Studio Laboratory

Fall 2018

Where We Have Come From & What We Are Learning

With Vocal Clarification

The elements of my process are guided by the concept of connectivity and transformation. It is about sharing in the experience and perceptions of the choreographic process. The layering of activities I started to develop have become strands that connect and intersect with other bodies in the environment. My practice is identified by my experiences, like threads of a web connecting me to new discoveries. “The thing, however, is not just one thread but a certain gathering together of the threads of life” (Ingold 10). As I began to work on artistic research activities with other dancers in the studio, I notice that we have come together as individuals with our own histories, experiences, physiology, and psychology. In the act of exploring tasks in the studio collectively, “In the language of phenomenology, this is “intersubjectivity,” or transcendence of self toward others and the world” (Fraleigh 2000). Exploring choreography as a body-centered approach and sharing this experience with others allows space for multiple meanings to emerge, adding both depth and texture to a piece of work. Participation in dance movement is a lived experience, embodied knowledge and the conscience embodiment of movement and dance uncover rationals within an art form that can hold various approaches. “Dance-based practices can access bodily knowledge that is otherwise out of reach” (Leavy 156). My choreographic method includes a forming, arranging, making and altering in its process of discovery.

In Studio- Artistic Research_September/October 2018

Task 1

Exploring the Material-- This task was important for the dancers to become familiar with the material we would be investigating over the course of the next few weeks. I wanted to see how they would be inclined to interact with the material. I told them to play with the string, however they desired. There is no right or wrong way to do this task, just explore, have fun and PLAY.

Material Video_Trim.mp4

I placed 3 different colors of yarn on the floor, they were all different sizes. Each dancer investigated the material differently. One started to braid the yarn, then skate on it and pick it up and swirl it around. Another rolled around in it, connected with someone else and started to swim in it. I started to investigate it in my hands and then became tied up in knots, at one point I thought I was going to have to cut myself out of the string.

Embody Material.mov

Task 2

Embody the String--I wanted to move quickly into this task without giving the dancers much time to forget how they just manipulated their string. However the dancer manipulated the string, however the string was moved, dancers were told to imagine they were the string and now have their body move in that manner.

After we completed the task, we answered questions which were documents in a Google Classroom platform such as: What was your initial, uncensored thoughts? As you played with the object, were you visualizing anything? Did you make a connection or imagine the object to be anything? Did you engage with someone while playing with the object? If so, how did this affect your energy? How did it affect your movement? What were your thoughts on the embodied movement task?

Everyone connected to the manipulation of the string to a memory, whether it was being at their grandmother's house and playing with her yarn or laying on an afghan, or playing a finger game with string as a child. This leads to the following task, reaching for a thread to connect us to our history, our lineage.

Task 3

What is in a Name?

After the previous task I saw a direct correlation to the manipulation of string in relation to a memory. I asked the participants to think of someone in their lives and write their name using the yarn on the floor.

A name is the first thing that we learn about a person, and how we associate our past with our present. Dancers were asked write the name of someone, with the string on the floor. We all choose the names of family members that we look up to and have a special bond with. The girl that chose her brother said he was strong and brave. I came to find out he is struggling with cancer. I thought why does cancer have to attack a young child's body, what might it look like if we took his name and scared those cancer cells away with the string, what if hands could heal cancer? Leading to the next task.

Task 4-7

Name with String on Hands (4), Elbows (5), Legs (6), Entire Body (7)

In these activities the aim was to see how the body would deal with the unpredictable condition of the material creating unintentional movement with the body while manipulating the material. In the interest of exploring movement possibilities, the following tasks were formulated.

Name with String in Hand

I gave the dancers a piece of string and asked them to draw the name they wrote in the air with the string using their hands. They could not grip the string and had to try to remain connected to it at all times with using only their hands. One dancer found this to be the easiest of the next 3 tasks, while another found this to be difficult. One of the dancers found beauty in the organic movement. I discovered this task to be more difficult than I imagined and found myself racing around the room and switching hands to keep the string in the air. The string would often roll into the folds of my arm and wrap around my elbow, leading me to the next task.

