Dimensional Thinking/No -The Art of Space Arrangement- Cat 360

I enjoyed the chapter Dimensional Thinking very much. Although the author related very few of his/her ideas to dance itself, reading about the size/time dimensions in non-dance terms actually helped me to see different ways to use size and time. One idea that I found particularly useful was the idea of anamorphic distortion, especially in relationship to animals. I had never directly thought of animals of the family as being the same shape only distorted in some way. I am sure the idea was there in the subconscious of my mind, it just never occurred to me in consciousness before reading this. In relating it to dance, it made me think about morphing shapes and movements so that they will have a family of movement. I can use different versions of the same shape and movement on different dancers to give them a separate, but together feeling. Related to but not necessarily the same is the idea of scaling a movement, which is something that I have not played with at all in my movement vocabulary for my piece.

Another really interesting concept that this writing brought up was scaling time. Even though the author was speaking in terms of identifying what different people, mainly scientists, are working with through their time scale they use, it applies well to dance. What happens if a dancer does a phrase very slowly while another does it twice as fast? Will the phrase even look the same? What about if one dancer is doing her/his own phrase slowly and another dancer is doing his/her own phrase at a moderate tempo? What effect will that give the whole scene? This idea really inspires me because so far my material is very even in tempo, and it is something that I wanted to play with.

In the next paragraph, the author says, “Size and time certainly matter. The scale of a sculpture or a car or a building has social, psychological, and political ramifications. Massive buildings for instance, connote power; small rooms connote intimacy and privacy.” (p. 214) I find this especially useful for thinking about space and the combination of space and time. It is good to remember that dancer proximity and proximity to audience connotes different things. This also inspires me to play with dancer proximity and speed of phrases.

While on the topic of space and space use, the essay No -The Art of Space Arrangement helped to reinforce the idea of using space to set the tone of the relationships between the dancers. I found it especially interesting that tension is created between two characters in the No theater by placing them far away from each other and making them converse fro that distance. How can I create tension between my dancers using distance? Does this idea apply (meaning enhance) my piece and get the message across? Another idea that stood out for me in this essay was the idea that the music by itself transforms the space. With this in mind, I feel extra pressure to choose the right music that fits the scene I am trying to create. This task is already daunting, however I think finding the right music will also help my dancers into their roles better.