"During my strength study, I was able to refine my steps, rhythm, and floor pattern because I felt comfortable in strength. The movement came easily and even though we had less time to choreograph our strength pieces, I actually completed quickly and was able to spend most of my time revising my sections. Overall, I definitely believe my movement transformed from steps, to a
study, to a “unified statement”—in some cases, it even became a duet with
Laura!
I am a junior here at Kenyon and I'm majoring in Economics with a minor in Latino Studies. I'm also a varsity athlete (volleyball), and most of my friends are surprised I'm taking a dance because they didn't know I could dance! Although I don't have a strong technical dance background, I love dance because I love movement and connecting with my body.
Bridget Solo Video
Bridget and Laura Duet Video
Initial Thoughts: Journal #1
Process: Journal #2
Over the last week, Helena and I have been chatting via Facebook and email. I sent her my video (attached below), and she sent me some videos in return. She told me that she filmed herself dancing in a square while visiting Budapest and decided to take advantage of such a great space!
We video chatted this morning to try and narrow down our group goals and firmly establish the direction of our piece. I showed my rough draft to my class, as well as Helena's videos, and my peers/professors gave me some very helpful feedback. As you can see, I chose to film myself, aerially, down a winding stair case. In Helena's videos, she danced in the center of the camera shot while her friend circled around her. My class drew parallels between the circularity in my piece and in hers. They suggested I experiment several filming effects as my friend films me, such as playing with zooming in/out and rotating the camera to mimic my movement.
I relayed all of this information to Helena and we both started to see the piece come together. We started discussing how to we planned to use camera angles/shots, staircases, and music to connect our individual dances into one piece. We've decided that our final project will show a split screen so we each share 1/2 the screen. She will continue to play with horizontally rotating her camera angles while I will play with different aerial shots. There will be moments when I am frozen on my side of the screen to highlight Helena's dance and visa-versa. I've elected to use the song Tetrishead by Zoe Keating, and the song will help create a dialogue between our movement and sound score.
In the coming week, we plan to film ourselves again and send them to each other! We will then collaborate again to edit and finalize the piece.
Can't wait to see it come together!
Stairwell Dance (Rough Video Draft)
Finals Thoughts: Journal #3
The dialogue between Helena and I has always been very constructive. I told her what I envisioned, she told me what she pictured, and we then decided how to mesh our ideas together. For me, I picked the Tomsich stairs for aesthetic and personal reasons. I feel both stressed and at ease in the Science quad. It's a love--hate relationship that I've come to know well. While I do so much work in the Science quad, I've also grown so much within its walls.
To get a feel for our respective styles, we each sent each other some rough drafts. I filmed mine in Tomsich and Helena sent me some videos she had taken in Budapest. Like I explained in my second journal, I loved the circularity reflected in my videos and Helena's. We played off of this idea and started experimented with movement and place. I ultimately decided to film my final version in Tomsich, while Helena filmed on the steps of her school's amphitheatre. We wanted to create a dialogue between our movement by intertwining place, music, and body. The back and forth dialogue of our piece became the theme for this project. We were both dancers, but different individuals. We danced in similar, yet different, spaces. I was in Ohio and she was in Greece. We danced to the same music but have different styles and interpretations. All of these elements helped shape the dialogue of our piece and help establish our relationship within the dance.
During the process, we had to compromise on our own personal visions to make this project as collaborative as possible. Additionally, it was difficult to collaborate over seas. Not only was the time change difficult, but sometimes it was difficult to communicate exactly what we each envisioned via email or Skype. Until we saw each other move, it was hard to envision exactly what we had pictured. But once we were able to exchange creatively, our styles started to influence each other and the dance started to truly form.
Once we both had filmed our final versions, I started editing! Editing the film created barriers as well. While I originally wanted to show a split screen during the whole piece, the way our dances were formatted didn't allow that to happen. However, I was able to construct it at one point in our dance, which helped define our relationship even further. (I am also now mildly sufficient in Final Cut Pro thanks to many YouTube tutorials.)
