While this is not my first time choreographing, reading Doris Humphrey’s book, The Art of Making Dances, has been some of my first research into what design elements are truly at work when choreographing a piece. In her book, one of Humphrey’s aims is to explore a “detailed inquiry into the ingredients of a dance, how they may be understood and used purposefully” (46). As someone still at the beginning stages of exploring choreography I have found this book to be an invaluable resource. Essentially, she gives a do and don’ts list for someone making the transition from dancer to choreographer; for people just like me.
One of the first main points I took away from the book was simplicity. Humphrey frequently writes about telling her students to compose, and then to cut it in half. Over-complicating my choreography is a concern of mine. I want to use elastics, to have a lot of dancers, to challenge them, and to tie in themes from Plato. However, more is not always better and I need to be careful not to overwhelm the audience unless I am intentionally attempting to do so.
Similar to other areas of performance I have studied, a large part of the choreographic process is about choosing objectives and carefully selecting a means to express or achieve them. Humphrey presents a plethora of resources by discussing elements of choreography like dynamics, space and time. “Dynamics is the lifeblood of the dance,” (102) she states, “I think of dynamics as a scale extending from the smoothness of cream to the sharpness of a tack hammer. And the whole scale is subject to endless variations in tempo and tension” (97). These dynamics, or changes in the manner of movement, are what bring life to the dance and what keep it interesting. Alternating dynamics are key to the success of a piece and are also key to communicating with your audience. Sharp, fast, symmetrical movements will come across very differently than slow, flowing asymmetrical ones. As a choreographer, I must be sure to use varying dynamics, but also to use dynamics that suit my purposes to communicate with the audience.
Another aspect of choreography that Humphrey discussed was the use of props. “These [props], to be justifiable, must never be simply decorative, but must serve a functional purpose which is highly useful to the choreographer. They heighten the action; lend extra meaning to it; even, in some cases, make the whole point of the dance,” (145). Clearly, this connects to how I am employing the elastics in the choreography.
To me I have a set definition of the significance of the elastics. However, that in no way means that will transcend from my mind to my audience. I have to show the meaning through my choreography in a way the audience can understand, otherwise it is lost.“Fantastic mistakes occur from a failure to imagine the impact on audiences” (149). Regardless of how rewarding the path I take may be, at the end of the day, the product is a performance. It is my responsibility to make the performance approachable and understandable to an audience member who is most likely seeing it for the first and last time.
Overall, I highly recommend The Art of Making Dances to anyone interested in beginning work in choreography.
One of the first main points I took away from the book was simplicity. Humphrey frequently writes about telling her students to compose, and then to cut it in half. Over-complicating my choreography is a concern of mine. I want to use elastics, to have a lot of dancers, to challenge them, and to tie in themes from Plato. However, more is not always better and I need to be careful not to overwhelm the audience unless I am intentionally attempting to do so.
Similar to other areas of performance I have studied, a large part of the choreographic process is about choosing objectives and carefully selecting a means to express or achieve them. Humphrey presents a plethora of resources by discussing elements of choreography like dynamics, space and time. “Dynamics is the lifeblood of the dance,” (102) she states, “I think of dynamics as a scale extending from the smoothness of cream to the sharpness of a tack hammer. And the whole scale is subject to endless variations in tempo and tension” (97). These dynamics, or changes in the manner of movement, are what bring life to the dance and what keep it interesting. Alternating dynamics are key to the success of a piece and are also key to communicating with your audience. Sharp, fast, symmetrical movements will come across very differently than slow, flowing asymmetrical ones. As a choreographer, I must be sure to use varying dynamics, but also to use dynamics that suit my purposes to communicate with the audience.
Another aspect of choreography that Humphrey discussed was the use of props. “These [props], to be justifiable, must never be simply decorative, but must serve a functional purpose which is highly useful to the choreographer. They heighten the action; lend extra meaning to it; even, in some cases, make the whole point of the dance,” (145). Clearly, this connects to how I am employing the elastics in the choreography.
To me I have a set definition of the significance of the elastics. However, that in no way means that will transcend from my mind to my audience. I have to show the meaning through my choreography in a way the audience can understand, otherwise it is lost.“Fantastic mistakes occur from a failure to imagine the impact on audiences” (149). Regardless of how rewarding the path I take may be, at the end of the day, the product is a performance. It is my responsibility to make the performance approachable and understandable to an audience member who is most likely seeing it for the first and last time.
Overall, I highly recommend The Art of Making Dances to anyone interested in beginning work in choreography.
Check out Doris Humphrey's book here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Making-Dances-Doris-Humphrey/dp/0871271583
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Image Source: http://www.betterworldbooks.com/the-art-of-making-dances-id-0802130739.aspx