Hello, and welcome to the creative process. We will be sharing one of our creative moments choreographing for a recent work created in collaboration with Jeegar Thakker and Brandon Gordon: DISTANCE
The intention we went for was to create something that gives a feeling of loneliness and that something is missing in a person’s life.
So a choreographic choice was to do some overhead partnering choreography that is physically interconnected and with an idea that all of our movement is dependent on each other.
We then danced to this section without each other during the filming and REALLY felt that something was missing…
Trial and Error
We rarely see the process, but the process is the most important part of the journey. This section required a lot of trial and error. Kin had the idea of having a perspective of the camera looking overhead as if we were laying down being sad. So we created the choreography recording ourselves with a GoPro placed on the ceiling with double-sided tape. From there we used our intention to lead and guide our movement. Some ideas worked, some didn't, and the camera fell a few times.
Perfectionism
Sometimes when we create choreography, we think about "what would look really cool?" "what would be the most technical movement", and "it has to be perfect and polished" Usually when we start to think like this, we run into some creative blocks accompanied by negative self-talk, and honestly, nothing gets accomplished. What has worked with us - and it may not work for everyone - is to ask ourselves what is the intention/feeling we are trying to convey. From there we can always come back and make edits.
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor" – Anne Lamott
Collaboration
This work would not have been developed without the collaboration of both Jeegar Thakker and Brandon Gordon. We collectively explored how to portray the story with our skills at the moment. DISTANCE can be watched here. If you enjoyed this creative breakdown leave a comment and don't forget to subscribe to the emailing list for updates on our work and shows.