PROCESS
Research
Spencer based his concept on hip-hop choreography, which he develops as an extension of his own mind. He creates movement which stirs the imagination of the audience as they watch the dancers, making them ask, "how are [the dancers] doing that?"
For his piece, Spencer draws inspiration from the Los Vegas based hip-hop group Jabbawockeez. The name of this group came from a creature in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Jabberwock-- a dragon portraying all the fears a person could ever have. Jabbawockeez embodies the imaginative nature of The Jabberwocky by creating movement that shocks and surprises the audience. Spencer plans to affect the audience with his choreography in a similar way by presenting movement that seems to be possible only as a figment of the audience's imagination.
Spencer feels that, in our society, hip-hop has become one with pop culture and that not many people understand classical hip-hop history. People often associate hip-hop with the movement they see in music videos, but Spencer asserts that often, this is not classical hip-hop. He believes that hip-hop should be a cultural expression representing parts of a dancer’s life.
Spencer feels that he is “leaping into a huge hole” by choosing this theme and style for his piece, since few MSU students create hip hop dances in Dance Composition III. However, Spencer is excited to share his passion for this dance style and to show what the world might be like if people were aware of "what hip-hop culture is and should be." He hopes the audience walks away intent on learning more about real hip-hop culture and that they see the positive side of hip-hop.
Rehearsal
Spencer uses his knowledge of his dancers to create movement fitting to them. By doing so, Spencer's dancers have personalized phrases through which they accurately represent the concept of the piece while simultaneously relating to the movement themselves.
Spencer helps his dancers achieve his imaginative and challenging choreography by utilizing imagery to help the dancers develop strategies for success. He also teaches choreography in relation to the rhythm of the music by assigning individual movements to specific musical cues. Spencer's teaching tactics have worked for his dancers. For example, at the start of his rehearsal process Spencer's dancers had a hard time achieving a head stand. After several weeks of rehearsal, with help from imagery and musical cues, Spencer's dancers are all able to maintain a head stand.
Choreographing this piece gives Spencer the opportunity to teach hip-hop as he wants to later in life: as an art form with meaning behind the movement. He wants the audience to watch his choreography with a desire to figure out embodied messages, not simply for entertainment. He hopes that his piece successfully conveys the positive side of hip-hop to the audience. Ideally, audience members will walk away with the desire to learn more about the art of hip-hop, and, as Spencer says, allow this style of dance to “maybe change lives like hip-hop’s changed mine.”
Research
Spencer based his concept on hip-hop choreography, which he develops as an extension of his own mind. He creates movement which stirs the imagination of the audience as they watch the dancers, making them ask, "how are [the dancers] doing that?"
For his piece, Spencer draws inspiration from the Los Vegas based hip-hop group Jabbawockeez. The name of this group came from a creature in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Jabberwock-- a dragon portraying all the fears a person could ever have. Jabbawockeez embodies the imaginative nature of The Jabberwocky by creating movement that shocks and surprises the audience. Spencer plans to affect the audience with his choreography in a similar way by presenting movement that seems to be possible only as a figment of the audience's imagination.
Spencer feels that, in our society, hip-hop has become one with pop culture and that not many people understand classical hip-hop history. People often associate hip-hop with the movement they see in music videos, but Spencer asserts that often, this is not classical hip-hop. He believes that hip-hop should be a cultural expression representing parts of a dancer’s life.
Spencer feels that he is “leaping into a huge hole” by choosing this theme and style for his piece, since few MSU students create hip hop dances in Dance Composition III. However, Spencer is excited to share his passion for this dance style and to show what the world might be like if people were aware of "what hip-hop culture is and should be." He hopes the audience walks away intent on learning more about real hip-hop culture and that they see the positive side of hip-hop.
Rehearsal
Spencer uses his knowledge of his dancers to create movement fitting to them. By doing so, Spencer's dancers have personalized phrases through which they accurately represent the concept of the piece while simultaneously relating to the movement themselves.
Spencer helps his dancers achieve his imaginative and challenging choreography by utilizing imagery to help the dancers develop strategies for success. He also teaches choreography in relation to the rhythm of the music by assigning individual movements to specific musical cues. Spencer's teaching tactics have worked for his dancers. For example, at the start of his rehearsal process Spencer's dancers had a hard time achieving a head stand. After several weeks of rehearsal, with help from imagery and musical cues, Spencer's dancers are all able to maintain a head stand.
Choreographing this piece gives Spencer the opportunity to teach hip-hop as he wants to later in life: as an art form with meaning behind the movement. He wants the audience to watch his choreography with a desire to figure out embodied messages, not simply for entertainment. He hopes that his piece successfully conveys the positive side of hip-hop to the audience. Ideally, audience members will walk away with the desire to learn more about the art of hip-hop, and, as Spencer says, allow this style of dance to “maybe change lives like hip-hop’s changed mine.”