Reflections
1
Harmonizing Voice and Movement
I have gathered an abundance of insights, but a few key takeaways have left a profound impact. The integration of bel canto with dance movements, as I explored in my rendition of “La Sonnambula’s Aria A Non Giunge,” proved to be a transformative experience. The physicality of dance allowed me to express the subtext of the aria in a new, visceral way, adding a layer of expressivity beyond the vocal line. I learned to embody the song, and not just sing it. Using my body as an expressive tool helped me to more deeply connect with the text, and transformed my performance into a holistic embodiment of the piece, rather than a mere vocal delivery.
Learning these Embodied Movement Practices was simultaneously challenging and exhilarating. Initially, coordinating singing with dance movements felt somewhat unnatural, as I had been accustomed to focusing primarily on vocal technique. However, as I immersed myself deeper into the process, I began to experience the powerful synergy between voice and body. It felt like unlocking a new dimension of expressiveness that I hadn't tapped into before. It was a journey of self-discovery that sometimes left me feeling vulnerable, but ultimately enriched my understanding of performance art.
Moving forward, I intend to carry the principles of embodied movement practices into my own vocal performances and broader field of practice. I've come to realize that physical expression is just as critical to vocal performance as vocal technique itself. It not only augments the emotional resonance of a piece but also aids in engaging the audience more effectively. By harmonizing voice and movement, I can create more immersive performances that truly encapsulate the spirit of the songs I interpret. Moreover, beyond the stage, the integration of body and voice can also provide a useful tool for enhancing my communication skills in daily life, making me a more expressive speaker and a more empathetic listener.
2
Liberated
Kara Apostol
My primary takeaways from this course include a greater respect for the importance of movement in our everyday lives, and a reminder of how important commitment to performance is in any art form. Before my time in this class, I often neglected movement in my day to day if it meant that I could squeeze in more time for other work or to lounge about and enjoy other hobbies. Now I realize that while this may be more gratifying in the short term, my body appreciates even the briefest time having the freedom to move around and stretch more vigorously. While I have always considered the visual and emotional components of performance to be important, this class emphasized those ideas for me and provided a reminder of why they are so crucial.
In regards to how I felt learning in this class week by week, I think this was more of a gradual increase in comfort that was reflected in how I interacted with my peers and carried myself during dance movements specifically. During the first few weeks of class, I feel that I was in general more quiet, and I tried to avoid being called upon or too extreme in my motions. As the course progressed, I slowly began to lose the embarrassment I felt performing or acting in front of others in more theatrical ways. By the last few weeks, I was able to perform my solo routine without feeling shame, and even felt liberated doing so.
The most important thing I will be taking away from this class
and applying to my own career will be the emphasis on embodying a
character from before a piece begins to after it ends. This is a part of
music and performance that I have always loved and felt at home with;
however, this class showed me how much further I can be taking this idea
and how much room I still have left to grow with it. I believe that
because of what I have learned in this course, I will be able to make my
performances more immersive and entertaining for concert-goers -
regardless of their prior knowledge of music or dance at large.
3
Movement & Breathing & Rhythm
Yuehan Chen
The main thing I learned from this class this semester is that I now have a basic concept of dance. Dance is not made up of too many complex and dramatic movements, as I thought before, but rather simple but stretching movements that exist in our daily lives. Dance made my body more coordinated. It helped me to improve the coordination of my body when playing the piano.
Regarding my
feelings during the study, my set of movements may have been a bit rusty when I
did it for the first time. My movements were not natural and a little
stiff, but after a lot of practice and inspiration from other students, the
whole set became more fluid. The most important point to make is my change
of mentality, from my first hesitance about my own dance movements to
the recognition of my own dance piece. I think this was my biggest improvement
in Embodied Movement Practices.
What I learned from this class is the combination of
movement and breathing and rhythm. Each dance movement can represent
different character traits and emotional colors, just like the subtle
changes of emotions brought by each phrase in a piano piece. As well, the most important thing is not that more and more complicated movements
are better and better, or that proper stillness can give more room for
imagination. This experience made me reacquaint myself with how to deal with some
lyrical piano pieces. This feeling of ease is very similar to the Chinese black
and white landscape painting emphasizing the mood for the whole art work
to shape and level up.
4
This New Way of Communication.
Yihan Liu
Our body movement course provided a transformational experience that
allowed me to explore the complex relationship between music and the
body. I found that body and music not only affect each other, but also
tell a narrative story through movement and sound. This class made me
understand the importance of physical expression in conveying emotions,
ideas and stories in a way that transcends the language barrier,
especially since I used Chinese for my final performance, but I think I
managed to convey a certain mood.
