Review / Mid-Term Quiz

 

 I

 Unit: Assessment

 Theme: Review / Mid-Term Quiz

 

Introduction

Every semester I assess your understanding of the content covered so far. Just right before the progress report's dead line, you test your own abilities to retain some of the themes we have learned and experienced together.  Today's quiz evaluates how efficient I have been in communicating ideas about Embodied Movement Practices based on your responses to the questions below.

 

II

Objectives

  • Understand the nature of self-assessment
  • Make sense of the various concepts explored in class
  • Gather an awareness of assessment that is conducive to further learning
  • Experience what is like to put into practice the content learned in class

 

III

 

Main Lesson


 

1

 

Elements of Dance

 

 1. Place:

 self-space/general space(also called personal / shared) 

 

2. Size:

 big/small, near/far 

 

3. Level: 

 high, middle, low  

 

4. Direction:

 forward, backward, right, left, up, down, diagonal 

 

5. Pathway:

  curved, straight, zigzag 

 

6. Focus: 

single focus or multi focus

 

2

 

 Inside-Out Dancers 


1. The inside-out dancers have something inside that they long to express and demonstrate outwardly.

 

2. Inside out dancers do not rely on anything external. to trigger expression. 

 

3. Their dance comes from a place deep inside. 

 

4. Not every one is ready to connect with that inner source of expression and therefore are not able to dance in an inside-out fashion.

5. The inside-out approach allows freedom in the individual's expression. 

 

6. Although most dancers may begin as outside-in dancers; their goal however should be to move to a place where they are dancing from within; as it was postulated by pioneers of modern dance such as Isadora Duncan, who advised to feel "emotion before motion."



 Outside-In Dancers


1. The outside-in dancers know outwardly which emotion is called for as they make themselves adapt to that emotion. 

 

2. They are able to move in any situation regardless of their personal feelings. 

 

3. That is a positive thing that can be used to their advantage. 

 

4. The negative side to this is that such dancers usually need external direction (the lyrics of the song or someone directly telling them what to do) to express themselves.

 

5. The outside-in approach does not allow for freedom in the individual's expression since it is subjected to external influences such as music and choreographic demands. 

 

 

3

 

TIME IN DANCE

 

Speed: fast or slow


FAST

Traveling Phrases: Use weight shifts to your advantage (pushing off from where you came from). 

Turns: Push-off for quick traveling turns. .

Jumps: keep your weight toward the front of the foot. Caution with your heels when landing. Identify whether the accent of each jump is up or down. 

 Condition With Quickness in Mind: 

Core: "The stronger your core is, the more quickly your body will move through space as a whole. 


Footwork: Precise, powerful footwork is a must, especially for tall dancers, whose feet are likely to be longer.

Endurance: Moving quickly requires extra stamina, so cardio training outside of rehearsal is a must.

Recovery: Massage your calves with a ball and take time to stretch out.

 

SLOW

Movement that is sustained, which means movement that is slow motion.

Traveling Phrases: Use light weight shifts to your advantage (pushing off from where you came from). 

Turns: Push-off for slow traveling turns. .

Low Impact Larger Steps: keep your weight changing form the supporting leg toward the front leg. 

Condition With Slowness in Mind: 

Core: "The stronger your core is, the more one can control the slow motion through space as a whole. 

Footwork: Slow and precise foot motion is necessary.

Endurance: Moving slowly requires being focused.

 

4

 

Tempo in Music

 

Tempo: tempo is how fast or slow a piece of music is performed. Tempo generally is measured as the number of beats per minute. 

Beat: It is the basic measure of time in music.
Example (number of claps per minute) 

Rhythm: It can be thought of as the pattern of music in time.

Rhythm is the placement of sounds in time, in a regular and repeated pattern. Rhythm Also involves using intervals or spaces between elements to give the user an impression of rhythm or movement. Exercise (claves/clapping) 

Pattern: It is a combination of elements that are repeated. 

Accent: An accent is an emphasis, stress, or stronger attack placed on a particular movement.

 Duration: The time during which the dance continues.

 

 

5

 

FORCE (Energy, Weight, Flow)

 

Energy

 

Energy is about how the movement happens. Choices about energy include variations in movement flow and the use of force, tension, and weight. An arm gesture might be free flowing or easily stopped, and it may be powerful or gentle, tight or loose, heavy or light.

 

Weight

Weight Transfer

 A weight transfer or weight change is dancer's movement so that their weight is moved from one supporting foot (or supporting limb/body part) to another one fully or partially.

 

Partial Weight Transfer

  In partial weight transfer the center of gravity is shifted to project between the old and new support body part.

 

Strength

Strength is pushing and driving through gravity. There is a certain amount of resistance employed. It is following through with the horizontal plane. 

