This section, organized in five stages, explains the general conditions I started working with, the choreographic creation process, and the decisions and steps I took to assemble the piece. The moments of insight and decision-making are placed in italics with side-right alignment.
At this point, deciding how to dosify the five elements that describe The Spherical System and how to develop from the starting point (The Code) through more scores to represent accumulation and variation in arriving at intricate dance material was essential.
Seeking inspiration, and since in my method there is a step called DNA exchange, I delved into videos and images of cells multiplying, hoping to gain some insight into the ideal way to proceed and dosify the accumulation.
As explained by Narayan, R. Cell Cycle Phases [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/cells/cellular-division/v/cell-cycle-phases. "The Cell Cycle can be thought of as seasons in a year." [4]
Stage 3.
At this stage, I explored ways to represent the DNA exchange by interacting with each dancer's sequence without significant alterations and not yet touching or trespassing on each other spaces. This part of the process helped the dancers to memorize each other codes by generating new material.
The dancers interacted, executing and improvising within their material. While observing, I created the following score:
Score 4. One versus one.
- Dancer 1. Sphere 1 vs. Dancer 2. Sphere 1.
- Dancer 1. Sphere 2 vs. Dancer 2. Sphere 2.
- Dancer 1. Sphere 3 vs. Dancer 2. Sphere 3.
- Dancer 1. Sphere 4 vs. Dancer 2. Sphere 4.
- Dancer 1. Sphere 5 vs. Dancer 2. Sphere 5.
To represent the task Support, I asked the dancers to imagine how they could lean their bodies to each other to create an idea of one single body. This image comes in and out during this section. From there, we started creating based on selecting representative movements that the dancers felt appealing from previous stages.
The partnering section has elements of supporting each other but also working on distance. This section was created intensively over five days of five hours each, where much cut and paste concerned what was needed for their bodies and stamina.
It was also about gradually coming to fastness, new propositions, and re-using material created in the early stages.
As you can see in the next video, there are a lot of recognizable moments where the scores of stages 1-3 are repeated partially or fully in different directions and paces.
General conditions to start the choreographic creation process.
I collaborated with professional dancers Simone Wennerberg and Aurora Neri on this project. Both dancers possess a highly trained knowledge of classical and contemporary ballet and modern contemporary dance techniques. Their experience with The Spherical System was a plus since they were my dance students, and we have worked together creatively. Their familiarity with the system helped the project in team decision-making and how their previous knowledge of dance techniques could inform The Spherical System and vice versa.
The choreography I created was a multi-stage process in which the target was to stage the five elements of The Spherical System. Since the dancers were already familiar with the method, we could skip the visualization stage to proceed directly to generate The Code.
Stage 1.
The dancers selected their codes and organized them from 1-5. We aimed to stage which number corresponded to which sphere by performing basic movements.
Dancer 1. Simone selected the following code:
1. Right knee sphere
2. Right elbow sphere
3. Left shoulder sphere
4. Chest sphere
5. Head sphere
Once the code was successfully memorized, we improvised, activating the task "Floating" in the head sphere and later to the whole Spherical Body.
We called this floating state of the Spherical Body the "Stand-by Mode." To this Stand-by Mode, we started adding the code order from 1-5; this time, the sphere, in turn, was moving with the task "Slash," meaning that each sphere in their code became a motor that was activated and deactivated to return to Stand-by Mode. It originated a variation between Floating and Slash.
At this point, I started connecting Score 1. Avatar with this accumulation of tasks so that the viewers could follow how the accumulation process was happening.
We explored multiple possibilities and adjusted to predetermined movements to attain the desired precision. Moreover, we introduced new variations that contributed to the overall accumulation sequence by controlling the range of motion during the slash moments.
STAGE 2.
At this stage, I started considering ways to transition from Score 1. Avatar to Score 2. Spherical Body.
Moreover, it was the moment to represent "The visualization"; at the studio, we begin by scanning our bodies to check in with our feelings. Then, we do deep breathing exercises to relax and focus. Next, our guide leads us through the Spherical Body Diagram visualization. It is crucial that everyone can fully immerse themselves in the experience.
We attempted to follow Score 2. Spherical Body required alternating dancers individually, resulting in six short solos. However, this process proved too time-consuming, prompting me to question: How literally should we represent the process?
I aimed to maintain the intensity and flow of the performance, so I contemplated whether the audience needed to see every detail or if there was a way to consolidate the process faster.
Also, altering the execution of the code, meaning different order from 1-5, could have been less clear for the audience to follow, so we stayed with the proposition of 1-5 orders and let all other possible orders to the Avatar in the Software Application program.
Based on that, we decided to adjust the score as follows:
Score 2.1. Spherical Body.
- Dancer 1. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 (medium)
- Dancer 2. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 (medium)
- Dancer 1. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 (large)
- Dancer 2. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 large)
Both dancers share the center of the stage; once dancer 1 finished, I considered a blackout on lighting to exchange place for dancer 2 in all four variations of Score 2.1. Spherical Body.
Once we mastered the score, we created a new one, where the two dancers danced simultaneously far from each other.
Based on that, I created the following score:
Score 3. Simultaneously
- Dancers 1 and 2. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 (medium) Far away.
- Dancers 1 and 2. Stand-by + Slash combination in order 1-5 (large) Closer.
During our exploration, we began to notice new movements emerging in the transitions, and we identified specific meeting points that were occurring. To better keep track of these points, we decided to score and name them as follows:
Score 4.1. One versus One.
Variation 1. (Medium + direct)
Leg
Slash
Hole (new proposition)
Circle
Sleep Head
Variation 2. (Fast + direct)
Leg
Slash
Hole (new proposition)
Circle
Sleep Head
Stage 5.
