I would like this opportunity the express out thanks again for the mature way in which you handled the fire alarm situation and the speed and efficacy of your return to a state ready for work. Although not a blog question, it may be worth reflecting on your level of commitment to the process now and how you might have reacted to this morning’s situation three or four weeks ago.
As always the way with this genre of work, there is a need to explore fully during the process section of the work all those elements that impact on the performance phase.
Hence this morning’s session which in some ways pulled the rug from under your feet – and it won’t be the last time this happens!
Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the correlation between music and movement and perhaps recognising that in the past you may have had an instant response to a sound, rhythm or beat, but one based on hearing rather than listening – and we all do that at some time. Maybe now you will respond in a different way. Some of you will know that in the guise of a crazy man in Scenography 1 I told you to open your eyes – I’m now asking you to open your ears.
Bob Fripp, the guitarist with King Crimson, the first band we heard, in an interview in Melody Maker in 1974 said of his playing technique and of the sources he draws from:
"I needed music, and music needed me. If you accept that I needed music, then this also involves responsibilities. Because of what I received, I have responsibilities, and I can discharge these as a player." Retrieved from "http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Robert_Fripp_in_Melody_Maker_%281974%29"
Each of these kinds of music (His sources, jazz, rock and so on) exist on different levels. There's the particular kind of feeling associated with each of them, and there's the separate vocabularies needed to express those feelings. What my guitar technique will do is enable is enable musicians to move more freely from one form of music to another since, in learning the technique, his personality will be put under sufficient stress that he will not only develop emotionally and mentally, but the feelings involved will change his personality. In other words, it's not so much a guitar technique as a way of life.
Fripp in Melody Maker; 1974
In the same music paper, Mike Giles the drummer adds:
"[…] everybody had been doing things which were unsatisfying... and somehow we created an opportunity to do what we wanted. And that wasn't, really, to play anybody else's music. So we didn't go for music that sounded like blues, or jazz, or rock, or... Led Zeppelin, or Rolling Stones... We didn't want to be like any of the other bands. We wanted to find out what *we* were like, what we could create [...]"
Giles;Melody Maker 1974
Both have resonances with our ways of working with the body.
You were also required to work practically in a different way today; with a set task but without direction, self – supported, and with an end product for audience consumption. It was interesting to watch the pieces evolve and to note the techniques beyond the strategy taught to you that you as large groups employed. The following quote from notes about devising on Stan’s Cafe website may help you evaluate and reflect on your own practices:
"The clever thing is to spot what has potential and to follow it up, refine it, expand on it and make it into something great. You must be realistic and you mustn't be down hearted. You must give good feedback to each other, this means honest and constructive criticism. Remember, if you think what you're doing isn't very good, the chances are the audience won't either; sort it out!"
Stan’s Café; 2007
Please respond to the following:
1.Comment on your responses to the music and to the task of listening rather than hearing.
2. How did the relationship between the music and the task you were set affect the way you worked and the performance you made?
3. Comment on the devising process, how you managed the task and how creative that process was.
4. What was your response to having to use pedestrian movement as opposed to the more stylised work we have dome to date?
Bahok, Akram Khan Dance Company
Exploring Liminality
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9 comments:
Today’s session was very ‘interesting’ to say the least. Today’s session for me was a good way to test people’s patience. What I mean by this is when we are into the production stage and we are left to our own devices we need to learn to listen to each other because after all someone might have a valid point. This is where some of today’s session went wrong with many people overlapping when others were talking because we didn’t understand the task at hand or were struggling with it.
The listening task was very relaxing even though some of the different music’s portrayed different meanings. The first song delivered an amount of anger and hectic lifestyles, compared to the second one we listened to which made me think of death, someone hanging from a tree and the killer observing the scene.
I believe that when we listen as opposed to hear you think of a story inside you head and this is what happened for me today but it is interesting to see what made us think of each story.
The music which we were given affected the way we worked only for a small amount of time. Even though we were sticking to the count of 8 I believe that some of the group found it hard to keep the rhythm when the music was played. After a longer period of time listening to the music I think the group remembered certain sounds which triggered our minds to make us move.
The task set was a challenge when we were told to work in silence, we started off great but slowly took a sloppy slope into talking which became a mega disruption to the rest of the group because everyone was having a little debate about the way we worked. Creating the work was brilliant because we were allowed to have an equal input and say if someone did not like what was created and then we made slight adjustments accordingly.
