Mid-term Quiz
1. In reference to the spatial elements of dance studied in class such as: space, levels and direction, how have they helped you with your body movement and expression?
2. Keeping your focus when moving in space is very important both for the performer and for the audience. Explain how keeping your focus has influenced the quality of your movement?
3. After experiencing what consciously moving with your breath feels like, in which way do you think breath can enhance the quality of your expressive movement?
4. In your opinion, how can we increase our breath connectivity during performance?
5. What would you do from now on to develop your awareness about breath capacity and connectivity?
6. When thinking about the relationship between the dancer's body and the space in which the body moves, the concept of the kinesphere becomes useful. Why?
7. The
kinesphere is also the container of a cube (containing all diagonal
directions and dimensions). In other words, it is the container of angular geometry inside a round
geometry. How can these dimensions help performers, actors, dancers diversify their locomotive choices?
8. Laban's 4 Components of Human Movement and the 2 elements each component has, as listed below, give movement contrasting qualities that enrich movement expression. Explain.
- One direction (direct)
- One direction ( indirect)
- One weight (light)
- One weight (heavy)
- One speed (quick)
- One speed (sustained)
- One flow (bound)
- One flow (free).
9. In class we explored Laban's 8 Efforts Actions. Mention an ordinary (everyday life) movement that matches each one of Laban's 8 Efforts Actions listed below:
•Slash
10. In which way do you think the work done in class so far could enhance your performance skills in your own artistic field?
1.I think playing around with these elements has opened my mind to how much my body can move and how much space I can take up. In the recital format, it is so easy to get stuck in place and this class has show me how a simple gesture can have much more meaning to it if there is focus and a purpose to it.
ReplyDelete2. I think focus is crucial when entering a performance space. You're putting your full attention to the action that is about to happen. With focus of the performer with their own actions that then brings the focus to them from the audience. It even relaxes the audience because they are safe in the knowledge that the performer knows what they are doing and brings an intent to everything they will do.
3. I think breath control is everything. From the quality of sound I can produce to the quality of movement I create, breath is key. There have been times where I am physically exhausted, stressed, nervous or overwhelmed but I find if I make sure I am taking deep conscious breathes, everything will be ok. Breath allows me make music with my voice and give meaning to the movements I make, be it creatively or for exercise.
4. What is important for me is to take three deep breaths before I sing and make sure I am giving myself that time to breath while I am performing. As a singer I map out the places I am going to breath so that at least I have the muscle memory if I am too nervous to remember.
5. I think practicing my 3 deep breath method randomly throughout the day is a good start as well as starting and ending my days with some yoga breath movements. I am hopeful that by doing this, it will allow me to start and end my days with more intention and connectivity.
6. It was useful because it makes you realize truly how much space there is that you body can use. We always this about our forward movements but what about backwards, side to side and diagonal. Thinking of all this room, there are endless ways a dancer can express oneself.
7. As mentioned in the previous question, we tend to think only about our forward movements and anything immediately around us. The kinesphere however opens our mind up to all the different shapes, angles and directions our body and movements can make and create.
8. One direction (direct)
One direction ( indirect)
One weight (light)
One weight (heavy)
One speed (quick)
One speed (sustained)
One flow (bound)
One flow (free).
These pairs of opposing nature allow us to explore the duality our movements can have. Feeling the stark contrasting movements allows us first to feel the difference between them and then feel the scope of the spectrum in between them both. There are two opposing movements but with their opposition you imagine the range that goes from one movement to the next.
9. •Wring: clothes dry
•Press: closed a book
•Flick: a bug off you shoulder
•Dab: a stain on pants
•Glide: on the ice while skating
•Float: in the pool
•Punch: your pillow to de-stress
•Slash: at tree limbs when you're hiking
10.I think learning all these elements will bring focus, intention, and purpose to my performance skills. Breath is also very important and remembering that my body is my instrument therefore adding movement practices and physical exercise will prepare me for anything my future career will demand. It has also brought awareness to my body and allowed me to open my mind to wide array of movements I have at my disposal.
