Task 2d - Inquiry

In my daily practice my first love and the topic that really inspires me is choreography.  Watching other choreographers creations and questioning what they were trying to accomplish through their choreography. Also taking my own creative ideas and developing movements and combinations that imaginatively speak to the audience.

Using this as a starting point to explore different lines of inquiry, I began by thinking about original choreography and the fact that I love to create pieces that are unique and thought provoking.  Movements that often audiences may have not expected yet are enlightened by the pieces visual depth.  This made me think about when this type of creativity is best used.  As a choreographer within my own dance company I can freely experiment  with my quirky ideas with my professional dancers who are often grateful to be working with a new experience.  Primarily this isContemporary dance it’s characterised by its versatility: contemporary can be danced to almost any style of music, or united with other dance forms to create new styles of movement.  The ease of movement promoted by contemporary dance technique allows experienced dancers to push themselves to new boundaries of body movement. www.blackfishacademy.com/dance.htm 

Is this however acceptable within musical theatre?  Recently I was employed by a different theatre company to choreograph their annual show.  The director asked me to try to simulate the original choreography of that years chosen Musical.  I was very disappointed as  my creativity and individuality would now  i felt be compromised. 

I realise that familiarity with the Broadway or movie choreography of any musical can prove very helpful.  But I feel for more than just ethical reasons, it is not a good idea to copy or recreate it movement for movement.  I endevoured to explain that a) most of the actors probably do not have the same skill set as the actors in a professional production and, b) the choreography will lack integration with the rest of the show.  I was happy to explore but then reject it!  The overall impression of the professional version would stay with me, helping me to create something that is reminiscent of the original yet uniquely my own.

Once I had started to teach the choreography to the cast the director was aware that my choreography was original yet in keeping with the shows era, style and genre proving there really is no need to copy.

With websites such as YouTube it is now easier than ever to watch original broadway cast performances along with many other professional productions. Therefore allowing inexperienced or unprofessional choreographers to easily copy and recreate.

I am excited to have stumbled across a line of inquiry that is based around Web 2;0 technologies which is something I have been  introduced to in depth since starting this course.

Is YouTube used correctly when researching a show?

Does the ability to view other peoples work freely, hault our own creativity?

Is it acceptable to copy original choreography?

I am aware that some shows feature iconic choreography that in nearly every production produced since, showcases these famous movements and combinations

West Side Story 1961 film choreographed by Jerome Robbins - Prologue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8R9GiLImSw

The finger snapping and Side Leaps 

Cabaret 1972 film directed by Bob Fosse - Mein Herr 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX-24Zm0bjk 

Awkward ankle twisting in Mien Heir 

A Chorus Line 1985 film choreoraphed by Jeffery Hornaday - One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyZeGOsR9IA 

Hatography and Kicklines

Swan Lake 1895 Stage revival choreographed by Marius Petipa - Pas de Quatre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY4Y1gTO9HE 

Linking of the arms and 16 pas de chat

Having started to follow this line of inquiry it appears that most iconic sequences come from a film version of the said musical.  I question wether or not YouTube has influenced creativity at all and has there in fact previously been another source available to those who wanted to literally copy other peoples work. This being film.

I  have also noticed that in producing  a Bob Fosse musical it was nearly unheard of to deviate  from his unique style of choreography which is quite unlike any other. Recognizable by its slinky moves and quick isolations, rolling shoulders and sleek, thrusting movements, Fosse's style dominated dance in the musical theatre genre for over 30 years (from 1950's - 1980's) and is still very prominent today.

Is this because we copy Fosse’s choreography or would it be rude to not emulate the creative style Fosse formed?

Matthew Bourne chose to disregard Marious Petipa’s famous choreography when recreating and producing his own version of Swan Lake which takes music by Tchaikovsky. He famously and controversially cast men as the swans stating “The idea of a male swan makes complete sense to me. The strength, the beauty, the enormous wingspan of these creatures suggests to the musculature of a male dancer more readily than a ballerina in her white tutu."

In choosing to follow his own creative ideas Bourne collected over 30 international awards.

Is copying a compliment or an easy option?

Are there any legalities that choreographers, directors and producers should be aware of?

