monday 2.27.17

Thinking about scores as a choreographic tool and how do you make a dance with a score and then how do you perform a score?

When using the word “score” I am referring to a structured doing of improvisational movement or action with certain guidelines for carrying out the action.

Today’s score: I had been thinking about an idea for a section and I had set out to work on this idea, but I decided that it would be worthwhile to create a score using the start of this idea, rather than trying to choreograph through the idea.

The rules: Four quadrants/zones. Downstage left zone is laying on your side speaking the whole time in a stream of consciousness way, and at some point moving onto your other side. Upstage center zone is movement only with an imagery prompt of feeling like you are in your own bubble in a field maybe surrounded by grass or daisies or something, Kathryn can also do her solo phrase in this zone. Upstage right zone is laying on your side facing the back and speaking continuously, starting every idea/sentence with “I want.” The fourth zone is any movement that travels you from downstage right to the downstage left zone person. There can only be one person in each zone and you can move to another zone whenever you want. About two thirds of the way through I said that you can break rules and so we broke some of these rules and did more things.

Some thoughts while watching the video of this score:

The sound of two constant voices creates a kind of sonar dissonance feeling that I did not realize as I was in the score. I am thinking that this brings a sort of emotional surrounded-ness to the environment which I find interesting.
I had originally instructed the way in which to speak would be like a continuous nonstop no pause or breath between thought kind of manner. A feeling of constant pushing as if your voice was being pushed out of you or like a train or the constancy of a rock being pushed up a hill. All of us to some extent or another did not succeed in speaking in this way and I think that now this is okay. To have everyone’s different tone and speech delivery brings a sort of individual and personal feeling to the sound environment. To have us all sound similarly might sound sterile. We all need to speak clearer and louder though, if we decide that it is important in the work to be heard/understood in what we are saying.
I am wondering where and how the context of a score can fit into this performed work. I would really like to work on cultivating a method of doing a score that can be shaped into something that can be performed. I wonder how this would work also in the context of another section I am making. This other section (and I am referring to it as the “postmodern/dream/phantasy/work this” scene) is an attempt at merging phrasework with movement that was prompted/created by our list of wants, into a psychedelic danced reality. How would a choreographed section that attempts to perform dreams/desires coexist with a score that is created live, reality, but also allows for performance of desires? And how would we move from the score mode to another mode? Do scores and set choreography exist at odds with each other? I’m thinking in circles so I’m going to let these thoughts settle a bit more.

Overall, today was very useful.

IT'S SO MUCH EASIER TO NOT SAY ANY WORDS