Aims, Goals, Ambitions, Inspire... IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNIQUE!

There are some aims in class and in life in general that I want to achieve in dance and the performing world.

Due to looking into various dance companies, I have learnt that there are sometimes requirements that you have to hit to even be considered for audition. These can be:

• Dance style.
• Bodily image.
• Height.
• Weight.
• Gender.
• Experience.
• Additional abilities.

This year I am trying my hardest to cover all of these aspects. I have already began a diet programme and this is already successful, as I know as a dancer/acrobat you need to look 'fit' and 'the part' for a performance. I have began to volunteer for dance companies and sit in on dress rehearsals to try and build up a range of knowledge and experience so that I can interact and learn about 'the dance world'. I have already signed up for a number of workshops to help increase my ability and learn new things other than contemporary as the 'performing world' isn't just about the technical look. It is always nice to have other talents alongside your main interest as you can stand out from others and be different.

"In terms of body image on stage, or how my aesthetic has changed or not in the past twenty-five years, it has become clearer to me that I need to work with dancers who are willing to go on the journey with me, willing to go through the process." Rosalind Newman (pg 158). She goes on to saying...

"Would I ever have a heavy person dance on stage? The way it would enter into my work is how much they could or could not express through their body. I think it wouldn't be the heaviness, but that I am still interested in a certain amount of physical expressivity. If the body was not able to get to that because of the heaviness, or because of the lack of training, then no, I wouldn't be interested, just for the sake of a different body type." Rosalind Newman (pg 158).

As I am in my third and final year I have realised that it is very important to be the best at what you can be! In my technique lessons I put 1000% effort into every single movement I do as my attitude is; "When I step into the studio, I never relax or let my mind wonder. I am 100% concentrated on what I am doing and explore different ways of moving compared to others (as we are all different). Having fun and enjoying my dancing will always brighten up my day. Standing out from others in a positive way is always good as I will be noticed for pushing boundaries."

Occasionally, if I feel like I haven't achieved the level I had set for that lesson, I get down and go over sections we had done in class to attempt to improve my dancing. Sometimes I record myself as it is an excellent way to evaluate my bodily movements as well as evaluating my mental state. If you dance with a strong and open mental attitude then you will go further in the studio, but if you have a closed mind then the opposite will occure. 

Who inspires me and why?

• Rudolf von Laban.

Laban was a theorist. He was a dancer, choreographer, philosopher and writer who collaborated with European artists such as Mary Wigman. He came up with movement that he notated, and created Labanotation whilst still discovering the ways in which the body works. 

Laban looked into rituals, movement habits and ancient dances. He was interested in various cultures and everyday patterns that occurred in movement. I enjoy this type of dance movement as it is always noticed for its kinaesthetic energies and interests into the inner bodily movements.

• Damien Walters.

This man is just amazing! He is a tumbler and free-runner that attempts anything. No matter how dangerous he will attempt it in some way, shape or form. He excites his audience and keeps them on edge with the stunts he does. 

I enjoy the performances he put's on and the way he choreographs his movements together. He is very clever in what he does. He is a strong performer. Take a look at his showreel.

• My teachers inspire me more than anything. They have all had their own fantastic experiences with dance and performing and they can encourage me to do things to improve. They are always there if I am in any need of help. Due to them observing us all when we dance they can see what bits I need to Improve on. Occasionally they don't give me a lot of feedback in class, and I feel it would be better and would help me to improve a lot more if they informed me of different ways to alter certain elements of my dancing. I also watch and pay as much attention as possible to how they move and I attempt it fully. Sometimes I try to alter the dynamics as I feel that I could look a little better or more eye catching when changing the tempo of the phrase. Rebakah has encouraged me to do this as when I changed the tempo she loved it! 

I would love to get as much experience as possible so I have signed up for various performances in and out of university.

My aim is to get into Cirque Du Soleil and Aerial or Circus's before I decide to apply for a dance company. After this I will hopefully have a lot of experience and I would then like to travel various countries learning and teaching dance styles. Once I have completed my journey I would like to build a dance company (if possible), that includes extra-ordinary, random and weird dance that tests limits and is different from anything ever seen before. This with obviously include any possible details about the body; inner and outer.

Here is a quote from Eye Flight;
"It's about honesty. The work is in opening to what is genuine. I try to create an open space that lets people in. The big challenge is in letting myself be who I am. It is very scarey to go out there, to physically go out there, letting go of everything that fixes. So that is my work, to create an atmosphere of open-ness, so the audience and I can trust the moment of play that is happening. I cannot let the fear block me at that point or the process will stop. This dynamic attck is attractive but dangerous." I feel that this is a good statement to have in the back of your my because it is telling me to be myself and express myself as 'me' to help create a strong atmosphere for performance.

Peggy Hackney's: BREATH

We all breath. We are all living mammals that need oxygen. This is shown by the need for air by our lungs. Breathing happens automatically as we don't have to think about it at all times, unless we are in a moment of struggle. Paggy Hackney says; "breathing can be influenced by and is reflective of changes in conciousness, feelings and thoughts." This means we can change our breathing through feelings, thoughts and patterns out of choice. Dependant on what mood we are in, we can decide on our actions which is followed by breath.