 

Lightness

 Lightness is withholding one's weight. It is being sensitive to the pull upward. It is resisting gravity. 

 

 

6

 

Flow

 

FLOW

As a factor, flow is about emotion, stability, durability, evolution and emotional immersion.

Flow is the starting point of effort. It is in charge of the ongoing stability of all motions.

Without any flow movement will be contained to one area or space. It will be contained to only one motion.

This makes flow very important to movement as a whole. Flow also allows movement to show emotions. It is the expressive and repressive part of movement.

 Free flow is sometimes described as an uncontrollable movement. It's fluid and allows the inner emotions to come out.

Bound flow allows for movement in a more controlled way. Bound flow is described as more firm and with boundaries.

 

 7

Other Terms

 

  • space, levels and direction
  •  focus
  •  breath
  •  breath connectivity 
  • breath capacity
  •  kinesphere
  • Laban's cube
  •  Laban's 4 Components of Human Movement & 2 elements per component
  •  Laban's 8 Efforts Actions 
 
8
 
 Extra-daily techniques
 
They are  form of psycho-physical extra-daily organization which challenge the performer's daily behaviors physically, vocally, and logically. The end result is  the establishment of a unique system of extra-daily behavior.  These patterns of body training for scenic behavior conceptualized by Eugen Barba, were influenced by theater directors Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Jerzy Grotowski.. They provide performers with an opportunity to intervene in daily habits and habituated behavior in accordance with their own expressive needs. Barba defines this methodology as the basic technique which creates presence on stage. He explains that 'extra-daily' techniques should not be confused with 'techniques of virtuosity', which are used to dazzle the audience.

 
 
IV
 


 

1. In reference to the spatial elements of dance studied in class such as: space, levels and directions, how have they helped you with your body movement and expression?

 

 2. Keeping your focus when moving in space is very important both for the performer and for the audience. Explain how keeping your focus has influenced the quality of your movement?

 

3. After experiencing what consciously moving with your breath feels like, in which way do you think breath can enhance the quality of your expressive movement? 

 

4. In your opinion, how can we increase our breath connectivity during performance?

 

5. What would you do from now on to develop your awareness about breath capacity and connectivity?

 

6. When thinking about the relationship between the dancer's body and the space in which the body moves, the concept of the kinesphere becomes useful. Why? 


7. The kinesphere is also the container of a cube (containing all diagonal directions and dimensions). In other words, it is the container of  angular geometry inside a round geometry. How can these dimensions help performers, actors, dancers diversify their locomotive choices?


8. Laban's 4 Components of Human Movement and the 2 elements each component has, as listed below, give movement contrasting qualities that enrich movement expression. Explain.

  1.  One direction (direct)
  2.  One direction ( indirect)
  3.  One weight (light)
  4.  One weight (heavy)
  5.  One speed (quick) 
  6.  One speed (sustained) 
  7.  One flow (bound)
  8.  One flow (free). 

 

9. In class we explored Laban's 8 Efforts Actions. Mention an ordinary (everyday life) movement that matches each one of Laban's 8 Efforts Actions listed below:

 
•Wring:
•Press
•Flick
•Dab
•Glide
•Float
•Punch

•Slash

 

10. In which way do you think the work done in class so far could enhance your performance skills in your own artistic field?
 
11. Watch the video in the Case Study bellow and name the elements of dance.
 
12.     What is the main difference between the inside-out dancer and the outside-in dancer?
 
13.  In which way does combining slow and fast speed enhance the dance experience for the dancer and the audience?
 
14.   Explain in your own words how tempo, beat and rhythm combine in dance and movement.
 
15.  Define in your own words the meaning of energy in dance and movement.
 
16.  Why is weight transfer an important aspect of dance performance?
 
17. What would happen if movement had no flow?
 
18. When reviewing the elements of movement (space, time and force (energy), we may realize that we should not separate these concepts. Why?
 
19. Time in dance is about speed (fast or slow) and tempo in music (rhythm, beat, pattern, accent, duration). How would you say the two concepts, time and tempo, complement each other?
 
20. What tempo do you naturally use to move in your day to day life? How has that affected your dance in class?  
 
21. Based on your own experience, why are energy, weight and flow movement qualities that help one express force?
 
22. How would you define extra-daily techniques? How have they influenced  the understanding of your body as an expressive instrument?


 

 V

Activity

 

 PRAXIS

 Gather with your group and go over your ensemble dance; identify the different elements of dance already explored in class as you share your choreographic  material.

Go over your solo piece and explain why it is an inside-out dance based on what it means to you or what you feel you are expressing.


VI

A Note to Remember
 
The Elements of Movement guide us through space in ways that make our movement creative, meaningful and more interesting to watch.



VII
Case Study




 VIII

Journaling


IX

Glossary


X

Sources


XI

Students' Work

 
 
 
 


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