17.09.2013
 Unit 1: Performance Workshop.
Word of the week= Proxemics:

• Awareness of space
• Crossing the space
• Contact
• Real/abstract/character/dynamics
• "The empty space"
• Different ways of moving from one place to another (different dynamics)
• How you fill the area in many different ways

A reflection on 'Moments' so far...

 To create our performance we used a lot of experimentation for weeks. This process took a while to do but it made us come up with many different quirky ideas that we could then use in the final stage of putting the piece together. Using experimentation helped a lot in my opinion because it didn't leave us stuck at the last minute because of that fact that we had generated so many ideas over the few weeks that we had so we always had something to work with. This also made the process a lot easier too because when it came to creating the final performance and deciding on what bits we were planning on using we had a lot to choose from with all of the variety that we had created. This was all from the experimenting that we did and I would say that it was a really good idea to start that in the process of 'Moments'.
For 'moments', we have created a piece in which we move in a sort of doll like way across the space. This in my opinion is very abstract and dynamic because it can show a lot of versatile moves to escape each side of the spotlight. Everybody has an individual way of moving already, so making this more soft robotic it shows all different types of ways to move in a dynamic way. This also gives more individuality to the performance because nobody looks the same, this is because everybody has different images of dolls in their heads. Some people broke down in the middle of the stage, some danced across the spotlight, some moved at different levels. This all made the performance quite dark and mysterious in how it looked because of all of the different types of doll that there were. I really liked how this looked because it was different and weird, however I would say that it did go on for a very long time which could loose a lot of the audiences interest in 'moments'. If we were to do it again but alter anything, I would say to change the slow pace. I would either put more individuals on at one time so there are lots of dolls on the stage doing completely different things at one time, or I would put people into pairs to be a sort of duo act of a doll and its master. I think that this could work really well because it would keep the mystery in the performance, but also make sure that it did not run on for too long and still keep it quirky. I would also keep the energy up so that it is still fun to watch and an overall strong performance. More rehearsing is needed, but with this and keeping it energetic and tight it could really work.
 On the other hand, I really liked how the dolls then turned into humans again. On my performance, I would say that I could change what I did if we went over this again because I feel that I could do a lot better than I did. I would make it more realistic so for example, I could come 'alive' one limb at a time, instead of all at the same time quickly. I would still make my performance straight to the point, just more steady in the transformation.
 I really liked working in pairs for this performance. I worked with Ryan, and we came up with a sort of mirrored movement. We did everything at the exact same time but also kept it interesting with some strange movements (e.g. crossing paths in a lunged leg movement, but always keeping eye contact). This in my opinion really looked cool and worked well in moments, but all I would say is that it really could be rehearsed with timing from the both of us. My favourite part in moments is defiantly the paired work, I think that it would look really good once the timing is perfect.

 I thought that the choice of music was really interesting because it worked well with the overall performance. It gave the audience a clear idea of what was going on and did not leave them guessing, but still worked well with the image of confusion and strange things happening on stage. It gave a great illusion and a mysterious atmosphere for the audience to see. The piece of music was called 'Phonobaloon' by 'Takako Minekawa', which then changed into 'Black lounge' by 'Baltic Fleet'.

 I would say that overall my strengths in the whole performance was the paired work because it looked really abstract and different. It also kept everything at a good pace so that it did not over run or not have enough to watch. The contact made it look weird and I really liked that, mirroring each other in my opinion worked really well for this piece. It also fitted in really well! However my weaknesses were probably my timing throughout because I need to choose whether I am going to be stiff and study, or weak and limp as I did both but I don't think it worked well so I am going to change that. I could also do a bigger range of levels because I was mostly all at the same level which was quite boring to watch and it also didn't look very different or quirky as much as I wanted it to. Also in the grouped part of the piece, the positions were not exact which made it not look right. To resolve this I would suggest that some people stepped forward and some back so that everybody is align and ready to move in sync.

 I would say that the momentum needs to be up and also the transition from doll to human should be at a faster pace to ensure that it looks more hectic and more things are going on at one time, because this then looks a lot stranger which will keep the audience puzzled about what is going on. I really like the idea of this because it is different and will make a great final performance piece to watch.