Since the dance material involved a lot of lines and cues to transition the scores, the degree of detail was highly demanding by adding specific counts and accents, especially in the unison sections. This stage involved running the piece and adjusting the sound and music with the dance choreography and the specific counts. The music edition was tailored accordingly in real-time during the entire process, but the final decisions were made at this stage.
I made some adjustments to the dancer's spacing based on the placement of the lights for the theater's montage day, taking into account the technical rider from the venue.
Such meticulous attention to detail and experimentation allowed us to create a sequence aligned with the artistic vision of the performance intention. The dancers practiced with the cover face as a first costume idea.
So the score became, for each dancer, the following:
Score 2. Spherical Body.
- Stand-by position only.
- Stand-by + Slash in order 1-5 (small)
- Stand-by + Slash in order 1-5 (medium)
- Stand-by + Slash in order 1-5 (large)
Stage. 4
To continue representing the system and the accumulation created so far, I proceeded to the next step, where body contact was allowed between the dancers using task Support.
The costume is a leotard, fictional, humanoid, bright, and sophisticated; burgundy represents energy, precision, elegance and contrasts enormously with the pedestrian outfit and its colors. The face covered entirely relays the idea that it could be anyone. Since the audience
experiences the visualization of the head as a sphere through the voice-in-off audio described in Stage 1, closing their eyes to disconnect the vision and to imagine the suggested structure replacing their head is a way to remove the frontality to experience 360 degrees of awareness.
Burgundy becomes a striking color when their eyes encounter a stark contrast and the impression of a fictional environment where the dancers and the audience are placed.
The dancers had the opportunity to run the piece with full costumes, which involved a full face cover; even though they had to try and run sections in previous stages with the covered face, keeping it for the entire rehearsal was challenging. So stage five was a perfect moment to do it and practice the awareness necessary to feel each other with a limited view because the material was consistent enough.
I also invited a reduced audience, mainly dance students from the conservatory, to experience a general rehearsal.
I also decided how to end the choreographic piece. During The Spherical System's visualization, after getting through the whole body, the practitioners are asked to "cooldown" from the visualization to slowly let go of it.
They proceeded to memorize them in orders 1,2,3,4,5 and eventually started to organize them in different orders as follows:
Score 1. Avatar
1,2,3,4,5
2,1,5,3,4
3,1,2,5,4
4,1,5,3,2
1,2,3,4,5
The idea of accumulating the connection of Sphere - Sound was very effective at this point since the sounds started overlapping or happening at the same time.
After the dancers succeeded in performing the score, they learned each other dance sequences.
In this section, the dancers could decide the order of movements, joining their sequences by, "e.g.," editing, copying, pasting, re-phrasing, and repeating. To create a unison dance sequence along the space.
Dancer 2. Aurora selected the following code:
1. Left wrist sphere
2. Left knee sphere
3. Right elbow sphere
4. Pelivic sphere
5. Head sphere
I started questioning what other elements could represent accumulation besides movement; every time the dancers were practicing their sequence, they were making sounds to represent the movement, something that typically the dancers do, so I realized that adding sound was also causing accumulation, so I started to assign a sound for each dancer's Slashing sphere.
This thought was inspirational for decision-making because considering every score as a season will eventually dosify the production and accumulation of dance material. I determined that the dancers should initially appear individually, followed by a simultaneous appearance, thus setting the stage for organizing their performance.
I had the support of my chosen artistic coach during the entire process, according to Irvine. R (personal communication May 19, 2023), the duet section needed work creating a sense of building up. At that point, the organization of the duet was not giving enough feeling of "crescendo," so I adjusted accordingly. This stage was crucial for feedback on how the decision-making was articulated and to avoid possible weak or unintentional spots.
The general comment about the piece was that it was difficult to understand the transitions in the first section; due to this presentation being placed in the dance studio, we needed the lights to represent the blackout. In the theater, usually, the place is somewhat dark, but since it is a small venue and the audience is sitting very close to the stage, they can see what happens in the blackout moments; I decided to choreograph the walking transitions that happen during the blackout to avoid losing the fiction being built up by the dancers. So, in any case (with or without lights), the tension between the dancers and the whole piece is maintained.
Score 1. Avatar could be computer programmed to generate an Avatar version of the dancers. Since the programming can organize multiple combinations, I decided to record these sequences on a green screen to remove the background and give the dancers a more digital look on the App.
I decided the dancer's movement and outfit should look pedestrian with two distinctive colors, intentionally differentiating them as separate beings. This outfit should represent daily life and not be sophisticated; simple trousers and a neutral shirt that could be worn by any individual regardless of gender or age.
Through trial and error, we discovered that practicing the code order 1-5 while on Stand-by was a practical approach for maintaining a stable state of the body and preventing upcoming movements. These findings proved beneficial in creating the "dancers' first accumulation sequence," which involved repeating the Stand-by and Slash movements.
So I made this an experience that the audience could practice. I created audio in voice-in-off with clear instructions to invite them to visualize the Spherical Body from the comfort of their seats.
After careful consideration and experimentation, we also decided to maintain the original order of 1-5 in this score due to the complexity and potential confusion that arose when altering it. We recognized the importance of adequately dosing the material to maintain a sense of progress without overwhelming the viewer with sudden changes.
It was apparent that the size and precision of the movements played a critical role in identifying which specific sphere of the body was in motion.
At this point, I realized that the essential elements of The Spherical System were addressed and appropriately staged. We had set up those elements clearly to continue exploring intricacy by taking the freedom of adding a combination of the three tasks to create dance material in partnering.
For that, and considering that the audience was part of it at the beginning of the choreography section, I created the following voice-in-off to invite them to a reflection on what they just witnessed.
