Choreography
Senior Thesis
In the Spring of Senior year of High School I was given the opportunity to direct my own 30 minute Senior Thesis. I chose the cast, choreography, costumes, lighting, etc.
My Thesis was titled Impact and it was based off of the idea that every moment, experience, and person that you encounter can impact the rest of your life.
Comp 2 Final
Composition Final Study
For my final Composition Study I choreographed a piece danced by Eleanor Renfro. In this piece I focused on contrasting the dynamic qualitites of the movement and the quality of the music. I also explored pauses within the choreography to allow Eleanor to step outside of her comfort zone.
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Emergence
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Emergence: “the process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed; coming into being or becoming important or prominent”(Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Considering this title, the definition helps one to understand and interpret this dance. The three elements I have explored in this piece are structure, movement, and phrasing.
One can see clearly defined structure at the center this piece. The sequences and movement sections of this dance combine to convey the overall theme, message, and work. The dance opens with a close-up of a female dancer’s face, alone and expressionless. Low lighting and a dark black box atmosphere work together to create a curious, unknown setting within the piece. The lone dancer then joins others who are still and motionless, as if they don’t notice her. As she begins to move, the others follow. The twelve dancers move across the stage in unified patterns, walking and running in a variety of directions in a systematic interaction. These sections are artistically crafted with rhythmic synchronous patterns. An overall story and mood become more clear as the piece progresses.
Increased tempo adds to the structure as the dancers converge into a larger entity in syncopated fashion. The lone female dancer that originally appeared to be on the outside has been consumed, struggling with her emergence from the group in an emotionally fragile and very physical solo. Again, she’s alone on stage until the other dancers return and she rejoins the group. The mood and atmosphere has changed to a less structured state, and she now has an importance within the collective.
A major feature of this work is movement in choreographed systems and sequences. The formational structures are well orchestrated and must be artistically planned in advance due to their complexity. Whole body large movement patterns in multiple planes help to create the grouped regularities in movement and energy. The dancers effectively utilize the entire stage, transitioning on and off, in and out of darkness, in patterns and formations. Many rapidly transition from smooth to rigid, almost robotic movements. Rotations within the formations help to highlight the complexity of the choreography and the importance of timing. The focus appears to change from inward to outward as the relationship between the female dancer and the other dancers change.
Dance phrasing, developed from the expressions of movements, help to create the final work.The slower tempo of the music in the early part of this piece lends itself to slower and more sustained movement patterns. As the tempo increases in the music, movements become quicker, sharper, larger and more active, involving the head and arms to a greater degree, providing momentum to the movements. Some of the phrasing involves reversals in the sequence of movements and repetitive patterns. At times the movements are hard and sharp, but then become more soft and smooth relative to the tempo and sounds within the music.
During her solo portion, the main dancer (15:58) demonstrates a raw kinesthetic and emotional phrase of the dance with the solo dancer individually exposed. She breaks from the group in a painful separation, running from the safety of the unit. Exhibiting strength and coming into her own, she observes the collapse of uniformity, strength, and regularities within the larger entity, rejoining the changed group after her exposure.
Music variety throughout this work adds to the variations in speed and in the tempo.Imagine initially a low-lit stage with slow movement, perfectly timed to each beat in the music. Shortly thereafter, the dancing and music’s tempo picks up. The piece prominently features full body movements, with everyone dancing in perfect unison in continued formations. The piece’s mood changes with the transition from silence to electronic music. The feeling and tempo change again during the solo portion, creating a more dramatic theme than those of the rest of the dance. These changes in music provide intriguing variety, generating greater interest in the work.
Emergence provides a viewer an exciting, emotional, thought-provoking experience that will make you think and feel a wide range of emotions. This piece of high artistic and technical quality combines to craft seemingly unrelated sections into a unified whole. While they may appear arbitrary, the various phrases are all deliberately chosen with logical connections between each pattern of movement. Each movement is highly visceral and evokes tones of alienation, rigid conformity, and finally freedom. By the end of the piece, we have seen an oppressive structure collapse, and have a sense that our main dancer has emerged into a new life.