POST 1
Welcome to Beginning Contemporary! This blog will serve as a forum for exposure to and discussion of contemporary dance (that ever evolving term!) that is happening throughout many parts of the world. I will post a link to a short (usually under 5 minutes) video along with a primary question to consider. You will write a written response that relates to the primary question and the points that are brought up by your classmates. I encourage you to enjoy these videos and really allow yourself to see them from a place of openness and curiosity. The more that you can think/feel about how it relates to your/our experience in class, the better! I will always post a video on Thursday and you must post your response by class time the following Tuesday. Late posts will not receive credit. Please email me or talk to me in class if you have questions or need further clarification. Enjoy!
QUESTION: How do you see the dancers using body parts in relationship to the whole body? What imagery/questions does this piece evoke for you?
The example for this week is by the Isreali dance company Batsheva. The piece is titled "Three" by Ohad Naharin made in 2005.
I can easily tell they use their core quite often with the amount of extensions that they do. They really use every part of their body and make the dance seem effortless. Their moves are very unique and connect with the music well.
ReplyDeleteThis piece defines the way dancers use their body parts in relationship to the body as a whole. The swiftness of each movement requires a lot of momentum, pulling a lot of energy from the dancers' cores. Although not in unison, there is much precision that falls in the dancers transitioning from one move to the next. The length of the ends of their bodies are extended to go along with the different flows.
ReplyDeleteThe dancers use their arms and legs smoothly, but with strength in relationship to their core. The performance reminded me of a bizarre clock- where each person was their own gear, and all of them somehow connected and affected each other to produce something beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnterpreet Kaur:
ReplyDeleteIn the short performance, I noticed that the dancers do have extreme precision in their movement, as Marylynn mentioned. Moreover, I feel that the reason for such accurate movements is the fact that they know how to use their energy well. Despite the fact that not all dancers made identical movements, it all fit in together in that moves of one dancer were sort of a response to the other's. To clarify, some parts seemed a lot of what we tried in class last Thursday where one person performs a routine and the other improvises accordingly.
Watching the video changes if you watch it trying to take everything in versus just focusing on the core. The intention and precision of their movements is coming from an active and controlled engagement with the center. Energy shoots from there to the rest of the body while the distal parts of the body take advantage of that energy. Imagery that came to mind was analyzing a reflection in the mirror or the process of one person viewing another person.
ReplyDeleteIn this piece, the dancers have extreme bodily control, being able to jet out their arms and legs without losing balance, which is due to their strength in their posture, how they really ground themselves, and of course, their core. They may twist their upper body, while keeping their lower body firmly planted, making for some interesting and varied dance movements. This piece as a whole and in general, reminded me of nature. Nature can interact with each other, yet, organisms in nature can also be independent and move in their own way, in their own life, yet their choices, their movement, can affect others. And the movements of the bodies came across as an earthy feel, which ignited my "nature" related imagery.
ReplyDeletewhen a neuron is at rest, before any action potential happens to communicate with another neuron through a synapse, the neuron is waiting to be stimulated and awakened to pass the electrical signal. This choreography gives me a mental imagery of independent synapses. first very still, and then boom, crazy movements with powerful expressions, that seem spontaneous, almost improvised, however they are following an established 'order', a flow, that allows the dancers to communicate with the music, and allows the spectator to awe with the beauty of a "limited chaos" or a "pre-set infinity".
ReplyDeleteFollowing the analogy of neuron communication, the dancers body parts move like electrical impulses. (i know, nerd alert...)from the center of their bodies. For example, In the heart, electric synapses allow groups of muscle cells to contract in synchrony. thus, body parts allow body to move in synchronicity....
The dancers use every muscle in their body to evoke a wave of movements. For example, they use their abdominal muscles to lift their legs and crunch their back which makes it easier to transition into their following movements and to maintain their balance. They use everything from their neck rolls to fluttering their feet.
ReplyDeleteThere is many different imagery all mixed into one piece. One part was when the man and woman (or the two women in the olive pants) are across each other doing the same movements, evokes a mirror-like imagery.