Peggy goes on to say, that if breathing is blocked in someway, then future patterns of movement are prevented from developing. When moving with breath your movement is more fluent and flows more easily so that it looks and feels aesthetically pleasing.

Movement emerges from breath. Breath influences every aspect of movement. This is the package to movement and rhythm as it helps erge phrasing and timing, spacing a performance out. Using breath whilst moving is very satisfying as you can feel relaxed.

When you may need to take time to breath under pressure.
Using various breathing patterns helps to releve any unwanted tension and removes waste substances from the body. When you feel under pressure, you get an increase of adrenaline and this can sometimes increase your breathing into a panic. Movement patterns can therefore be shortened or rushed and this could ruin your performance, all because you aren't breathing properly.

Movement using breath.
Some people attempt to move through learning and knowledge. Some people picture how the movement should look and perform sections of images instead of it being fluent. When moving using breath, people discover that it helps to initiate the body and helps to activate the muscles and joints if you breath into them areas. This will always help with you are choreographing, because if you are ever stuck on a phrase you can just improvise by using the breath as it always gives different styles and ways of moving with dynamics. This is all part of the creative process.

Occasionally, if people are not too sure about their body, they don't feel like they are able to set there body free to explore ways of moving. Most people are scared incase they get injured or because they feel embarrased, so they just mark the movements instead of performing the movements.

Upper-lower connectivity in relation to breath.
Air rushes into the lungs because of muscular activity throughout the body. Respiration is an activity that comes from the diaphram and muscles in the stomach (abdominals). When there is a contraction there is more space and involvement in the upper body assisting the lungs to fill and contract; the opposite then occurs. The diaphram would be less effective without the abdominals. If you have strong abdominals and you hold them tightly, then this will decrease the amount of breathing and will shorten the movement leading to 'upper/lower' disconnection. This can effect dancers as they diet and breath in as an attempt to look thin.

The whole torso is involved in breathing. Peggy Hackney mentions, "I imagine the experience of breathing to be like an internal massage, with the movement of the organs massaging the muscles which then feel more alive to movement." I feel that this is an enjoyable quote to think about, as it paints a distinct picture of the organs and muscles. Here, Peggy is saying that when you are breathing there are physical actions occurring inside the body. When you begin to think about this, you can start to understand how the body works and how to breath into the body when you are moving. As the body needs oxygen to get the muscles working, you need to find a way to breath deeper and more efficiently, to help activate the muscles quicker for smoother movements. When I read this quote and then begin to dance, I can feel my organs and muscles inside of me moving. This makes me feel happier as I know that my body is working properly and it is in the correct condition. It is as if my internal organs are trying to dance deep within (perhaps imitate my movement externally). 

Energy, posture and mobility- My knowledge.

In this post I will inform you about everything I have perceived and know about the spine. Due to me previously studying Sports Studies & Science, I have learnt a lot about the mechanics of the body. In this chapter I will tell you mainly about the spine and the functions and uses it has.

Bone.
Bones develop over time. When you are a minor, your bones are soft and generally break easily due to being made of cartilage or 'part' cartilage which is spongy and flexible. When you are young you have around 300 bones which are not formed. These fuse together into 206 bones when you are growing as the cartilage forms to bone itself with the help of calcium. Your bones generally stop growing when you are around the age of 25 and they remain strong.

When moving the bones, joint cartilage can cause two types of stress; gravitational and friction from the movement itself. The cartilage has to therefore be strong and resistant so that movement is easy and there is no prevention caused. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber for harsh movements so that the bones don't rub against each other.

The Cranium.
This is made up of 22 bones, cranial and facial. This is one of the heaviest points in the body when relaxed and is also one of the most fragile, so it needs to be controlled by surrounding muscles from the head. The Cranium covers an important organ (brain) so this needs to be strong to act as protection as this generally controls the body's movement. http://www.kittyprint.com/KTP/Images/Anatomy/Cranium1.jpg

The Atlas and Axis.
These two bones are based below the head and in the top of the neck. The Atlas slots on top of the Axis and is slightly smaller due to not beginning the start of the spine (Bifid spine) and has no disks inbetween. These bones are therefore the start of the rotation in the neck leading to the Cervical Vertebra.

Cervical Vertebrae.
The Atlas and Axis are included in the Cervical spine as C1 and C2. This consists of 7 small bones at the top of the neck which are supported by muscles and ligaments. This helps to perform movements such as a 'nod', 'shake of the head' and 'sideward' movements. C3-C6 are generally similar and lead the same shape bone, whereas C7 stands out from the rest as it includes 'vertebra prominens' which is a "bobble" at the end of the bone and is slightly larger.

