Unit 13 and 14 - Analysis of Key Features of Contemporary Dance applied in 'El Perdon'

Positions of Feet

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In the opening moments of this part of the dance, our feet are in a parallel position. Having our feet in this neutral position provides a stable and strong look, we are not off balance and do not risk falling to the floor, this conveys an emotion of power and strength. At this moment we are able to stay strong and stand tall and our gestures at this point solidify this as with splayed fingers we are shielding our eyes with our hands like we are protecting ourselves. 

(0:03)

At this point, we let out a kick in front of us in which we have a flexed foot. This is a common feature of contemporary dance and is something that contrasts more traditional balletic dance where the foot should be pointed as a sign on beauty and elegance; a flexed foot is seen as ugly and messy, which is goes a long way to convey a lot of emotion within 'El Perdon'. This flexed foot movement shows how our character is fighting to get free, they are fighting with ferocity and rage. It is in no way elegant, it is violent, raw and an unbridled determination to fight and break free no matter what and really gives a strong sense that the character is lashing out as an attempt to get free. 

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In this movement we are taking a deep lunge and have our back foot turned out, this turn out is something that originated in ballet dance however is being used here with a lunge that is a movement you would instead see in a contemporary dance such as this. This movement is used at this point in the dance to show how the character is getting pushed back and hurt, however they are taking a stance in which to support themselves to allow them to get back to a standing position without being pushed to the ground. 

Overall I feel I was able to perform this feature of the dance with a relatively high degree of accuracy, however I do feel this could have been improved on this by rehearsing the movements at a slower tempo to ensure that I could have been as accurate as possible with the positioning with my feet in order to convey the emotion and the story of 'El Perdon' as effectively as possible. I do think this could have further been improved by spending time on the specific sections of the dance in which this required and recording them in order to see which things needed work in particular. 

Breath to Initiate Movement

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Breath is being used in this piece to add a level of texture to the movements and add extra emotion to the movements without the use of direct dialogue; this is something that is a heavy feature of contemporary dance but isn't seen in ballet performances, mainly due to the idea that ballet is supposed to look effortless and like it is defying gravity, using breaths to initiate movements suggests a level of physical labour that is required. Not only that, but also many movements in which breath is used then leads into gravity . In this section of 'El Perdon' we use breath to initiate the dropping of our arms, this is done to convey a feeling of pain to the audience. This movement is something that the character finds painful and requires a great deal of effort in order to perform and we wanted to show this through the drawn out breath as we raised our arms and then as we dropped our arms we expelled that breath quickly; the drawn out breath in provides a build up to something that seems like it would be a massive action, however the expelling of breath and the overall menial nature of the movement suggests that everything is a great hardship for the character. 

(0:02)

In this section of the dance, we use breath to initiate our move to the floor. This breath is a short, snappy but controlled one to suggest that possibly something has happened to this character to cause the move to the ground. I view personally as a punch to the stomach, with the breath being the vocal reaction to that act. I feel that it certainly conveys a feeling of struggle to the audience like what is happening to this character is not natural or is something that causes them pain to perform. 

Overall, I feel I was incredibly effective in using this element of contemporary dance. I think that I effectively used this to convey the emotions and the overall feeling of 'El Perdon'. However, I think I could have improved by making these moments of breathing more apparent, possibly by flaring the nostrils or tensing my shoulders for a moment to exaggerate the breath. 

Contraction

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Contractions are a big part of contemporary dance and are used often for high effect. This style of movement is a complete contrast to that seen in ballet dances, in those dance routines, performers are restricted to constantly keeping a strong core and centre of alignment, with contractions being seen as messy and not keeping within the conformity that ballet brings. In this section of the dance, we are arching our back and we wrap our arms around our torsos; this action adds emotions of vulnerability and being closed off from the audience due to a lack of eye contact and very closed off posture. The gesture of wrapping the arms around the torso creates a sense of self consolation that could be interpreted as the character embracing themselves due to them not having anyone else to help them. 

