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I see Seattle is having a group improv workshop/fest, which is so cool -
That made me wonder, when I read "improv choreography" - how long are most of your all's combinations?
I usually think of 'choreography' as a whole piece of work, though there can be "skeletal" choreography or alternating choregoraphy/improv sections; but that seems in a different category to me than "group improv".
I'm just wondering about the time structures of other people's group-improvs - ?
That made me wonder, when I read "improv choreography" - how long are most of your all's combinations?
I usually think of 'choreography' as a whole piece of work, though there can be "skeletal" choreography or alternating choregoraphy/improv sections; but that seems in a different category to me than "group improv".
I'm just wondering about the time structures of other people's group-improvs - ?
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Tue, March 31, 2009 - 11:16 PMWhen I hear or say "improv choreography," I mean choreography that is created on the spot, improvisationally...either with singular moves strung together with intention and cues and/or with combos (which in n.o.madic are no longer than 16 or maybe 24 cts [although I can't think of one right now that is that long]).
To answer your question, though, about how our improv works:
We will sometimes have a general scheme for interpretation for certain parts of songs, but usually not. And we don't have long combos, either. We rely on intimate knowledge of the moves and of each other and of the music. Our main rule is dance to the music, so if, for example, one happens to be in the middle of a combo when a change happens, she doesn't finish the combo, but instead will change to follow the music...the music trumps all.
How do you handle it in your troupe?
love,
ali
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Wed, April 1, 2009 - 7:07 AMYes, interpreting the music is an ongoing project... easy for some students, not so much for others. When I put a group-improv set together I'll pick songs with contrasting tempos and say this one is slow, so we do X and not Y, etc., which helps.
Some students do actually hear musical changes & reflect it in their choice of changes, which is great. Others don't seem to hear it easily at all - but we're all a work in progress I guess (hope)!
It seems like there's so much for them to remember at any given time, musicality is way down on the list. Things like staying on the beat, forming the group-staging correctly, getting the cues clear, trying to use their newer moves instead of same old ones, etc.
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Wed, April 1, 2009 - 9:22 AMI know that for groups like Unmata, the combo's can be up to 80 beats long!
It helps them rock it, and be fast and Sooper Dooper!
I sometimes call ITS choreographed Improvisation, because each combo is a choreography, and you improvise the order they are put in!
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Tue, April 7, 2009 - 6:45 AMwow, 80 best is a big chunk of music - they must use music that doesn't change very much - ? -
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Wed, April 8, 2009 - 2:20 PMI'd guess Unmata sometimes dances to music that's 160bpm, so 80 counts might not be a long phrase of music for them.
I exaggerate, but they do move faaaaaast.
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Wed, April 8, 2009 - 2:34 PMWhen I talk about "improv choreography" I mean that the piece has a structure but the sequence of steps is improvised. That's close to the original definition that I heard from Carolena/FCBD.
A piece's structure could be as simple as "we will start in this spot, and so & so will be the leader, then she might initiate a lead change" or as complex as "at music cue X, dancers A and B will be at point Y, then at music cue Z, C and D will join and then they'll all go in a circle until D takes the lead and everyone stops at music cue Q at points 1, 2, 3 and 4". -
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Thu, April 9, 2009 - 6:44 AMwow - amazing. I find that when there's a lot of "structure" in that sense, to remember when we're doing a group improv set, it's way harder than just "leaders' choice".
Of course sometimes we do decide, like if we're doing a 3-song set, that we'll do veil or slow moves on this song, & chorus & center dancers on this song, etc.
We can remember that much! But I find when it gets to be a longer list than that, the overall dynamic drops a bit as people become confused & hesitant. Personally I like Leader's Choice the best! -
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Re: "improv choreography"?
Tue, July 21, 2009 - 8:33 AMWhen you impose a fair amount of structure on a set, you have to have drilled that structure over and over so it's automatic. It's like drilling steps. You can remember anything as long as you've practiced it enough.
But the same is true with basic ATS improv (which also has some choreography to it in terms of spacial relationships) - you have to practice landing in the right spot until it's natural.
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