in the face of your work"

You question your relationship to the work in the present moment. "It suggests in practical terms what it is to allow for the dance to add another layer to the things that interest you rather then merely illustrate a decided-upon thought/idea. It is reflected in method."

 

"Roaming/ Making in the present" (pg: 140)

Decision- making conversation with our thoughts - 

 

"Now i don't like that much but i'm going to let it stand for the moment to get me to somewhere else"

or

"Ok, now i really have no idea where to go from here, so I am going to force a random decision to get something to respond to at least"

or

"Again, im stuck, I'm going to put that much aside and start over from another place I saw in our earlier moments and be ok with not knowing how what goes together"

or

"This is making me feel anxious, nothing is appealing to me. I am telling myself to be patient with it"

 

and so on....

Keep interviewing your body - the room, images seen and images that appear. Find the edge between thrill and fear. Choose thrill!

 

 

Pose Questions! Shift Awareness. Change Assumptions. Remove Reason. An em-minded body.

 

 

 “Scores” (pg:141) Burrows:

It seems to me there are two main kinds of approach to the idea of writing a score.

 

In the first kind what is written is a representation of the piece itself, a template which holds within it the detail in linear time, what you will eventually see of hear. 

 

In the other kind of score, what is written or thought is a tool for information, image, inspiration, which acts as a source for what you will see, but whose shape may be very different from the final realisation.

 

The two approaches can mix. I believe both Gia and Jane's scores mix - where Jane's is a representation of the piece, it also acts as a source for movement, which could be very different from one dancer to the other. Gia's is information, image that leads a dancer through the detail in linear time, but again, whose shape may be very different when improvised movement is applied from the individual dancers interpretation.

 

Both can arrive at structure, and both can arrive at strong image, atmosphere and colour.

Both can be written before, during or after you make the piece.

 

An overview of time and materials

 

Reading a score can act as a distraction for the performer, providing a focus away from their own self-consciousness and fear (distracting the self) - its interesting that Burrow's mentions this. At the beginning of my Praxis I would have said that I would chose to use a score for this reason; however, in understanding my habit and historical influence, my use of score is purely related to an interest in choreographical composition.

 

Score may consist of simply writing down what you’re doing.

 

A score can also embody within it the principles and philosophy behind the work – (what are my values?)

A good example of this is chance process – (explore!) 

Chance – by using chance we set limitations on areas of possibility. In the case of the dance this might include who does what, going where, when, facing in which direction, at what level, going at what speed, and making contact with whom.

“chance processes arrive at what is now, in some ways, a recognisable texture: a field of sparkle”

 

 

 

In relation to creating my own score:-

When is it useful to map your performance before hand and when is it useful to leave the choices to the moment? You can’t do everything!

How you write or draw score will become a part of what shapes your thoughts. The paper you use will become part of what shapes your thoughts. Do the most obvious thing. pg: 148

 

 

 

Meg Stuart speaks of how and what in choreography:-

'There's a moment when you can tell where the energy in the space, in the studio, in the theatre....it turns. They are not just doing movements, they are....it's a dance at this moment, it's like something just clicks and you realise you stepped this boarder and a dance is making itself. And you can't describe it but yu feel like you're in a bit dangerous territory, you feel like 'Do you go there?' You think, 'This is the greatest idea, this is no idea.' It's like there's a lot of doubt at that moment also. And you feel like you're in a bit of a dangerous space and a delicate space, and then it's at that moment you know, I want to go there and dig!'

Meg Stewart, 'Conversations With Choreographers', South Bank Centre, 1998, p.9.