The Viewpoints Book by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, like The Art of Making Dances and The Intimate Act of Choreography, is a guide book of sorts for looking at space and relationships that occur within an area. Bogart and Landau present a variety of characteristics of viewpoints then expand on different types of viewpoints and their purposes. Viewpoints is a philosophy translated into a technique for (1) training performers; (2) building ensemble; and (3) creating movement for stage. Viewpoints is a set of names given to certain principles of movement through time and space; these names constitute a language for talking about what happens onstage. Viewpoints is points of awareness that a performer or creator makes use of while working. (Bogart and Landau 8) |
The physical viewpoints that Bogart and Landau discuss are: Tempo, Duration, Kinesthetic Response, Repetition, Shape, Gesture, Architecture, Spatial Relationship, and Topography. All of these viewpoints are applicable to the Bewilderments of the Eyes project perhaps most obviously in the Dance Concert performance.
The act of choreography, as Blom and Chaplin explained, is about experimenting with these viewpoints and their sub-components and building phrases of movements. Here's a look at viewpoints in the Dance Concert performance:
Tempo: at what pace the dancers move on stage and the pace of changes.
Duration: how long or short an action is sustained by the dancers.
Kinesthetic Response: how the dancers respond to the tensions of the other dancers connected to the elastics.
Repetition: redoing the same movement patters multiple times.
Shape: the forms the dancers create.
Gesture: when the dancers reach away from each other pulling against the tension of the elastics.
Architecture: the stage and how we use on stage space for choreography and off stage space for choreographed transitions.
Spatial Relationship: all of the dancers on stage are always in relation to one another, in this case it is emphasized by the elastics outlining their exact relationship.
Topography: the floor pattern the dancers follow was mostly based on diagonal lines from upstage left to downstage right and upstage right to downstage left. At one high point in the dance there are also parallel lines running across upstage and downstage and at another there is a circle center stage. This topography viewpoint also factors into the lighting design process.
The Viewpoints Book, The Art of Making Dances, and The Intimate Act of Choreography are all very similar works presenting detailed breakdowns and explanations of the elements of performance and physical movement for stage. Unlike the other two books, The Viewpoints Book, offers a wider perspective giving the reader a general outline of what to consider when working on or creating a performance of any kind not just choreography.
The act of choreography, as Blom and Chaplin explained, is about experimenting with these viewpoints and their sub-components and building phrases of movements. Here's a look at viewpoints in the Dance Concert performance:
Tempo: at what pace the dancers move on stage and the pace of changes.
Duration: how long or short an action is sustained by the dancers.
Kinesthetic Response: how the dancers respond to the tensions of the other dancers connected to the elastics.
Repetition: redoing the same movement patters multiple times.
Shape: the forms the dancers create.
Gesture: when the dancers reach away from each other pulling against the tension of the elastics.
Architecture: the stage and how we use on stage space for choreography and off stage space for choreographed transitions.
Spatial Relationship: all of the dancers on stage are always in relation to one another, in this case it is emphasized by the elastics outlining their exact relationship.
Topography: the floor pattern the dancers follow was mostly based on diagonal lines from upstage left to downstage right and upstage right to downstage left. At one high point in the dance there are also parallel lines running across upstage and downstage and at another there is a circle center stage. This topography viewpoint also factors into the lighting design process.
The Viewpoints Book, The Art of Making Dances, and The Intimate Act of Choreography are all very similar works presenting detailed breakdowns and explanations of the elements of performance and physical movement for stage. Unlike the other two books, The Viewpoints Book, offers a wider perspective giving the reader a general outline of what to consider when working on or creating a performance of any kind not just choreography.