Thoracic Vertebrae.
There are 12 bones included in this section of the spinal column. This creates an elongated look on the back and helps to create a slight curve in the middle of the spine. Attached to this is the rib-cage, which protects the organs in the top half of the body. Each rib forms a synovial joint; a freely moveable joint that contains fluid between the joints and other surfaces.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Gray91.png/300px-Gray91.png



Lumbar Vertebrae.
These 5 bones are located at the bottom of the spine. These are slightly thicker bones that attach a number of muscles and ligaments to help movement of flexion and extension. There are various planes of movement that can occur at all sections of the spinal column. At the Lumbar section, the facets are very sagital based and restrict rotation more that the cervical and thoracic vertebrae. L4-5 joints have the greatest amount of movement of all planes. 

Sacrum.
There are 5 fused vertebrae that are included in the sacrum and these are said to fuse around the age of 20-25 after puberty has finished. The sacrum is there to protect the reproductive organs and digestive systems/organs and is held between the axis and pelvic girdle to show the appendicular skeleton. S1 is in partnership with L5 and work accordingly together.The disks that are inbetween the bones in the vertebrae act as a cushion, whereas in the sacrum they turn into bone (around the age of 20) and this causes the 'fuse' in this area. There are two types of Sacral crests amongst the sacrum; this being the Median and Lateral. The median is small ridges or knots that form due to the fusing process and the lateral is the space on either side of the ridge, this has a larger surface area for muscles to attach.The sacrum attaches to the pelvic girdle (Ilium) to form a sacroiliac joint which helps to encourage weight bearing for the femur (thigh bone), provided by the auricular surface.


Coccyx.
Involved in this section are 3-5 (usually four) tiny bones that are partly fused from the age of 26. Co1 and Co2 have transverse processes and are only attached on one side. In older people, the coccyx can occasionally fuse with the sacrum due to lack of movement. The Coccyx can be removed as it isn't essential to have it.

"Breathe in to the tip of the spine,

Let the breath fill the inside of the head,

Softening the bones of the skull,

Behind the eyes, inside the jaw.

The head round and soft,

Imagine the whole head,

Malleable to the breath,

The roundness of the head is echoed,

In the roundness of the ribcage,

Of the pelvis, of the heels,

Of the roof of the mouth.

Still opening at the base of the skull,

Where the brain elongates,

And flows down,

To the sacrum.

The sacrum moves down,

As the back of the head fills,

And moves up.

The head listens,

To the body,

Through the spine."

Tufnell.M & Crickmay. C (1993) Body Space Image. (pg 5). Dance Books Ltd, Hampshire.

"Movement Never Lies"... Graham's Father

Today in class, I never danced due to having a minor injury, so I observed.

We began the class with Graham's floorwork exercises. Watching the class made me more aware of the shapes that the body makes and what muscles are working to perform certain actions.

When watching my fellow colleagues performing the floorwork sequences, I could see the mistakes that were made. This included:

• Lack of the use of breath in over curves.
• Some people relax there necks too much and it breaks the line from the tail bone to the cranium in Release's.
• Ribs are popped out instead of keeping them in and performing an unilateral contraction of the internal obliques.
• Not contracting all of the muscles in the body in 2nd (heels need to be lifted off of the floor and legs turned out).
• Legs rolled in, in 2nd seated position.
• Some people were concentrating so much that they forgot about their feet; flex and point.
• When brushing the floor with the hands people weren't thinking about what Rebekah mentioned in the previous class, about reaching forwards and using as much extension as possible.

One of the exercises in parallel (Lumbar Fold) included using the spinal cord to the full potential. This also helped to stretch out the back and breathe into any areas that felt stiff or sore. The more flexible you are, the easier the exercise is. From viewing this, I could see that some people lacked in flexibility and struggled throughout the whole of the exercise. This made some pupils give up as it may have been sore and difficult.

Still on floor sequences, the class performed a "flexing and pointing" exercise. I paid full attention to this exercise as I get confused when performing it. I took a note of the co-ordination, dynamics, focus and strength and realised that the sequence is initiated by the core. Thinking of this, I surmised whether it improved the movements when breathing or holding the breath, as I have a tendency to do this occasionally. I then discovered that the movement comes from the breathing instead of the centre (core); spirals, curves and holds. I now realise how important it is to breathe if you want to look after your body and become the best dancer you can be. This sequence includes bilateral contractions of the body (curve) showing the contraction of the abdominals and the flexing of the trunk; increases strength.

"Activity with thought and feeling, joining mind and matter." Graham.M. pg 34. Modern Dance Bodies. This shows what my body goes through when performing the above sequence.

Following this exercise, they performed 'side holds' in second position, which included most strength from the quadriceps, abdominals, transversus, obliques and trapezius (also the rest of the body's muscles). Here we were told that we had to take the longest route possible from one side to the other, this made the movement flow smoother and worked the whole body. Hanging on to the centre will help prevent the ribs from popping out and will therefore help to keep the back open. Thinking about the journey through the spine to the head; this had to be a long line with no break in, so this involved attempting to keep the back as straight as possible to keep the energy continuous and help sit on the legs. This then instigated the feet to lift off of the floor showing that the muscles in the quadriceps were working to there maximum and weren't relaxed.

