Lesson 9

The Art of Dance               Level 2-Control

Lesson 2-5: Storytelling (Thursday, March 12, 2020)

Operational Definitions:

Storytelling: The art of communicating an idea

Concept: a plan or intention; a conception

Likeness: the fact or quality of being alike; resemblance.

Threading – the concept of creating an opening and the illusion of threading a body part through, originally common only to breaking has evolved to appearing in numerous styles

It is time to put several of the things we’ve learnt recently together. Now that we are able to articulateour dance and controlour movements how we desire, it is time to start thinking of what exactly it is we are wanting to say within our dance. This leads us to the beautiful topic of Storytelling. Storytelling within dance is best done through a tangible concept. This can be anything, for example if you want to explore wave like motions you could work with the concept of being seaweed moving in the ocean, however you could also approach with the concept of moving through a substance like water, or you could explore having one arm being a snake, controlling a snake, or even a snake moving through water. A concept can also be as simple as “my hands control my feet”. A concept can be picked up or dropped at any point during a dance, however the transition should always be considered. The two things you should always consider when deciding a concept are:

  • How you are going to illustrate the music through the concept?
  • What techniques are necessary to perform the concept effectively?

The depth and potential of concepts are truly endless and what is important is NOT necessarily the viewer being able to discern what your concept is (unless that is specifically the intention) what matters is that your concept makes them FEEL something

(Think of this like someone who is so good at telling stories they can make you get into a story about a topic you aren’t even interested in, it is all about how it is communicated).

An efficient way to begin using concepts is through the paradigm of likeness. For example, if one takes a move we are familiar with such as “The Wop” and you think about the motion involved, and you want to create a smooth effect, it is actually quite natural to evolve it into a wave like motion, however it could also be done through a ticking like motion if you wanted a choppier more electric effect. The next level to this is to think about how this movement could potentially interact with other movements. For example, one could tick or wave with the wop, and then tick or wave down the body afterwards as though the Wop motion caused the effect to happen. The rule of cause/effect will always ground your dance in movements generating from and leading somewhere. This is like a story where it flows naturally and without any awkward spaces or transitions. Another approach could be to have one arm continuously do the wop almost like a robot arm while the rest of the body moves in corresponding rhythms.

One Specific example of a concept I would like to explore is Threading. This is something I have found incredibly useful over the years for numerous reasons. The key thing here is to make sure you present the “frame” that you are threading through clearly and with purpose, do not just mumble through movement. Once the frame has been created one should explore how to most effectively perform “the thread” this can be very effective to perform using animation techniques such as speed control or ticking. I encourage you when practicing to keep in mind when you have potential to create a “frame to thread through” as having this in the back of your mind will lead to many creative innovations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQqNcZcWkXc – This is my favourite duet of all time. Watch for how they are using techniques in order to COMMUNICATE A STORY. The feelings elicited by this routine is magical to me. It is not like you can defer an exact point by point narrative from this, but the feelings are powerful enough that you create your own narrative for it. This is the power of art and dance.

ART EXISTS AS THAT WHICH WORDS CANNOT EXPLAIN


NOTES & CONCEPTS from BRUCE during class

  • Control what the audience hears.
  • Show me what you hear?
  • I want to experience what you experience.
  • Dancers who understand the animation techniques move to music differently than others.

Popping

  • Classic moves:
    • Twist-o-flex
    • Master-flex
    • Neck-o-flex
      • Use tension for all of them
  • When popping, you need to compartmentalize your body in 4 sections (think like a Rubik’s cube):
    1. Head
    2. Upper body
    3. Hips/legs
    4. Feet
  • Threading: make an opening and thread through it.
    • No style restriction 
  • CONCEPTS can be anything:
    • For example:
      • The air is heavy
      • You have a mask
      • You are pedestrian
        • The audience does not have to know what you are… all that matters is that it looks cool.
      • Threading is a concept.
        • When threading, you need to be intentional. You show the audience what they are about to see.
          • Real threading comes from b-boying
          • Poppers’ threading: the use it with their arms. You are doing the illusion.
          • Animators took it to another level and they do not make an opening, they can simply draw it in space. Thread through  the illusion you create.
      • Tutting is a concept.
        • When tutting, you need to be intentional.

Concept vs technique

A concept can be a robot. A robot can use tutting as a concept.

Tutting can also be a character.

Tutting is a concept.

Techniques are used to explain concepts. The technique is how you are actually doing the concept. E.g. add spend control to tutting (concept).

Concepts are what you want to do and techniques are how you do it. Think about Instagram, the concept is the picture you want to take (how people will feel and respond to it), the techniques is what will I wear, where will I take it, what effects will I add to it, etc.).