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Choreography
A Basic Approach Using Improvisation
200 Pages
Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation has long been a recognized standard in the field of dance education, and its fourth edition is replete with new and updated material and tools that will help students develop their skills in each step of the choreographic experience, from finding an idea to staging the performance.
Choreography is equally suited for use in high school and university classes. You can use it to guide your students through the creative and choreographic processes, applying instructional strategies such as problem solving, updated technology integration, and connections to dance education standards.
The latest edition of Choreography has these additions:
• A new student web resource that includes 23 video clips that reinforce the book's content, show the creative and choreographic processes presented in the book, and help students apply the choreographic elements to their own work.
• Updated or new chapter content that supports the dance education standards as they apply to the creative process, improvisation, and choreographic development and to the technical aspects of staging performances
• Expanded movement explorations to help students discover movement using more than one sense; these explorations are arranged by learning style (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic/tactile) and range from easy to more challenging in level
• Developing Your Skills sections revised to align with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards processes of creating, performing, responding, and connecting; these sections help students apply what they have learned in the chapter as they relate to dance standards, and they are arranged from simple to complex to help students increase their learning
The book also includes problem-solving exercises to focus student thinking on the explorations and experiences they encountered in the chapter. Factual and conceptual aspects of the chapter activities are then addressed in follow-up questions, helping to engage students in critical thinking as they learn to transfer their understanding to other situations.
The new web resource will further students' creative and professional development in choreography. This resource contains video clips that show creative and choreographic processes presented in the book, editable forms and checklists that students can use, assignments that students can complete, and web links and resources for further study. Choreography also comes with an instructor guide that offers teacher-directed lesson plans and teaching tips.
The book is arranged into four chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on improvisation as the key to the choreographic process, and it provides a framework for creating movement and dances to help students understand the dance-making process. The chapter also offers solutions to common beginning choreographic problems. Chapter 2 explains the use of the craft of choreography in designing and shaping the dance. It discusses the use of stage space, the use of various forms of technology to enhance dance, and how to make more out of less by manipulating and varying movements. Chapter 3 explores what to strive for in shaping and forming a dance, and it describes common dance forms. In Chapter 4, students are introduced to the stepps involved in putting their dance onstage. Chapters 3 and 4 also include Experience in Action features, which encourage students to delve deeper into the chapter topic, and Choreography Challenge features, which challenge students to test their skills.
Choreography provides students with a complete choreographic experience, inviting them to share the joys of artistic expression through dance. As such, it is the go-to resource for teachers who are looking to provide meaningful experiences in a well-rounded learning environment and for students who are intent on improving their choreographic abilities.
Chapter 1. Exploring and Improvising Movement
The Creative Process
Observation and Feeling Response
Preparing to Create
Movement Discovery Insights
Solving Improvisational Challenges
Finding the Right Music
Exploring Your Movement Inspirations
Choreography Challenge
Chapter 2. Designing and Shaping the Dance
Manipulating Movement
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Creating a Total Picture
Choreographic Ideas From Postmodern Dance
Extending Dance Making With Technology
Choreography Challenge
Chapter 3. Identifying Choreographic Form
Choreographic Form and Development
Dance Genres or Styles
Subject Matter of Dance
Performer–Audience Connection
Finishing Touches
Developing as a Choreographer
Choreography Challenge
Chapter 4. Staging the Performance
Planning and Organization
Technical Considerations
Informal Concerts
Choreography Challenge
Sandra Cerny Minton, PhD, is co-coordinator of the dance education master's program at the University of Northern Colorado. She has 26 years' experience running a dance program at the university level and has choreographed and directed numerous main stage concerts. She also taught for 10 years in public schools. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from UCLA, where she studied under nationally renowned dance educator Alma Hawkins. Minton was a founding member of the National Dance Education Organization and has served as publications director for the National Dance Association. She has been a frequent presenter at national conferences on the topics of creative movement and choreographic techniques. She is widely published in journals and has authored or coauthored eight books. In 1999, Minton was selected as the recipient of the National Dance Association Artist/Scholar Award, and in 2001 she taught in Finland as a Fulbright Scholar.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Arranging Movement for Effective Communication
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone.
Communication of intent is sometimes the aim in choreography. At other times, choreographers design compositions emphasizing movement alone. In the latter type of dance, one of the goals is to experiment by manipulating the space, time, energy, and shape of the movements to create interesting or unique effects.
In either case, the movements have a message for audience members, because the potential for nonverbal communication, or communication without words, is difficult to avoid. From the early years, children learn to recognize certain gestures, and each has a message based on life experiences. Waving, for instance, is a friendly gesture, while a slapping or striking action is interpreted as aggressive or threatening. Doris Humphrey, a pioneering modern dancer, wrote a choreography book in which she indicated that no movement could be made at all without initiation by some type of motivation (1987).
Alma Hawkins, a pioneering dance educator, believed movements transmit feelings because of the way in which the elements are used (1988). Although most people have learned to recognize varied use of the elements, the recognition is usually on a subconscious level. Thus, an expansive use of space is recognized as bold, and a small use of space as timid or tentative. It is also possible to analyze the varied use of the other movement elements - time, energy, and shape - in terms of how they communicate nonverbally. Dancers who perform quick, darting movements portray urgency or perhaps anger, while a high energy level suggests strength, and low energy is connected with weakness (see figures 2.11 and 2.12).