"We have had a dance of 'appearence', rather than 'being'" Graham.M. pg 20. Modern Dance Bodies. This quote applies to the exercise on a '6', in that it is all about the aesthetics of each position as this isn't needed in everyday dance. Important points on this exercise:

• kneeling off your heels.
• long back of the neck.
• flat back in position '1'.
• Initiate the movement from the core to show curves.
• Include all 24 bones in the spine.
• Lead from the hips in position '3' & '4'.
• Work through the movements and feel muscles working.

Bartenieff Fundamentals.. Head and Tail.

http://web.uaccb.edu/AcademicDivisions/MathScience/Science/BWheeler/Ess/figs/05_14Figure-U.jpg  (Assessed 19/10/11).

The spinal cord is a freely moveable column that contains 24 individual pieces of vertebral bone that moves in many directions and is split up into various sections. The cranium; most people see the head as not being connected to the body or spine. The Atlas and Axis are at the top of the spine attaching to the cranium, followed by 7 little bones called the cervical (Lordosis) which is beneath the atlas and axis helping to support it. Below them is a bigger section of bones that are referred to as Thoracic (Kyphosis) which contains 12 larger bones; these move more freely than others usually and also support the above systems. The thoracic also holds and supports the ribs which protects the organs, if this wasn't here most of the organs in the body could be damaged easily. The Lumbar (Lordosis) contains 5 larger bones that support the upper half of the body and connect the the pelvic girdle alongside the sacrum. The sacrum is said to be a solid bone made up of 5 smaller pieces that doesn't form until around the age of 20 years of age. Previous to this it can move. Attached to the end of this are the Coccyx which consist of 2-4 tiny bones, these aren't fixed and sometimes people go without their coccyx as they are not essential.

The spinal cord has attached to it nerves which help to send messages to the muscles to activate the movement. These then escape through gaps in the vertebrae. The spinal column has an important job of protecting the organs in the body and to help the support the bodily structure (alignment and posture).

We began the class by supporting each other's heads whilst lying down and feeling the weight of the cranium and how it feels when its controlled. This made my neck feel longer and it gave me a wierd sensation down my spinal cord. We then reversed it and supported the weight of our spine by holding onto the legs and lifting the sacrum, lumbar and thoracic off the floor and moving it to see how it feels. This opened the spine and helped to feel where movement occurs most in the vertibrate.

When I started to move from the top of the head or from the tail bone I began to think of each vertibral bone in the spine and the journey it could take. I began to explore the various positions the back can go through and I started to realise movements that would be useful for my choreography. This is a good choreographic strategy for me to use as I am interested in the way the spine moves and the way it effects the body.

When I was experimenting with this I began to feel uncomfortable in the lower Thoracic around T9 - T12. I think this may have been due to not stretching the whole spine out properly before class started, either that or it could have been because I was exploring places in the spine I hadn't explored in a long while. Stretching this out helped, but as I was eager to investigate various places in the spinal cord I just got on with it.

http://advancedpt.patientsites.com/media/img/344073/3638_vertebrae.jpg (Assessed 19/10/11)

Peggy Hackney says in her book Making Connections;

"There is also an immediate reaction to someone whose spine is overly rigid and locked into the vertical. Such a person may be perceived as 'uptight' or 'inflexible'." Hackney.P. (2002). Routledge, New York NY.

This shows that Hackney determines some dancers (possibly ballet dancers) as having a straight spine and not wanting to or being able to bend it or use it in a capacity that goes beyond "normal" for these kinds of people. 

Due to my love for the spine and the many questions I have about the spine, I have decided to base my essay question on this to be able to investigate and answer my own queries. After this technique class especially I am more quizzical than normal about this topic.

Moving onto a sequence we performed in the last class, I incorporated as much as I could of my spine from the top to bottom and I tried to move it by expanding and curling the most I could. I felt like the use of breath reached the individual sections of the spine when I inhaled and when exhaling I felt that I grounded myself and released any tension that occured in my body. This made my movement more free and flowing which made it look connected and open to direction and dynamics.

Thinking of the spine as an instigator, I was thinking that my limbs were attached, but made their own individual pathways and routes through the space, in either following and supporting the spine or going opposite to the spine. When looking at my movements in the mirror I would began to think of ways that my bodily parts could go and the choreographic uses that could come from this to create a different movement pattern/motif.

Peggy Hackney says;

"I become indifferentiated

...I am an individual in my own spine

I ground myself in my own sphere through yelding and pushing

...I reach and pull, giving attention to my outer environment

...I follow my curiosity and my imagination

...enjoying my supportive, flexible, playful, sensuous spine.

...All these seem possible." Hackney,P. (2002)

This quote says a lot to me and I feel personally I can reflect on this in my dancing. Not every being/dancer are the same and we all have our own style, imagery and desire to dance. We all push ourselves differently and we have different emotions, motivations and determinations which are shown through our dancing. Not every person has the same body shape and bonal structure. Everyone has a different perception for dance in either movement emotions or performance emotions. We all have different levels of mobility, flexibility and strength and we either use this to our advantage or take it for granted. The opportunities that can arise in my dancing or with companies, workshops or events (people to get involved with) can either be a reach (not quite there yet; got a while to go) or a pull (taking it with both hands and going for it). If I have a question that I feel needs answering I will go and explore this through the body and let my imagination run wild to experiment until I recieve my answer. All in all enjoying what I do and the energy thats flies through me to keep me going, incorporating all of the muscles, bones, nerval systems and physical and mental awareness. To be a good dancer you just need to try and never give up!
This is what I think this statement is talking about, and how it relates to me in my dance.

