Making Dances – Page 8

WORLDING – The Moving Architects Welcome Choreographer Joanie Audet

March 6, 2013 by 4dancers

The Moving Architects is a Chicago-based dance company that has been around since 2007. This month, they are presenting WORLDING at the Fasseas White Box Theater in Chicago. An evening of global dance works, the performance will consist of work by Artistic Director Erin Carlisle Norton and new works by guest artists Noa Zuk of Israel and Joanie Audet of Quebec.

We sent some questions to Ms. Audet about her piece in WORLDING and she gave us an inside look at her process and her work with the company. Here’s what she shared…

Tell us a bit about your background as a choreographer.

The work I am presenting in WORLDING is based on the first work I ever choreographed that was presented in 2011 as part of my training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Through a course called “Choreographic Workshop”, the assignment was that each third year student was to create a 5 to 10 minute piece mentored by Julia Sasso, while the second year students self-produced the show.

My first class, I was terrified by the idea and at our first showing I had decided that it was not going to happen, I would not do the work. However, after I talked with friends and teachers who tried to get me to change my mind, I stopped refusing and began to create inch by inch. It was two weeks before opening and I booked all the studio space available – every second I had would go into the piece until the last presentation.

the moving architects dance company — “WORLDING” by The Moving Architects, Photo by Nick Francher

What was your process like as you created this new dance for WORLDING?

For this version of the work, I created the solos separately in Montréal and Toronto, which made it difficult but interesting to me at the same time. The method that we used was to create small phrases and then play. It allowed us to form memories in the studio and to use the material as part of our history bank during a run. We gave names to movement sequences and called them in different orders. We aimed for nearly impossible tasks to achieve using our imagination coloured with a good sense of humour.

What music did you select for this piece and how did you choose it?

There is no music. I am talking on stage throughout the piece and that connection is very important. I am a strong believer that movement can exist without music although they can complement each other beautifully. Rhythm is a big question for me – I love to see movement infused with clear rhythm without music. I didn’t necessarily use this idea in this piece but I look for it when I watch other performances.

choreographer — Joanie Audet, Photo by Jeremy D. Carlisle

How would you describe the choreography in this piece?

The work is two different solos for two contrasting bodies.

There is a pre-set movement vocabulary to anchor the piece and its arc. My role as the choreographer has been to create this vocabulary, but I am also involved in every performance. I direct the dancers with my voice amplified by a microphone orchestrating the intensity and the spacing and informing changes.

Choreography is a practice that wants to challenge both mind and body. There is no fixed final result; each time we perform it has the potential to be completely singular.

We will be putting both solos together for the first time during the dress rehearsal. The work is inspired by instant performances and adapting to one’s ever-changing environment.

What was it like to work with The Moving Architects?

I met Erin Carlisle Norton in Morocco last September, we were both teaching and performing at Festival Action Danse 5. She is clear-minded and well focused.

Having similar interests, we got to know each other very quickly just by the nature of things. The fact that we spent time in the studio and on stage makes bonding happen with no question. In a similar way, so did travelling together. It was a very unique experience.

What is your favorite thing about choreography?

Being an outside eye.

WORLDING takes place Saturday, March 9th at 8pm and Sunday, March 10that 7pm. Tickets may be purchased in advance at TheMovingArchitects.org.

BIO: Joanie Audet / Performer and Choreographer (Canada) was born in Laval, Québec, Canada and attended the Professional Training Program at Le Conservatoire de Danse de Montréal. Ms. Audet is also a graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theater where she has worked as an assistant teacher in the Young Dancers’ Program at the school since January 2009. She had the pleasure of studying with Benoit Lachambre and Jennifer Mascall in Vancouver, David Zambrano in Celrà (Spain) and Ruth Zaporah in Santa Fe, NM (US). More Recently, Audet was recently part of Project Engagement Féminin, an initiative of Compagnie Auguste-Bienvenue, to foster women in dance in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Dance And Movement Invention

March 4, 2013 by 4dancers

dancer in black — Photo by Catherine L. Tully

by Janet Neidhardt

The other day a student asked me if it is possible to create movement that has never been done before. I said that creating new movement can be a daunting task because it seems like every movement has been done before. It is difficult to know if what you are doing is brand new or not especially since dance is created all over the world all of the time.