Name with String in/on Elbows

I gave the dancers a piece of string and asked them to draw the name they choose with the string using their elbows. They could not grip the string and had to try to remain connected to it at all times using only their elbow, where their arm bends. One dancer described the shapes she was creating as abstract, and another explained she had to do a lot of up and down movement. I ended up on my knees when I did the tasks by myself and tried to keep the string from falling. At one point I wanted to catch the string with my foot, leading to the next task.

Name with String on Leg

I gave the dancers a piece of string and asked them to draw the name they choose with the string using their legs. They could not grip the string and had to try to remain connected to it at all times using only their lower extremities. Balance became the number one key concept being explored during this task as we investigated this movement on one foot. Some of the dancers really enjoyed this task, I ended up on the floor with my legs in the air. When dancers noticed me, they modified their movement to manipulate the object mimicking my movement. This leads me to discover the concept of ‘spatiality’, depending on the dancers and space between one another during the study, defines individual choreographic, movement choice.

Name with Large Piece of String using Entire Body

In the interest of exploring movement possibilities, I gave the dancers a large piece of string and asked them to draw the name they choose with the string using their entire body with the object. They could grip the string for this unlike the last three tasks and had to try to remain connected to it at all times using their entire body. We found that we were manipulating the object to create the letters in space versus our body or limbs creating the letters to draw the names out. Focused on the material we became less focused on the body. Moving us back to the body, we move on to the final task.

Task 8

Name Tasks...No Object

Explore the movement and materializing your movement. Having watched the videos and discussed all tasks, the objective of this task is to recreate the unintentional movement without the object in any order the dancer desires. As we were working on our own movement within the environment, one by one we became interested in each others movement and wanted to explore new actions the other dancers had discovered through their manipulation of material. Dancers were displaying intersubjectivity. They were taking the focus off of themselves and were aware of others in their environment. This engagement is determined on individual focus, spatiality and leads to the intra-action between bodies.

Task 8.MOV

Project Discovery

Using the manipulation of objects to investigate how dancers can expand their movement possibilities and leading to unintentional reactions was the impetus to create artistic expression through the moving body. In this methodology, including practical research through bodies taking a practice as research technique, the material of string was explored. What was found was in order to manipulate the string gravity, the universal force acting between all matter manifested unintentional body responses. In a reaction to prevent the string from falling on the ground with a given task, balance became an emerging concept one encountered. “You develop the skills to solve the challenges of centrifugal force and gravity and balance, plus fulfilling all these aesthetic criteria at the same time — it’s very, very complicated and I liked that.” (Forsyth 2018)

The main focus was to place the dancers' bodies in a situation within the environment where they would have to engage with the object. They explored the material and then created movement embodying the material they explored. In generating further tasks, it was essential to brainstorm with the dancers and discuss why they made particular choices with the material after each task. Each task was documented including; video, self-reflection questions, group discussion, and photographs.

In reflection, everyone explored the material in their own way, depending on personal experiences in connection to the material to memorabilia in their life. The manipulation of the objects leads to unintentional movement within the moment. In seeking to investigate how the material could create innovative ways to propel the body into action, we have been able to capture organic movement possibilities and set our bodies in motion through the manipulation of objects in the environment, as well as draw practical and intellectual inquiries from the materiality. The artistic approaches to materiality focus on the connections made between the body, the objects, the environment and the bodies within the environment. “When the dance has become so thoroughly me that I no longer think about it, it becomes my consciousness” (Fraleigh 1996). Creative expression through the moving body cannot be separated from our lives, art embodies our ideas and experiences. Thus, allowing us to explore choreography and make connections to the world around us.

