Summary of Research Findings

Dancer: Claire Coleman

Light and Movement is a choreographic research project that aimed to explore the potential relationships between light and the body. The research is specifically investigating how light can be used as a creative starting point for choreographic material.

I have been working in collaboration with lighting designer Karl Thurston Brown. The practical sessions have been exploring how light can be used to provide both a visual frame for the body and a psychological mood and environment. The generation of new choreographic material that reveals a creative dialogue between light and movement is the fundamental output of the research.

This research project has been a process of critical choreographic investigation and experimentation. Whilst there have been many questions which have arisen from the research about the relationship between light and movement, the main findings can be divided into five key areas. Each area has been discovered through the practical research that has formed the basis of this project. It is evident from the choreographic material on this online document that in many examples the relationship between light and movement encompasses several of the findings below:

1. Light can provide an architectural space for the body
2. Light can be perceived as a physical substance with magnetic qualities with which the dancer can interact
   
3. Light can highlight the internal structures of the body and enable the musculature and skeletal system to become visible
   
4. Light can section the body into smaller parts and can make the body 'disappear' - this can be used choreographically to enhance the 'value' of the movement.
   
5. Light and movement can develop a creative dialogue - it is possible for both elements to converse with one another.

The full findings of the research were presented at Middlesex University on Thursday 15th May 2008. This presentation forms the total assessment of my work undertaken for this MA research module.

What has become clear during this process is that it would now be possible to take this research further by focusing solely on one of the five findings above. The fact that the idea of narrowing the field has presented itself to me at the end of the process reflects the nature of research itself. I have learnt that research is an ongoing journey of discovery that requires constant revision and examination. It is a balance between, 'the planned and the unplanned and between the predictable and the serendipitous' (Fraleigh and Hanstein, 1999:np). What is clear is that, as Dr Anna Pake suggests it is unlikely that I would have uncovered the output of this research through traditional academic modes of enquiry (Pake, 2004: 1). Practice as research has enabled me to use my artistic experience to gain knowledge about an area of choreographic practice. So what do I do with the findings? At this stage it is not my intention to take the choreographic material produced further. However, I am certain that the knowledge I have gained about light and movement will be of huge benefit to me in every future choreographic projects. I have learnt to embrace the light, and to recognise the creative potential that this particular area of technology can bring to my choreography.

Bibliography

Books

Baugh, C. 2005 Theatre, Performance and Technology, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan

Fraleigh, S and Hanstein, P. (Eds.) 1999 Researching Dance: Evolving Modes of Enquiry, London: Dancebooks

Morgan, N. 2003 Stage Lighting for Theatre Designers, Cambridge: The Herbert Press Ltd.

Oddey, A. and White, C., 2006 The Potentials of Spaces, Bristol: Intellect Books

Articles

Hutera, D. 2002 'Bringers of Light', Dance Theatre Journal, Vol.18 No. 1

Pake, A. 2004 ‘Art as Action or Art as Object? The Embodiment of Knowledge in Practice As Research’ Retrieved 6^th Feb 2008 from URL http://www.herts.ac.uk/artdes/research/papers/wpades/vol3/apfull.html

Websites

www.worldwidedanceuk.com/content.asp?CategoryID=462&ArticleID=344

www.rmcompany.co.uk

www.bristol.ac.uk/parip/

Other Sources

Television Documentary: Light and Movement A Ballet Boyz Television Production for Channel 4, 2006

Rehearsal 11 Take Three - Battery Power

The early research completed with the OHP in rehearsals one and two had made me interested in exploring non-theatrical light sources. I purchased some torches and some small hand held battery powered lights and used these in a series of different experiments. The video footage below shows some of the material which resulted from the session.

