Dance 360 Philippe Bronchtein responses to Nò and Dimensional Thinking.

Both of these readings were very informative and brought up some very interesting prompts that are applicable to choreography. Questions of space are so pertinent to making dances and it is very easy to fall into rhythms of similar spacing which can ultimately lead to a piece with stale dynamics.

The Dimensional Thinking article was one which really got me thinking about how I use space in my piece, and how what kind of limits I could impose on myself in order to inspire creativity. Looking at a blank open space (especially one as large as our studio at Middlebury) can be intimidating and actually overwhelm and isolate creativity. As the article states, "Sculpture depends upon the ability to respond to form in three dimensions." This is obviously very true for dance as well. The presentation of so many puzzles in the article made me think that maybe approaching the problem of three-dimensionality and spacial organization as a puzzle is a way to place limitations on myself that can inspire new forms of creative expression.

The Nò article was a little less convincing. I have trouble believing that certain parts of a stage carry innate properties which assign what types of actions should happen in them. Sure, certain parts of the stage can be more appropriate for different actions/instances, but so much of that depends on how the entire piece is framed and conceived.