Continuing Investigation:

In Studio Artistic Research_November/December 2018

M eaning connects to motion as perspectives shift direction

O ver and under the strands which attach to one another and the

V isual world encompassing us, allowing art to take form and shape

E lements illuminate insight as the words between the lines craft a

M oment while we are living in the fabric of time and space

E ntering places unknown to the moving body until it is placed in a

N ew situation where material inspires action connecting to

T hreads of a web, weaving an ever-changing environment, leading us through the wandering dance

Connecting Body and Object to Another Body within the Environment

In the act of manipulating objects, I will continue to use string or yarn to be the impetus to propel unintentional body responses. In this project, I plan to have the object connected to another person. “If a person can act on objects in their vicinity, so it is argued, can objects ‘act back’, causing them to do or allowing them to achieve what they otherwise could not” (Ingold 7). I have discovered through my participation with the dancers, depending upon our spatiality, and if one has come in contact (interacts) with the object (string) someone else is investigating, this produces an intra-action effect. “‘Phenomena’, in an agential realist sense, are the entanglement--the ontological inseparability--of intra-acting agencies. It is through specific agential intra-actions that the boundaries and properties of ‘individuals’ within the phenomenon become determinate and particular material articulations of the world become meaningful” (Barad 77).

IMG_3718.MOV

Task 1

Connecting Body, Object, Body

Dancers were given a large piece of yarn and asked to remain connected to it using their hands. The manipulation of the string caused a direct reaction as the individual on the other end of the string created unintentional movement, thus exploring the theory of inertia. This entanglement caused the other body to act back creating an intentional movement. This back and forth continued until the string snapped from the force of the object manipulation. This led to the idea for the following task.

Task 2

Body Connected to Object Connected to Non-Human

Connecting the string to the dance barre, the dancers were told to explore and manipulate the object as they desired. The aim was to find similarities and differences between connecting the object to another human versus a non-human. What we discovered is the dancers were more inclined to engage with the object when it was connected to the dance barre verses being connected to another body. It was as if they were not afraid to manipulate the object, their movement was bigger and they focused on the aesthetics they were producing with the yarn. One dancer stated that she enjoyed getting wrapped up in the string while manipulating the string when it was connected to the barre, but when connected to another person she described this as being tangled up and thrown off. Noticing that the dancers were not facing the mirror when completing this task gave me the idea to take away their sense of sight in the following two tasks.

Object to Barre.MOV

Taking the Sense of Sight Away

Task 3

Connecting Body, Object, Body...No Sight

This task was completed with a bungee cord since, in task 1, the string snapped. This task was similar to task 1, but the sense of sight was taken away from the dancers. The goal for this task was for the dancers to be more inclined to react to one another and their movement in response to the manipulation of the object. Being blindfolded just cautioned the dancers even more with their movement choices. The unintentional reactions were more dynamic as they were not expecting the movement of the string to occur as they did not have the mirror to look into to see when the other dancers were moving.

Task 4

Body Connected to Object to Non-Human...No Sight

This task was similar to task 2, but the sense of sight was taken away for the dancers. One dancer was using string connected to the barre and two other dancers were using bungee cords. The dancer with string reacted with much more caution, a few times I noticed her picking up her blindfold to make sure she was safe. The dancers with the bungee cords embraced the tension that the cord allowed them creating an energetic, forceful movement against the object and the barre. I imagined what it may look like if one person with sight was controlling the manipulation of the object while the other two dancers were blindfolded. How may this affect their movement when their body was being manipulated to move by the movement of the object?

Task 5

Body with Sight, Controlling Object Manipulation to Bodies with Sense of Vision Taken Away

This task was similar to task 3, with a third body included who had their vision. The individual with vision was manipulating the objects causing unintentional movement response from the dancers wearing the blindfolds. This activity was completed with a bungee cord to include tension, resistance and avoid the string breaking. In this task one body was doing all the work pulling two other bodies around in the environment; one dancer almost fell, the two girls blindfolded bumped into each other a number of times. What was discovered is that not all decisions for practice-based research are good. Sometimes we try things for the sake of trying them and if they do not work out, we simply move on.

