Movements 3 and 4

Tonight was such an productive rehearsal! I was quite nervous about movement 3 since we hadn't worked with it in over 3 weeks but I was blown away by how quickly the dancers put it back together. We were able to run movement 3 directly into movement 4 relatively smoothly. We have been fighting with the timing on movement 4 every since we started working with it but it was perfect tonight. Now that I see 3 and 4 connected, I can see the places where I need to work with transitions, particularly between the 2 sections of movement 3 and between 3 and 4. As I work with tweaking the choreography and cleaning the piece, I plan to focus on shifts in energy in order to add dynamic interest to the work rather than changing any choreography.

Connecting Movements 1 and 2

Tonight was an extremely productive rehearsal, despite the snowy weather outside. We were able to add all of the other dancers into Nisha's solo in movement 1 to convey the idea of fragmented thoughts coming to life. We then went directly into movement 2 and while the transition could use some smoothing out, I am very happy with the way these 2 movements fit together. Also, my camera cut off the last 30 seconds of the piece so movement 2 does not actually end in disarray as it appears on the video.

Movement 3 Combined

This is my very poor attempt at combing two videos into one. While it is certainly not a professional editing job, at least movement 3 can be seen as a whole, rather than in two separate segments. The transition that will eventually occur in place of this very awkward cut includes the dancers walking slowly toward stage right as if walking offstage, but instead Nisha runs upstage and meets them before they exit, which initiates their scattering and combining into the duets that follow.

Movement 2 Completed!

After teaching each pairing their duets separately, we were able to combine them all and layer them together to show a progression. This actually happened quite smoothly and with very few spacing issues. There are a few timing issues, but overall I think this movement succeeds in showing a gradual development, which is exactly what I want at this point in piece as a whole. Also, Tal was absent from this rehearsal but normally she performs a duet with Hannah.

Movement 1: Nisha's Solo

The following three videos are a segments of the same extended solo that Nisha will perform in movement 1. While they are three separate videos, they are meant to be viewed in order as one continues solo.

Movement 2: Lydia & Komal

This duet, the second in Movement 2, is based on Emily Dickinson's "undiscovered continent" poems, through which she sought to find the tangible, visible location of the mind and the landscape of the spirit. These poems generally address the mysterious, the unattainable, and the search for a dark internal hiding place. I aimed to recreate these concepts in this duet and establish a sense of longing for something that is unreachable.

Movement 1: The Beginning of Nisha's Solo

We have finally arrived at the beginning of the piece! The piece will open with a solo by Nisha on the thrust of the stage. This solo is very quiet, reserved, and contemplative. In this movement the soloist is trying to brainstorm ideas for her works of poetry. Many of the phrases in this solo will look familiar as they are drawn from solos or duets created for other dancers in later movements. The idea behind this solo is that Nisha ultimately performs a combination of every other dancer's solo as somewhat of a duet with that dancer. In many cases, Nisha performs scaled down variations of a phrase before performing it fully in order to demonstrate the process of starting with one or two words and developing phrases and ultimately entire poems. When the other dancers perform these movements with her, they will dance upstage in shadow so that only certain elements of the movements are visible, such as a sweeping of the leg or a tossing of the arm.

Movement 2: Alyson & Julie Duet

This duet between Alyson & Julie is the 3rd in the series of duets that occurs in movement 2. It is based on Emily Dickinson's nature-centered poems. Because the duet was inspired by flowers and gardens, there is a lot of jumping and turning to convey a carefree feeling like skipping through a meadow in summertime. There is also a lot of movement that slowly travels from the floor to standing to resemble a growing flower. This duet will be repeated immediately after it finishes along with the other two duets that will happen concurrently. The only change that will occur the second time through the duet is that the dancers will violently push away from one another after their hands touch in order to explain why Julie joins Komal and Lydia in a trio and Alyson performs a solo in the next movement.