The battery lights did not provide as much coverage as I had envisaged and it was almost impossible to see anything except the light source itself. The lights were also very temperamental and did not always operate when turned on (the begin of the footage helps to explain the title take 3)

Out of all the light sources I have examined I feel that this area is the one which needs further investigation in order to make creative process. There is a brief moment which I feel works well during which the dancers all turn out the lights and when they turn them back on they have changed their location and are now hovering above the light. However, I feel the rest of the material is limited in its creative potential - it would be necessary to use more powerful battery powered lights in future sessions.

Rehearsal 10 Broken Cross

Dancers: Alice Moran and Vicci Viles


A broken cross of light projected onto the floor, created by shuttering off a gobo in a parcan lamp, provided the starting point for this session. The half cross fell onto the floor, and consisted of hard edges at the front and corners and a blurred edge to the rear.

To start with we examined the size and shape of the light and then, diverging from previous rehearsals, we removed the light source and tried to choreography from memory. I wanted to see whether it was possible to respond choreographically to a light source which had been seen but which was not present during the creative process.

We developed a series of short movements which reflected the angular form of lines and corners of the light, and gradually accumulated the material in order to create a longer phrase. We then returned to the light source and attempted to place the material within the cross. We immediately ran into problems because what we had not predicted was that the body would not be fully lit. The parcan was rigged at such an angle that only the downstage part of the cross and the lower half of the body were visible - in other areas the dancers were in a near blackout (see footage below). This quickly taught me that it is not always possible to predict how light will fall in the body. So as a safeguard to this it is vital to ensure that you are fully aware of the parameters of the source you are using.

The video footage below shows the phrase created in two ways. On the first ocassion it is performed in the cross of light and in the second it has been placed inside two parallel lines of light.

Rehearsal 9 Metamorphic

Metamorphose v. change in form or character

Dancers: Alice Moran and Vicci Viles

In rehearsal 6 the research process had thrown up a lot of different questions. The following question needed further investigation:

Does movement have more value when we can see less of it?

Karl created two very thin beams of light which at their narrowest measured no more than 1cm across. The light source was so slim that when human movement passed through its beams it was difficult to discern which part of the body was being seen. It was possible to develop sequences of movement which created the effect that the actual light was moving as opposed to body in it. In the video footage above it is difficult to identify which parts of the body are being used but at several key moments the dancers' form becomes suddenly recognisable - a hand, the shoulder, the side of a dancer's face. At these moments the movement appears to have greater value.

The result of this rehearsal was called Metamorphic because at times the movement seems to change into light and vice versa. This helps to create a genuine dialogue between light and movement.

Music: Mes by Murcof Martes

Rehearsal 8 Binary

Dancer: Claire Coleman


The starting point for this rehearsal was a beam of light from an angled parcan which created a 50 cm pool of light on the floor. There were two distinct research outcomes to this rehearsal.

Firstly I was able to discover how I can use light to highlight the skeletal system of the body. In the photographs and video clips attached it is possible to see Claire's clavicle, scapula and tibia with clarity in a way which would not be possible without the light source. The musculature of the body is also able to be exposed and explored through this dialogue.

I also began to understand how the ability to highlight the anatomical structures of the body can help to contribute towards a psychological mood. By revealing the flesh and blood mechanisms of the body we are able to sense not only the dancer's physical strength, but also their mortality.

I decided to call the final phrase Binary because the tone of the material could be divided into two clear parts. Firstly, the image of the dancer restricted to such a small area of light seemed to create a sense of vulnerability - this is most clearly seen in the first two still shots at the beginning of the video footage. But the attention brought to the physical capabilities of the body through the highlighting of anatomical structures also signified the strength and control of the dancer. These two contrasting visual statements created an unusual environment in which to work from.

Rehearsal 7 Pulse

Dancers: Sarah Alexander, Vicci Viles and Alice Moran

In this rehearsal the exploration point was a low rigged parcan light which was pointed directly downwards creating a powerful funnel effect and a pool of white light on the floor. As you can see in the image above the light almost drowns the dancer in light. The space between the top of the dancer's head and the light was approximately 80cm and so great care had to be taken to ensure that the light did not set the dancers' hair on fire.

