WENDY JONES DANCE
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Dance is Home - Getting to Know You

10/21/2020

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#2: Movement History Dance

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We all have a movement history, because we’ve all been moving all our lives: Crawling, walking, running, dancing, hopping, skipping, throwing, swinging, rolling, nodding, waving, turning.

Let’s share our unique movement experiences and use them to make a dance. Let’s celebrate the people and practices that have helped define us as movers. 

Consider how your past movement experiences have defined you as a mover.

In your house:
Lesson 1:
  • Create a Movement History Collage responding to the following questions: 
  • What have you experienced and practiced? Movement experiences include things such as skateboarding, skiing, martial arts, hopscotch, etc.
  • ​Who has been an influence to your movement experiences? Did a family member teach you? Did you learn from videos like YouTube? Did you take classes? 
  • Where did it take place?
  • ​When?
  • Details: Choose 3-4 photos that describe your answers. Add text to establish time and other important details. You may have to edit it down to a couple moments in your life. Choose the most influential times. Let your individuality shine in this collage. The collage can be created by a google doc or slide. If it is handmade, take a photo of it to share online.

Lesson 2: 
  • Imagine you could climb into your collage and walk around, where would you start and what is the path you would take? 
  • Climb into photo #1 and duplicate the image with your body. 
  • Make the picture come to life. Allow the shape to move. Do you initiate the movement from your hand, head, or legs? Where are you looking? Where are you going? Who is around you? 
  • As you continue to create your moving picture think about the following: Are you moving quickly or slowly? Are the movements sharp or soft? Do you stay in one place or travel? What is the emotion? 
  • Use the descriptive words surrounding the photo to help with your dance. 
  • The moving picture should be a short but descriptive phrase.
  • Repeat this process with all of the photos. You will have three short phrases representing your photos/story.
  • Connect  phrase 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 with a walk, run, skip, hop, roll, leap, or jump. 
  • For further development: consider abstracting and stylizing your movements by changing the speed, using repetition, making it BIGGER or smaller, reversing it, turning it upside down, or conveying the emotion in the photo. 
  • Discussion: When does movement become dancing?

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MOVEMENT HISTORY DANCE:

Sequence is determined by how you ordered the photos in your collage. 
1. Shape #1 from photo #1,
2. Movement sequence from photo #1.
3. Transition: travel step. This is how you move from photo #1 to #2.
4. Shape #2 from photo #2.
5. Movement sequence from photo #2.
6. Transition: travel to photo #3.
7. Shape #3 from photo #3.
8. Movement sequence from photo #3.

DETAILS FOR THE DANCE VIDEO:
  • ​​Add music. What your movement history soundtrack?
  • Two of the photos from the collage must be incorporated into the video. For example, do you show the photo and then cross-fade to your shape?
  • Choose a location in your home to record the dance. Decorate? Use furniture or props? Does a transition take you to new space? 
  • 1- 2 minutes in length. 
  • YOU MUST HOLD ONE OF THE SHAPES FOR AT LEAST 5 seconds. 
  • KEEP IN MIND, not all movement sequences will be the same in length. 
  • Allow your collage to come to LIFE!! (Think Harry Potter moving portraits or a virtual reality game).
  • Have fun, play and celebrate your movement history!

Suggested educational resources:
Smuin Ballet Company members Weston Krukow and Ben Needham-Wood explore the similarities between the competitive and artistic disciplines in a CSN Bay Area documentary dance short titled Baseballet. This is an excerpt titled, Run Around. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc3biE3LjA

Abby Zbikowski: exploring the layered meanings of play.  https://vimeo.com/217437456

Interview with Abby Zbikowski by Jill Randall: Life of a Modern Dancer https://blog.lifeasamoderndancer.com/2015/09/artist-profile-109-abby-zbikowski-champaign-illinois.html


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Dance is Home - Getting to Know You

10/8/2020

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#1: Birthday Chance Dance

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Dance Is Home is back and focusing on lessons for getting to know new and returning students while we continue to embrace our unique dance spaces. Personal stories will drive each lesson and inspire future topics, playlists, and culturally relevant teaching.

Distance learning has inspired me to organize each unit with activities that stand on their own but can be combined into a multi-layered piece. 

The first unit will focus on birthdays. We all have one. The dates, astrology signs, stories, and traditions create a fun platform for dance making and conversation. I’m looking forward to sharing this new series.

Let’s celebrate our special day with some dance making during #distancelearning

Project #1: Birthday Chance Dance
Still at home, birthday celebrations continue.

In your house:
Lesson 1:
  • Create a short phrase with your birthday, month and day, using the movement numbers below, (In sequential order).

Month_ _/ Day_ _
0- Jump
1- Run
2- Spin
3- Punch
4- Melt
5- Rise
6- Skip
7- Explode
8- Balance
9- Kick

Example: 11/08= Run, run, jump, balance.
*if your number repeats, create two variations of the movement.