Freely moveable vs. Tension.
Having fun in my dancing is very important and when you use Head-tail connectivity you feel like a child or animalistic. This starts a playful feel to the movement and makes you feel happy and energetic. Using fast movement makes me even more happy as I get a kinesthetic pulse that runs through me; some would say this is adrenaline but I think it is more excitement. When I feel this energy I feel like my body can move freely and I can incorporate every muscle and bone included in myself and let it loose; as if I have an itch and I'm trying to get rid of it or let an emotion out.

As soon as I stop using my breath and my body, I become more stiff and I feel that there is tension throughout my muscles and my mind. This puts a bad emotion on my dancing as I don't feel like I am connected to myself. This normally occurs if I have an injury or I am drained and then the energy and motivation isn't there.

Yeild and Push, Reach and Pull.

'Yeild' and 'push' are initiated  by 'reach' and 'pull'. Looking at this in my movement, this illustrated almost a tugging and suspending action, followed by controlling where the movement continues.

There are structures that make up the human body. When a larger force is applied to the structure, there is a decrease in stress-strain levels. This point of the structure is classed as 'yeild', but previous to this there is a moment of pressure in the body; classed as the 'elastic region'. For example, when I perform a balance my body has an increased pressure before it has to hold at an increased strengthing point.

This picture shows how my spinal column feels when performing an arabesque with a plie as I reach out of my spine and then pull back to the original spinal position. As you can see in this picture the left hand spine is the normal curvature of the bones, whereas on the right hand side, it illustrates the spine lengthened with little curvature which is normally classed as unhealthy, for an instant in dance this is applicable. http://www.worldtaichiday.org/photos/TCIMAGES.SpinalAlign.jpg (assessed 20/10/11).

When performing movement that can be classed as 'reach' and 'pull', you can extend and relax the muscles and bones in your body; going from fully extended limbs to complete relaxation. This is generally linked in with breath and the more I include my breathing in my movement the more I can feel my bones and muscles interacting with each other. This makes me feel inquisitive to what makes my muscles and bones do what they do.

http://comps.canstockphoto.com/can-stock-photo_csp3933207.jpg (assessed 20/10/11).

The words yeild and push, scare me a little as they are very strong words and they make me want to portray the strength behind them instead of thinking about how they aid each other. When I think about 'yeilding' in my performance I think about the bones interacting with each other and the way they work together to help improve my performing state. If the bones worked away from each other constantly, I would be either in a heap or separated as this is not normal for a healthy body.

We experimented with a small exercise that opened the spine through contact with the floor from weight. We started this in 'child's pose' by relaxing the body muscles and bones keeping everything grounded. Then we began to roll up through the spine from tail to head leaning forwards applying weight onto the cranium. This had a nice feeling to it as you could feel every bone in the spine moving piece by piece. We then reversed this.

'Dance is like wine, it matures with every performance.' - Alarmel Valli

I struggle badly with one thing in dance, and that is foot work. I have improved a lot but I could do with practicing a lot more on this.

Facing the bar in ballet I attempt brushes with the feet, thinking of lengthening through the spine so that it is easier to flick the feet.

In this video I am trying my best to brush along the floor, but you can see that sometimes I don't quite get my feet back to 1st and this is due to not officiating the turn out properly when squeezing the leg back in.

Again on another exercise that includes brushing the feet I got a bit confused. Starting in fifth position I performed a GrandeBattement, followed by a demi plie to brush the leg into another Grand Battement. This was performed en croix. In this exercise I had to be consciously aware of the brushing of the foot before Grand Battement, because if I didn't think about it and thought about my arms I would forget to brush my feet. This in time will become easier with practise.

In ballet I really struggle with jumping sequences. I am a strong jumper due to being an acro gymnast and having to tumble all of the time, but when it comes to jumping with ballet technique I get confused and get a mind block. The jump sequence I attempted was; sissonne, faille, glissade, assemble.

I was over thinking the sequence, which led to my feet doing what they wanted. When we performed it as a group I could do it, just simply copying and going with the other pupils in class, but when it came to doing it in twos I was stuck.

I need to find a way of being able to correct this and also find a medium for concentration (not over thinking), then I will be able to perform the sequence with ease.

When performing ballet sequences in class I feel like I have become more graceful and able to 'show off' more as my confidence has built up.

I have asked one of my dance colleges how they think I have performed in the technique:
"I think that you have improved because you approach it with a different attitude this year, you don't think 'oh my goodness I hate it'. You move through the movement more, you don't just do positions and think ' that needs to be here, and that needs to be here', your more fluent in the way you move now."

Lift Lift Lift!

