2. Lost in Translation

As our first task within our assessment groups, we were each given the word as a form of stimulus to create an individual phrase. My stimulus was the word 'alone', and in order to show this through movement, I incorporated a lack of connection to the front as well as using a gesture that began outwards but travelled back towards the body.

Developing this further, we participated in a game, 'lost in translation, in which we lined up facing the back. The second person in line then turns to observe the first person perform their movement sequence; the second person performs it to the third, and so on until the phrase arrives with the final person who performs side by side with the original creator of the phrase. This activity resulted in two movement sequences that barely resembled each other. Personally, I found it interesting which aspects of the movement remained intact; for example, in most cases within our group, the arms remained more faithful to the original than the legs, and furthermore, any head details were often abandoned entirely. Looking at this may reveal that, as a group, we may be more inclined to retain gestures of the arms while neglecting details in other areas, and this is something we will keep in mind moving forward.

(Doogan Jones, 2022)

In the second part of the class, we were tasked with creating a short piece of choreography using the phrases from 'Lost in Translation as a starting point. We created an arrangement of both the original and final versions of people's sequences. To create more visual interest, at points, we split the group to perform different sequences as a duo. This choreographic device, I thought, created an exciting visual for the viewer as it appeared everyone was doing individual movements. Then suddenly, different dancers began syncing up for a brief count of eight. We also repeated a similar technique when performing Eabha's sequence; half the group performed the original, and the other half performed the end version. Finally, we introduced a motif by performing the 'alone' sequence to both begin and end the piece. The repetition of this sequence implemented a sense of closure and continuity to the piece.

 The below list is the structure I followed for the movement phrase:  

1. Ciara's sequence 'alone.'
2. Ciara's sequence 'alone.'
3. Eabha's sequence 'sticky' (end version)
4. Mia's sequence 'tick.' (with Jess)
5. Mia's sequence 'tick.'
6. Ciara's sequence 'alone.'

(Doogan Jones, 2022)

We were reading Kate Flatt's work on staging choreography earlier in the week, prompting us to consider spatial orientation and how it affects the feel or impact of a piece (Flatt, 2020). To integrate this, we rearranged the spacing of the piece, so we faced different angles of the room. This simple tweak completely changed the feel of the piece as it not only made more visual interest when dancers were not all facing the front but also altered the intent of the sequences. For example, when performing the sequence 'alone' at an open angle towards the front, there was suddenly more of a feeling of reaching out and connection. The reaching motions and focus previously directed to the side were now to the front, representing a back-and-forth between the dancer and the viewer.

In conclusion, I feel we worked productively as a group to create this phrase and the game 'Lost in Translation' was a valuable tool to aid us in this process. Something I think we could work on as a group moving forward is being decisive, as we were all hesitant to voice our opinions and ideas at times. Suppose I were to repeat this task to develop our final choreography project. In that case, I feel it could be a helpful tool in translating the distorted sense of self and metamorphosis Bryan Charnley displays in his self-portrait series through the distortion and mistranslation of movement. (charnley, 2022)

Bibliography:

Charnley, b., 2022. Self Portrait Series 19th July 1991 – Bryan Charnley. [online] Bryancharnley.info. Available at: <https://www.bryancharnley.info/self-portraits-2/charnley_self_portrait_series_01/> [Accessed 19 October 2022].

Doogan Jones, C., 2022. Lost in Translation ‘Alone’. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo07BqlxOLM> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

Doogan Jones, C., 2022. Lost in Translation, Final Phrase. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZObkPIzmrKg&feature=youtu.be> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

Flatt, K., 2020. Choreography : Creating and Developing Dance for Performance. The Crowood Press, p.CH.4.