Lesson 2:
  • Look up your astrology sign and choose two personality traits that represent you best.
  • Create two shapes that describe each word.
  • Determine how you form the shapes (this can be added to the more advanced classes). 

Lesson 3:
  • Write about a memorable birthday.
  • Write about your families birthday traditions or how you celebrate with them.
  • Choose a sentence from one of the above writing prompts and make it into a movement sentence. 

Lesson 4:
  • Movement practice: choose a short section of the warm-up from the dance class.

Lesson 5: Put it all together!
  • Construct a dance using a chance procedure of your choice.
  • Demonstrate how you determined your order in photos or video.

DETAILS:
HOW TO MAKE YOUR BIRTHDAY CHANCE DANCE:
  • Use a chance procedure to determine the sequence. Make sure you include Shape #1, Shape #2, Movement Sentence, Birthday Chance Dance and Warm-up phrase.
  • Record a demonstration of your chance procedure using Time lapse, photos, or other create ways. Example: time lapse the mathematical equation you used to create the sequence, video record the procedure of choosing the sequence out of a hat.
  • Add music. Consider music that reminds you of birthday celebrations at home, festive songs, etc.
  • Choose a location in your home to record the dance. Decorate? Use furniture or props?
  • 45-90 seconds maximum. Make sure you get all four movement tasks and the chance procedure demo in this time frame.
  • Have fun and make it festive!

​Suggested educational resources:
Bringing words to life: (Lesson 2 & 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=gb67f2HLVGM&feature=emb_logo

Bill T Jones discusses Story/Time.
The creative process and putting stories together in a random order. (Lesson 1 & 5)
https://vimeo.com/34480831

Merce Cunningham and Chance Procedure (Lesson 1 & 5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=zhK3Ep4HiI0&feature=emb_logo

*Academic schedules vary, determine the lesson order to fit your particular needs, environment, and level of the dancer.
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Dance is Home #14- Zooming

5/14/2020

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Are you zoomed in or zoomed out? New habits for connecting while we #shelterinplace

In your house:
  1. Study your next zoom meeting.
  2. List the mannerisms and body language you see.
  3. Find inspiration from the camera angles and focus.
  4. Put these observations in order, illustrating your experiences in a dance.

​​​Let’s dance about our zoom experiences. Zoom can be comical, frustrating, friendly, heartfelt, flat and so many other things. The gestures, body language and mannerisms speak to movement. This study encourages you to embody your current online practices in a fun and cathartic way. Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play.

Can you:
  • Make movement from freeze frames and lag time. 
  • Add gestures from the reactions toolbar or any other effects to keep the zoom moving.
  • Represent someone in your zoom.
  • Amplify your observations, have fun!
  • Flick, press, swirl, stare.
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Today’s focus: RELATIONSHIPS.
Happy dance making!!

I’m super excited to see your zoom stories through movement. 
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.
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Dance is Home #13- I Spy

5/12/2020

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Finding time for games, entertainment while we #shelterinplace

In your house:
  1. Choose three objects in a room.
  2. Playing the childhood I spy game, create a short phrase that represents the phrase “I spy with my little eye”.
  3. Create a phrase that represents the first letter of each object, consider the curves and angles of the letters. Be clear with the beginning, middle and end.
  4. Start with the I spy phrase and return to it after each letter movement. 

Let’s make a playful dance using the game “I Spy'' as inspiration. I Spy is a guessing game. One player chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players attempt to guess this object.

To give the dance structure, use the “I Spy” movement as the theme, returning after each of the letter movements. Perform the dance for someone in your house and see if they can figure out what objects you choose. It could be the next family tradition! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Expand on the letters using different tempos, sizes, repetitions, and inversions. 
  • Add movement to the letter phrase that offers hints to the objects.
  • Invite someone into the room to play the game. Let them ask questions and create movements for “yes” and “no”. 
  • Repeat, condense, drift, turn.

Today’s focus: FORM: RONDO.
Happy dance making!!

Would  love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.



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Dance is Home #12- Planted

5/7/2020

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Finding roots, grounding self while we #shelterinplace

In your house:
  1. Choose a houseplant or outdoor plant/tree for inspiration.
  2. Imagine your body is digging roots into the floor.
  3. Flow in and out of free and bound movements while staying rooted.
  4. Become the leaves, branches, and blossoms of your plant or tree. 

Feeling stuck or unmotivated during quarantine? This lesson explores how the body can move while being rooted in one place. How can we continue to grow while sheltering in place? While planted in one place, what is it we can discover about ourselves, the world, and the space around us?

Dig in and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Discover the different ways you can move while staying in one place.
  • Experiment with different body parts as the roots.
  • Imagine the quality of the movement when in the sun, when watered.
  • Expand, trace, fill, dig.