Or seeing into one another. The two men
at towards the end of the video make me
think of the brazilian martial art, capoiera. When the woman in the red
pants is sliding on the floor, it makes one wonder if she is evoking a hesitant or lust
full emotion. It can be taken either way
depending on the viewer. The way the movements
follow the music evokes the emotion that the music is playing, an example is when they kick at the beat
of the drum.
I love how the move their body, showing that they are the owner of their movement. They chose what they want to do, and they just do it. The have total control on their arma and legs, and that is show in the clearness and beautiful steps that they made. Also I like how they dance at the ryththm of the music. Finally I like the idea, that it seem to be spontaneus movement that came from the heart. They do what they feel.
ReplyDeleteTeresita
This piece really shows what it means to be a part and a whole. The movement of the limbs in conjunction with the core and distal ends were seemingly flawless like moving water to the beat. While watching, I observed many "styles" of dance incorporated like ballet or hiphop. However in its' simplicity, it is a movement in space where the joints soften and feet are firm against the ground, but nevertheless light and free.
ReplyDeleteThis dance, as a whole, is abstract and hard to comprehend its meaning. However, when subtracting the whole into parts, I saw more details and characters of it. The dance was integrated into lots of elements from ballet including pointe work, spinning and jumps. What's more attracted me was various cooperative adagios between dancers in the late part of the dance which I think it expresses the harmonious relationship between people and nature through their flexible movement with strength. Especially in the parts of paired dance, dancers uses the arms and legs to express the meaning of communication however keep their main part of body stable so that constructed a symmetrical and harmonious effect.
ReplyDeleteIn this piece, the dancers are using their whole bodies in their dance. You can see the relaxation and the easy flow of their limbs, in relation to their cores. You can see from the beginning the way that the energy escapes the dancers bodies as they begin their motions. The piece reminded me of some of the things that we have practiced in class and showed me how important it is to relax my body and really be apart of my motions.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how the dancers moved with the music. Even though the movements of the individual dancers seemed random, when viewed along with the music and with the other dancers, it all formed one picture. The way their movements came together inspires me for when we do improv in class!
ReplyDeleteYou can tell from these piece that each dancer uses every part of the vertebrate whenever they make a movement. In addition, each move down their vertebrate is a smooth transition to their distal ends. Within the dancers body, you can see them using a full wide range of motion involving every part of their body including their core. When the dancers turn and jump, you can see that the momentum that they build helps the movement. Towards the end of the video, you can see the male dancer maintain his hip/center position while still moving in a circular motion. You can also see the concepts in class where we talked about how the formation of having a string attached to your skull and your pulling that string upwards while maintaining your spinal cord in the correct position. The most striking part of the dance piece was when the woman in red was moving across the floor. I couldn't exactly depict what she was trying to show, but it seemed as though she was longing for something.
ReplyDeleteIn this piece I saw a lot of use of distal ends while keeping the core at the center. It takes a lot of balance and core work. Another thing I noticed is that the dancers use their momentum to move them forward and transition smoothly into their next move. There was a softness, but also with and edge to their movements. The beginning seemed chaotic because everyone was doing their own thing and suddenly stopping to just walk off. One distinct image I got from the lady with the red pants was a sea creature moving on the bottom of the ocean. I also really enjoyed the partner dancing and how they mirrored one another (similar to what we did in class).
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what others have written, I believe one of the main reasons this dance is as graceful as it is, is due to the dancers being able to control their entire body. They do not focus on only a single limb, but rather the body as a whole. Doing this allows them to reach full extension with their amount of flexibility. I did notice that the dancers' movements were very linear-like, where opposite ends of the body extended as far as they could go. It is apparent that balance certainly is key and in order to have such great balance, a person must have proper form and weight distributions. This was a great dance which was executed with high difficulty.
