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A question from Ian

By Ian on Tuesday 21 October, 2008 | 5 Responses |

Here are the first questions in series that I hope will help my evaluation of the project as well as stimulate discussion. My questions are:

How easy do you find it to talk about your own creative process/other people’s creative processes? Do you think you talk the same language as non-dancers when talking about movement?

Answers please!

 Tags: 1. Week one

5 Responses to “A question from Ian”

  1. Luisa D'Ambrosio says:
    Monday 27 October, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    I don’t find talking about the process difficult since I think I use it as a form of untangling the practical work and its process.The form we use is very much a discussion which combine question , observation on each other work or our own and ideas about what strategy to take.I find he questioning coming from Deborah or Sue a very helpful imput into the practice because it prevents me from getting stuck in the bubble of myself.
    I am gradually learning about how al of the group members communicate. I feel at times I make a bit of my own version of what it is said or I hear certain things more than other but I think it is getting lesser.
    The way I talk about dance it is probably not too far from when I talk about other things maybe because the process of dancing is a very concrete craft and like when you give somebody direction to a place you have go step by step through the landmark that leads you along the path to the destination….Of course often I get lost and other people words can inform my journey.

  2. sarah dowling says:
    Tuesday 28 October, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    I don’t find talking about the process difficult within the Bank group or beyond to other dancers – but when I go home and try and communicate the specifics of this work I find it more difficult. I think we use words which are shortcuts -which are shared by quite a small group. If the Blog is to be understood by people beyond the dance world ( or actually beyond a specific branch of the dance world) care may need to be taken to clearly articulate the experience in a way that doesnt feel impenetrable. Perhaps not at this point though – perhaps when/if an edit happens before it goes live.

  3. Josephine says:
    Tuesday 28 October, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    Not sure if these are answers, more observations around the question:

    I find it easier to talk about my creative process when asked a question about it as a ‘way in’.

    By talking about movement with non-dancers I sometimes achieve a new clarity, perhaps because I explain more fully, and because I am not worried about ’stating the obvious’.

  4. Lyndsey says:
    Tuesday 28 October, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    Talking about my creative process has always seemed fairly easy for me, I think because I like to work in a structured way. The discussions we have during Bank are enabling me to be more articulate and (as Luisa mentioned) it definitely helps clarify things. Hearing how others interpret and express is very interesting – it seems to stimulate my thoughts/opinions further.
    The language we use definitely has short cuts (as Sarah stated). I think these short cuts can be interpreted in very different ways, even for dancers.

  5. Joe says:
    Tuesday 11 November, 2008 at 8:04 am

    I find taking about my creative process is most possible at particular moments along the way. Often after the fact, when I have made a piece, or when I have made a significant transition in the process, completed a certain phase. This is related to the exploratory way in which I work, which can mean I don’t necessarily know where I am going or sometimes even what I am exploring during the process.

    I think we all use language in different ways. In terms of talking about movement, there are clusters of others with whom I share a degree of common meaning. This is based on many things, including the similarity of our movement approaches, training and perspective. I think however profound meeting points with non-dance professionals can occur, which are based on underlying perspectives that resonate. I have experienced this with artists of other disciplines, psychotherapists and those interested in ideas around consciousness, meditative practice and altered states. Inversely, I also think that I speak a completely different language, in terms of movement, to some other dance artists.