Today’s focus: BODY and ENERGY.
​Happy dance making!!

​Would  love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.


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Dance is Home #11- Home Chef

5/4/2020

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Cookin’ up dances while we #shelterinplace

In your house:
  1. Pick a recipe.
  2. Create movement using the list of ingredients.
  3. Use the measurements to determine size and weight of the movement.
  4. Choose action words from the instructions to add to the dance.
  5. Combine and enjoy!

Chop, mix, and bake to cook up your next dance! Indulge in the smells, texture, and techniques of your dish. Have fun using this recipe to inspire movement and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Imagine you are on a cooking show, teaching us how to cook the dish.
  • Play with what the ingredients look like raw, cooked, and in between.
  • Sprinkle the dance with memories of cooking this dish.
  • Slice, blend, simmer, chew.

Today’s focus: BODY and ENERGY.
Happy dance making!!

Would  love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

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Dance Is Home #10- Get Loud

4/30/2020

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Inspired by the 2 Minutes at 7pm #GetLoudForOurHeros, my 10th Dance Is Home is dedicated to our frontline workers.

Let’s make dances in appreciation of our frontline workers.

In your house:
  1. Look for something that will make noise, like a pot or pan and spoon.
  2. Play with different rhythms and sounds.
  3. Create three movements that share gratitude. 
  4. Connect these rhythms and movements. 

In recent weeks I’ve enjoyed the 7pm #GetLoudForOurHeros demonstration of solidarity and gratitude for our frontline workers. Let’s use this brilliant idea of showing support with sound that connects across spaces and places to make a dance. I encourage you to perform it at 7pm for our heroes. Remember this mini dance can be as simple or complex as you want… use any of the suggestions below to expand on it. It’s yours to make!

Can you:
  • Use the rhythms you created to make movements.
  • Create a phrase that can be repeated for two minutes. 
  • Find other ways to make noise. 
  • Accelerate, jump, clap, bow. 

Today’s focus: TIME-ENERGY
Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.
#GetLoudForOurHeroes#ClapForOurCarers#ClapBecauseWeCare
For more information on #GetLoudForOurHeros go to:
https://www.sfstation.com/san-francisco-make-noise-for-frontline-workers-every-evening-at-7pm-e2411630


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Dance is Home #9- Table Manners

4/27/2020

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Let’s make dances while we #shelterinplace

In your house:
  1. Sit at your dining table or wherever you eat your meals.
  2. Break from your typical table manners and find different ways to move your body at the table.
  3. Add dinnerware to make sounds and shapes. 
  4. Choose where the audience would sit/stand and watch the dance. 

A delicious score that explores movement potential at your dining table. Adding everyday dinnerware like plates, utensils, cups, should make this a fun and interactive piece. Perhaps you perform this dance at your next family dinner! Have fun moving in this defined space and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Separate upper and lower body movement. 
  • “Play” with rules: no elbows on table, sit nicely, stand, use your napkin, don’t slurp.
  • Be inspired by a memorable time at a meal with family or friends to make movement.​
  • ​Reach, pass, laugh, lift.
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Today’s focus: BODY, SPACE and RELATIONSHIPS.

Happy dance making!!
Would  love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

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Dance is Home #8- Inside Art

4/23/2020

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Dive inside a piece of art and escape reality.

In your house:
  1. Choose a painting or photograph.
  2. Imagine that you are inside the piece of art.
  3. Create a story that involves you inside the piece. 
  4. Reflect the story through movement.​

​In “Sound On” (#7) earlier this week, I enjoyed the opportunity to pause, listen, and try new styles so much that I decided it would be fun to dive deeper, let go, and explore a new reality. This dance can go in many directions. 

From following the brush strokes to having a chat with the painter, have fun, laugh, cry, or put on a costume. Play with being literal and abstract! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Give the piece a title.
  • Does your character have a name? What/who are you?
  • What relationships do you have with the images? How do you feel in the piece? 
  • Float, analyze, carve, shift.

​Today’s focus: RELATIONSHIPS-Why/When/With Who?

Happy dance making!!
Would  love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.



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Dance is Home #7- Sound On

4/20/2020

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Finding movement inspiration from the sounds around us. 

In your house:
  1. Sit quietly and listen to the sounds in and around your home.
  2. Describe the sounds on a piece of paper.
  3. Let the sounds inspire movement. 
  4. Create a moving soundtrack that describes the sounds you discovered. 

Let’s pause, take a moment and listen. Unmute the outside noise and invite it in. Give yourself permission to sit still, be quiet, and observe. Who knows... the buzzing of the refrigerator might take you on an exciting journey! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:
  • Respond to the sounds with different parts of the body.
  • Let them travel. 
  • Play with speed, accents, and duration. 
  • Vibrate, circle, beat, slash. 

Today’s focus: TIME-ENERGY
Happy dance making!!
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.


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