1. I remember in orchestra rehearsals recently, I found myself taking extra time to adjust my seat to make sure I had space surrounding me to freely make music. I know when I am in a tight rehearsal space and need to use less bow to not hit the player next to me takes so much of my focus away from the music. This class has definitely influenced me about the importance of space, and space has not been a problem in my music making in the past couple weeks.
ReplyDelete2. Going off of point 1, I was able to focus in music making when I felt physically comfortable. Being in a place where I know I have space can only bring focus and quality to me.
3. I have been inspired to do proper breathing using the stomach. I believe being able to breathe properly will help with musical phrasings as well. Breathing brings natural flow to music, as the body is able to execute sound with freedom.
4. Personally, I think I press my instrument against my chest too much, I’d like to explore securing my instrument more between my knees, so I feel freedom in my torso. And continue to explore breathing deep from the ribs.
5. I think I would like to practice breathing during my practice. Practice how I will breathe, and in places I sound tight or stressed, I'll try to use breathing as a tool to solve issues.
6. Every musician should be given freedom to find what kind of movement suits themselves in executing music. I think being given the opportunity to explore diverse movements like dancers that are unfamiliar to us as performers are very beneficial. Because it can help us discover movements that work well with playing, and even solve long term problems.
7. Kinesphere is an excellent tool for performer actor and dancers because in any given space, being able to maximize space and utilize the potential of the space surrounding them can inspire performance.
8. The contrasting qualities help us aware of our maximum and minimums of the given tool. Knowing what our limitations are help us feel comfortable with exploring within these two contrasting spectrums.
9.
•Wring: opening a lolly wrap
•Press: pushing rubbish into trash can
•Flick: a fluff on the instrument
•Dab: damp cloth to remove stain on fabric
•Glide: Lotion on face
•Float: bubbles in sink
•Punch: I cannot, I have sore wrists, but I guess I punch my fists in air for hooray..
•Slash: to mark beats on score
10. I definitely already seen and continue to see positive impact from being aware of space around me. I am starting to feel more comfortable in my body. I am becoming more aware of how space is important to me to maximize my artistic exploration. It has also motivated me to move more, and exercise. Being a performer is very physically demanding, and I have been neglecting the importance of being comfortable in my body, and feeling strong.
Hi !This is Esther (Rogers) Baker =)
ReplyDelete1.
I have become aware that I am most comfortable in middle level perhaps because of sitting to play cello. One very specific thing in direction has actually come from the warm up of the shoulders when we do a diagonal shoulder movement. I have used this to warm up before playing and it has helped me to correct some imbalance that my cello teacher pointed out to me in one of my lessons.
2.
After the class on focus I was immediately thinking about my focus in life in general but I have found myself also more aware of focus in rehearsal and also with my cello class with kids on Saturdays. I'm noticing how holding the focus space before and after playing feels uncomfortable to some musicians.
3.
It would be helpful for me to work on breath in my daily practice. I hold my breath a lot, unconsciously and instead of it helping me it hinders. I think breathing more consciously as a person and a cellist would help me have more fluidity in my playing.
4.
For me I think this could come out of practicing my repertoire with breathing in mind. Before, during and after... not just one particular breath I give mind to, but through an entire practice session. I would like to try this as an experiment with my hardest solo piece. I think it would raise the quality of my work and take away some tension and anxiety and I might find ways to use it intentionally in the music also. Creating this habit of awareness would then be a tool or way of being I carry onto a stage with me.
5.
I could start my practice session with finding the breath that expands (this alone is challenging for me), and review the video posted. I could then choose a passage where I focus exclusively on breathing while playing. I could ask where I find momentum from breathing a particular way and practice the phrases with that source. I would like to keep the time small so that I can successfully focus on breathing the entire time I am practicing and not forget that I am trying to do that.
6.
Because space is so infinite and so intimidating. It brings that space closer, to a more understandable amount.
7.
When we were exploring this concept at first it seemed simple... just four options, but then the combinations of feet and hands reaching towards different sides or corners showed me how many options there could be. It opened up thinking with feet and hands simultaneously, or independently of the other.
8.
Direct: straight lines... moving towards a point with focus.
Indirect: wavy lines, or sideways... moving towards a point while sightseeing along the way.