Throughout the semester, I felt a wide
range of emotions as I learned about the physical connection to music.
At first, I was terrified at the prospect of expressing myself through
movement, because it was an unfamiliar medium for me. However, under the
guidance of the teacher and the support of the classroom atmosphere, I
gradually got used to this new way of communication. As I began to
release my inhibitions and let my body respond instinctively to the
music, I felt liberated.
As a composer, this course has inspired
my passion for creating dance music, as well as my desire to collaborate
with modern dance artists. During the course of studying body movement,
I deeply realized the close connection between music and dance, and how
they tell a narrative story together through movement and sound.
5
Performing Sans-instrument
Cory Fica
As I’m nearing the end of my terminal degree, this course, and the activities and ideas discussed, have realigned (or re-affirmed) my beliefs on what truly makes an exceptional performer. What do master performers, or educators of the highest echelon have in common that: creates a meaningful performance, or a successful and sustained career that can entertain or inspire others? One commonality that I’ve found that greatly contributes to one’s sense of a performer’s charisma is their act of ‘intention’: intentional and deliberate physical motions, facial gestures, speaking/singing voice, vocabulary, use of physical space, breathing, etc. This course ( while only a once-a-week course) has heightened my sense of awareness of these notions, and undoubtedly will continue with me as I continue my career.
All of these characteristic pillars of performance combine in ways that can move and affect audiences of all kinds, and it is the performer’s responsibility to create an environment and aesthetic using these tools to his or her advantage. Admittedly, work-shopping and performing sans-instrument felt vulnerable and even uncomfortable at times, but that discomfort allowed me to let go and (to be completely blunt) not give a shit of others’ perception by the end. The feeling of letting go and tapping into a certain energy, regardless of the performance situation, is one of many ideas that I will continue to be reminded of as I move forward.
The idea of ‘letting go’ is something that I felt had collectively improved as the weeks progressed. Each week’s objective allowed me to focus my energy on my tendencies or habits, and hyper-focus on how I look or express myself from an omniscient point of view. Whether this was in physical movements using specific parameters, or speaking using different syllables/timbres/tones, each topic has aided in my own sense of performance, and how to effectively present ideas or a cohesive story to an audience in an all-encompassing way. Observing my classmates and my professor perform inspired me to re-calibrate my own personal performance tendencies, and to expand my stage presence in ways that will enhance my future performances.
It goes without saying that playing drums and percussion is highly visual; the obvious striking of the stick on a drum head is visual in and of itself, but the motion, velocity and preparation of the stroke all contribute to the timbre and sound one hopes to achieve out of the instrument. The motions, and the use of physical space not only help produce the desired sounds, but can indicate to the audience the ideas of: sustain, space between notes or phrases, creating tension or release, etc. From my own experiences, I have found that the masterful players have a complete connection between visual and aural components of their music... even the way in which the performer walks out on stage sets the tone. The exciting thing about percussion repertoire is that it includes a variety of instruments- anything from keyboard percussion to multi-drum set-ups to theatrical works for ‘body percussion’. Whether it is an accessible piece or highly avant-garde and experimental, having a heightened sense of the aforementioned topics are things that I will continue to improve upon as I prepare for future performances.
Some of my takeaways from this class include getting to know the variety of ways in which we can use movement to not only get to know each other, but get to know ourselves more. There was a surprising amount of self-discovery through this class, including feeling comfortable with being vulnerable and learning things with others. Another takeaway is learning to develop our ability to create movement that represents us and what we wish to convey. This skill seems to have such power when it comes to decision-making, creativity and freedom of speech/movement. I am grateful I was able to train this through this class.
In terms of how I felt learning throughout the semester, I am grateful for having made friends in the class with whom I already spend many hours with in a musical setting, but be able to share time moving together as well as learning about ourselves in a non-musical setting. I felt like I could always be myself without any judgement. I appreciate everyone’s positive outlooks and their openness to try new things together as a team.
A lot of why we have learned in class positively impacts what we do in our fields. For me, being able to be more conscious about the art of performing and the reasoning, inspiration and preparation behind it, helps tremendously with my everyday teaching and performance activities. There were many instances in class which we had to dig deep into our own thoughts before moving or performing something. I am grateful for the opportunities to develop this process often throughout the semester.
7
Happy, Silly & Expressive
Claire Valentine
If there have been any courses that I have taken in my graduate studies that have left me with a great feeling of accomplishment, this would certainly be one of them. Prior to taking this course, I would not have believed that I would have the gumption to perform a dance routine of my own creation (even a short one) in front of people, much less in front of friends and colleagues. I am leaving this course with a greater sense of confidence and trust in my own creative abilities as well as a new perspective on expression and the artistic process.
