December 19th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Improvisation
Please reflect on the improvisations we have explored in class. Feel free to comment on your preference of improvs as well as their application to the choreographic process and how you might apply some of these structures to your own choreography.
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I felt that the improvisations we explored in class was different and fun at the same time. I have only done improv a couple times in different workshops, but doing improv in class was the longest I have done improv for. I really enjoyed all the different activities. I really liked the blindfolded one where we lead each other around the room. I really got a sense that I need to use my other senses other than seeing to feel other people around me. I realized that dance is about trusting the other dancers which would be really helpful in future dances for lifts. When you can trust the people you work with you can successfully do intricate lifts. I also liked the different flocking we did. I liked how people would add on to other groups and then break off with different choreography. I never really realized how good that looks on stage. I think for a piece I am going to choreograph in the second semester, I will use flocking. I really like the idea of people adding on and off at different times because it really looks good as a viewer in the audience. Also, when groups have silent and stopped momments it really looks good. I think that when I start choreographing it will help if I asked my dancers to improv a little and start flocking. I really also liked the platforms we did in class. Although I may not use that in my own choreography I saw some really cool stuff in class. I think the more limitations there were the cooler the choreography looked. Especially when we started to add music it was really enjoyable to watch how the dancers incorporated the music to the movement and the space.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:36 pmI loved the improvisation of the recipes. I thought that the entire concept was so unique! It was so fun to make up different movements for such simple baking methods! You could really be creative and take as many perspectives into each instruction! I also loved watching each pair perform their recipe. You could really see the uniqueness from group to group. It was also really cool to see people working off of eachother when it came to mixing, folding, or even cracking open an egg! This project was so unique and I loved how there were no limitations or boundaries, so we all got the opportunity to be completely free with our movement!
December 20th, 2007 at 5:18 pmThe improvisations were fun. I have only done a few of these but they were great to see and do. The great thing about this is that you can be unique and add many different movements. I really enjoyed watching what each group came up with because we would learn the free movement. It was interesting to be able to see how each choreographer’s movement and type of dance was different. We could all really tell fast, slow, dramatic, ballet, african type of dance. Many had some of each thing. The best thing in improvisations are that there are no limits…..you can go as far and beyond as you would like to…..go crazy.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pmI agree with Alex when she said she really enjoyed the recipe improvisions. It allowed us to explore and make movments to represent words you dont normally hear in dance such as roll, knead or mix. The piece that i think did a good job interpreting their recipe was Rachel, Lauren and Monica they really incorpoated dance into theirs and i felt like it was something you could see on stage. I liked this project alot! I think that this project could help us incorporate more connections with words in music to our movement. I learned that our movement to a word does not have to be literal but you can interpret it in a way that looks like dance and makes sense.
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:07 pmImprovisation in class was a very good experience. The ability to work with a partner and try and feel their movement back to back was very difficult. It was fun to follow another dancer and try to dance synchronized with them on the spot. Without knowing what comes next, different styles of movement were flowed together. All the different rules and guidelines on the platforms made it interesting to see what other dancers would come up with. While on the platform I struggled to keep all my movements to right angles. My favorite activity would definitely be the blind fold. I loved trying to follow my partners’ finger, but I loved guiding my partner more. The leadership role was easier and more comfortable for me.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pmI really enjoyed doing the improvisation. I think that it was a great thing for everyone to really break out of their shell and dance how ever they wanted to. All the activities we did were fun and exciting! I have to say that the recipe was one of my favorites. It was fun working with a group and then adding everyones ideas in and then resulting in a fun piece. I also liked when we used the lifts in the black box. I never knew how big of an impact it made when you use specific limitations such as -not facing forward- or -only making your moves using right angles-. I think that when we did the blind fold activity it helped the dancers realize their sense of the floor as well as gaining trust in your partner. Overall I liked this unit alot and I think I learned alot from it.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:40 pmI am very glad that we got to explore a different type of dance. The last time I did improvisation was in my company dance class in 5th grade, so it was nice to revisit the concept again. The type I enjoyed most was the levels. When we were given the different limitations we really had to think outside of the box to make the movement look interesting. It was coolest when no one could face the front. We got to see a different view of things. I think this concept would work great in a piece. I also liked the cooking improv. It was fun to have to think of ways to incorporate our props. I really enjoyed this unit!
January 7th, 2008 at 9:11 pmI really enjoyed doing this project. It really gave me an understanding of how different dancing can be when one of your senses is not being used or when your movement is restricted. It also made me realize how much I take for granted. I never realized how important certain senses could be. I especially take for granted my eyesight. When we did the exercise where we sat back to back, I really had a hard time using my other senses to feel what my partner was doing so that I could mirror her. I thought it was a really good way for us to explore parts of dance that we aren’t used to. I also found that it was a good exercise for teamwork. I enjoyed working with other people that I am not used to working with. I think new experiences provide a bonding experiences for our class. I loved how open we all were to something different and worked together to make it work.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:28 amThis project really opened my eyes to the many different ways dancers have to use their senses. How we cant feel eachother breathing and the how we cant feel the timing of a piece. I thought it was the hardest when we couldnt see our partner and we had to mirror them. It was really hard to feel exactly which way they were moving but I could definitly sense that they were moving and not stationary. The recipe exercise also really helped me see different ways you cant start creating a piece of choreagraphy. You dont have to mimic the words but use them and take it further. I really liked this exercise alot and hope we can do it again!