Today’s session was interesting because it took us out of the work we are used to and put us back into pedestrian movements. Part of me enjoyed this work and part of me did not. Simply because we were not engaged into the physicality of the work but at the same time it is interesting to take a step back and look at other ways in which working as an ensemble creates a strong image and feeling for both performers and audience members.
I enjoyed Fridays session. I love music and having a chance to use our skills for a set purpose was a welcome change from learning skills and improvisational play. As for the focus in the group I belive it was much better, however there is still a need for some people to chatter. I'm sure that what they think they are talking about is very imptortant but it does have a massive effect on everyones concentration and there is a marked improvement when people decide to restrain themselves from chatter.
1.Comment on your responses to the music and to the task of listening rather than hearing.
I'm a very big fan of music in all genres and for me listening to music is something i do regularly to unwind and escape for a while, so at the start of the session I found it very easy to just focus on the sounds being played. I do not pretend to be a master music analyst but having the skill of being able to listen without much effort being put into focusing my mind helped me a great deal in this session.
2. How did the relationship between the music and the task you were set affect the way you worked and the performance you made?
As I was in the group where we were basically told to ignore the music I dont think it had that large of an impact onto the way we performed. However if the same group of people were told to work in an enviroment with different music being played with the same task set it would be very interesting to see how the two performances differed.
3. Comment on the devising process, how you managed the task and how creative that process was.
I think our group managed the task of devising quite well, however mistakes were made early on due to lack of attention to the instructions given to us by Paul and Royona and this caused the group to break out into conversation. When the group was functioning as instructed though, the results were very pleasing and creative.
4. What was your response to having to use pedestrian movement as opposed to the more stylised work we have dome to date?
I enjoyed being able to use padestrian movement again as I think its alot easier for me to put together meanings from scenarios which at least have a hint of everyday life to them. I also understand that people may not find this as exciting as balancing on eachother but I think pedestrian movement is vital to creating and true and effective piece of physical theatre. This was proven I think in Sonja Sabris performance of Parralels last year as the lack of clear pedestrian movement served to confuse and bore the audience as they found it difficult to find instances in the piece which they could relate to.
Alex Blower
I have a love for music that moves me in some way, regardless if it’s not my type of music. When listening to Paul explains the history of the music and how it influenced him I had an expectation of the music before hearing it. When listening to the music, I personally didn’t have any emotional connection with it and I just took for face value. My understanding of listening rather hearing is identifying the different instruments and what they add to the music in terms of pace, pitch, tone and rhythm. Taking the time to understand the meaning behind the lyrics and how they have a connection with the melody and vibe of the music playing.
We were asked to develop a piece of physical theatre to the beat of the music without verbal communication armed with just a clap if we wished to input ideas or amend which was horrendous! After watching the demonstration from Paul and Royona I was really excited about creating the piece, but when our group came together it was a disaster waiting to happen. We started of good getting on with the task, as time went on the moves became cliché, people wasn’t being clear with their movements and didn’t follow the demo, by going back to the beginning to see how each move worked or didn’t together. As a result, the rule of clap was thrown out and people began talking over each other, so the respect and order that we had in the beginning was destroyed. Frustrations grew when the group couldn’t get the timing right and so it was decided to start the process again. There was an attempt to try the task in silence as asked but because this had been broken previously the concentration, focus and commitment couldn’t be regained. We had large personalities in our group and it didn’t help that everyone was trying to be a leader by dictating what should or shouldn’t be done, perhaps if we remembered that the task gave us the role of contributor so that it was a group creation, we would have got further much quicker.
I like using pedestrian movements because as performers we often forget that it is simple things done well that look good and because they are mundane movements that are used we as an audience can instantly relate to it in more ways than one. It reminded me that abstract movement looks great, but too much can over power a performance and loose the message behind the work. Stanislavski’s method of Feeling of Truth and Belief sprung to mind:
“If an actor while carrying out an action uses logical consecutiveness, justifies everything with the help of if, and thinks of the given circumstance, he will not overact and his action will be truthful. Without forcing himself, he will believe in what he is doing because he will be doing it as in real life.”
I enjoyed Friday’s lesson. It was different to the rest of the sessions, however just as effective.
In terms music, I always listen and not just hear.
I am very conscience when it comes to music in any case. I always seem to listen carefully to lyrics and the message of the songs communicated. Because of this I tend to listen deeply to song.
From my cultural back ground I’m very into rhythm and beat. Where I can easierly catch on to specific beats. My family is very musical and from this I believe that I have a musical ear. I am able to listen to certain songs and tell you what instruments are played, what type of style it is and if sung could sing the harmony.