Throughout the learning process this semester, I found myself feeling many different ways. I felt vulnerable, uncomfortable and exposed, but I also felt happy, silly and expressive. I loved having the opportunity to explore movement in this environment and enjoyed finding ways to connect it to my musicianship. I always felt very supported, encouraged, and inspired, which really helped me to enjoy the creative process.
Going forward, I will certainly be using the knowledge I gained from this course to inform my performance practices. As a whole, I think I will be much more aware of how my body language, facial expressions, and movements can affect/inform my performances and can help my audience to better understand what I am expressing through my music.
8
To Always Be True to Our Art
Benita Dzhurkova
The course made me believe that we all are artists on the first place. The more we believe in it, the more we truly make a difference in our performances. The more believe in it, the more we make a difference in our lives as musicians/performers in general.
In the beginning of the dance course, I felt a bit intimidated by the fact that I am not a dancer myself. Honestly it felt a bit unusual and not very purposeful to embody any movements I was trying to portray. The encouragement by the instructors and my colleagues made it somehow easier to accept that and I started believing that all these might be possible. It was a true motivation and it kept me trying and exploring more aspects of the art with a smile.
Acceptance and creativity are two words I would like to share as words in exploration while attending this course. Firstly, the acceptance of failures and insecurities is a big step to open the senses so that one reveals the creative and expressive side of oneself as a performer.
The group exercises were very insightful and somehow helped us all to let go of fears and let it just be, while collaborating with others. In addition, this helped us all to feel more stress-free and secure to deliver the movements with a purpose and meaning in our solo performances too. I will take away all that and keep using it more consciously while performing on stage.
Movement is a part of every aspect of our daily lives and performers’ experiences. Besides, the stage presence, and especially the embodiment of every gesture purposefully is a true magic not only for the artists themselves but for the audience as well. Our goal as artists-musicians is to always be true to our art and try to deliver meaningful and touching performances coming from the heart of the performers and aiming to reach the hearts of the listeners.
9
Freedom of Expression
Colin Priller
One of the most important things that often goes overlooked in the music world is the care and appreciation for your body. You need it to create this beautiful thing we call music. This class has shown me all sorts of new ways to stretch and activate different parts of my body for different tasks. A lot of the movement we learned does not only apply to our music-selves, but also any physically demanding task we have. It's important to recognize any pain we may have and know how to take care of it. I also really appreciated the freedom of expression in this class as artists which is important to finding your own artistic expression in a new avenue.
I felt very open to learning and creating my own dance and did not realize the depth and how powerful it can be. I am a visual and hands on learner so this class format also worked very well for me. Having the entire semester to prepare movements and a dance with words/audio was a new and surreal experience. I wish more people were open to this type of learning as I believe it would help a lot of people with their own confidence and ease of playing. It is also inspiring to see other classmates interpretation of the material and putting it into their own movement.
I already utilize the movements we learned in class before I start playing or practicing. Everything we learned in class is only there to benefit you so why not actually use the material. I'm also currently discovering that not only does it help the physical body, but also the mind. Doing a warmup before practicing now helps me enter the right headspace I need and my body feels comfortable and relaxed. I have always struggled with pain from playing and now I have the tools to help prevent that.
Enrolling in a dance class was initially a daunting prospect for me, as I didn't consider myself particularly talented in this art form. Despite my reservations, I decided to take the leap of faith based on the strong recommendations of friends, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Throughout the class, I gained a newfound appreciation for my body and its movements, as well as a deeper understanding of myself. I was particularly struck by the ways in which the literature of dance performance could benefit a musician like me.
It was fascinating to see how two different art forms could complement and enhance each other pedagogically. As a musician, my focus has always been on the auditory aspects of my performance, but this class made me realize the importance of being aware of my physical movements as well. By becoming more attuned to my body, I can improve my sound production and better convey the emotions I aim to express. Ultimately, my biggest takeaway from this class is that everything is connected, and by embracing this inter-connectivity, I can become a better musician and performer.
I was somewhat reluctant to enroll in a dance class, considering myself someone not quite gifted in this art form. However, I decided to take a chance after friends’ strong recommendation, and I can’t say enough on how happy I am for my decision. I learned so much about my body and myself. I was so thrilled to discover the literature of dance performance and very surprised on how much it can benefit a musician—lots of information that I could finally reach. Interesting to see how two performing art forms can gain so much from each other in a pedagogical perspective, although in all my years of music performance student, little to none has been directly explored from the art of dance.