An additional compromise we had to make was regarding Helena's Budapest videos. Originally, Helena and I both wanted to include her original videos, but when I included them in the video, they looked out of place with the rest of the film. (Since Helena was wearing different clothes, it looked as though we had three dancers instead of two.) They were so cool, but I wasn't quite sure how to incorporate them smoothly. So, our final version unfortunately does not include them.
Nonetheless, the piece looks great. While it's awesome the way it is, I can definitely imagine further developments. I could see us continuing our dances into different spaces and the duet could continue. Given more time, we could have explored multiple sites on our campuses that speak to our personal motivations. Helena suggested we name our piece "Place Has Integrity," which was a quote from a reading their class had discussed. I really liked it and thought it spoke to our movement and our spaces. By creating a relationship between each other, and forming relationships to our spaces, we have given our places integrity through dance.
Overall, there were a lot of highlights during this project. I got to work with someone totally outside of Kenyon (although she studies close to home most of time!), and take collective ownership of something that so few people get to do: collaborate with a student over seas! It was exciting to have free reign on something so creative and personal, and it was especially cool to share that experience with someone else. After this project, I will take a lot of my experiences with me. I've learned how to create dance collaboratively and be okay with compromise. Our final project has changed so much throughout the process, but the process itself has been rewarding and worthwhile nonetheless.
Final Version: Place Has Integrity
I am a junior here at Kenyon and I'm majoring in Economics with a minor in Latino Studies. I'm also a varsity athlete (volleyball), and most of my friends are surprised I'm taking a dance because they didn't know I could dance! Although I don't have a strong technical dance background, I love dance because I love movement and connecting with my body.
Bridget Solo Video
Bridget and Laura Duet Video
Initial Thoughts: Journal #1
I've thought a lot about where I'd like choreograph. I thought
about using the Kenyon weight room, my bed, or maybe the volleyball court. But
I couldn't imagine choreographing in those spaces, and definitely couldn't
think of a way to incorporate a long-distance dance partner into the equation.
However, I have since picked a space that I'm very excited about: Tomsich Hall staircase. Tomsich, one of four buildings in the science quad, is a place I feel both stressed and relieved. I do a lot of school work in the science quad because it's really quiet and I work best when I'm alone in a quiet space. Places like the library overwhelm me because I often run into friends, talk to them for twenty minutes, distract myself from my work, and then ultimately get nothing done. But Tomsich is a space I can really focus on my work. I've had many late nights there, and I've poured a lot of energy into my work under that roof. I've never worked on my dance homework in Tomsich, but there's always a first time for everything!
Tomsich also has a great staircase spanning four stories. I imagine myself dancing from one floor to the next, over and down railings, etc. I plan to film from the top floor from a bird's eye view. I'm excited to talk to Helena more about this because I think she could also a staircase somewhere in Athens. This is obviously something we will discuss/talk through together, but the possibilities are exciting!
However, I have since picked a space that I'm very excited about: Tomsich Hall staircase. Tomsich, one of four buildings in the science quad, is a place I feel both stressed and relieved. I do a lot of school work in the science quad because it's really quiet and I work best when I'm alone in a quiet space. Places like the library overwhelm me because I often run into friends, talk to them for twenty minutes, distract myself from my work, and then ultimately get nothing done. But Tomsich is a space I can really focus on my work. I've had many late nights there, and I've poured a lot of energy into my work under that roof. I've never worked on my dance homework in Tomsich, but there's always a first time for everything!
Tomsich also has a great staircase spanning four stories. I imagine myself dancing from one floor to the next, over and down railings, etc. I plan to film from the top floor from a bird's eye view. I'm excited to talk to Helena more about this because I think she could also a staircase somewhere in Athens. This is obviously something we will discuss/talk through together, but the possibilities are exciting!
Process: Journal #2
Over the last week, Helena and I have been chatting via Facebook and email. I sent her my video (attached below), and she sent me some videos in return. She told me that she filmed herself dancing in a square while visiting Budapest and decided to take advantage of such a great space!