When my students asked if they could make a “Harlem Shake” video because it was this cool new thing, I replied, “Harlem Shake? I had students doing that back in 2001. This is hardly a new move to copy.” When my students research modern dance pioneers, like Martha Graham and Ted Shawn, they see movement in their videos that we still do today. So the question comes back again: Is it possible to create movement that has never been done before?

I think that within this topic lies a deeper question about how we might manipulate and connect movements in original ways. I am always pushing my students’ creativity when choreographing dances. I often find myself saying I’ve seen that movement too much or if a movement has a name and we all know what it is then I don’t want to see it. Setting a high precedent for originality in work is important. I try to teach my students the difference between copying movement and making movement new and original. This can be a difficult task and can easily push students out of their comfort zone. Placing value in originality and creativity is necessary for students to grow as artists and for the arts to grow within their own discipline.

There are many ways to teach students how to manipulate movements like changing the size, putting it in a different body part, timing, energy quality, and so on. I think the more students feel comfortable taking chances and playing with movement ideas the more creativity with be fostered.

Here is one method of creating more original movement that I like to use with my students: [Read more…]

Teaching Dance Improvisation

February 22, 2013 by 4dancers

by Janet Neidhardt

Teaching students how to improvise seems to be a bit of an oxymoron sometimes. How do you teach students to think in the moment and not plan their movements out but still make it look interesting? I try to teach improvisation tools much like I teach choreography tools. I assign short studies with specific guidelines and emphasize making purposeful choices. The tools we discuss should help them make educated, in the moment decisions that add to an improvisation.

I always have some students watch while others dance so that we can have discussion about what was aesthetically pleasing to us and discover the improvisation tools together. Some tools my students have come up with recently are: moments of contrast catch the eye for example different levels, dramatic changes in timing, people crossing each others’ pathways, and moments of unison can be strong after chaos.

When I first introduce improvisation I give my students two rules: [Read more…]

Choreography: When is My Dance Done?

February 12, 2013 by 4dancers

double edge theatre — “The Grand Parade” by the Double Edge Theatre, Photo by Maria Baranova

by Lauren Warnecke, MS

So you’ve managed to make a dance. How do you know when it’s really finished? When your music runs out? After about 20 minutes? When you run out of “moves”?

Rule number one in finishing a dance is a narrative arch. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to tell a linear story, but each dance must have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Where you choose to place arches within these sections is largely up to you, but they are important for guiding your audience along the journey.

Once your journey is up, so is your dance, but choreographers often find themselves dissatisfied and wondering if the dance is, in fact, finished. The Grand Parade, created and performed by Double Edge Theatre at The Dance Center of Columbia College last Saturday is a piece with a strong narrative and massive production elements that include a fury of projections, mannequins, rigging for aerial circus arts, and perhaps a few hundred props. Yet, even with all these things going on, Double Edge’s history of the 20^th Century in 55 minutes is a work they insist is not yet done. Seeing The Grand Parade reinforced my view that no work is ever, really, done.

A colleague of mine once said of her work, “It’s not done, but I’m done with it.” She viewed a performance as a slightly more formal Works-in-Progress showing… with fancier lights.

I think her point speaks to the idea that dance is a living, evolving art form. Dances have a transient nature that is unlike, say, visual art. The Sistine Chapel will always be the Sistine Chapel, but Peptipa’s choreography will be ever changing to a certain degree based on the venue, the dancers, tempo choices, costume, etc.

On a more contemporary note, sometimes it is only through live performance that you truly learn about a piece and see what it needs. You might figure out that your ending is really awkward and the audience doesn’t know when to clap. Or you might discover that you want the whole thing to be presented in reverse order to what it is. The stage is a beautiful place to discover these things, but that’s not to say that everything is stage-worthy…

Ultimately, you’re asking patrons to pay money to watch your product. Most people wouldn’t fork over $12 to see an unfinished movie, and besides, that’s what free or inexpensive WIPs are for. But given the inevitable stages of development a dance undergoes, it may need to be presented multiple times, in multiple iterations. Each iteration that takes to the stage, however, should a finished quality that is worth paying for. These are a few things I look for in a “finished” dance: [Read more…]

Beginner’s Guide to Choreography

December 28, 2012 by 4dancers

by Lauren Warnecke

480982_10151128336330985_2083180044_n — Leslie Werle of The Dance Team, photo by Kelly Rose