Movement 2: Hannah & Tal Duet

This week I am meeting seperately with pairs of dancers to create the duets that will form movement 2. The basic idea is that in this movement, the poet figure achieves early success by creating lines and phrases that work harmoniously at first. These duets are spatially simple but are detailed at the same time in order to convey the early stages of the writing process. Each duet focuses on a certain movement aesthetic to depict the creation of different varieties of poems. This duet between Hannah & Tal, the first duet of movement 2, looks at Dickinson's "master poems" or those often addressed to a 'sir' or 'madame'. These types of poems were often regal and majestic, which is conveyed through the long, clean lines of the dancers' movements.

Finishing Movement 3

Today was another extremely productive rehearsal and my cast finished learning the choreography for movement 3! I am refraining from using the word "completed" because the work is still in a rough form and is in need of transitions and cleaning, but I am very happy with how this movement is coming along. This video was difficult to shoot because of the awkward poles in the studio and also because of how far downstage the dancing takes places. There are several points at which a duet or a soloist disappear from the frame, but rest assured, all of my cast members are dancing in this section. Thanks so much Melanie for stepping in as the understudy....and feel better Lydia! Next stop...movement 2 duets!

Making Progress on Movement 3

Today's rehearsal was incredibly productive and we were able to complete the first of 2 pieces of music in movement 3.



We also began work on the second piece of music in movement 3, starting with a set of 3 duets and a solo by Nisha. I plan to finish movement 3 at tomorrow night's rehearsal. This will lead directly into movement 4, the repertory piece. At this point, the second half of my thesis will be in place and I will work backwards to create movements 1 and 2.

Solos For Nisha

Tonight I held a seperate rehearsal for Nisha, the poet figure in the piece, in order to teach her the rest of her solo material from movement 3 and allow for more rehearsal time with the rest of the cast tomorrow night. This video is one of her major solos in the movement.

Movements 3 and 4

I recently had a discussion with my thesis advisor and my ASM and a heart-to-heart with myself about the general outline and progression of my this. My original plan was to choreograph the piece in 5 movements to show the development of a poet's creative process. In this scheme, the piece reconstructed from last spring's Dance Works concert was going to be the 2nd movement. However, in my meeting with my advisor I realized that this piece is a completed, finished work and in order for this to be believable as part of a creative process it would have to occur at the end to demonstrate the poet's final achievement of a complete, polished poem. After coming to this conclusion, I am currently working with the following model, which is tentative and may in fact change again:

Movement 1: A solo by Nisha, the poet figure, with fragments of movement by the rest
of the cast to represent a poet's initial ideas and inspirations when
creating a new work
Movement 2: A series of 3 duets (Hannah & Tal, Lydia & Komal, and Alyson & Julie) to
represent a poet's initial success as she effectively puts together short
series of phrases but cannot yet create a complete poem
Movement 3: A chaotic breakdown performed by my entire cast to show what happens
when a poet experiences writer's block and feels that her creations are
battling against her and falling apart
Movement 4: The repertory piece performed by the full cast that shows a resolution
that occurs when the poet finally gains a new sense of clarity and
vision that results in a polished work

The following videos are from rehearsal on Wednesday January 20th and demonstrate how much choreography has been taught thus far.

First Official Rehearsal

Tonight was my first rehearsal with my lovely cast, although we did rehearse last week before casts were set in stone for the semester. The piece will be performed in 5 movements. We have already reconstructed movement 2 from repertory and tonight we began movement 3. Choreographing the 3rd movement for me was quite a struggle because my goal is to created a look of frustration and organized chaos. This pulled me out of my comfort zone as I am normally inclined to create more structured, organized choreography. In movement 2, we see that the poet character is always in control of her creations and always maintains order. However, in movement 3, we see the struggle that happens when the poet cannot recreate the magic she had once achieved in previous work or when she experiences writer's block. In this movement, we see the poems taking on personalities of their own and asserting their own voices in the ultimate conflict of an artist versus her creations.

At tonight's rehearsal, we also reviewed movement 2, the repertory piece, and found moments where this cast could incorporate elements of themselves. One way that we did this was by looking at samples of each dancer's handwriting. Each dancer then created their own phrase based on the style and nuance of their handwriting and the way in which they grip their pencils or pens when writing.

This video shows the opening phrase of movement 3 which immediately breaks the soothing feel of movement 2 and therefore establishes a stark contrast between the two movements.