FIRST THOUGHTS

Idea:

The creative idea behind my piece is the exploration of duality within the self, psychologically and physically. I aim to use the creative process to explore this through a lens of depersonalisation, looking into how we observe ourselves from an outside perspective. I want to explore different aspects of the self, particularly the speed at which minds move compared to our physical selves. I want to look into what parts of the self are only known to an individual, what aspects of ourselves can only be seen from an external lens, and how the experience of depersonalisation can put a person in a unique perspective of experiencing the self externally.

I first started thinking about the idea of duality in response to a type of photography called layered photography and wanted to explore this further, particularly in relation to the duality of the self and different sides of the self. So, I decided on a duet exploring two sides of a self so as to not make the idea more convoluted than I can handle and the audience can digest in 10-12 minutes. I then came across a mental health condition called depersonalisation, which causes a person to feel like they are outside of their body and viewing themselves from the outside which led to me wanting to explore the lenses of perception at which people perceive a self; internal and external. I want to work with my dancers on what things about themselves only they can see, and what can only be seen from the outside; further, what about their relationship on stage can only an audience see, and what can only they see as those experiencing it.

DEPERSONALISATION - defined by the NHS is 'where you have the feeling of being outside yourself and observing your actions, feelings or thoughts from a distance.'

Piece Structure First Thoughts:

- Dim-lit contact, moving body parts, can't tell who is who

- repetitive unison movement

- contact/interweaving

- repetition unison motif

- trying to catch up to each other, slowly falling behind, one person taking over

- following each other, hyper-awareness of the two halves

- one working themselves to exhaustion, more contact, dragging each other down, mental exhaustion

Photographic Inspiration: 

The inspiration for my piece initially came from my interest in photography and an interest in layered film, something I started looking into after I saw an album cover incorporating it: Good Riddance by Gracie Abrams. This led me to think about this idea of duality and internal versus external actions/thinking, something the specific album explores lyrically, the choreographic idea then developing from this initial inspiration.

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Choreographic Inspiration: (this paragraph is also part of my learning agreement but thought it was important to document here as well)

I have taken inspiration from our residency with Patricia Okenwa in how I work with my dancers, using a stimulus of breathing to drive movement, starting creation from improvisation tasks, and developing contact work from a starting point of sharing weight, particularly back-to-back breathing to foster connection. I am further taking inspiration from the way I observed Liv Lorent working with her dancers whilst I was on placement, working with the movement styles of the individual dancers and “[building] the performance around them,” (Reece, 2023); I plan on exploring their individual movement qualities as a visual for two sides of a self, and then how they can intertwine to move each other through the space.

'Good Riddance (Album)' (2024) Wikipedia. Available At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Riddance_(album) (Accessed: 22/02/2024)

National Health Service (2023) Dissociative Disorders. Available At: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/dissociative-disorders/ (Accessed: 22/02/2024) 

Okenwa, P. (2024) About. Available At: https://patriciaokenwa.com/about/  (Accessed: 03/04/2024)

Reece, C. Interviewed By Cast In Doncaster. (2023) Liv Lorent celebrates 30 years of female-led productions at balletLORENT. Available At: https://www.castindoncaster.com/about/latest-news/liv-lorent-celebrates-30-years-of-female-led-productions-at-balletlorent/ (Accessed: 03/04/2024)