January 9th, 2008 at 8:56 pmIt’s been awhile since we’ve moved on from our improvisation unit, but I’ve found that I’ve been able to use some of the techniques we studied in my other dance classes. I’ve always felt really awkward when asked to improv, but the atmosphere created in the class room made me feel extremely comfortable. The techniques such as flocking, stillness, and linking with other dancers are now helpful tools that I’m able to apply. Now I actually find it a really fun exercise. Like Rachel, I’ve found that the trust aspect of improv is a necessary skill to acquire in dance. You have to be able to trust the people you’re working with especially when the choreography calls for lifts and falls. The falling exercises and the blindfolds are good ways to break the ice and if I ever choreograph a piece I definitely intend to have my dancers try those exercises so they can become aware of one another and really learn to trust their partners. I was surprised that I enjoyed this unit as much as I did. I’ve even decided to use the platform technique for a dance. I also hope to use the linking and stillness techniques we practiced. After spending those weeks on this type of dance I’ve become very interested in taking an improvisation class in the future. I think the techniques learned through improv really help you improve as a dancer. It really forces you to trust your instincts and commit to yourself as a dancer.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:05 amI truly enjoy improv. It is such a nice and engaging way break from the usual structure of a dance class. What especially intrigued me was flocking. Those moments when the dancers somehow started to move in unison or in a way that was almost choreographed were incredible. When those little instances of clarity would appear in the chaos of the improv, it added an element of surprise that was very pleasing. If I ever choreograph I would love to play with that element of surprise and somehow recapture that feeling of flow and unison. Another exercise that I thought was great was the trust fall. It was and interesting experience to be completely at the mercy of two other people. I never even realized that I so close to the floor when I fell. I never fell, so the exercise taught me that my trust is not misplaced. Dance has so much to do with group dynamics, so it is incredibly important for dancers to trust each other. One can tell when dancers feel comfortable with who they are dancing with.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:39 pmThe improv unit that we did was very interesting. I had very mixed feelings about doing the improv. I felt really excited to do the improvs because its a new way to look at dancing by feeling what you are doing and not necessarily just repeating the movements that we were taught but, taking it in and making that movement part of your own with feelings felt good. I also felt a little awkward to be totally honest. I don’t really know why though, I think that i’m just not really acustomed to doing dancing like that and i just felt wierd doing it. Don’t get me wrong though I had a lot of fun doing it. My two favorite improvs were the platform and the recipe improvs. The platforms showed a different perspective of dancing and it made it look cool. I think that the limitations that we had as well made the improv more fun. As for the recipe, I thought it was really funny the way that we had to interpret the words of the recipe and also our movements were supposed to reflect the steps of the recipe. I thought that they were a lot of fun to make and a lot of fun to perform!
January 10th, 2008 at 10:34 pmI can honestly say that I was not thrilled when we first started the improv unit. Some of the scenerios that we were being asked to do seemed outright embarassing! But, as we moved through the unit and started to explore more and more dynamics of dance, I became more comfortable with the ideas and wound up having so much fun with it! Our small improv activities opened so many doors into the heart of choreography that I had never really realized were there before. For instance, the idea of using different levels, flocking, and mirroring. The more we did, the more ideas started running across my mind about how awesome that would be to put into a piece. I am so glad i had the oppurtunity to take part in this becuase I think it truly make an impact on how I view and construct choreography.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:33 ami really liked this because when your back to back and you cant see the other person you can see the other groups and see that some people can read there partner and some of the other people cant. i think that this also involves poms because were not dancing back to back but we dont have a mirior and we cant always get the movement excatlly how the other people do it so this showed me how to try and read people better!
January 14th, 2008 at 10:03 amI think that improvisation in any aspect in your life is something that is helpful. With my acting, singing, and dancing, it is always productive for me to explore what my voice/body/imagination can do. I love doing improvisational exercises in dance class, because I think that it really breaks barriers that people have set for themselves. It’s so cool to see everyone break out of their shells. For myself, it is a good exercise because I tend to put reservations on what I do and say, and this exercise helps me let go of my “inner monitor” and really explore my creativity. I think that, as an artist, it can help you understand your talents and understand your creative thought process. I love to do improvisational exercises, and I was excited to do some in class. It was nice to not have to think that anything and move simply to move.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:22 pmImprov. was one of my favorite activities we have done first semester. I loved all of the differnt activities that we did to develop choreography. My favorite activity was when we were in the black box and making shapes on top of the platforms. It was so intresting to see how changing tempo and levels with just making angles, could look so cool. I think it would be really awesome to have a piece like that in the orchesis show. I also really enjoyed it when we blind folded our partners to get a sense of knowing where we were in the room. That could be used on stage becasue its always important to know where you go and have the awareness of others around you. A piece that is all improv. would be really cool too, just making choreography up as it feels natural i think would be really amazing. At first when i heard we were doing improv. i was kind of nervous that i would make a fool of myself but it was nice how we all came together and just did what we felt without worrying about the people around us. I think that we should definitly use the improv. unit next year and in future dance classes to come
January 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pmI had first come across improv. when i had auditioned at Iowa for their dance program. I was really excited when we started to experiment with it in dance class. The improv exercise that i really enjoyed was the one we did just before break, where we choreographed a short dance to the different recipes. I found that improv was really helpful for trying to develop my skills in terms of choreography. I used to think it was hard to try and dance free style and make up choreography as you went along until we started this unit. The different exercises that we did in class really helped to open up my mind and discover different elements of choreography.
January 14th, 2008 at 10:04 pm