We video chatted this morning to try and narrow down our group goals and firmly establish the direction of our piece. I showed my rough draft to my class, as well as Helena's videos, and my peers/professors gave me some very helpful feedback. As you can see, I chose to film myself, aerially, down a winding stair case. In Helena's videos, she danced in the center of the camera shot while her friend circled around her. My class drew parallels between the circularity in my piece and in hers. They suggested I experiment several filming effects as my friend films me, such as playing with zooming in/out and rotating the camera to mimic my movement.
I relayed all of this information to Helena and we both started to see the piece come together. We started discussing how to we planned to use camera angles/shots, staircases, and music to connect our individual dances into one piece. We've decided that our final project will show a split screen so we each share 1/2 the screen. She will continue to play with horizontally rotating her camera angles while I will play with different aerial shots. There will be moments when I am frozen on my side of the screen to highlight Helena's dance and visa-versa. I've elected to use the song Tetrishead by Zoe Keating, and the song will help create a dialogue between our movement and sound score.
In the coming week, we plan to film ourselves again and send them to each other! We will then collaborate again to edit and finalize the piece.
Can't wait to see it come together!
Stairwell Dance (Rough Video Draft)
Finals Thoughts: Journal #3
The dialogue between Helena and I has always been very constructive. I told her what I envisioned, she told me what she pictured, and we then decided how to mesh our ideas together. For me, I picked the Tomsich stairs for aesthetic and personal reasons. I feel both stressed and at ease in the Science quad. It's a love--hate relationship that I've come to know well. While I do so much work in the Science quad, I've also grown so much within its walls.
To get a feel for our respective styles, we each sent each other some rough drafts. I filmed mine in Tomsich and Helena sent me some videos she had taken in Budapest. Like I explained in my second journal, I loved the circularity reflected in my videos and Helena's. We played off of this idea and started experimented with movement and place. I ultimately decided to film my final version in Tomsich, while Helena filmed on the steps of her school's amphitheatre. We wanted to create a dialogue between our movement by intertwining place, music, and body. The back and forth dialogue of our piece became the theme for this project. We were both dancers, but different individuals. We danced in similar, yet different, spaces. I was in Ohio and she was in Greece. We danced to the same music but have different styles and interpretations. All of these elements helped shape the dialogue of our piece and help establish our relationship within the dance.
During the process, we had to compromise on our own personal visions to make this project as collaborative as possible. Additionally, it was difficult to collaborate over seas. Not only was the time change difficult, but sometimes it was difficult to communicate exactly what we each envisioned via email or Skype. Until we saw each other move, it was hard to envision exactly what we had pictured. But once we were able to exchange creatively, our styles started to influence each other and the dance started to truly form.
Once we both had filmed our final versions, I started editing! Editing the film created barriers as well. While I originally wanted to show a split screen during the whole piece, the way our dances were formatted didn't allow that to happen. However, I was able to construct it at one point in our dance, which helped define our relationship even further. (I am also now mildly sufficient in Final Cut Pro thanks to many YouTube tutorials.)
An additional compromise we had to make was regarding Helena's Budapest videos. Originally, Helena and I both wanted to include her original videos, but when I included them in the video, they looked out of place with the rest of the film. (Since Helena was wearing different clothes, it looked as though we had three dancers instead of two.) They were so cool, but I wasn't quite sure how to incorporate them smoothly. So, our final version unfortunately does not include them.
Nonetheless, the piece looks great. While it's awesome the way it is, I can definitely imagine further developments. I could see us continuing our dances into different spaces and the duet could continue. Given more time, we could have explored multiple sites on our campuses that speak to our personal motivations. Helena suggested we name our piece "Place Has Integrity," which was a quote from a reading their class had discussed. I really liked it and thought it spoke to our movement and our spaces. By creating a relationship between each other, and forming relationships to our spaces, we have given our places integrity through dance.
Overall, there were a lot of highlights during this project. I got to work with someone totally outside of Kenyon (although she studies close to home most of time!), and take collective ownership of something that so few people get to do: collaborate with a student over seas! It was exciting to have free reign on something so creative and personal, and it was especially cool to share that experience with someone else. After this project, I will take a lot of my experiences with me. I've learned how to create dance collaboratively and be okay with compromise. Our final project has changed so much throughout the process, but the process itself has been rewarding and worthwhile nonetheless.
Final Version: Place Has Integrity
