8. A reflection of my choreography so far

Before the Christmas holidays, my class had live performances of our choreography so far. This was used as an opportunity to receive feedback from a variety of sources which will help me develop my piece and gain an understanding of the impact it has on the audience. I have currently choreographed around 5 minutes of choreography, but I only showed the first 3 minutes. I was worried about this performance, after missing the first performance due to illness. It was my first chance showing it to people which I found daunting, unaware of the opinions which may be formed. The outcome was successful, and I was very happy with the feedback I received. 

The audience found that my movements in the first section had achieved my goal of showing the stimulus using gestures. They were able to identify what each gesture was showing, specifically the cleaning and praying gestures. The use of repetition was also very effective in demonstrating the idea of being trapped in the same routine which a housewife would’ve been. Overall, the feedback was positive and reassured me that I was on the right path. However, upon reflection of the feedback, I enquired whether the use of limitation had been clear in my use of space and direction. Some of my peers felt like this could’ve been made more obvious, so I’m aiming to re-space the first section to emphasise this. The use of limitation, inspired by Jonathan Burrows, was a choreographic process I used to create the first section of my choreography, reflecting housewives being ‘trapped’ inside of the house. I may decrease the size of the floor space to make sure I can keep the movements expansive while staying in a restricted area, or I could make the change in directions and pauses more dynamic to portray the ‘four walls' of the house. I believe from feedback that I have shown evidence of intellectual creativity in my choreography by using a wide range of research and resources on my stimulus and chosen practitioner to inform the movement. I have achieved this through in-depth research, understanding and application of knowledge. 

Example of feedback received.

Also, through evaluation of my chosen practitioner, Jonathan Burrows, and others such as Twyla Tharp Kate Flatt. This has enabled me to have a well-rounded view and encourage me to try different methods of creation. However, I think I could develop my own opinions and arguments by increasing my variety of research, perhaps from other practitioners, to inform my choreographic process and determine my feelings towards different methods and practices. Allowing myself to have a contrasting opinion to resources and admit that some processes don’t work for me will allow me to develop my self-awareness and therefore increase the success of my choreography

Section 1

Bibliography

Burrows, J. (2010). A choreographer’s handbook. Oxon: Routledge.

Flatt, K. (2019). Choreography: creating and developing dance for performance. Ramsbury, Marlborough: The Crowood Press.

Tharp, T. and Reiter, M. (2006). The creative habit: Learn it and use it for life. New York: Simon & Schuster.

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