5.0 First thoughts on Final Project

In class on Monday and today, we worked on several new exercises.

First was a study in balance.  It was a quick routine that focused on balancing on a single leg with the other limbs in various different positions.  I can't recall the persons name who created this method...

On Monday it was a very new experience, and my balance and smoothness of the transitions were rather unimpressive.  Having your body try to figure out how it needs to hold itself to balance is such an interesting sensation.  It's hard to actively try to think your way through it, and its like watching from outside as your body constantly adjusts to make what you want happen.

Today it was a lot smoother.  Especially once I could focus on keeping my standing leg straight, a lot of things fell into place.   My body got used to it and by the final run through I did it fairly well.  I was proud.  Most if not all of the class was doing very well, and most were in my position on Monday.  Its really nice that we all seem to move forwards together.

Next we worked on a different way to run, this was sooo difficult for me.  We were changing the focus of our running from straight forward and directing it in two different directions at once.  I don't know if I am over thinking it (most likely)  or what but I struggled with this.  I was having trouble keeping my running from turning to leaping.  I put a lot of energy into my running and leaping, and when I need to keep it toned down, like when running in a group where I have by far the longest stride is difficult.  I also seem to struggle with keeping the direction constant.  I have an annoying tenancy to fly away from the group.   I still haven't quite got the hang of it.   Hopefully by Friday it works itself out.

Finally we had a very interesting new type of leap I think called a Stag Leap.  It was kind of strange for my legs to get the hang of it, but once  I did, It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun.  It was like leaping through the air like a stag or an ibex or some gazelle like deer creature.  I love pretending to be an animal when dancing.  It adds so much sometimes.

I'm always so amazed when little bits of advice change everything and make everything click.  Its like you can physically feel yourself improving and you can track it.  It's tangible.

The journal prompt for today was for us to reflect on what we are planning to do for our final choreography.

I have thought quite a lot about this since the beginning of class and I already have a few songs chosen.  They are all completely different but it is so wonderful to dream of the different possibilities.

The first song I wanted to work with is Godsmack's Voodoo.

 The beat is just catchy and visceral and a little creepy.  The dance would be with 3 people, and the movements would be on the repetitive and robotic side of things.  I would really want to play with the relationships of the three dancers in space to each other as well as play with the transitioning between up and down.   I would probably cut the music off around the 2:40 mark.  I think that this would be really fun to come up with a choreography for.


Second I wanted to experiment with a Bjork song.
There are a few that have me interested.  I need to do more research.
The three are...
Possibly Maybe


So Broken


or a remixed version of Hyperballad


I would have a far easier time with the first two, but I really like the song Hyperballad.  These would all be solo's or maybe duets.  Duets would be pretty cool.

For the first song possibly maybe, the song changes quality midway through.  I love the contrast of sound and the texture of the dance would be completely different.  Almost like 2 or 3 dances in one.  I envision this dance to have a lot of arm movement with the arms leading a lot of the movement.  I think i would like to do a duet to this song if I was able to.

The second song, So Broken, has a very nice Spanish guitar sound.  With this song I would focus a lot on the legs with short expressive jumps paired with slinking yet precise circular steps.    (hard to explain what I am envisioning in my head)  This would be nice as a solo or a duet as well.  Leaning more towards a duet.

The last song Hyperballad I would want as a solo.  I'm having the hardest time envisioning movement for the parts of the song around the verses.    On the parts I can see, it would be a faster dance with sudden stops.  Lots of traveling across the space.  This song I would have to spend a lot of time on.

My final songs are from Bon Iver and Sigur Ros.

First Bon Iver's Perth



Lastly Sigur Ros' Glósóli


These last two are the least conceived ones in my head, being that they are the most recent ones on my mind.   I am not quite certain about the feel of either.  I think I would want a Trio for Glosoli and I don't even know for Perth.

I haven't even thought of the costumes yet.  Probably pretty minimalist for most of them.  I'll contemplate this more and write back again later.  

That's it for today.

Corbett

4.0 Journal Entry: Spinnings

This week in class we did a lot of spins and turns.  Spinning and turning is probably my second favourite part of dancing after jumping.

     We separated them into 2 categories, where we bring our mass in towards a center point to spin faster, and a second, where we throw our mass outwards to essentially shoot our bodies into a circular turn.

     The spinning inwards towards a center point is fun but incredibly disorienting.  I have always had a hard time spotting myself to keep myself from getting dizzy.  It just doesn't seem to work and i have a hard time keeping focus on a single point.

     Throwing my mass outwards (I love referring to myself as a mass.  Not really sure why) to fling myself into a circle is quite entertaining.  I feel like I'm floating or flying like wind, and it is by far the easiest one to control.  

I really need to practice my spotting more.  This skill will be sooo helpful in my dancing.  Especially in swing dancing where getting off my axis or being disoriented is rather bad for the flow of the dance.

     Looking through the past weeks, I am proud that my ability to balance has been improving.  I still have a looong way to go.  Especially standing on a single leg in first position while we go all horizontal with the other leg and extended arm.  I can't for the life of me seem to balance.  Holding on to something does not help at all.  I really need to work on that more and figure out the reason for its difficulty.

     My precision is also improving.  I am able to move with a greater sense of completeness with the intended motion.  I suppose its just because I am getting used to the various positions and exercises but it makes a noticeable impact that I am proud of.

I really want to focus on my balance this coming week.  Really buckle down and try to have more control.

Looking forward to the coming week,
Corbett

"Deep Thoughts"

     I came to the realization today while driving home from a wonderful night of Balboa Practice, that I haven't had "deep thoughts"  on my mind for a very long time.  Years even.   You know, the kind of thoughts about life and your place in it, beyond the day to day minutia of living.  Tonight I completely zoned out while driving and was thinking about the importance of the decisions we all make are to the way life unfolds for us all, how utterly connected everything is.

     For example:  imagine the amount of times where you may have accidentally stepped in the street off the sidewalk without really looking; most of the time you will be ok.  These moments happen and nothing comes from them so you don't think anything important really took place.  You don't think about how that moment is a culmination of all of existence from the beginning of time till that instant.  How if anything in the past billions of years was at all different you might have taken that step 30 seconds before or 10 seconds later, and it would have ended with your death.  And then from there, how every action you take ripples infinitely into the cosmos affecting things with exponentially increasing scope, sometimes immediately and directly and others with incredible subtlety.
   
     Even non human things have such incredible impact on our live.  Yes obvious things like earthquakes and the weather, but even an "insignificant"  ant or wayward roach or that bird on the telephone line outside or that rock that happened to be in the perfect place to affect the course of all history.  Imagine if your death could have been prevented (yes in a million of different ways but to make a point)   if that ant you saw cross the counter top was never there, that extra 2 seconds you spent looking at it  was enough to delay your trip out the door and as you cross the street, if only you took 2 seconds longer or two seconds shorter to leave your house, you would have avoided being hit by that speeding motorcycle that didn't see you trying to cross the street.

      Of course it applies to everything, the people you meet, what you eat, what you do, your luck your lack of it.  the course of history.  It is utterly mind blowing how an uncountable amount of events took place in an amazing chain of circumstance to gave rise to the rippling immensity of occurrences that makes up every moment throughout all of time.  Rube Goldberg like with infinitely more interacting parts.


I needed that.

-Corbett