Dancer in a Glass Box...

Endangered Species is an unusual dance piece. It combines the mediums of dance and media; the use of projection being something of a trademark for her work.
Initially, Siobhan visited the Arctic and found that she wasn’t inspired by the landscape but more how vulnerable her body became within this landscape. She concluded that “…expression in the sub-zero temperatures of the High Arctic (were) severely limited in nature and range.”¹ I find this fascinating and had never before thought of the effects a certain atmosphere has on your movement. For example being in a really hot room makes you become lethargic and slow where as in Davis’ case, the cold weather physically tightens your muscles and makes movement small and rigid. During the piece we see the dancer restricted by the rods in her costume and at first this can seem to give a new environment for her to explore but gradually more are added and she becomes entrapped.
The rods are often manipulated by the dancer into bending almost in two. As an audience member we wait and wait for the plastic to snap but this never happens. This intense power struggle between rod and dancer reflects the fragility of the body vs. the motivation to move, a concept Davis explored in her choreographic process.¹ When we think about the body in relation to the landscape we (being the dancer) are inspired or ‘motivated’ to move however we become restricted and fought against by the atmosphere and intense cold (being the rod) showing ‘fragility’ in the body.
Endangered Species is not performed as a live show but in fact a projection of the dancer in a glass box. Siobhan Davis has manipulated the dancer’s image to represent something not so human, like a past or future evolution of the body and encased it as a museum exhibit. I don’t quite understand the meaning of this other than possibly hinting at the relation between landscape and evolution. I have the impression that Siobhan longs for an evolutionary change in the way we move as dancers to overcome these restrictions; we should be leaving behind the old ways of moving and displaying them in glass cases as a reminder but moving forward in a new liberated style without the representational rods of restriction.
Over all Endangered Species reminds us not only of the fragility of the human but the fragility of movement. It has opened my eyes to recognise in myself the atmosphere and whether or not my movement can survive within its boundaries.





¹ http://www.siobhandavies.com/dance/dance-works/overview/endangered-species.html

Development...

Improvisation - 'S' !

Im

I have decided to take the 'snippet' idea from the Siobhan Davis Archives a step further. By developing it into an improvisational task I can create something that gives a taster of each letter sounding - I am able to stick to the idea that this is a 'work in progress' assessment and not a final piece.


Focusing on the letter 's'. Repeat the letter aloud and improvise, experimenting with breath between a long with held 'sss' and a short 's'.

Long 'sss' sound is controlled, tense, unfolding of the limbs, rolling through the spine , that doesn't travel very far.
Short 's' sound is sharp, jabbing at the air, quick and almost unexpected.
The juxtaposition reminds me of a snake's behavior, building tension in its body, coiling back and then darting swiftly at its prey.

I'm finding it difficult to say the sounding out loud, probably because I don't breath when I move =/

Solo ... Beginings

I have decided to use the Voice exercise as a starting point for my solo, using the word 'shape'. This is because my focus is on the phonemes and the effect it has on my movement rather than the sound and therefore these sounds will 'shape' my dance.

D-TRACES

Stimulus... Poem

I decided to use the Voice exercise, where you let your body react to the sounds, creating short snippets seen on the Siobhan Davis Archives.

This improvisation really helps me to discover movement I wouldn't normally use and after creating a short snippet I played around with my focus. This completely changes how the audience are involved, for example if my focus is internal then the audience feel intrusive on a seemingly private dance.

Feedback...

Don't just do the movement, use the idea. Say the 'h' out loud over and over to keep the rhythm and dynamics when moving. Think about rhythm to direct the dance: punctuation, stillness, suspension, pace. ALSO use of breath! (especially with the letter 'h').

Choreography Lesson

Take a word or phrase and break it down into phonemes and say it out loud. Improvise to see how your body responds to the sounds...

Words break down into sounds, we can use these sounds as music. Listen to the shape and rhythm of the "music" to guide the dance. Voice is part of the body and movement, therefore we cannot hide a part of ourselves when freeing our expression. This really interests me and I find I am able to focus and gain a lot from this exercise.


Play with 'volume' of movement, from 1 (silent) to 10 (over exaggerated).


This can give you a dynamic or pace to work at and if you use the same motif it can look completely different from one volume to another.

Choreographic Solo Sketch

*** Begin with a stimulus of your choice. Allow your reflections on 'self-as-subject' and the investigations into body parts, actions, quality, time and space to inform the making progress. ***