Light: lifting the weight out of the floor, gentle
Heavy: grounded, into the floor
Quick: moving with speed
Sustained: like moving through thick sludge, connected
Bound: with restriction, tight, stopped.
Free: released, open.
9.
Wring: wringing out wet clothes
Press: ironing linen with a hot iron
Flick: shaking out the wet umbrella
Dab: using a cotton ball to clean an injury
Glide: ice skating
Float: sitting in a kayak on gentle water with eyes closed
Punch: punching bag for boxing
Slash: opening boxes with a knife
10.
Having more confidence in interacting in chamber music as I feel better and more grounded physically. Being more aware of my natural cello movements and whether they are constrained or open. Giving me more creativity to explore... thinking about movement for answers not just notes... in general just being more connected to the creative well. Being a bit less uncomfortable with people watching me and having more personal permission to be physical despite implicit and explicit expectations to "sit still" in orchestra or other environments.
1. Answer: After constantly learning about these elements, I found that my mobility and imagination about how large the body movement can be is expanded. About the expression, I found I'm more expressive by the larger body movement in dance, and I love it! It's more like, I'm free and enjoy the moment of dancing after the class.
ReplyDelete2. I think the focus class was the most important to me. I found all my movement has a good direction and I'm more concentrated to the goal, instead of how I move. And the result is, I actually dance better, since my attention is to the goal, the point, and I just dance towards there. The focus also help the audience to go with the performer, they would like to be attracted and focus with us.
3. Breath help us to find when to change the direction of our movement, and it make our movement more fluent and natural. And I learned, in general, you never change your break in the middle of a gesture or a movement. My breath and movement are united, and it's natural. :)
4. Don't change your gesture or direction in the middle of a breath, and breath long, smooth, no sudden change or tempo in breath.
5. I will breath slow and deep, so the movement of my body can be smooth as well. I will also experiment different rate of breath, to see how dance can be quick and short, middle pace, or slow, expansive.
6. Kinesphere gives dancers a frame, a range to know where to reach, to touch that imaginative spots to get our gesture more extended but not over large. It gives us a rule we can follow while we dance, instead of dancing without goal or point.
7. We can touch different points in the imaginative cube, therefore, we have imaginative goals of point we can explore, we have more directions and spots to explore with the rule, and from there, we can explore more possibility after the rule is set in our head, we can just not think about it and perform in a free but organized way.
8.
One direction (direct) : Going forward with no hesitation to the point you want to go.
One direction ( indirect): approach the point with curve, circles, like a snake using its body to slide S shape.
One weight (light): like ballet dancing, lighten the weight more close to the toe parts, no sounds on the ground.
One weight (heavy): Feet heavy, even making sounds on the ground.
One speed (quick) : like a lightining, things go in rush.
One speed (sustained): more suspended motion, not moving fast.
One flow (bound): Jumping up and down, dancing around.
One flow (free). Open our imagination, free movement, like swim in water.
9.
•Wring: Compress and twist a paper.
•Press: Push a button down.
•Flick: flap the dirt out of your clothes.
•Dab: lighter way of press.
•Glide: airplane slide down to approach the ground.
•Float: a boat flow with water.
•Punch: Boxing rivals hit each others.
•Slash: Cut down a tree.
10. I think my body is more free, the gestures are more open, and my focus on music is even better now after the classes. Focus, Breath, they are connect to my performance.
1. The spatial elements we have studied in class have helped my body movement and expression considerably. The biggest difference that I have noticed is that I now have the awareness needed to do a better job with movement and expression. I find my self moving/dancing more to music at home. It is less abstract craziness and is now more structured, although still crazy. The awareness is really key for me.
ReplyDelete2. Focus is paramount to the quality of movement. If you aren’t 100% in the zone, then you won’t be giving a quality performance. Your mind and body have to be engaged in the same activity if you want to create a quality product. I always do a better job, no matter what it is, when my mind and body are both focusing on the same thing.
3. For me, breath is more for the performer than the person digesting the performance. I think the breath gives the performer an extra level of confidence and can help them with sweep and direction. The audience may not know that the performer is thinking about their breath to make the performance better. They might not be able to put their finger on exactly what it is, but the performer will know.
