PROCESS
Research
The theme of mental disorder attracted Kristina because the human brain intrigues her. She finds it fascinating that no one, including doctors, completely understands these disorders that so profoundly affect the brain. Many people describe these mental disorders as “problems," or that “something is wrong” with the brain. However, Kristina believes that these conditions may be a gift that our bodies are not fully capable of processing. She does not feel bad for people affected with these disorders; instead she views the strategies they find for coping with the disorder to be “pretty incredible."
Kristina knows about the pressure that comes with having a mental disorder since she has social anxiety herself. She struggles with feeling one way, but knowing or being told she should feel differently. She plans to insert this sense of struggle into her movement. Kristina’s personal experience with social anxiety is not the only factor influencing her choreography; she has done extensive research on all the disorders she features in her piece (autism, bipolar, clinical depression, obsessive compulsive, and social anxiety). She researched over twenty disorders before settling on five to work with, making the final decision based on the potential for developing movement that aptly represents symptoms of the disorder.
Rehearsal
Kristina approaches her rehearsals with ideas of what to teach and works with dancers to finalize movement that fits their bodies. After her first rehearsal she found that her dancers did not take to her movement as she had planned, they made it better. She now approaches choreography with the knowledge that the dancers will adjust the movement to make it their own. The choreography in the piece involves slashing and suspension, as well as pendular and floating qualities.
During her choreographic process, Kristina hopes to learn more about the disorders she chose to feature and to learn about the lives of people who manage these disorders every day. She also intends to learn about herself as a choreographer, specifically regarding communication strategies between choreographer and dancer. Kristina hopes her dancers learn from her piece as well. She wants them to let go of their technique when necessary, and her hope for each dancer is to “just be your body."
Research
The theme of mental disorder attracted Kristina because the human brain intrigues her. She finds it fascinating that no one, including doctors, completely understands these disorders that so profoundly affect the brain. Many people describe these mental disorders as “problems," or that “something is wrong” with the brain. However, Kristina believes that these conditions may be a gift that our bodies are not fully capable of processing. She does not feel bad for people affected with these disorders; instead she views the strategies they find for coping with the disorder to be “pretty incredible."
Kristina knows about the pressure that comes with having a mental disorder since she has social anxiety herself. She struggles with feeling one way, but knowing or being told she should feel differently. She plans to insert this sense of struggle into her movement. Kristina’s personal experience with social anxiety is not the only factor influencing her choreography; she has done extensive research on all the disorders she features in her piece (autism, bipolar, clinical depression, obsessive compulsive, and social anxiety). She researched over twenty disorders before settling on five to work with, making the final decision based on the potential for developing movement that aptly represents symptoms of the disorder.
Rehearsal
Kristina approaches her rehearsals with ideas of what to teach and works with dancers to finalize movement that fits their bodies. After her first rehearsal she found that her dancers did not take to her movement as she had planned, they made it better. She now approaches choreography with the knowledge that the dancers will adjust the movement to make it their own. The choreography in the piece involves slashing and suspension, as well as pendular and floating qualities.
During her choreographic process, Kristina hopes to learn more about the disorders she chose to feature and to learn about the lives of people who manage these disorders every day. She also intends to learn about herself as a choreographer, specifically regarding communication strategies between choreographer and dancer. Kristina hopes her dancers learn from her piece as well. She wants them to let go of their technique when necessary, and her hope for each dancer is to “just be your body."