I do love music and feel that it is VERY powerful and influential.
Music can put someone in a mood or take someone out of one. Music is in us. Why do I say this? Our heart... it beats, this suggests we all instantly have an impulse to move.
Our task was to set a devised piece with the beat of the music; on a couple who were first madly in love then eventually grew apart.
Individually I feel that this task would not have been as hard to do if was to do the work on your own. However because it was a group work, you had to be in time with every one- this I felt the group found difficult. Because of this obstacle the group got lead away from the original task and demo which was not to talk- into talking and discussion. I believe if we kept to the original task in mind our work would have been great. Don’t get it twisted, our work was efficient and had a clear message, there were some great ideas and contributions. However we could have produced an even better piece of devised physical theatre.
The pedestrian movements I feel are very successful and work really well.
Watching the other group, it looked really effective. An example is the coughing, when the group coughed in uison and looked at Roxie. It was a great moment and felt that Pedestrian movements can do so much in a piece of theatre.
Pedestrian movements are one definite way we know an audience member will understand and acknowledge certain gestures and situations. Through pedestrian movement it is made easier for the audience to understand.
However I still feel the stylised work is just as effective. For an audience it’s valuable
To watch something different or something that you can’t necessarily do. Spins, turns, high expectacluar lifts, rolling and body contact.
It’s a feeling from the audience of ‘wanting to do also’. A like barrier of supremacy and experience for the actor/dancer. Leaving the audience thinking WOW!
Therefore I feel stylised and pedestrian movements are just as important as each other.
1) For the first time ever, I feel I really heard music. It was so unusual to not pay attention to the noise, but to look beyond that and take feelings or states of mind that a piece of music made you feel. For instance, the first piece of music; I lay still and listened and heard instruments, imagined people head banging or people playing guitars, because it was quite a hard task for me. The more I really listened though, my pictures became lightning bolts and then fireworks and a feeling of new beginnings like New years. It was amazing to suddenly have images in you head of events and feelings and people, just from this song. Everyone has his or her own interpretation but mine shocked me!
2) If this task had been choreographed with words, then it would not have had the same dynamic. I felt that letting the music define our movements and what happened next very exciting and new. If we had not sat and listened to begin with, the dynamic would have been different again. Certainly watching the demonstration helped to see how music could affect movement, or how movement can affect music…the way we worked was at times related to the music and we moved from what we felt from it. Other times, it seemed as if the music was just the wallpaper in the room. We were moving and it was accompanying.
3) The process was definitely a new skill to learn and I loved it. I think it is so effective and extremely fast and efficient to choreograph a sequence with no words. The task was not an easy one for our group, but we knew the reason was because we were using words. The beginning of the task went smooth-we gained half of our performance in probably under 2 minutes. Then we disagreed or we had problems executing a movement, or it was not in time…and of course we solved this with words…and it went to pot. However, I am very glad this happened because it really teaches you how effective the devising process was if you followed the rules.
4) I felt like I was in a different lecture is probably the best way of putting it. In no sense do I mean this in a bad way, but I did feel different. I felt the skills we were taking on, were being taken on because we were ready. It is a nice feeling when we have progressed enough to be trusted with tasks that we could not have performed earlier in the process. The use of pedestrian movement certainly tones it all down a little, but it is just as effective as learning the stylised things, if not more. Use of pedestrian movement along with learning how to listen, builds a performance and makes it all fit together :-)
1.Comment on your responses to the music and to the task of listening rather than hearing.
For myself, I tend to find that I can switch on and off my listening and hearing ears. If just want dance to some music, then I just hear it, feel the beat and do what comes naturally for me, but if I really want to truly listen to music, then I do take time to listen to the lyrics, the narrative of the lyrics, the rhythm, the beat etc.
The first piece of music we listened to; on a hearing level, I felt was just the biggest pile of noise! However, on a listening level I didn’t think of a narrative, I simply thought of how the music made me feel and I felt so insignificant compared to the loudness of the music.
The second piece of music of music; on a hearing level, I thought this is opera music (a style of music I love) at a listening level, I thought one word PERFECTION – the way the music was played, the emotional connection, the way it made me feel etc.
2. How did the relationship between the music and the task you were set affect the way you worked and the performance you made?
If I was working alone on the task, (ours being the moving to the beat of them music) I would have been fine, as a dancer, I move to the beat, I can find and feel the beat of music really easily. However, and I do admit, I did find it very frustrating as many people weren’t counting the rhythm we used and sticking to the beat. This I did feel affected our performance because everyone became irritable because some found the beat and rhythm, while others didn’t.
