Embodied Movement Practices / Spring 2025

    I  Unit: Compositional Forms Theme: ABA, Rondo, Narrative, Rhapsodic   Introduction ABA is a three-part compositional form in which the second section contrasts with the first section. The third section is a restatement of the first section in a condensed, abbreviated, or extended form. The rondo (ABACADA) is a musical form that contains a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes.   A narrative , story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional or fictional. Narratives can be presented through a sequence of written or spoken words, through still or moving images, or through any combination of these. Rhapsodies on the other hand express pure feelings. We can thank the Greeks for the idea of the Rhapsody, though their rhapsodies were rather more word-based – poetry to be exact. Poetic rhapsodies were a kind of recital of all the best b...

    I   Warm Up II   Unit: The Text Theme: Context, Text, Subtex   Introduction Context, text and subtext are all part of the same meaning making mechanism that allows the actor to justify his/her choices. In the case of Embodied Movement, these three concepts makes the delivery of expression more grounded, authentic and convincing for the actor and those witnessing.   III Main Lesson CONCEPTS  Context, Text, and Subtext   Context Often when we think of context, we think of things like the date a work was published, who it was written by, or the climate of the time. But context is very important within your fictive universe as well.  Context in this sense is all the grounding and guiding information that the audience needs, such as who the characters are, where they are, what time of day it is, etc. Context can also be any other additional information the audience needs to interpret and accurately understand what is happening i...

    I  Unit: The Super-Structure Theme: Constructure, Structure, Substructure / Frame, Portraiture, Score   Introduction In all fictionalized performing forms, depending on the aesthetic structure of the performance, actors use extra- daily scenic behavior in a fictionalized manner, which is different from daily behavior. The use of terms such as constructure , structure and substructure should make sense in the context of embodied movement within the stage context. I our lab, these concepts are illustrated through the creation of frame that delineates the performance space, the exploration of shapes (portraiture) within that space and the creation of a score to document the choreographic structure of the solo work.   II Learning Objectives   Understand the concepts explored in class Explain the importance of extra-daily techniques for actors  Gain an awareness of how these concepts aid the development of your solo work Embody these concep...

    I Unit: Elements of Dance Theme: Balance, Theme and Variation, Accent, Cannon   Introduction  Balance   A dancer travels through space, turns on its own axis, elevates his/her body on his/her metatarsals, makes gestures, remain in stillness, uses all body parts, does floor-work and continuously transfers weight from one side of the body to the other. Achieving stillness while in balance is mostly appreciated when coming from a position of imbalance. Going from an off balance position to a position of balance and vice versa is the skill we are developing today. Theme & Variation   "Theme and variation" is a popular musical form in which a composer states a melody and then repeats it several times with changes to create more interest and variety. In dance, something similar happens. One can create a movement to then repeat it several times with changes in directions, levels, speed, etc, to create more interesting variations. Accent ...