Task 6

Body Connected to Object from Overhead

Having thrown a ball of yarn up in the air, this gave me the idea to manipulate the object from it hanging overhead. Dancers were told to investigate the yarn hanging in whatever way they would like. They could use their sight as well as the mirror, there was music playing as they engaged in this activity. What we discovered was they became interested in directional changes within their body when manipulating the yarn as well as creating a movement dialogue with the string. Again leading us into the idea of taking sight away in the following task.

Task 7

Body Connected to Object from Overhead...without Sight

This task was similar to task 6, but the sense of sight was taken away from the dancers. Dancers displayed fewer movement dynamics. They did not utilize the space within their environment. They were not concerned with the aesthetics of the string, as they could not see the movement they were producing with it. Had they been able to create tension with it like the bungee cord in task 2, they may have tried to hang and explore more movement possibilities, but this was not an option.

Task 8

Explore Movement without Material

Having watched the videos and discussed all tasks, the objective of this task was to recreate the unintentional movement without the use of objects in the environment. As the dancers were working on their own movement within the environment, one by one they became interested in each others movement and wanted to explore new actions they had discovered through their manipulation of material. Dancers were displaying the same intersubjectivity they did when given this task in project one. They were taking the focus off of themselves and were aware of others in their environment. This engagement is determined on individual focus, spatiality and leads to the intra-action between bodies.

Project 2 Task 8.MOV

Project Discovery

I discovered that this inquiry revealed unexpected knowledge through artistic research activities that I would not have otherwise considered. At the beginning of this process, I decided to work with the material of string because it was related to my love for a certain type of music, which is played in the string family of instruments. Through the evolution, the sense of touch and sharing in the materiality of the investigation, the meaning was constructed and shifted over the course of time.

From the in-studio exploration, I realized what I had expected to occur did not resonate with all of the tasks examined causing me to search for a deeper meaning to the outcomes. During continued analysis, interdisciplinary associations were revealed through the practice-based research connections to key concepts emerged. I had expected for more dynamics to be produced through the body connecting to the objects which connected to another body, yet it transformed into a game of tug of war through the act of inertia. The choice in taking the dancer's vision away was so they would not be manipulated by their sense of sight in preparation for the object to move, in turn creating movement in their body. “Dancers see-feel; it is part of training for a visual and kinesthetic art form. Because of this skill, sometimes dancers think they are looking at each other directly when they aren’t. Exploring visual possibilities is part of the life and liveliness of dancing--remembering the eyes” (Olsen 147). Taking away the vision of the dancers caused them to negotiate time and space with self and others through this embodied experience as if they were disconnected from their community of practitioners. “Within such a community, people share their experience and tacit knowledge in free flow, improving their abilities and skills, and fostering learning” (Agrifoglio 26). They were unable to clearly communicate with the material and other bodies in the environment. In contrast, when the dancers did have sight and the object was connected to a non-human, the dance barre or the ceiling above, they established an aesthetic relationship with the material. It was as if through this autonomy and independence allowed them to be able to embrace the dancing body and sense themselves more clearly. The manipulation of the objects led to unintentional movement within the moment.

In seeking to investigate how the material could create innovative ways to propel the body into action, we have been able to capture organic movement possibilities and set our bodies in motion through the manipulation of objects in the environment, as well as draw practical and intellectual inquiries from the materiality. The artistic approaches to materiality focus on the connections made between the body, the objects, the environment and the bodies within the environment. Creative expression through the moving body cannot be separated from our lives, art embodies our ideas and experiences, allowing us to explore choreography and make connections to the world around us.

December 2018

To continue to reviewing the creative process in the studio, please click on the arrow next to "Studio Laboratory" from the drop down menu and click on Spring 2019. If you would like to watch a performances in relation to above tasks explored, refer to the "Performance" tab from the drop down menu.

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