3. Comment on the devising process, how you managed the task and how creative that process was.
If I am honest, I thought the clap system is a good tool to use as the basis of devising. But I felt it had flaws. Because I do feel that speak is needed through devising. As our group found out, if someone doesn’t understand the timing, the movement, speech was needed just for confirmation purposes.
4. What was your response to having to use pedestrian movement as opposed to the more stylised work we have dome to date?
The use of pedestrian movement was fantastic, I feel as though this is performance, this is physical theatre. I found it far more stimulating and interesting than the more stylised movement we have been working on for the past weeks. And I felt as though I discovered more about myself doing these movements that the more stylised ones.
I found it difficult to switch off and focus on the music simply because I was asked to.( I’m one of those annoying people who likes to listen to music fully in their own time). I was trying hard to think of a response rather than actually responding naturally.
Since you follow your body’s instinct a lot in this style of work I do believe that you respond to music when you’re truly listening to it. In these lectures I try not to let the music influence the movement and usually my focus isn’t on the songs playing but my partner’s reactions to mine. Fractal, Room to Breathe and the pieces performed by Royona and Paul as well as the groups at the end, all allowed the music to become a useful element to the performance. This doesn’t mean that it influenced the work heavily but added to the audience’s experience and possibly interpretation of the piece.
During the devising for the performance the music was on a continuous loop in the background and as a result became part of the background. It didn’t impose but was there to add to the piece.
The work progressed more when the group focused on the task without talking. I know that the talking was because of group confusion and in attempt to make the piece better. Without the talking we could’ve really polished the piece we had rather than make it more aesthetically pleasing.
As a group we came together and those who suggested the moves really helped the devising process. Maybe if we carried on devising we would’ve developed the relationship between Roxanne and the two chairs. Considering this was a first attempt I believe we worked well as a group, and from watching the other group’s performance, we saw how effective this ensemble work can be.
The transition gave me a broader perspective of the work we can create. I found it easier to get emotional over the chairs than the stylised work although I don’t know why. It could be due to the piece being choreographed through devising that allows the emotions to develop further as the body remembers the routine. Although I didn’t prefer the switch at points I felt limited with the stylised work as I’m not always up for taking risks and therefore feel a step behind everyone else. So a change for me was gratefully received.
1)Personally when I do listen to music outside of the sessions I do take the time to listen rather then just hearing so to do this it wasn’t really a shock to the system. But with the songs in question I found myself listening harder then I normally would purely because I was listening out for the emotions that I felt.
2)The group I was with did get distracted even though you had told us to use the clap technique rather then talking. And to deal with this I just feel that the group need more discipline when it comes to talking. The task felt a lot different to our play sessions because it was so regimented compared to just letting things happen, but in a way I felt that way of working was successful because at the end of it we had a piece of work to show rather then just working as we went along and not remembering what we had done.
3)The devising process was successful although my group did speak while doing it. At the beginning of the task we did stay on the straight and narrow and were able to produce the six moves we needed, but I feel people didn’t really listen to the instructions which led them to talk about it rather then fully watching it, taking it in and repeating it. Even though there were some negatives about the task (purely to do with discipline) I did feel it worked well and produced some good work.
4)I felt it was a good change to use pedestrian moves rather then stylised ones. And the work produced had a different edge to it and rather then being allowed to create relationships for ourselves, they came through on their own within the pairs and the group as a whole. Example of this is with Roxanne’s group she had her own character with her pair wanting to get away from him but her character was frowned upon by the rest of the group. So to use very simple movements and repeating them as a whole group is very powerful.
1. I think when you listen to something as opposed to hearing something, it creates a narrative in your head. Or as I found, an instant emotion. Listening to the music allows a story to develop and you can distinguish all the different layers within the music.
2. We had to go against the music in our group and I think we did that but i'm do not think we devised out peice conciously against the music. We devised it and I think it just went against the music.
3. It was interesting using the new technique and we did find it hard on to verbally comunicate when there was as issue that we wanted to change. However it is a quick and efficient way to devise work as we realised we shouldn't be talking so we got on with it as soon as the issues were resolved.
4. To be honest I really missed our normal sessions, and the work we have been developing. However I think it was relevant, and timed right to add the padestrian work in. As I think the subtle movements and their patterns can look just as effective as the bigger work. As all the shows we have seen for this module have had a good balance of both. So when we start devising our work it will be interesting to combine the two.
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