Conversational (e.g. gesticulate, social e.g. hug)
Emotional (e.g. wring hands)
- Stillness and falling
Pause
Shape
Tableaux
Use of centre to aid balance
On and off balance
Suspension
Fall and recovery
We were given a photograph as a stimulus, and we were put into pairs to create a short movement piece, each with a focus on one aspect of actions. Alice and I were assigned travel.
From the photograph, we gathered that it is possible an elderly couple reminiscing or longing for the days of their youth where they were active and joyful.
Once paired up, we were asked to create a relationship-based movement piece which had to include all of the key words above. Tyler and I decided to have a dysfunctional sibling relationship, with one being 'sane' and the other troubled and estranged, and he is a burden to the sane brother and begins to drive him to a state of depression and hopelessness. We wanted to show that the sane brother just wants to let go of his troubled sibling but he cannot seem to do so because he loves him. When it came to choosing a song, we chose 'Heavy' by Linkin Park because the lyrics talk about being paranoid and having a messed up mind, and always carrying something that is bringing you down. The lyrics are as follows:
I don't like my mind right now
Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary
Wish that I could slow things down
I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic
And I drive myself crazy
Thinking everything's about me
Yeah I drive myself crazy
'Cause I can't escape the gravity
I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
To so much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
You say that I'm paranoid
But I'm pretty sure the world is out to get me
It's not like I make the choice
To let my mind stay so fucking messy
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning round me just the same
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning round me just the same
I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
To so much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning round me just the same
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning round me just the same
And I drive myself crazy
Thinking everything's about me
I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
To so much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Why is everything so heavy?
Why is everything so heavy?
In terms of facial expressions, I needed to show that I have an inner conflict of leaving or staying with my brother, always battling out the pros and cons of each. I think the main problem to start off with is I need to look up at the audience more, because in the video you can see more of the top of my head than my face. In the first video, you cannot see our faces because of the lighting - this was accidental but we thought the silhouette looked very good and if this was to be performed properly, a silhouette effect should be used.
In our next lesson, we were given the task of finishing our pieces, but Tyler and I had to focus on back to back/one behind the other/side by side. So when choreographing the rest of the piece, we tried to keep our phrases in that field.
We already had quite a few of these movements phrases so far in the piece, our most notable would be the 1st chorus phrase ("I'm holding on, Why's everything so heavy?"), the second verse when Tyler is directly behind me and we, in canon, hold our heads ("let my mind stay so fucking messy"). In terms of our relationship, I think the back to back phrases really help to show that my character is in two minds about his brother - he is turned away from him but very close in proxemics to show that he can't leave him. My favourite phrase is the second chorus because we start with the side by side leans either side, and the backward lean, and these parts are all quite fast and aggressive, then we go to another back to back phrase we slowly lean on each other (Tyler leans forward and I lean/rest on his back) because, dynamically, it is quite a hard hitting change from heavy aggression to light and soft. The idea behind it was that the aggression would represent an argument and the slow and calm part would represent the apology; then the lift where Tyler launches himself onto my back and I hold him and walk about represents the burden he is on me and again, like the first chorus, the drop show's how I would love to just let go and I'd be set free ("I keep dragging around what's bringing me down, If I just let go I'd be set free"). This section fits and flows really nicely, and I think it looks very good and effective. I think the addition of ending in our side by side starting position is very effective, because it shows we are just going round in circles; nothing is being resolved and nothing is getting better.
One aspect of relationships we didn't have much of was the meet and part, lead and follow, passing and contrast aspect. A good example of this is Henri and Owen's movement piece:
Flow - How free and continuous your movements are, against how bound and sharp and precise your movements are. The low arm swing (0:23:0:26) shows a free flow because our arms are dangling and swaying with a free and continuous motion. The matrix movement shows a bound flow of movement because it is as though we are all tied together as one and we all move together.
Weight - Firm and strong movements (could tie into the bound of flow) against light movements. The Haka (0:09-0:16) is an example of a firm weight movement because there are a lot of heavy stomps and strong movements, and Taylor and Chloe's movement is an example of a light weight movement because it is slow and requires a light step and a light drop to the ground. It also contains an element of a free flow.
Time - Sudden movements, meaning stop-start and quick, one movements straight to the next, against a sustained slow movement, that is the same continuous movement throughout a longer period of time. The Haka, again, is an example of a sudden movement because, like it's flow, it has clear and sharp singular movements that stop and then start into the next. The matrix is an example of a sustained movement because it is a slow motion singular movement that has a free, continuous flow throughout.
Effort - Essentially a movement that reflects the effort/force you put into it, for example a glide, punch, slash, press, flick or float which are all pretty self-explanatory. An example of a glide is when we slide backwards across the floor (0:17-0:19). There are various punches, kicks and slashes throughout the piece.