4. I think that consciously coordinating out movements with the breath will increase connectivity. I like to think of how a string player utilizes up bows and down bows. If we think of our breath and movements as a series of tension and release it will help with connectivity.
5. As a tuba player, awareness about breath capacity and connectivity is always on my mind. I don’t think I would do much differently in the future, I would just maintain what I have now.
6. The concept of kinesphere is useful because it is everything. It is your entire range of motion from the perspective of a single position in space. It is the world of infinite possibilities that are available to you and your movement.
7. For me, the various mentioned dimensions can help performers diversity their movements by giving them a concrete thing to work with. You could plot out exactly where and when they should be on the gird. This is helpful because it provides structure to the work, it is less abstract even though the performance may still appear that way.
8. 1. Walking in a straight line towards an object.
2. Walking in a curved line towards an object.
3. Many small jumps only using the toes.
4. Many large stomps using the entire foot.
5. A short dash to the left
6. A sprint across a space
7. Moving like a robot. Bound by mechanism
8. Moving the air as though you are underwater
9. Wring: When I rip the green leafy part off of a pineapple I use a wringing motion.
Press: I essentially press my couch pillows inwards when I fluff them
Flick: My water thermos requires a flick to open it
Dab: When I put my backpack and/or tuba on my back, I have to move similar to a dab
Glide: When I get home I sometimes will glide on the tile at home with my socks
Float: When I go swimming I often float in the water
Punch: Opening a stiff door can feel like a punch
Slash: Using scissors to cut open a package is like a slash
10. I think the work we have done in class has definitely enhanced my tuba skills. I now think more about how someone would move/dance to what I’m playing. It has given me a new perspective on how to make my music groove better, instead of sounding like boring tuba music.
1. They expanded my idea and imagination of how I can move my body. None of my daily life movements involve mid and low-level movement, sideway directions are also rarely used. The difficulty of doing those movements make me realize how “underused” my body is.
ReplyDelete2. In conducting, keeping the focus is a prominent tool. It helps to give meaning to our gestures. While moving with a focus point, our gestures tend to be more directional and specific, and the meaning of the gesture is more obvious. When I conduct, if I focus my attention on a group of musicians, my gesture improves and is usually more connected with what is going on in the music.
3. I think with the breath, our movement will have a “phrasing”. Phrasing includes tension and relaxation, up and down, fast and slow. Since moving at only one speed and direction is boring, with the breath, we naturally put more variety into our movement.
4. As an oboist and conductor, breathing is naturally very important in music making. The breath is not just important for keeping the music going, but also to indicate the specific character and mood of the music.
5. As a wind player, I spent many years working on my breath capacity and continuity. So I think I am doing quite well in that. :)
6. I think the concept of the kinesphere helps to give dancers a frame to move their bodies, so it’s not just moving through all the space they have on stage.
7. I think these dimensions help dancers to move with more precision. All the angular geometry points help to divide space into different segments. And dancers can move their focus point precisely.
8. One direction (direct) Going to the target directly, mostly in a strict line.
One direction ( indirect) Going to the target indirectly, mostly in a curve line.
One weight (light) Moving in a light way, more upward motion.
One weight (heavy) Moving in a heavy way, with more bottom and downward motion.
One speed (quick) Moving quickly and at a fast speed.
One speed (sustained) Moving slowly and with more resistance.
One flow (bound) Moving rigidly, more angular.
One flow (free). Moving freely, more open, and filling out the space.
9. •Wring: Twist the towels.
•Press: Pressing doors.
•Flick: Flick the fly off my table.
•Dab: Kids dabbing randomly on street.
•Glide: Bird gliding down from the tree.
•Float: Swimmer floating effortlessly on the water.
•Punch: Punching a rude person in the face.
•Slash: Trees slash in half during the hurricane.
10. I think the hand and arm movements are quite helpful for conducting. We might not be to walk around too much on the podium, but the variety of hand and arm gestures is very important. As different gestures communicate different moods and characters of the music, learning to move our bodies precisely as dancers will be helpful to us.