Demetri Freeman

Brown

English 4

19 December 2018

Choreographic process

My Senior Capstone Project addresses the question of how choreography works, and how to

create one’s vision and bring it to life. What is a dancer’s thought process and physical

capabilities to create works of art for performance? Throughout my research and experience,

bringing vision t to life through choreography depends on muscle memory, mental health and

the ability to trust in one’s intuition. I will explore these components through interviews with

professional dancers a theater technician, psychology and dance articles, and through the

development of my own choreography. My goal for this capstone research project is to get

more in depth about how the actual process of choreography is supposed to be structured,

how to make one’s vision come alive on stage, how being a choreographer helps develop a

stronger dancer and performer.

Dancers use the method we call muscle memorization to help memorize movement with

repetition. Muscle memory is essentially a brain-power saver– when you repeat an action for

an extended period of time your brain eventually knows what to do when you need to do it,

thus creating a shortcut. As a dancer, repeating the movements over and over again allows

the brain to map the actions so that thinking and doing become one.” ​The ability to develop
muscle memory is aided by verbal cues. When my dance teacher teaches the steps, she not

only describes the movements to be done, but also hums the tune and says the lyrics that go

along with the movement. Eventually all of the individual chunks come together into one

dance, a simultaneous movement that most dancers don't even remember performing

because the movement becomes so automatic”, A motor neuron controls the contraction and

relaxation of muscles. It consists of three main parts: the dendrite, the cell body or soma, and

the axon. As an impulse is passed from neuron to neuron, the dendrite receives the electrical

impulse first and passes it on to the cell body...The muscle will either contract or relax,

depending on the specific movement” says ​The Psychology of Dance​.

Another way dancers and choreographers are able to physically memorize movement is

through marking. Marking is used to helps maximize performance mode in terms of letting the

body strategically understand movement. “R​esearchers conclude that practicing at

performance speed didn't allow the dancers to memorize and consolidate the steps as a

sequence, thus encumbering their performance. This type of visualization and marking could

be used to maximize performance across many fields and areas of life. By reducing the

demands on complex control of the body, marking may reduce the multi-layered cognitive

load used when learning choreography," Warburton explains. "Marking could be strategically

used by teachers and choreographers to enhance memory and integration of multiple aspects

of a piece precisely at those times when dancers are working to master the most demanding

material," says Warburton from ​Psychology Today.

When it comes to mental health, many people see dance as a physically and psychologically

dangerous field especially for young children. From my experience people say dance (

especially ballet) is destructive, mentally draining, lacks awareness of the mental toll it puts on
dancers. Sydney Magruder Washington shares her experience to​ Dance Magazine ​ ”​There’s

no artistic, poetic way to relay this thought: it is my experience that the ballet world has a

pretty serious problem with the way they treat neurodiverse dancers and dancers with mental

illnesses.The ballet world often treats mental illness much like the rest of the world does —

like laziness, like a character flaw, like a lack of will, like a deficiency of spirit. I’m expected to

show up, put my body and mind through rigorous hoops day in and day out, do it all

exceptionally well, not complain, and not let on that anything other than sunshine might be

going on with my health or in my personal lives. That can mentality erase a person’s

humanity”. Following up on a different approach Mikayla Reine former professional ballet

dancer with the Kansas City Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet Company says “ being on stage

is a feeling like nothing else, dance is the art and as an artist you are invested mentally and

physically which will make you a good dancer.” I also spoke with former Principal Dancer of

The Oakland Ballet Company Joral Schmalle and he spoke to me and said ” if you truly

understand what youre are you trying to accomplish and covey as an artist then you have

officially understood your purpose in dance. That feeling is something that will keep your

passion alive”.

With the use of improvisation lets you explore movements representative of an idea, concept,

or dance style; vary movements based on the understanding of space, time, energy, and

shape;integrate choreographic form and structure to shape a dance for meaning or intent; and

plan a dance performance, from auditions and rehearsals to technical support and final

production. The importance of a dancers intuition with their bodies and mind help shape a

dancers ability to become versatile. When choreographing, I trust my own intuition and I

frequently use the method of improvisation.I use the word intuition instead of improvisation
because i find improvisation to be more of a way for you to move without planned

choreography. A dancers Intuition gives you the ability to let go, to let the body move on its

own to whatever musical rhythm and way that it can express itself. These components create

a coming ​together of being present and self expressed. My choreographed piece called

“scream” is an art form exemplifying passion in the moment developed by muscle

memory, mental awareness, and my intuition of what moves me in the moment.

Work Cited :

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/why-is-dancing-so-good-your-brain

https://www.dancemagazine.com/what-the-dance-world-still-keeps-getting-wrong-about-  

mental-illness-2627618843.html

https://themighty.com/2017/07/mental-illness-ballet-community/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-fallible-mind/201608/muscle-memory-it-s-
in-your-head-not-your-limbs