SDD Feedback Session

Identify 4 issues you had with making your solo
Timing- trying to keep the solo within a 2-4 minute frame

Exploring- Found it difficult to keep exploring a particular theme or movement as deeply as possible

Space- Found it very difficult to move my dance out and use up more floor space.

Body Parts- Too strong a focus on one body part



Tasks to help these issues
Timing-Perform my improvisation constantly. Set an alarm to become more comfortable and aware of the time frame.

Exploring-Watch videos of my dances/improvisations back and from there pick out interesting and unique movements that I can explore more. Continue to keep relating back to the original stimulus for new inspiration.

Space- The more movements I explore and level’s I use, the more space I will be able to use freely.

Body Parts-Look at how a foot movement can be mirrored in the whole body which then allows me to use up more space on the floor and move at different levels.

Siobhan Davies Replay

As part of project week we looked at Siobhan Davies Replay website and built an archive scrapbook on the site. In order to build the scrapbook, we were given a number of tasks to complete. Firstly, we had to choose a piece of work that was created in the 1980's. I chose "White Man Sleeps" as I liked the intricate details of the hands and the feet throughout the performance. I also thought the dance movements were complimented really well with the staging and lighting that was created and the performance had a nice combination of solo and duet performances.

Next, I looked at the archive and selected another video from the video still option. I found this really interesting as I was able to watch the same performance only in the rehearsal stage. Juxtaposing the two, I found it easier to notice small details of the dance when it was in the rehearsal stage, such as repetition, as I wasn't distracted by staging or lighting.

The third task was to select a photograph that most interested me. I chose a photo of the dancers Scott Clark and Lauren Potter. What interested me about this photo was the various points of contact between the two dancers. They were connected through many different body parts such as a hand on the back of a leg, a hand on a head, a head on a shoulder and an arm on a stomach. I think this really linked in with my contact improvisation classes and emphasised the many different ways we can dance and still be connected to a partner. I think because there were so many different points of contact too, it helped build up the idea of a strong relationship between the two dancers.

Overall, I found this website really easy to use and enjoyed having so much dance documentation as accessible as this. It was great to have a range of videos from different decades as I was able to compare and contrast the older dance pieces with the new ones.

Movement with the poem

Poem

How fresh, How calm
Stiller than this of course,
The air was in the early
morning;

Like the flap of a wave;
The kiss of a wave;
Chill and sharp and yet...

SDD

SDD
Originally uploaded by c_27

This is a score that I created from the workshop with the artists from the Siobhan Davies dance company as part of project week. We were given a short poem as our stimulus and from this I chose the words sharp and calm to work with. They are two contrasting words and therefore created two very different types of movement. When I combined the two together, I discovered that they helped to emphasise the sharpness and calmness of each other.