Figure 2.11 Various postures project different feelings to the viewer.
Figure 2.12 We have learned to interpret the meaning of gestures such as reaching, waving, and punching. These interpretations are based on how space, time, energy, and shape are used.
Other aspects of movement communicate nonverbally. The meaning of most facial expressions is fairly easy to interpret, and viewers usually understand upward visual focus as positive, and downward focus as sad. The space between people is a less recognizable aspect of nonverbal communication. Those who have studied nonverbal communication state that the amount of interpersonal space between people is related to their degree of intimacy, although this differs depending on the culture in which it is observed (Matsumoto, Frank, and Hwang 2013).
Save
Save
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
The Creative Process
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create.
Choreography, or dance making, is a creative process that requires practice as well as knowledge of how the process functions. It was once a popular notion that creative work was driven by divine intervention and that only certain people had the ability to create. Fortunately, today we understand that although people differ in their capacity for creative work, anyone can benefit from and enjoy creating.
Creating is not something that takes place only in the heads of special people; anyone is capable of doing creative work. However, creativity should refer to an action or idea that is new and also socially valuable; it is an interaction between a person's thoughts and social and cultural contexts (Csikszentmihalyi 2013). Creating is not easy, but knowledge of creative problem-solving strategies will enable you to work through blocks that may arise.
Traditionally, creativity is described as a five-stage process. During the first stage, the person who is creating prepares by becoming immersed in content that arouses interest, evokes curiosity, or presents a problem to be explored. In the second stage, incubation, the creative problem is put aside and ideas germinate or churn below the conscious level of thought. It is likely that unique and interesting connections are made during this stage. The third stage in the creative process is sometimes called the aha experience. It is the moment of insight when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly appear and fall into place. During the fourth stage, soul searching is necessary as is evaluating whether the insights discovered are valuable. This stage requires sifting through the movements created to determine which ones merit development. In the fifth stage, the person who is creating elaborates on inspired content. This stage occupies the most time and requires the hard work of making choices and decisions and of translating inspired content into words, an invention, a painting, or, in our case, movement (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
Choreography has its own and somewhat parallel creative stages. One could say a dance evolves through the following process, which is used throughout this book:
- Observing an inspiration: During this stage, the choreographer notices something: an object, idea, or event that sets the dance-making process in motion. Anything can be used as an inspiration - parts of the environment or works of art, including poetry and music.
- Feeling response: The choreographer feels and has a response or emotional reaction to the inspiration that he or she would like to portray in a dance.
- Using memories and imagination: Almost simultaneously, the choreographer pulls from memories and imagination to help improvise movements to be used in the dance. During this phase, there may be aha experiences during which movements suddenly come into being, or the choreographer may put improvisation aside, allowing incubation to occur before continuing the movement discovery process.
- Evaluating the movements: The choreographer must decide whether the movements fit the intent of the dance and where and how they contribute to the development of the work.
- Enhancing the dance through visual design: The choreographer can enhance the dance through choices in visual elements such as costumes, lighting, props (object separate from costume, but part of actions or spatial design in dance), and technology, although technology is sometimes an integral part of the creative process.
Figure 1.1 represents a visual framework (the limits in which creation occurs) for the creative movement and dance-making process discussed in this book. According to this framework, the choreographer must first carefully observe (notice or view with attention) aspects of the inspiration for a dance. Those who have researched and written extensively about how highly creative people think note that active observation, a trait of great artists, means taking time to look repeatedly and carefully (Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein 1999). After observing, the choreographer experiences feelings or a response to an inspiration. This response is combined with memories and images (mental pictures or bodily feelings) and transformed into movement. Later, these movements can be modified and molded into a dance that is performed and appreciated.
Figure 1.1 Linear framework for the creative movement and dance-making process.
Another recommendation for doing creative work takes into consideration the feeling component. You must be passionate about whatever you are creating. Passion fuels the creative process and propels it through difficult stages when it seems the end product will never be realized. It also enables you to develop strategies and put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goal (Kaufman and Gregoire 2015).
Something is amiss in the previous description of the dance-making process because it is not linear as depicted in the diagram, but instead is more fluid, proceeding both forward and backward. Because the choreographer moves back and forth within the process, movement creation, elaboration or variation of those movements, and their evaluation are frequently interrupted by a return to periods of added observations, insights, memories, and further analysis of the response to the inspiration. New feelings may arise, suggesting new directions for developing a dance, so earlier stages are revisited. This means dance making is a cycling, ever-evolving process. The creative process is recursive because the elaboration stage can be interrupted by periods of incubation or fresh insights; the incubation stage might even last for years before a solution is realized (Csikszentmihalyi 2013).
A more realistic model for movement discovery and dance making is shown in figure 1.2. The first four steps in the choreographic process - observation, feeling response, memories combined with imagination to equal movement, followed by evaluation - can be revisited as the choreographer cycles back and forth through various stages. The final steps of shaping and arranging movement and incorporating visual design elements are discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The visual design aspects may evolve throughout the process or be added when the dance is complete.
Figure 1.2 Dance making is a spiraling, circular progression in which the choreographer intermittently returns to beginning steps when needed.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.
Inspiration
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating.
Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
Learn more about Choreography, Fourth Edition With Web Resource.