Thinking about the work I did in Cunningham technique the other day, I went away and thought about little details I can improve on. One of the main things were to lift. I then thought about the balancing sequence and how you have to move through balancing to complete the exercise with ease.

I am in a good position here as there is a nice line across my back but this can be improved to a better shape...

...of lifting the leg. This looks more aesthetically pleasing by it being open and better shape altogether. This just shows that if you lengthen and lift in the body the technique is altogether more easy.



Turn out, pointed feet, travelling... Triplets!

Today we performed Cunningham Technique, where we carried out a number of sequences and phrases that included various articulating movements throughout the joints.

We began the class with bounces in an over curve (curving over the ribs; like I have a corset on) followed by plie's and side curves. I improved my curve by thinking about the use of breath and extension through the spine. Included in this sequence was the use of spirals. This comes from the torso and works its way up the spine with an upper curve, giving a twisting sensation. In doing this, I have to remember to keep my hips square and breathe throughout as I have a tendency to follow my spiral with my hips so the position I end up in is incorrect; I corrected myself in class as I can feel my positioning now. The pictures below show how good my curves are when I use Breath...

We then performed plie sequences which I realised were one of my strong points in Cunningham's work. Comparing this sequence to when I performed it last year, I have improved massive amounts, as I think about every single detail and I try to keep the phrase continuous, whilst deepening plies and moving through the longest routes possible.









I feel that since I started this course I have improved a lot in technique and I can self-criticise and self-evaluate my movements to help improve. As a dancer I need to not only listen/learn from my teachers and others around me, but I have to be able to think about my strengths and weaknesses and correct them myself, which involves experimenting in and out of class. So what if I fall over whilst trying out movements at least i am putting in my all and attempting different things, pushing myself to limits.

In today's lesson I was informed that my feet roll inwards when performing a plie in second. I was then conscious of this throughout the rest of the class and began to adjust myself to the correct position.

Here is a diagram showing my feet positions of 'rolling in' and 'turned out'. Due to me being flat footed and having bunions my feet positions always look incorrect. This is no excuse for me now, as I am able to correct and feel the right position for my turn out; yes, it does feel abnormal now, but if I continue to alter this I will get used to the feeling and it will begin to come naturally.

In this video you can see that I begin brushing the floor and go through every Metatarsal, tarsal and phalanges possible (this is easier to do slowly). But then when I begin increasing the speed of the tondu's, my movements weren't as detailed and I began to 'slack' in technique.

At one part of the sequence I didn't brush at all, but at least I can recognise and alter the movements for future reference.

I was familiar with one of the phrases in class (Balancing) because we have done it in Release Technique, so I was able to perform this well. The key to this phrase is:

 "TO BALANCE IS TO MOVE CONTINUOUSLY".

This means that you never stop moving because as soon as you stop, you become off balance and fall over. Therefore if you lengthen up and out to continue deepening through the plie to lengthening and bending, it is always moving but there are movements of stillness throughout it. Here I show this in the video:

 

I will explain my strengths and weaknesses in this video and show my knowledge and self criticism.

You can see that when I begin the sequence I try to push through the floor whilst shifting forwards at the same time. If I am grounded into the floor through a plie, I am more steady and I can travel to where ever I want to without any effort. I then balance through movement by lengthening and thinking about the use of my centre to help control myself.

From an arabesque in plie to spiraling the back on a straight leg, I concentrate on the pressure I put into the floor from the base (standing) leg. As long as my base leg is working I can move or perform any way I like with the top half of my body; spiraling the back is easier to control, but as you can see I could spiral/twist my back even more than I have on this video.

When I chasse through to attitude you can see that I reposition my lifted leg. This is because when I was performing this sequence I could feel that my leg wasn't in the correct attitude position that I had mentioned previously in ballet. As this was one of my faults in ballet I was conscious of this and corrected this as soon as I realised my knee was lower than my foot.

The final turn at the end of the sequence was performed badly as I was off balance and not on my base leg enough, but I tried my hardest to fight for it as much as I could because if I keep giving in I will never improve. 

Release Technique

In this lesson I feel like I can relax into my dancing and I am more confident performing this technique than any other. When I am in class I attempt everything 100% and I put all of my effort/energy into the phrases I am performing, but at the start of this class I was tired and I could feel muscle fatigue from previous dancing. As I could feel this I made sure I stretched out thoroughly before class began so that I would not cause myself an injury. This (stretching) also woke me up a bit as my body didn't feel as tight and I could relax my physicality and mind.

Due to feeling a little stiff and sore I gradually eased myself into the first exercise until my muscles felt warm and my pulse was slightly raised. I could then begin deepening my plie's and curves from the previous class of Release and I would think about what mistakes I made last time and try to alter them.

One of the exercise's include a press down from front support, which I am capable of doing due to my strength, but as I was aching I had to push through the little pain I had in my biceps.

http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/199613/530wm/F0023636-Push_up_Part_2_of_2_-SPL.jpg

Here is a picture of the muscles that work when performing the front support position to the press down. Due to myself knowing what muscles work and which of my muscles were sore, I performed my press downs in a different way to what other's in the class are probably able to do (due to my strength and knowledge of the muscles in the body); such as using my triceps to press down instead of my biceps (arm come closer to the body in a tricep dip).

