Evaluation and final performance

Now that my choreography is complete, I can look back on my process and review whether I had achieved my original personal objectives. I hope that this will demonstrate the effectiveness of my choreographic journey and inform my future creative processes. One of the objectives I explored was to let my body and movement lead the way and I think I have achieved this by making the time to experiment with movement in response to both story and music influences before implementing them into my choreography. Another objective was to not make the audience react to their preconceived ideas and as a result of the showings to my peers and tutor I have been able to adapt choreography and music choices so that the piece is my personal response rather than being driven by others’ opinions. I found the process of Liz Lerman’s Critical response process a valuable tool that I will use in future choreography as it helps to clarify intensions in an encouraging way that I found motivating. Understanding the Chaos Theory and Butterfly Effect was another objective that drove my choreography throughout each motif and phrase. It allowed me to visualise the journey I wanted to take but also allowed for my own interpretation of the theme. It also provided inspiration for motifs such as word association and numerical patterns. As I had hoped to combine improvisation as well as a storyline within my choreography the freedom this theme gave me as the subject is so vast also suited how I wanted to work and again is something I wish to use in the future. Lastly, I wanted to explore how movement can build and escalate over time and how I could incorporate changes in tempo and pace and how these would impact an audience. Finding the right music proved valuable and enhanced the undulating pattern that I wanted to create. Using different styles of music helped show diversity in my emotive qualities but also pushed me to use movement that was not always natural and obvious. I believe I have met my objectives and the piece has successfully taken me on the fluctuating journey I envisaged.

The main challenge that I faced was visualizing the piece as a whole and connecting each section seamlessly together. I found I worked methodically from start to finish and believe I would do this again. Creating a table that set out my ideas near the end of my process was highly beneficial and if I was to create another piece of choreography, I would definitely try to use this earlier on in the process to help gain clarification as to the flow of the piece.

My overall storyline did change throughout the process and the impact became far more personal and insular as I began to learn and understand the Chaos theory and Butterfly effect in more detail. I initially thought of my choreography being a big explosion of chaos, whereas I am far happier with the internal implosion of movement and energy. I realised I enjoy the tense struggle of movement  rather than it being bigger gestural and expensive. Infra was very useful as a trigger for this type of movement as well as the confidence that I had built up throughout my choreography. I did not feel that it needed such a climax and dramatic ending. It became far more about showing struggle and movement for movements sake. I have been surprised by how much Wayne McGregor has influenced both my creative process and choreographic style. His enthusiasm and love for his craft more than anything has given me confidence to move freely and experiment without judgement. This is a valuable lesson and something new that I have learnt that I am good at. Not discarding movement straight away but letting it evolve and develop through repetition and time.

After completing the final performance I would like to reflect on my experience, highlighting  things that I have learnt and that I could incorporate and use in further choreography. Being prepared was a key factor in helping me feel confident and meant I could really let go and concentrate on the performance and telling a story as the movement’s were in my muscle memory. Having to adapt to a new surrounding caused my special awareness to be heightened. I believe I adapted my movements well and the new space did not impede my work instead it made me think more about filling the space and projecting my movements. Everything went to plan and I am happy with the outcome. Hitting accents in the music gave me a sense that I was transferring the energy and mood that I wanted to create. The ten minutes did not seem as long and daunting as I first expected. Moving forwards I would like to choreograph in a similar way to how I approached this task, working in a methodical way from start to finish, setting a clear timeline for development and creativity. One of the most valuable thinking methods was making sure to stay open minded and constantly refining and developing my choreography. Being open to new ideas and taking risks and chances. As my piece grew and as time went on I believe I grew in confidence and took more risks and pushed myself more outside my comfort zone in my movement choice. I was not afraid to think outside the box in creating unique movement if I felt it was appropriate. This is a skill that this process has allowed me to develop. I realised that it is not about pleasing the audience all the time but instead giving them something to think about and take different aspects away with them.