Overall, I feel I performed this feature quite well, I think I conveyed the emotions of vulnerability very well and I think my performance of this aided the overall story and themes of 'El Perdon'. However, I do feel I could have improved slightly as these movements are often quite quick and I think I could have made these movements more apparent to ensure that it is noticeable amongst all of the other movements 

Range of Movement of the Spine

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In 'El Perdon', there were a number of moments where we had a range of movements surrounding the spine. This type of movement is a complete contrast to that used in balletic performances as maintaining a good posture and alignment is crucial in performing ballet, whereas this style of dance does not restrict you to having to upkeep a straight posture at all times. Contemporary dance as a result gives more freedom to create movements and use the body in any way you want, which might not be necessarily deemed as majestic and beautiful as that of ballet. The arching movements performed in this section of the dance present this idea of manipulation occurring to the character, due to the fact that this isn't necessarily a natural movement for the spine and is only something that generally occurs. It also could convey the idea of the character being in pain due to the fact that the spine arching in that way is not comfortable and again that unnatural movement suggests they are being hurt. 

(0:04)

In this section of the dance, we are curving the spine and almost curling up. This movement conveys the idea that the character is trying to protect or shield themselves, covering up their organs and stopping themselves from being injured. This curving could also present the idea that the character is feeling a great deal of vulnerability, their posture in no way represents power but instead being pushed down and forced to be in those low position. 

Overall, I feel I successfully performed this aspect of 'El Perdon', however I do think I could have improved on this aspect a great deal. I think one of the aspects of the dance that really suffered for me personally was my use of posture. This is partly due to my scoliosis, but also that this is an aspect I often forget about during the performance due to the amount of things I am trying to focus on. I also feel my flexibility should be improved in order to perform these movements to a greater degree and to highlight their significance even further. 

Relationship to Gravity

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In contemporary dance, gravity is seen as something to be utilised and used to benefit the dance instead of something to be defied like in Ballet. Gravity is used to make movements more fluid and free flowing, however gravity can also be used to release tension . This style of movement can also help dance moves to flow from one another. This can be seen in this section of 'El Perdon' where we not only release the tension from the movement held previously, but we're also showing a level of vulnerability; as if our characters lack the strength to stay standing in that moment in time or have been pushed to the ground by some unseen force that wishes to do them harm. 

(0:03)

At this point within the dance, I am lowering my fellow dancer to the floor. This giving into gravity conveys a sense of manipulation on my part, almost as if I am making my partner vulnerable. I also feel the slow speed in which she is being lowered to the ground creates this idea that it was a slow manipulation that occurred over a period of time, like it was something that the partner did not notice and conveying this feeling that the manipulation would wear her down over time making her weaker and more vulnerable as it went on. 

Overall, I think I was accurate in my portrayal of these movements and I was able to convey the symbolic meaning of these movements very well. If I were to improve, I would suggest spending dedicated time working on the movements in which that giving into gravity were involved to ensure my work with them was as polished as they could be. 

Floor Work

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The use of floor work in contemporary dance makes the piece more versatile, giving the performance more of a level change which allows the dancer to have more creative freedom especially when improvising movements which is a big feature of contemporary dance. Using the floor can also allow dancers to show a wider range of emotions, usually more solumn pieces will utilise the floor more as it is a great way to show more vulnerability and sadness through being in a lower status as in the case of 'El Perdon'. We use the floor to convey how vulnerable the character is feeling and the manipulation that the other person in the lyrics of 'El Perdon' is causing and how much they have hurt our character. 

Contact Work and Trust

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Contact work is a large part of both contemporary and ballet dance. However, they are used generally for different things; while in ballet it is used to defy gravity it's used in contemporary dance to aid in giving in to gravity. In this section of the dance, contact work is being used to show the close relationship between the two characters involved and how this close relationship between the two highlights how one of the characters was manipulated. 

(0:05)

The contact work in this section of 'El Perdon' is used to convey the feeling of being trapped and held back. The contact used on the character highlights the manipulation and abuse that is restricting them and holding them back, as they try to escape the relationship with the abusive partner they are held always pulled back by the partner. 

Overall, I feel I was effective in using this element of contemporary dance within 'El Perdon' and I was able to use this to create the emotions of manipulation. However, I do feel I could have improved on this element by making the movements much more precise and clean; I think I could have done this by spending time on these movements in particular in order to make sure they were as effective as possible.