Perhaps you’ve wanted to try your hand at making dances and never had the chutzpah to get started. You’re not alone, but choreography is an art, a skill, and a trade that is sometimes harder than you might think. You’ll laugh; you’ll cry. You’ll have triumphs and failures, but like anything else, making dances requires practice. Assuming that you’ve already set aside the time and resources, and have space and dancers to work with, here’s a handy list of do’s and don’ts to keep in mind as you embark on the magnificent process of dancemaking (not an all-inclusive list):

DO say “yes”. Censoring your ideas and movement phrases in search of “the perfect dance” stifles the endless possibilities that lie beneath your subconscious. Sometimes it’s beneficial to go into the studio and noodle around in front of a video camera, and from those ramblings begin to form the structure of your dance.

DON’T use extremely popular music. While they can (arguably) get away with this on So You Think You Can Dance, popular music is susceptible to preconceived thoughts and memories among your audience. The Plain White T’s make fun little ditties to dance to, but that doesn’t matter if half your audience is thinking hearing it at the dentist’s office while getting a root canal instead of watching your dance about greasers from the 1950s…

If you get in a rut, DO rely on time-tested mechanisms such as canon, theme and variations, ABA, and a host of manipulations to expand your material. Often, it’s not more steps that you need but distortions of your core movement phrases to “blow up” the dance you already have. Do your dance backwards, upside down, on the floor, in a circle…. You get the idea. Good resources to check out are Doris Humphrey’s The Art of Making Dances and Lynn Anne Blom’s The Intimate Act of Choreography.

DO be wary of props. And nudity. Props, when used to excess, can be tacky, but even worse than this is an underutilized prop. If you’re going to use a prop, make sure it’s necessary and fully utilized. That goes for chairs and loose costume items. The same thing goes for nakedness. It may be en vogue to bare your butt while simultaneously bearing your soul in a dance, but ask yourself if it’s really necessary in order to get your point across. Some of the riskiest dances are not the naked ones with beach balls, but the ones that are just a dancer, simply dressed, moving through space. Always come back to your original idea, and be sure that each element you add to a dance contributes to it.

DON’T try to take on the world in one dance. One of the biggest signs of a novice choreographer is a dance that tries to solve the war in Sudan in 12 minutes. While I’m not saying this isn’t possible (anything is possible), when getting your feet wet I’d encourage you against the “go big or go home” philosophy. Keep to ideas that are close to your heart…

But… DON’T make a dance about your ex-girl/boyfriend. It’s a dance, not a therapy session. No one really wants to see your dirty laundry on stage, especially if it’s pertaining to a mutual acquaintance.

DON’T get frustrated. Be patient with yourself and, if needed, take a step back. Take a week off and let everything sink in.

DO seek feedback along the way, and participate in works-in-progress showings.

DON’T be afraid to throw all of these rules out the window. Textbooks abound on rules and mechanisms by which to create dances (two of which are referenced above), but as you get to know yourself as a choreographer you’ll find out that some of those rules are meant to be broken.

Contributor Lauren Warnecke, M.S., is a Chicago-based dance artist, educator, and writer. She trained at the Barat Conservatory of Dance before earning a BA in Dance at Columbia College Chicago. In 2009, Lauren completed her MS in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a concentration in Motor Control and Learning. Lauren is a Visiting Instructor for the department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at UIC, and teaches master classes and seminars in ballet, modern dance, creative movement, and dance pedegogy. She is certified in ballet by the Cecchetti Council of America and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.

In addition to teaching at UIC, Lauren owns and operates Art Intercepts, under which she creates, informs, and writes about dance. The primary mission of Art Intercepts is to bridge the gap between the scientific and artistic communities to present programming that is informed, inventive, and evidence-based. Lauren is a freelance writer/blogger and maintains monthly columns at Danceadvantage.net and 4dancers.org and is featured on a panel of nationally reputed dance writers at the 2012 Dance/USA conference. She also works periodically as a grant writer and production/stage manager for artists in the Chicago dance and performance community, and volunteers for initiatives encouraging Chicagoans to engage in local, sustainable, and active lifestyles. Lauren likes to hike, bake scones, and dig in the dirt.

« Previous Page
1
…
6
7
8
9
10
…
12
Next Page »

Disclosure – Affiliate & Ad Info

Copyright Notice