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How can dance look different?
How can dance look different?
Every art form has its instruments, artistic medium, and design elements. In the case of dance, these elements can be summed up in the sentence "Dancers move with energy through time and space." Most people consider the 3 main elements of dance to be use of time, space, and energy. While some include other subjects elements, we will focus on these three moving forward. Read on to learn more about these artistic elements, how dancers use them, and how Pilobolus in particular chooses to manipulate these elements.
Energy
Energy
Energy is considered the "How" of dance. Energy is the force with which a dancer executes their movements. This includes:
Force
Flow
Tension
Weight
Quick Example HERE
Dive deeper with the video --->
Time
Time
Time is considered the "When" of dance. This will dictate the amount of time, sequence, and synchronization of different movements throughout choreography. This includes:
Speed
Duration
Beats & Intervals
Accents
Rhythmic Patterns
Repetition
Cannon
Sequence
Retrograde
Stillness
Quick Example HERE
Dive deeper with the video --->
Space
Space
Space is the "Where" of dance. This is how dancers and choreographers explore the space their bodies take up and how they move through the space around them. This includes:
Size
Level
Direction
Pathway
Spacial Relationships
Place
Focus
Quick Example HERE
Dive deeper with the video --->
How Pilobolus works
How Pilobolus works
"Pilobolus is a rebellious dance company. Since 1971, Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies." - www.pilobolus.org
Pilobolus uses these three elements to play with the possibilities of human movement. They look to find undiscovered ways of moving, expressing, and exploring the world around them. Pilobolus often takes inspiration from the physical world and sciences and tries to find how to embody those ideas physically.
Keeping their doors open for visitors and guests in their creative space has helped Pilobolus create dance works that look both human and impossible. You can often find writers, musicians, actors, dancers, non-dancers, scientists, and other academics in the room with the choreographer all working together.
The Pilobolus Lab, an educational outreach program using the art of choreography as a model for creative thinking in any field. The institute offers programs for children and adults, dancers and non-dancers, including leadership workshops for corporations and business schools.
In this work of art the theme Pilobolus chose to explore was their own name; Pilobolus is a Fungus. Using nature in many forms as inspiration they created this series of four dances. They chose to explore the social interactions, spatial relationships, individual relationships, and the cycle of life that exists in nature and its parallels to "our" world as humans.
"Unlike most dance companies whose works are shaped by a specific choreographer's vision or are often stamped with the company's signature style or movement-language, Pilobolus refuses to predetermine the look, feel, or outcome of a new work. Instead, they believe in a highly communal and collaborative approach, allowing the piece to unfold organically, especially the characters and relationships which emerge as a result of actions and feelings that grow from a story concept, or theme they wish to explore."
-- Connecticut Public (PBS, NPR)
Other area's of interest you may want to explore might include:
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