Creative motif development

To begin my choreography, I wanted to experiment with the idea of something building from nothing and silence, with small seemingly insignificant movements that gradually repeat, build and develop. In relation to the butterfly effect and events leading to chaos my first creative inspiration came from the literal idea of following a butterfly and its journey. I thought about how to follow the butterfly, watching it, following it and it’s changes in direction, possibly capturing it and exploring the movement of my body as I did these things. I improvised repetitively with this in mind, getting my ideas out of my head and into movement. I made sure not to be critical and or ruthless with discarding any ideas at this stage. Instead kept moving and slowly refining until I came upon my first motif. As I began, I was also aware of how much of my storyline I wanted to give to the audience at this time. I started to question how I wanted them to feel or perceive this first phrase.

· Do I want the audience to feel uneasy?

· Will they think I’m unprepared?

· What do they think will happen next?

· What is the first thing I want the audience to see or hear?

I wanted it to be up for interpretation but engaging enough for the audience to be left wanting more.

I then knew I wanted to use Trisha Browns piece ‘Accumulation’ as a device to build and develop my motif. As described in my ‘Initial idea / stimulus’ blog through use of repetition and addition my initial hand and arm movement began to grow. Trisha’s movements grow without effort or overthinking, they seem as natural as the change between walking and running. In response I again began to question how I could incorporate repetition, addition and development into my motif. (As seen in Erin Taylor - Silence Motif clip 1)

My next challenge was to find a seamless ending to this phrase that led to a change in dynamics and tempo influenced by the introduction of music. My first piece of music is a segment from ‘Blue Monday’ by New Order. I liked the repetitive, pulsating rhythms and beats almost like a metronome. I knew I wanted to work with something slightly mechanical to get the pace of dance moving. As more instruments were introduced, I wanted to match the music with angular, sharp and staccato movements. I felt that changes in direction and introducing different motifs displayed the building of energy within the music. I am exploring the slow building of the butterfly effect and possible outcomes at this stage. Each movement is still in control and precise. I kept this phrase connected to my initial motif through its appearance and repetition in this section. (As seen in Erin Taylor- Blue Monday clips 2 and 3)