PROCESS
Research
In Victoria's piece, caged birds of different species (hummingbird, snow owl, flamingo, seagull, hawk) represent Victoria and her siblings; the piece tells the story of their interaction over the past ten years. Victoria began forming the concept for her piece last April, and has been researching information to enrich her choreography since then. She has discussed family history with her siblings, learning their unique perspectives on events they experienced together. Additionally, Victoria has done a great deal of research on each type of bird represented by her dancers. She uses National Geographic to learn about mannerisms and lifestyles of each bird, and watches videos on YouTube to observe the bird’s movement qualities.
Through research about birds and her siblings, Victoria has assigned certain movement qualities to each dancer. These qualities fit the bird and the sibling that dancer represents. For example, the hummingbird character is fragile and “all over the place." The snow owl is mysterious and silent, but protective. The flamingo is delicate but hilarious. The seagull is intelligent and a good teacher. Last, the hawk is the top of the food chain, but also protective and motherly. These qualities will be reflected the movement of each dancer, representing a bird, representing one of Victoria’s siblings.
Based on her research, Victoria chose a specific limitation for each dancer in order to develop movement. Each limitation relates to the bird represented by the dancer: the hummingbird character constantly flutters her hands, the owl can only switch directions if his head switches first, the flamingo only walks on her toes, and when she stops walking, she rests with one leg up, the seagull keeps her hands behind her back, and the hawk’s movements are open and long. These limitations enhance Victoria’s choreography because they play a large part in developing the characterization of each bird.
Rehearsal
Victoria creates unique and individualized movement phrases for her dancers based on the limits she picked for each dancer. These separate phrases will make up the majority of the piece. Dancers will interact as their individual birds, and will not dance in unison until the end of the piece, when they begin to understand each other and “speak each other’s language."
Victoria comes into the space knowing what she wants to teach, but does not develop interactions between the dancers. Instead, she teaches the movement to her dancers and allows them to play with their individual phrases by seeing how they might interact with other dancers as they perform the phrase. She is constantly “astounded” by her dancers’ choices and says that they often do the movement exactly the way she wants, even when she cannot move that way herself.
As a choreographer, Victoria plans to create movement that is relatable, both to her siblings and to the audience. She hopes that throughout her rehearsal process her dancers feel like they are “really dancing." She also wants them to tell her story and by the end of the process, to find their own story within hers.
Research
In Victoria's piece, caged birds of different species (hummingbird, snow owl, flamingo, seagull, hawk) represent Victoria and her siblings; the piece tells the story of their interaction over the past ten years. Victoria began forming the concept for her piece last April, and has been researching information to enrich her choreography since then. She has discussed family history with her siblings, learning their unique perspectives on events they experienced together. Additionally, Victoria has done a great deal of research on each type of bird represented by her dancers. She uses National Geographic to learn about mannerisms and lifestyles of each bird, and watches videos on YouTube to observe the bird’s movement qualities.
Through research about birds and her siblings, Victoria has assigned certain movement qualities to each dancer. These qualities fit the bird and the sibling that dancer represents. For example, the hummingbird character is fragile and “all over the place." The snow owl is mysterious and silent, but protective. The flamingo is delicate but hilarious. The seagull is intelligent and a good teacher. Last, the hawk is the top of the food chain, but also protective and motherly. These qualities will be reflected the movement of each dancer, representing a bird, representing one of Victoria’s siblings.
Based on her research, Victoria chose a specific limitation for each dancer in order to develop movement. Each limitation relates to the bird represented by the dancer: the hummingbird character constantly flutters her hands, the owl can only switch directions if his head switches first, the flamingo only walks on her toes, and when she stops walking, she rests with one leg up, the seagull keeps her hands behind her back, and the hawk’s movements are open and long. These limitations enhance Victoria’s choreography because they play a large part in developing the characterization of each bird.
Rehearsal
Victoria creates unique and individualized movement phrases for her dancers based on the limits she picked for each dancer. These separate phrases will make up the majority of the piece. Dancers will interact as their individual birds, and will not dance in unison until the end of the piece, when they begin to understand each other and “speak each other’s language."
Victoria comes into the space knowing what she wants to teach, but does not develop interactions between the dancers. Instead, she teaches the movement to her dancers and allows them to play with their individual phrases by seeing how they might interact with other dancers as they perform the phrase. She is constantly “astounded” by her dancers’ choices and says that they often do the movement exactly the way she wants, even when she cannot move that way herself.
As a choreographer, Victoria plans to create movement that is relatable, both to her siblings and to the audience. She hopes that throughout her rehearsal process her dancers feel like they are “really dancing." She also wants them to tell her story and by the end of the process, to find their own story within hers.