Day 4 Spend more time in the studio: The Process of Choreograpy

This article by James Robey explains why I wantto spend more time in the studio choreographing for my dance classes. Hope you enjoy my video. Please leave me a comment and subscribeto this blog.



After a recent performance I was asked, "What is your process?". I feel extremely familiar with my creative process. However, in this particular moment, I stammered and stumbled for words. My mind was clear, but my words lacked eloquence. It was then that I decided it was time to express my thoughts on the creative process on paper-or laptop. Each choreographer has their own way of working, their own unique process. This is mine.

Step 1: Filling the Well

Every work of choreography begins outside the studio by living life fully and filling our wells of experience. The more life experience we have to draw from and the more we have to share, the deeper the work is.

Filling the well of experience does not necessarily mean trying everything. However, it does require experiencing life with open eyes, open ears, and an open heart. This calls for being open to both good and bad experiences. Closing our eyes to what is before us, refusing to listen to others stories, and barricading our hearts against painful moments, leaves us mere empty shells. It is a vital part of our humanity to witness, listen, and feel all that life has to offer. Only from here-and I believe this wholeheartedly-can we move forward as artists.

It does not mean we have to wait until we are older and experienced to begin. However, it does suggest that if we have a constricted, careful perspective toward the full variety of life, we shelter ourselves from our humanity and stunt our creative potential. Therefore, the first step in my creative process is to live well, live fully, and live wholeheartedly.

Step 2: Finding Inspiration

Anything can be an entry point into a dance. The inspiration, the muse, the "aha" moment can be a movement, an emotion, a piece of music, a thought, a movement concept, an improvisation, a work of art, etc. Each dance has its own unique start. What works for one dance does not necessarily work for the next.

Sometimes we are flooded with inspirational ideas. We could have five concepts come to us in one prolific day. The trick is finding out which ones are vital and necessary. Time helps me decide.

I sleep on the ideas and see which ones I remember a week, a month, or even years later. The ones that stick are the ones to pursue. I call this the spaghetti test-take a handful of cooked spaghetti and throw it against the wall to see what sticks and what falls away. In this way, It is less a matter of choosing a topic and more a matter of the topic choosing you.

Step 3: Building Resonance

If you take a pair of tuning forks and strike them, then bring them close together; they eventually adjust to the same frequency-they resonate. To build resonance with a work of dance, take the idea and explore all aspects of it. Hold it up to the light of day and look at every facet.

If a piece of music is involved, explore the music. Listen to it repeatedly, notating the counts, the verses, the choruses, the phrasing, and the overall structure. If it is a movement idea, look at its effort, shape, space, and time elements. If it is an emotional idea, look at it from all angles through journaling and reading related materials.

Building resonance fills the artist, so that when we are ready to choreograph, we can fully express the idea. Without resonance, the work comes across shallow, skimming the surface of its potential. Resonance brings a depth of connection with the concept, movement, or music. This depth brings harmony and integrity to the choreography.

Step 4: Still Point

The fourth step, and probably the most important, is to clear your mind. It is only natural that after all this experiencing of life and finding inspiration that the mind is bursting with ideas. This excited, agitated state of mind does not allow for the adequate breathing room for an idea to develop naturally. In excitement, we manipulate ideas into form. In the grips of passion, we cater to desires to impress or affect the audience instead of being true to the work in progress.

The busy mind only gets in the way of the natural, unfolding creative process. Furthermore, the excited mind sees itself as the source of energy for the creation; the still mind sees itself as a conduit through which creative energy flows. It is from this perspective as a conduit of creative energy that work evolves most naturally.

To find a still point, I meditate. Other options include yoga, prayer, long walks, journaling to get out all distracting ideas, etc. I do whatever works to get to the point where my mind is quiet, still, without desires and expectations. Like the surface of a pond, let the ripples fade away and the dirt settle in order to see a clear reflection of the current moment. With inspiration, resonance, and a still mind, we begin the next stage of the creative process.

Step 5: Play

I improvise, experiment, and explore all in the sense of play. The sense of play is important. Preciousness toward the idea or movement only works to smother the creative spark. Perfectionism, editing, and judging are anathema to this stage of the process. The material should come out in big gooey globs.

I find it helpful to avoid using the music here. Why? Well, unless we are fortunate enough to be working with commissioned music, most of the time, we are working with fully formed music designed to captivate the listener. The music can stand on its own without the dance. Choreographing directly to the music creates a dynamic where the movement is subservient to the music. The dance will be weaker than the music.

In order to avoid this, create movement without the music so that the dance can stand on its own. Like a good relationship, both the music and the dance should be strong individually and walk hand-in-hand in the end. One should not dominate the other. With one, two, or three chunks of movement prepared, it is time to put it all together.

Step 6: Refine

Begin to form the dance by becoming aware of its sequence and structure. Sometimes we start from the beginning, sometimes the end, most often somewhere in the middle. All the while, continue to experiment and play with possibilities.

As the form and sequence unfold, begin to refine and edit. Cutting out any extraneous, purposeless movements and phrases, Pare the dance down to its most elegant form. Often, we get attached to large portions of movement that no longer serve the overall work of choreography. At these times, we must remember to keep only what is necessary.

Step 7-Express

When the dance is sufficiently trimmed and ready, it is ready to be shared with other artists, friends, and even strangers. Getting feedback is a vital element in the development of creative work. A writer would never consider printing a book without letting an editor look it over. However, as dancers we often attempt to put a finished product on the stage that has never gone through the scrutiny of feedback.

The closed walls of the studio are a cocoon and distance between the audience and the stage are a cushion. Both cocoon and cushion serve to protect our sensitive selves from criticism. Because of this, we often skip this important part of the creative process. By opening ourselves to feedback and integrating it into the creative process, we break the tendency to shy away from criticism that can only help the work of choreography to reach its full potential.

With the piece further refined using the feedback, it is time for an audience. However, after the dance has an audience, it is not finished. The process continues to loop back to the refining step. With each performance, greater refinements are possible. The dance is never a final product, but in an ever-evolving process of development.

The End: Which Never Really Ends

When I tripped over my own words when asked, "What is your Process?", I only mentioned the steps of finding inspiration and improvisation. Sadly, it was an incomplete expression. I do not have the chance to re-engage that particular audience, but, having expressed it here, next time I hope to be more graceful. Moreover, if you, the reader, would be so kind to let me know your feedback, I could then loop back to step six-refining-and continue the development of this essay.

James Robey is Founding Artistic Director of the Bare Bones Dance Project, Artistic Director of Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance and Adjunct Faculty member at The Hartt School at University of Hartford where he teaches Horton Modern technique and Jazz Dance. James is active in the Connecticut, New York, and National dance communities as a guest artist, master teacher, independent choreographer, and lecturer. For more information visit http://web.mac.com/jamesrobeydance

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