The resulting material used the tone and structure of the light as the starting point - the dancers follow the spatial features of the beam and take turns to bravely step into the intensely bright centre spot. Once the movement material had been generated the intensity of the light was adjusted in response. At the beginning a pulsing effect is added which serves to add an increased tension to the circling walks. The music (composed by Soviet France) and sound effects were added after the rehearsal.

Rehearsal 6 Between the Lines

Dancers:  Vicci Viles and Alice Moran

Two parallel lines provided the starting point for this investigation.  The lines were approximately 3 x 0.5metres which created a long, thin performance space.  This session threw up lots of different questions for me which I am still digesting:

• Does movement have more 'value' when you can see less of it? 
  
• What concerns need to be considered when choreographing for the disappearing body?
  
• Does light help to highlight the skeletal system? (at moments in the material the clavicle, humerus and mandible all seem to be sharply defined)
  
• Does light increase our visual perception of width and depth?
  
• Do we perceive an increased sense of speed if a movement passes through structured light sources such as a beam or a column?

Rehearsal 5 Four Arches of Light

The first lighting state I explored was a line of four small arches of light measuring approximately 30cm by 100cm.  The effect had been created by using a gobo of a church door in a profile lantern and restricting the amount of the image which was projected with the lantern shutters.  The effect created was of four small distinct performance arenas which could either be seen as equal size when viewed from the front or of graduating size when viewed from the side.

For this session I was working collaboratively with dancers Vicci Viles and Alice Moran.  Both dancers are currently members of Verve, the postgraduate company of Northern School of Contemporary Dance.   We began by placing small parts of the body into the individual pools of light in quick succession and rapidly built up a short phrase of material which incorporated a variety of hand gestures and movements of the feet and elbows.  At times, gestures are drawn sharply out of arches leaving the light empty for a brief moment.

The film above documents the result of the rehearsal.  Two 30 second clips can be seen - the first is shot from the side and allows the light and the movement to graduate in size from foreground to background, the second shows the same phrase shown from a variety of angles.  There is the potential for the phrase to be seen in a number of different ways during live performance.  The light certainly provided a spatial and dynamic starting point for the material but a dialogue between the light and the movement is not present because the light does not response to the movements created.  

Rehearsal 4 Collaboration with Karl Thurston Brown

collaborate:     v. to work in partnership The Oxford Paperback Dictionary

The man on the ladder is Karl Thurston Brown - lighting designer, technician, stage manager and freak show performer extraordinaire! (these are just a few of his many talents...).   I was delighted that Karl had agreed to work collaboratively with me on my research project.  

After brief initial discussions in March we spent a day in the studio working together to create a series of different lighting states which would act as the starting point for choreographic investigations.  The aim of the session was to design a series of states which paid attention to both the architectural lines of the light and the psychological mood which was created.  It was important that the states we established would allow for an interesting visual interaction and the potential for an interconnecteness between light and movement.   

Actor Matt Thompson (pictured above) worked alongside us by being our 'body in the space'.  Matt was an extremely valuable person to have involved in the session as he was happy to improvise and try out ideas with each lighting state we explored.  It was vital that we were able to assess the possibilities and limitations of the various states both with and without a body in the light.  

Working collaboratively with Karl has been an extremely fruitful part of my research process.  After enjoying the 'play' of our explorative partnership we eventually selected six distinct and contrasting lighting states - the subsequent postings detail the choreographic material which resulted from our selection.

