Wednesday 4th October
What is dance improvisation?
“Dance improvisation is the
process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of improvised movement
material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including
body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema.” Here is a link to more
information about dance improvisation:
Tips to improve dance improvisation
Here is a link to a website
that I found that has some really helpful tips on how to improve your dance
improvisation skills:
The website includes lots of
different information about how dancers can improve their technique, advice for
a career in dance, etc. This particular article gives 10 different tips which I
will be able to follow when carrying out dance improvisation. The 10 tips are:
1. Relax. Need I say more?
Normally when I
start to improvise in dance, I am worrying about choreographed material and am
constantly thinking about what moves I should do next. If I was to relax more, the
movements might come easier to me and the material will become more fluid. The
thought of carrying out improvisation in dance used to really scare me as there
weren’t any moves planned, but the more I have practiced improvisation, the
more confident I have got with this dance technique.
2. Be in the moment. Don’t try to think ahead too much or plan. If
something unexpected happens, accept it, go with it, explore it, see where it
takes you.
Because I have
been used to choreographed material during the years when I have been taking
dance classes, I used to find it difficult to improvise movement because I am
used to thinking ahead as to what will come next in the routine. However a
strong point for me is that if something unexpected does occur, then I am able
to take into consideration and take it as it comes. I have been able to improve
my dance improvisation skills over the past year so I am now able to improvise
a lot easier than this time last year.
3. Listen and be aware of what’s going on around you, BUT allow
yourself to enjoy moving the way your body wants to move.
I can listen to
music well and pick up a beat or rhythm within a piece of music. However, once
I have learnt choreography, I stop listening to the music as I will stick to
the choreography completely and will not change the choreography according to
the type of music. I find it really difficult to move away from set
choreography once I have learnt it.
4. Don’t talk, laugh, or giggle. If you are a beginner or feeling
uncomfortable with being asked to move ‘on the spot’ it is natural to want to
release any tension with talking, laughing, or giggling. This may be especially
true if others around you seem very comfortable and are moving in a way or
trying things that seem strange to you. Resist, and take a deep breath instead.
Recognize you may have a lot to learn and experience. Stay focused and practice
a professional attitude.
If I do come
out of the moment, I will quickly get back into the moment. I can also help
others to maintain their focus when they are dancing.
5. Don’t critique yourself. If you are being guided through an
exercise or have been given an improvisation “score” – a set of challenges or
problem-solving: Focus only on the essentials of what you are being asked to
do. Move without worry or judgment of how creative, or original, or musical, or
funny, or attractive, or _____ it is.
I often
critique myself a lot because I feel like I haven’t carried out the task to my
best ability. I felt like this when I first started improvisation but as I have
had more experience, I have become better at expecting what comes when it does.
6. Be yourself. Finding or discovering original or authentic movement
(movement that comes from within you rather than combinations or steps you’ve
practiced from class) is an element of improvisation that will take practice
but shows maturity in your improvisation. It is possible to “try too hard” to
be original, resulting in movement that is the opposite of authentic. To combat
this, see tip #5 above.
Because I have
taken lots of different dance classes in the past, I am able to take lots of
the movements from these which I have learnt over the years. When carrying out
improvisation I do try to stick with ballet/contemporary styles as much as I
can because this is what I have been trained in the most.
7. It’s okay to copy. Alright, I know I said to be yourself but in
group or contact improvisation, occasionally ‘trying on’ the way someone else
is moving can be a very interesting challenge. It can also be a good way to
break out if you are stuck in your own movement patterns. Copying does not have
to be exact replication. Notice the rhythms, or the body part, or the movement
quality of others around you and ‘echo’ these. Anything you copy can gradually
or even immediately be made into something new, something of your own.
I think that
copying from others is essential and it has helped me throughout the years. I
have really struggled with showing emotion in my dancing and seeing how others
have done this and this has therefore helped me to improve my dancing as a
whole. I still feel quite unconfident showing emotion when improvising but as I
do this more often, I will hopefully be able to put more emotion into the
moves.
8. Make eye contact and don’t be shy, especially if there is to be contact
improvisation or you are improvising in a group.
I find it quite
hard to make eye contact when improvising so this is something that I should
focus on. I am good at having spatial awareness when improvising but need to
focus on improvising with others in a group.
9. Be “available”. This is related to the above but contact
improvisation in particular involves recognizing and being open to opportunity
for connection when it crosses your path.
I haven’t
carried out much contract and group improvisation yet but when I have, I have
struggled with this so I think this is something that I need to improve on. I
also have the problem of wanting to stick to choreography and that I should be
more available to improvised movement.
10. Don’t compare yourself to others. This doesn’t mean ignore the
other dancers – as you can see from above that’s the last thing you want to do.
This tip relates to not judging your own movement and extends into avoiding
judging the movement of those around you. Improvisation works best when people
are safe and free to explore so adopt a positive and accepting attitude.
I quite
frequently put myself down when I see someone who is better than me. I need to
try and focus on myself and accept that my improvisation skills are good and
that they are always improving. I am aware of the people around me and if they
present a good idea, I will take that into consideration and possibly adapt it
for my own use.
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