Post-Class 1st Movement Impressions

Movement Sequence Reflections

[9/28/21] The five movement sequences designed by my peers created a wealth of emotions. Some were calming, reflective, and comprised of smooth motions; others were fast-paced and full of bold energy. The effects of these feelings and techniques created many different atmospheres in a short space of time.

In the two pieces without lyrics, I found that they leaned much more into abstract styles of motion. Because they didn’t have words to take inspiration from, the tempo of the music was what directed them. Both of these pieces also followed a pattern of flowing movements. This made sense especially for the sequence inspired by water bending. However, their was a noticeable difference in one’s own spacial awareness between the two movements. The first, performed to an instrumental Beatle’s song, required deeper focus into how their body was transitioning from each of the stages: leaning back to forwards, standing to kneeling and then standing again. In contrast, the second piece took up a lot more space around oneself. It was a build-up of power, a preparation rigged with suspense, much different than the quiet and elegant stretches of the other.

The three pieces that did take inspiration from music, although still abstract at times, found themselves heavily tied to realistic styles and techniques. I noticed that these also preferred to remain on a high or standing level for the movement. Instead, the largest contrasts in the three sequences depended on the tempo of their song. Finding cues in the rhythm, although applicable to all performances, was less a source of inspiration and more a way to maintain consistent movement. This created an interesting effect wherein even when a step seemed sharp on its own, put into the sequence there was always some flow. The atmospheres were still very unique for a number of reasons. Staging, contrasting amounts of force, and creating different levels of sound from the movements all helped to create pieces that contained a level of depth I hadn’t at first expected.

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