Here are some very interesting articles about the copy right of choreography

http://broadwayworld.com/board/printthread.cfm?thread=1010135&boardid=0 

http://www.thestage.co.uk/connect/eagle/0519.php

Finally the last line of inquiry regarding copy right reminded me that in fact some choreographers have published their choreography for certain shows and would prefer you to use the original choreography rather than mess with their concepts and ideas. This has been done for Jerrome Robbins’s West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof, Susan Stroman’s Producers, Crazy for You and Show Boat.

As you will be aware from my investigation into Lines of inquiry thus far there is alot for me to consider when discussing originality in choreography and  have yet to decide on an exact theme to follow.   I have thoroughly enjoyed researching in more depth  the points that interest and excite me and look forward to more research in the future

Task 2b Reflective Writing

I spent time on this task a few weeks ago, and have now decided to look back over my piece and comment on my thoughts today, as I have just completed a very similar day/event to the one previously reflected on in the frame work of Ried and Moon. I will not be posting the whole reflective entry as it covered 7 pages of hand written scribble, however, I will be looking inwardly at which sub headings I feel best helped me reflect, learn and move forward.

Description

I certainly feel this is a necessary starting point and should always be included.  It helps clarify exactly what the event was, when it was and where it took place. I feel if two events are very similar, this section would help you at a later date reflect and compare. It reminds you and the reader that they were different days with different outcomes and experiences.

Initial Reflection

I have in the past written a diary, it was more personal than professional. Having looked at the  description and ideas behind initial reflection, I felt its framework was very familiar. This is the structure I have previously used and feels the easiest to connect with at this stage. I think it is useful to identify feelings and moods when reflecting on the success of a day/event. It will inevitably help identify what makes a day/event successful and if your feelings could change towards a future engagement.

List

I found this component very useful. I would personally write my list of things that come to mind before my initial reflection as i find this more productive. I feel a simple task such as, creating a list of words that spring to mind, unearthed feelings and thoughts that encouraged me to look and think deeper. For instance, “lost voice”, is a regular occurrence when teaching such a large group of children. Yet I had never given it much thought once I had completed the day, as it didn’t really play on my mind on leaving the school. By putting it on my list, it then became something I would think about when going further into the writing task. In my evaluation I easily recognised that by taking along the microphone to my music system I could avoid this all together. It was a simple but most certainly over looked solution to an undiscovered problem that arose from a list of words.

Evaluation

I would certainly use the evaluation criteria again without question. It made me look at how to improve on the work I deliver, as well as encouraging me that, what I have achieved is of a good standard. For the first time in a long time, I concluded that I should be very proud of my business. Evaluating any day or event is something I am definitely going to spend time on in the future. It is a sure way to help identify both positive and negative points. also to help begin to work on improving your professional practice.

What If

I know this section is useful in highlighting things that have the potential to happen, but very rarely do.  I think its a good idea to give these points time. It encouraged me to double check I was prepared for the worst case scenarios, i.e. injury or disobedience. When stating things that I wished had happened it lead me to think how I could make positive things happen in the future. I will definitely use this idea in future reflection, but will possibly use it in general rather than on every occasion. I have since put this into practice on an overall view of certain aspects of my business, i.e. Workshops, Wedding Dance Lessons and Corporate Events. It has allowed me to look inwardly at what I would like to happen in the future. Primarily helping me try to understand how to gain more business opportunities.

Another View

It is always useful to consider the impression you have on another person. This element of the task has reminded me to always think about what others would think or may think. I will on occasion be using this framework to make sure my actions are seen in the correct way by others. It has highlighted that sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Themes

I am not sure if I had written in too greater depth on the previous sections of the framework. Unfortunately when I arrived at Themes I felt I had covered most, if not all of the questions it had asked me to cover. I think it is a good idea to check there is nothing more you can reflect on, by considering themes and if so adding to your journal writing. As always, if all points have been covered I don’t think I would be inclined to repeat them in this section.

Overall I am pleased to have been introduced to the Ried and Moon framework and I will be using this structure in the future. It gave me a great insight into thoughts and actions that I had disregarded for so long, not considering them to be important to my development. But of course to improve you must be able to critique your own work and Task 2b Reflective Writing has given me the tools to do exactly that. By doing so I hope to improve my professional practice.