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
The finger snapping and Side Leaps
Cabaret 1972 film directed by Bob Fosse - Mein Herr
Awkward ankle twisting in Mien Heir
A Chorus Line 1985 film choreoraphed by Jeffery Hornaday - One
Hatography and Kicklines
Swan Lake 1895 Stage revival choreographed by Marius Petipa - Pas de Quatre
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
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
You have certainly hit on a very interesting subject for an inquiry. This is a very important topic as choreography is subject to copyright.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole, this topic is really interesting and definately something to think about. I think it depends on what the show is and who the choreographer is. If it is done cleverly and tastefully I think a talented choreographer would be able to choreograph a show wihtout copying the original but still maintaining the era, theme, feeling etc. However if this is not done well it risks looking amateur and could have a chinese whispers effect. Once the choreography is changed even if at first it is in good taste, a few productions down the line could risk not resembling the original intention of the choreographer at all as all elements and distinctions could be gradually lost.
ReplyDelete