In this class I could really feel tension and pain in my achilles tendon. This was painful when performing a rise but more so when performing a heel flex. This may have been due to overuse from previous training but also may have occured due to putting maximum effort in in class. I made sure that I kept stretching them out during class and inbetween each exercise to prevent injury. Aswell as stretching I would massage and knead either side of the tendon to bring comfort to myself.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnCk0jmrDtiuKUlzm6TmtfhmZWZxUaXPeO9U2AkI0p6iEENS6iuyfAVgrS1HZxmCDBQwqRRB4en9GmVErzk6bbB1LdmCtJNriAN9PEto_0ubqn5lvIE2hsRCX1sJi60YM8lY6VRwr3ek/s1600/180achilles_inflammation.jpg

Keeping in mind of the soreness that my body was going through I had to think mind over body so that I could get through each exercise. Through doing all of the things above, I managed to get into the sequences and by the final exercise I was able to perform to my max again. This taught me a lot about what my body goes through and how to prevent it in future.

Cunningham Technique

Here I perform a Ponche with correct technique. By lifting out of the spine and lifting the leg as much as possible before moving the chest, I can balance a lot easier than before.

This is what I thought a ponche was until I was shown. As you can see I drop my chest straight away and there is not lift at all. This is a poor attempt of a ponche.

Arabesque.

Ponche.

Ballet practise and improvements; Adage.

Here I perform an adage. I am proud of myself for being able to grasp this sequence as ballet isn't my best technique.
You can see that I use my turn out throughout the phrase. As I perform this I wobble but I still fight to hold onto the arabesque in plie, as I am more determined each day to increase my ballet ability.
I could use my feet more when brushing the floor; tendu's.

Practise makes perfect...

Here you can see me practising my pirouettes as I struggle with spotting and turn out when performing this (due to my gym). I keep progressing in this on a daily basis and I will continue to improve this.

Mona's technique (mixture of all techniques).

Due to our teacher not being in on this day we had a cover teacher who taught us her technique. This was a mixture of all techniques (very contemporary) so I had to focus more as it was more detailed. This technique began by a sequence that included twists, lunges and plie's. This was more my style of contemporary as it was very active and included varied dynamics.

This is a small sketch I did to show how our twists occured.

When performing the 'lunge' sequence we had to take as wide a stance as possible to work our quadriceps as much as possible. This is one of my strengths as I can use my flexibility to create a wide lunge and I have strong quads to help hold my position firmly.


I will paint a picture based on the final sequence, as this is what was illustrated in my head when I was performing this (dynamics made me think of this and illustrate the colours).

Graham and Cunningham Technique.

Here is a link to a Youtube clip of me speaking about Graham Technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H7eCkwkGak&feature=channel_video_title

Here I explain a few things I think I need to improve and how they felt to me when I performed them in class. As I am not familiar with Graham Technique I had to concentrate a lot more than normal and put more effort in to small things I would not think about (as they normally come naturally to me), such as my turn out in various positions to normal. I enjoyed the way that Graham used angles to create shapes in here choreography.  

Graham Technique originated from Martha Graham who was positioned in America doing dance and choreography. Her work was abstract and she was compared to professional artists such as Picasso and Dali, due to their works being very different to everyone else. "Dance is a hidden language of the soul of the body." This is a quote by Martha Graham herself and this explains how your inner self and feelings can portray the movement by the use of the body and technique. This helped Graham to break normal/traditional ballet rules and pushed limits in contemporary dance also pushing her to become a modern practitioner.

Graham's technique is very similar to Cunningham's in the way that the fundamentals occur; curves, contractions, spirals, shifting of weight, suspension & falling, tilting & leaning and release.

When performing "6's" I couldn't keep my hands on my heels as I have really stiff shoulders; this needs improving. Also in this sequence I realised that I didn't begin the movement up to the 'D' shape with my hips, I would cheat my way up. I will show pictures of the step-by-step positions of "6's" and I will show my mistakes also.

You can see that in position 4 my arms are not touching my feet.

I felt really comfortable when performing the technique in the 'lumbar' position (legs out straight in parallel) as I could use my strength and flexibility to my maximum and with ease.
In this position I would perform the lumbar stretch (leaning forwards, putting chest to knees) and include curves and contractions to change the shaping; this stretched out the hamstrings, gastrocnemius and lower back. "A dance of appearance, rather than 'being'". Graham. M. Pg 20. Modern Bodies Dance and American Modernism, from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey. (2002). The University of North Carolina Press. United States of America.

Spirals in Graham technique twist from the torso to the upper spine. Graham says this helps to strengthen the spine and creates suspension. The use of suspension and falling that Graham uses helps to create strong but flowing sequences as it shows how gravity can create movement. This is also portrayed in Cunningham Technique; Standing in second with a wide arm span (in 2nd) and tilting/leaning to the side, middle and other side. This can then create a tipping or falling sensation when released from a second stance.

