Week 1

The score which we produced had a finite ending. When the groups had performed their last development they left the stage, leaving it to be empty at the end. Whilst performing the score the choices which I had to make was to always look at the space around me. To make sure that I was aware of what was happening so I didn’t collide with the dancers. I also had to concentrate on the beanbag to make sure I was not dropping it when I was supposed not to. As working with a partner I had to consider what our relationship was between catching the bean bag to the spatial awareness between us both.

Whilst performing the score I discovered that I always had to be concentrating throughout to make sure that the piece was performed right. This made sure that the developments were in the order which we had discussed. I also discovered in myself that I had to use my focus more than I am used to in this exercise to make sure everything went well. Another decision that me and my partner had to make was the sounds which we was going to pronounce when throwing the bean bag, this was something which was unfixed. The order of developments were fixed within the score, so that they wouldn’t overlap with the other groups. The number of times the bean bag was thrown before the next section came in wasn’t fixed. It started off with saying the groups would change after twenty throws but as the process developed it was harder to tell when the twenty throws was up. Meaning we went by the sequences not by the number of throws. For example the sequence which the pairs followed ended up being in a canon.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

….1, 2, 3, 4, 5

……..1, 2, 3, 4, 5

…………1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The structure as you can see was simple to us the dancers, but might not be as simple to an outsider. We got asked questions by the other group at the end of the session to sum up our score and to make sure that what they thought was right.

From the dear dancing reading, I feel like improvisation is about ‘So, ‘mistakes’ becomes openings- for you cannot cross them out, they cannot be neatened up. Rather you might try to play with those hiccups and see what happens when you amplify the ‘mistakes’. (Midgelow, 2012,15) To me this proves that anything goes in improvisation nothing is a mistake and if it was just go to with it into the next movement.

Midgelow, V.( 2012) Dear practice…: The experience of improvising. Choreographic practices. 2, (1), 14-15.