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.