Perhaps the single most important takeaway from the class is that awareness of my motions that leads to expressiveness. As a musician, my focus is totally in the music, sounds and rests, and how to organize the notes to create the affections I am looking for: entirely led by my auditory perception. Until then, I would be reluctant to let any of my other senses get on the way of the music. This class has made me realize that everything is connected. Being aware of my motions can help tremendously on my sound production and in the expression I’m intending to portray.
Embraced
Throughout the dance class, I felt deeply supported, both by our professor and my fellow students. Despite my initial trepidation about my abilities, I was welcomed with open arms and quickly became part of a supportive group. Each week, I looked forward to the challenge of learning new movements and pushing myself to improve, all while being surrounded by the warm encouragement of those around me. It was clear that everyone was invested in each other's progress, and I felt empowered by the sense of camaraderie that we all shared. Despite our limited time together, the class was filled with a wealth of knowledge and insights that were generously shared by both our professor and my peers. All in all, I left each session feeling inspired, invigorated, and eager to continue on this journey of discovery and growth.
With love
The self-awareness I gained in this dance class is fundamental to my artistry as a musician. This class has given me a new perspective on performance, not just as a violinist, but as a performing artist. By observing the masterful dance and acting of our professor, I learned about the power of expression, intention, and storytelling in performance. This new insight has inspired me to think more deeply about the meaning of the music I play and how I can better convey it to my audience. In addition to the physical techniques and concepts that I learned in the dance class, I also gained a deeper appreciation for the emotional and psychological aspects of performance.
I plan to incorporate these insights into my daily practice routine, focusing not only on the technical aspects of my playing but also on the emotional and expressive elements. By doing so, I believe that I can become a more well-rounded and engaging performer, one who truly connects with and moves their audience. Overall, the dance class has opened up new avenues of exploration and self-discovery that I believe will enrich my artistry as a professional violinist.
11
At the Root of It All
Kelsey Gallagher
The memory of the day we circled up together and improvised, singing only vowels with our voices, has stayed with me. Running, dancing, falling, stomping, belting whatever notes felt good with whatever voices we had, and letting our inhibitions melt away. Listening with curiosity to what each person sang. Generating real, undeniable joy and connection. It felt like a smack in the face, a reminder and a wake-up call: art is bigger than talent or precision or the pursuit of perfection or impressing your audience. Sure, they may be factors, but at the root of it all is something much more primal and meaningful: it feels good. Before the stage separated performers from audiences, music was first and foremost something people made together.
Paradoxically it was this understanding that actually helped me become more comfortable on the stage itself. Livingston Taylor has said that we often feel performance anxiety because we are self-conscious of the audacity, or even arrogance, in taking the stage. Who am I to demand your attention? I am reminded that when I perform, it is not because I should be someone special, or that the purpose of the performance is for the audience to evaluate whether I was indeed special enough to have demanded their attention—we are all singers and dancers, compelled to make music together. The stage is not where I earn the right to my own artistry, but rather where I share it.
With the ego set aside there is space for infinite creative possibilities. If I am not just a clarinetist but also a musician, a singer, a dancer, an actor, a storyteller, then even a traditional classical music performance is imbued with kaleidoscopic perspective. When instrumental music is rooted in embodied practice, then a recital piece, say Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet, is not the 1919 score composed by Igor Stravinsky, but rather the sounds I create, the vibrations in the room I make with the instrument in my hands in the present moment, the ideas and feelings conjured in the imaginations of the people in the audience that are always automatically filtered through our own bodily experiences. Though Stravinsky himself would have disagreed (as he famously did not believe in “interpretation” of his music but rather its “execution”), it is my own enactment of the piece and the audience’s experience at the point of performance which is the work of art.
This understanding of performance opened me up to new avenues of creativity in telling the story of my clarinet. The music theorist Steve Larson has conceived of music in terms of physical metaphor: a melody that rises and falls recalls our physical experience of gravity, for example. In this way, by studying movement I found that I was studying music through its analogue. We were encouraged to generate movements spontaneously, using our bodies before our cognitive minds. Later when weaving the narrative of my piece it was interesting to assign meaning to these seemingly random and disjunct components. It reminded me of the way I paint—even though I may begin with a conscious concept, the discoveries I make in the paint itself are what begin to speak for themselves. Similarly, I tried to “listen” to my clarinet’s voice in the story my body told through its own wisdom.
Of course, my clarinet’s story belongs to me and not an inanimate object, but by personifying my instrument I ultimately gave my body authorial agency over the piece, and I was able to allow my cognitive mind to witness the performance as another audience member. I leave this class with the priceless insight that making music can and indeed should always be made with the same imagination, curiosity, authenticity, and synthesis of our minds and our bodies.
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