NEXT CHOREOGRAPHY FILM

BY BETHANY MONKLANE

Two weeks ago, on the 11th February, I brought in my camera to film the session, in order to create a short documentary piece. Outside of Next Choreography, I am studying on a film and media course, and so I wanted to merge my two passions together, dance and film, by creating a short piece documenting a typical class at Siobhan Davies Studios.

On the week that I filmed, we were using lots of objects as part of the class, exploring and experimenting with ways that our own personal experiences can shape the way we use the items around us. This was great for what I wanted to capture, as my aim was to record the way that individuals in the class work in the space; it meant that I had the opportunity to focus on one person at a time, whilst they were in their own creative world, as well as then being able to see how the Next Choreography members worked together during group activities and discussions.

I had never filmed anything like this before; the unpredictability of what was coming next, both physically and mentally for the dancers, was incredibly exciting to watch, and it meant I barely put my camera down! I thoroughly enjoyed the process in which I filmed and later edited; choosing the right footage to go into the final cut, as well as sourcing the music and making decisions about the colour grading and contrast were all important factors towards making the film as good as it could possibly be.

It would be interesting to see how the film would have changed if it had been filmed at a different time of year. Perhaps in summer, with natural light streaming in through the windows, the film would have a whole different ambiance? I suppose the only way to find that out would be if I were to make another film…

And here it is! I hope you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCIxqGMV1AE

REVIEW OF WALKING STORIES BY CHARLOTTE SPENCER

BY MARIA RODRIGUES

As part of my work for Arts Award portfolio I wrote a review of Walking Stories by Charlotte Spencer.

On 24th September 2015 in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in London.

The group audio walk, Walking Stories by Charlotte Spencer is more than what it seems to be.
This piece is about movement, the language of the bodies in space and the choreographed activity to the music outdoors and in green public locations. The participants are also performers and there is an invitation to connect with ourselves and with others.

At the beginning we are given headphones and MP3’s players with the soundtrack we all will simultaneously follow through the hour-long journey. This start already made me feel a sense of belonging and as an artist I learned other ways of encouraging group awareness. A combination between instructions for physical responses, voice over and commentary encourages us to explore our senses and rethink about time and space. It is like your mind is tuned into a different frequency.

The people in the park who are not participating will only see a group of people walking together, splitting apart in random directions, running in circles, laying down on the ground, lurking behind trees, piling up objects, etc. It must be very interesting for those who happen to be there and I wonder what crosses their minds. While participating, I was really focused in my experience and on the tasks and I didn’t pay that much attention to the audience around me. I felt they could be part of the set.

From my experience the trance-like music, the voice over in our heads and being focused in the behaviour of the body changes the quality of time. Suddenly I find myself more connected with who I am and immersed in the nature. I feel I am actually living the actual present and it takes me somewhere else deep and makes me conscious about matters I never thought before.

By taking part in Walking Stories, I learned to be more aware of the people around me, aware of nature, aware of time and how we feel time passing; noticing and being more conscious of the fact that I am alive, in a certain place, in a certain time, doing something.

This is an opportunity to make the most of our own individual impulses as well as to collaborate.

COMPOSITION OF OBJECTS

BY FRANCESCA CAREY

Last Thursday, we were given a task to experiment with composing 5 objects we brought from home, as well as items Charlotte had brought in for us to use i.e. paper clips, post-it notes, pencils etc.

I didn’t really think about what I was composing but I knew I wanted to started from the corner and let the composition ‘grow’, after some tweaking and re-arranging I realised that this composition was a very strong reflection of me, my mind and my view on my life in recent times.

When everyone was finished composing we all looked at and discussed each others and found there was a sense of personality and an individual way of thinking and creating in everyone’s composition. Even though I found mine to be personal to me more than a reflection on how I work, I have realised that everything I create is always personal to me or something that is important to me. When creating a physical work, I like to work from the outside in, which shows from when I started working from the corners in this picture.

While looking at my composition, keywords were thrown out and there were a few that really stuck out to me: Frantic, placed, danger. I found it interesting that ‘placed’ was suggested between frantic and danger because even though I placed everything carefully down so that nothing would fall or move, I found the only objects to be purposely placed were the post-it notes and hand gel. As you can see, they are separated from everything and not connected to anything, for me this was a representation of myself. A feeling of vulnerability but also safety as it is separated from everything but cannot be harmed. The charger and lead, water bottle, and vaseline were a representation of my life, symbols for things that keep me alive, things I rely on, (the charger and lead – to stay connected and attached to people, the water bottle – health, vaseline – cleanliness, looking after myself), the paper clips being attached to the lead and clip is a representation that these are things I never want to let go of or lose. The pencils are the major thoughts and situations that invade my mind, even the green folder attachments represent the loose ends that are in the back of my mind but are still clear to me.

It’s honestly really scary to me how much the composition told me about myself because during the creative process, it was all subconscious and once I stopped and had a really good look at what I had been doing, it was only then I saw how much it related back to me. This task felt was very therapeutic and has actually helped me understand myself better surprisingly.