As an example, here is one of my questions...
How does the use of Benesh affect how a company operates?
From this, I can already highlight a few things. I'm not being specific about the 'use'. Benesh can be utilised in two main ways. Recording choreography and teaching choreography. The way I have worded my question isn't clarifying whether I mean one or the other, or both. The main mistake I see though is that I only stated 'company'. This could mean a few things. I know that I am referring to a classical ballet company however someone reading this may be imagining other styles of dance also or even a foundation dedicated to maintaining a choreographer's work.
After taking on board the things I learned in that session, I felt like I had a better understanding of how to approach my work however it also ended up begging more questions. Despite knowing how to be more critical of the question I will choose, I wasn't entirely sure of the best angle to approach the subject of Benesh in a way that would be beneficial for me on this BAPP course. I don't wish to create a question that is purely a justification of my pre-conceived opinions, I'm aiming to leanr something new. I had a brief private session with Adesola to clarify my thoughts which helped a lot because what I needed was to explain my opinions out loud in order to discover what it was more specifically that I wished to learn about. After having a chance to hear myself out loud I realised that my interest in Benesh circled around how it affects studio rehearsals, most importantly teaching new choreography. I think this stems from my personal experience as in my company there are a lot of issues surrounding teaching choreography from a DVD.
I'm not expecting anyone else to be interested in Benesh specifically but does anyone have thoughts or feelings perhaps towards the overall rehearsal experience? After my Skype sessions and reflection I've figured that my interest lies within how Benesh affects the way a dance company operates, in particular, rehearsals. In an effort to set up my special interest group I'd love to hear people's opinions on how they feel a dance company should operate within the studio. Being in contact with others on this course provides a great opportunity to compare opinions across different styles of dance or establishments. My thoughts have been focused very much on a classical ballet company however some of you who may practice other styles of dance may differ from me. I also wonder if these thoughts shift when considering professional dancers and students for example. I really think that comparing the opinions of my peers to their backgrounds could prove to reveal some interesting comparisons amongst our selves.
I'm glad that I feel clearer about the path I'm choosing. I'm really looking forward to hearing if anyone has any interesting thoughts to share!
Hi Ben, I wanted to comment on your post a while ago but I just haven't got round to it up until now!
ReplyDeleteYour interest in Benesh in relation to teaching choreography is very interesting and possibly your choice of topic and mine will cross at some stage on this Module. I'm saying this because I'm hoping to base my research on Choreography/Choreographic Approach. I don't have a specific question just yet but to put it simply, by "shadowing" the choreographer I work for, I'm hoping to learn the creative side (maybe even the business side) of choreographing/running a dance company.
We briefly touched on Choreology during my dance course, which I know is a different discipline from notation but complementary. Anyways..
I find the rehearsals with the company I am with (by the way, it's a contemporary dance company, not ballet) very enjoyable and the least stressful. Which is very refreshing. But I think how rehearsals are run and choreographies taught very much depend on the director/choreographer's approach. Many create movement material by applying/encouraging improvisation and inviting the dancers to have their own individual input into their characters. So Benesh wouldn't really be used. More the Laban Theory. But of course in ballet it is different. To be honest I'm not entirely sure how Benesh could be used in teaching choreography. May I ask, do you mean by first recording the choreography and using that recording as a material for teaching a work (so giving to dancers) instead of a DVD??
If you wish, we could have a Skype chat at some point:-).
Hi Kristina, sorry for my late reply!
DeleteYes, I did mean teaching with Benesh working on the basis that there was some pre-recorded choreography. In my experience, the way it's most commonly done is instead of handing the sheets to the dancers, a notator will act as the repetiteur and use the written score as the material for teaching.
You raise a very good point, one thing I hadn't considered was how the director/choreographer's approach affects rehearsal. I've been focusing on the tools used in rehearsal but perhaps a more influential factor in rehearsal effectiveness is how the director/choreographer conducts themselves. This is something I feel will prove to be a good thing to consider as we delve into ethics of the workplace.
A Skype would be great sometime. If you want to arrange something my email is benjamin_roomes@yahoo.co.uk. Unfortunately I'm quite busy at work at the moment as we are gearing up for a new premiere in a week or so but hopefully we can find some mutual time :)