When I was in class performing this technique, I held back in the travelling sections as I wasn't used to this particular style. This made me look stiff and look as if I was just marking the sequences instead of attempting them to the full. I realised towards the end of the class that you will not perform this technique unless you put all of your energy into it and take as many risks as possible. Trying to create various dynamics made her work look more aesthetically pleasing and it was more exciting to dance. I remembered the work of Bartenieff and I began to use my breath during the movement, which helped with deepening and 'packing out' the phrases to keep them constantly flowing.  

Emotions that occured:

• The strength that I could put behind my dance made me feel more comfortable as I was unfamiliar with this technique anyway.
• Realisation about how my body moves.
• Determination to learn more of Graham and Cunningham Technique.

Beginning to adjust in ballet..

This is a video of the sequence I couldn't perform in class last week.

In this sequence I concentrated on getting the arm positioning correct in the balancé turn as this is what confused me. The steps are very simple and I could perform the steps with ease but when I added the arms, I couldn't co-ordinate my body properly. As this video shows I have improved on this sequence and I will continue to work at it.

In ballet I use my previous experience of being a gymnast to help me improve. As I was a gymnast I have a lot of balancing skills and I can execute movements involving standing on one leg (releve), and stretching also on one leg at the bar. Here are some photos of me performing some of these elements:

Preparing for a releve with a retire leg.

In releve with retire. Here you can see that I have managed to maintain my turn out and keep my shoulders down to make it feel and look comfortably relaxed.

STRETCHES WE HAVE TO DO IN CLASS:

What helps motivate me for ballet...

This is a painting I refer to when I get frustrated with Ballet in class. I painted this effectively for a friend, but it helps me when I can't grasp certain sequences in ballet, as I think to myself "I'm a dancer, I try my hardest at all times, I can paint a picture of a ballet dancer why can't I perform the technique of ballet with ease?". I then think to myself "Don't give up! You'll get it if you continue trying". This painting helps to show my emotion for ballet in the sense of colour; the dark background shows the struggle in capturing the technique and then the various colours in the dancer's tutu, shows the streaks in which I can use my flexibility or my attempts and determination to catch the sequences.

When I watch my teacher perform the sequences in class I always wish I could perform it as dainty and balletic as her, but as ballet is not my strong point, I struggle a lot of the time.

This painting of mine, gives me the motivation, encouragement and determination to be able to push myself into performing ballet with no difficulties.

Here are a few photos of improvements that I will explain about:

This is my perspective of what I though attitude was in ballet. As you can see my arms are not positioned correctly and my back leg is near enough in parallel. This is a poor attitude position.

This is an improved attitude, as my back leg is behind me and my knee is lifted. Also my standing leg is straight (Front View).

Side view.

In one of the readings Eye Flight there is a quote that Fin Walker of Walker Dance states;

"Being in the moment, connecting with the moment whatever that might be, even fear - not locking the moment - accepting and being with the fear. Secondly, it's about non-attachment, moving through it, not fixing. It's about existing in the body."

This quote really helps me when performing in ballet, as I tend to seize up and not relax into the movement. I have realised over these few weeks that I was scared of what everyone else in the class thought about my ballet, as I always thought that I was never good enough. But now that I have realised this, I have began to adjust my dance technique in ballet.

Bartenieff Fundamentals (Laban Movement Analysis)...

Today I worked with Core-Distal Connectivity, which looked at the related six points in the body; Tailbone, head, both arms and both legs. These are all connected throughout the body, but they have their own individuality.

With this in mind we were put into three's and were asked to lie grounded to the floor and feel the breath in the body. We were then told to each place the hands on each others stomach's and feel the breath inhale and then exhale whilst brushing down each of these six connected limbs to feel the energy flow out of them. This made the limbs feel extended but also relaxed.

When I began the improvisation task I kept in mind about breathing to begin and obtain my deepened movement, but also put to test that all of the six limbs in this principle need to stay active and look lively. As I was moving I started by constantly thinking; which limb have I not used much of? Which limb needs to move next? What can I do to make it more interesting?But then after a while of experimenting with this, I relaxed into it easier and my limbs moved together as I tried to co-ordinate and distort my body to make it look more aesthetically pleasing.

Widening my limbs helps me to use all of the space and travel further whilst still grounding myself into the floor. Using the spine and core helps to mobilise the body and shift me into various positions quicker as it makes it easier to flow through the motions making it fluid and 'liquidy'. 

As well as looking at the inward focus of the body (core, spine and breath) I was looking at the outward focus (energy and presence in the space). Using both the inward and outward focus made my dancing more expressive, as I would use movements that influence me to dance through a motivated and energised state.

Thinking about all of this information of what motivates me to move all of my limbs and breathe through my dancing, I was able to take more risks in lengthening my movements whilst suspending and broadening the range/ability of movement I have to give.

Points I will consider:

• Next time I am in class I will try to cover the wider range of movements that I am naturally able to do.
• I will also try to push the boundaries myself and challenge my own limits.
• I will use the energies in my breath to help my movements flow.