ReplyDeleteThough there are many different forms of movement taking place simultaneously, the grace and fluidity of it all comes across through the full extensions and clean lines. With each extension and retraction of the limbs, the dancers are engaging their core so as to maintain their balance and center. The movement of their legs and arms are often in correspondence with each other, revealing the relationship between core and distal ends. This piece creates an image of both strength and elegance through seemingly disjointed movement.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the range of movements in this piece was amazing. I enjoyed the disparity between contracted movements with flexed joints versus the clean lines and graceful sweeping motions. Each dancer exhibited their talent, flexibility and balance both through solos and choreographed portions with other dancers. The beginning of the piece reminded me of a busy urban area, with people rushing, then it slowed down and everyone came together.
ReplyDeleteThey begin by elongating their bodies and standing straight and tall so that their spines stretch from the bottom all the way to the very tip of their spine which you can see from their posture. They use an extensive amount of their core in order to strongly ground their movements by making them seem fluid and relaxed while using a lot of energy and momentum to do so. They show the entire length of their movement and their lines are long and controlled. It seemed like a busy intersection with all sorts of people trying to rush from one place to another and it showed each individual’s process and journey from one place to the same destination as everyone else, and it portrayed different scenarios and stories that ended up coming together at the very end.
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ReplyDeleteI really noticed the dancers using their distal distal ends by fully elongating their bodies to the point where it seems as if they are reaching beyond than their limbs. There is a tremendous amount of body control when the dancers throw themselves off their center and continue through their movements gracefully which requires strong core muscles to prevent falling over. I enjoyed watching the dance because each movement had an element of risk and control.
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ReplyDeleteEvery dancer exhibited fluid movements, even when each dancer springs out into a far-reaching projection. Yet, when they combine this fluidity with the rush of speed, every kick, every swing, and every twist is unpredictable and fresh. Every dancer fully utilizes his/her “kinetosphere,” which is identifiable by the rounded trajectory of each foot or hand around the radius (the core). I also noticed that the girls have cores that occupy lower portions of their bodies than the boys. This is clearly shown at 1:44. I like to think of the core as the gravitational center of mass. The girl’s center of mass is concentrated around her hips, allowing her to bend completely forward with confidence that her core still sits vertically above her point of contact (i.e. her foot). But for the boy, he has to stand up a bit higher because his core is closer to his chest. If he bends too forward, he will inevitably fall (and he probably knows this, given the extension of his right “safety” arm). This helps me to understand that my movements and risks have to be tailored to become suitable for my own body. I cannot simply look at and mimic everyone else, because my body is so different than theirs.
ReplyDeleteThe dancers initiate their movements from various parts of their body including their arms, feet, head, etc. Since they use their distal ends of their body, they must utilize their strong cores for balance and control whether they are doing jumps, kicks, spins, etc. This allows them to perform with what appears to be effortless grace.
ReplyDeleteThe piece reminds me of the relationship between body and spirit. The beginning evokes the idea of how our spirits may want to do crazy and spontaneous things. The mirrored duets on the other hand show how one finds a connection and balance between soul and body (the two parts of the whole).
The dancers seemed to begin a lot of their movements at the core of their bodies and stretching them out all the way to the end of their extremities. At times, it seemed like the different parts of the body were moving separately but after looking closer you can see how one movements sets up the other and how they are achieved in unison.
ReplyDeleteThe dancers must have a lot of core strength, to balance and to be able to easily move their arms and legs while keeping other parts of their body still. Their distal ends are often reaching in opposite directions. They are also able to abruptly change the direction of their movement, leaping in one direction then jumping back, or running and then stopping completely, even balanced on one foot. The dance is very abstract so I can't really be sure what the concept is. However, all the back-and-forth motions, as well as the glitch effects in the music, make me imagine a kind of haunted person, torn between decisions, perhaps lost in their imagination.
ReplyDeleteI like how each dancer shows connection with one another whether they are doing the same or different dance moves. I also find that they use a lot of their muscles to dance. With the flexibility they have, they create very interesting movements.
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ReplyDeleteThis dance has a lot of of abstract movements that make it unique. The dancers are very flexible and use that flexibility to create very interesting movements. I also noticed that they have a lot duets within the dance and every movement of their upper body goes with the beat of the music. <33
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