In this Comp study, we dealt with Compositional Devices and the great variety that they can bring. We were assigned to come up with 4 movements. We took these movements and applied 3 different devices to them. Some of the devices we talked about included diminution, transposition, retrograde, augmentation, isolation, repetition, and accumulation. For my study, I chose to use retrograde, augmentation (slowing down), and transposition to the air. As we performed our studies for the class, Susan Hadley worked with us on taking our ideas even further so that we really made our intentions clear. This required me to not only clearly execute my intentions, but also to make more detailed decisions in order to clarify my movement.
For my retrograde, Susan had me state a quality and perform it in that quality. I decided to use momentum and a circular quality, and Susan suggested to therefore perform with a more resilient demi (no stopping at the bottom). For my transposition to the air, Susan asked me where my focus was. I decided right then that I wanted it to be outward and then focused on this when performing. For my augmentation, Susan pointed out that it needed to be even slower–making it truly what it was claimed to be–and she inquired again about my focus, which I decided would be internal. (These changes and decisions had not been made at the time of the filming above, so they are not seen in the video.)
This is the study where we really began to be pushed to make our intentions clear–if someone was isolating something, they were pushed to really exaggerate it. If a speed change was involved, then it was to be a huge change. We talked about how a good way to differentiate between sections is to give each section a different dynamic quality and them make each section more like its quality. I also learned how much movement can really be made from just a little bit of material. We started with just four moves and were able to come up with about 30 seconds of choreography with them, just by using these devices.
The following classes, we discussed another choreographic device, inversion. Inversion can be tricky because there are truly so many different ways to invert a phrase. Some example would be the following: if a movement was up, make it down down; if you had a bent arm, make it straight. However, we were pushed to invert our phrases so that they truly looked inverted: quirky, uncomfortable, disjointed. This task was rather hard for me. It actually was painful to invert my phrase as it put my body in very uncomfortable positions. I also had trouble smoothly transitioning between my poses because they were so hard to get into; it was supposed to look like a continuous phrase, but mine very much appears to be four poses, as you’ll see in the video below. Although rough, I wanted to share it just because it is one more compositional device that, although it did not produce something to be proud of in this situation, could be a very helpful tool in others.
Alizé Raptou 