Rehearsal 3 Disappearing Light

I was intrigued by the concept of a disappearing light source and decided to explore this idea further in a second rehearsal.  This session was a collaborative exploration with dancers Sarah Alexander and Tash Hubert.  We created 8 short phrases of movement (movement snapshots) and placed the material into a small rectangular space of approximately 3x1 metres.  OHP light projected three columns of light onto the back wall of the space.  The 8 snapshots were placed into specific places with careful attention paid to how much light hit the dancers' body and how near or far the dancer was from the original light source.  Once the spatial aspects of the phrase were set I experimented with adding and removing the light by simply switching the OHP machine on and off.  The phrase was performed many times - at points the light revealed a static position, or a dancer already moving in the darkness.  Playing with changing the dancers' distance from the light source helped to add moments of surprise and also served to give the black void a sense of three dimensionality.  The final version can be seen in the 30 second video footage below (the original material was devised in silence but music has been added to the version shown - Memoria by Murcof Martes)

Rehearsal 2 Three Columns of Light

The next rehearsal focused on altering the shape of the OHP frames and creating three vertical columns of light.  The three lines had an energy which had not seemed present in the single line and in response a faster phrase of material was created which allowed the dancer to shift rapidly from column to column.  I then explored the possibility of turning the light on and off the dancer's body, creating a slow motion strobe effect.  The final phrase was one in which the a series of complex images were flashed past the viewer.  The juxtaposition of light and darkness seemed an area which would warrant further exploration.  I was intrigued by the idea that the viewer could 'lose sight' of the dancer whilst still understanding that the dancer was continuing to move in the darkness. Video footage below demonstrates an example of some of the ideas captured.

Rehearsal 1 Images

Rehearsal 1 Solo Dancer and Column of Light

A single vertical column of white light was used as the starting point for the initial creative exploration.  When the dancer was placed in front of the OHP there were three factors which needed to be considered.  Firstly, the dancer was always going to be in view because the light was being projected from the front.  Secondly, the dancer could choose to stand to the side of the projected light or to place parts of the body directly into its beam.  This meant that it was possible to create a two tone effect in which the body had different levels of light on different areas.  The last consideration was that a shadow image could be created behind the dancer which could be altered depending on where the dancer was placed in relation to the OHP. 

We started by placing the dancer to the right hand side of the column (see photograph above).  The column created a strong visual and visceral presence and we explored the possibility of establishing  a dialogue between the light and the dancer.  We explored how the dancer could enter the light in different ways.  Initially the dancer's face is drawn towards the light, and as the face is hit with the strength of the light the dancer sharply retracts the head, almost as if they have been burnt.  We then allowed limbs and different parts of the body to be drawn into the light.  The effect of the column served to dissect the body into its component parts and allowed areas such as the torso and throat to be framed and over-exposed.  

The improvised material was structured into a short phrase of material which we filmed and reviewed.  I then watched the same material without the column to see how the material was affected by the removal of the light.  In the general overhead studio light the material had a very different quality.  The body could be seen as a whole and so the focus on specific body parts which had been a feature of the initial phrase was almost completely lost.  It was evident that this was now no longer a dialogue between two visual elements.

Rehearsal 1 Exploring Light from an OHP

The aim of the first rehearsal was to explore the creative possibilities of using light from an overhead projector.  For this part of the project I was working with a solo dancer Claire Coleman (pictured above).  I was keen to use sources of light which were easy to use and source and this idea was suggested to me by the theatre and lighting technician Karl Thurston Brown.  The default light which is projected from an OHP is a white square with rounded corners.  It is easy to adjust the height, size and focus of this output by using the manual settings on the machine.

One of the advantages of an OHP is that it is extremely quick and easy to change the shape and dimension of the light which is projected.  By placing different pieces of card onto the top panel of the machine it is easy to create different frames of lights such as columns, stripes, curves and squares.  

Relationships Between Choreographers and Lighting Designers

The traditional relationship between light and dance has tended to be one in which the choreographer has created the dance and the lighting designer has then 'lit the box' in which the work will be presented.  In recent years however, the relationship between designer and choreographer has started to become much more of a creative dialogue where the lighting design is a major creative element in the choreographic process.  There are now several high profile collaborative partnerships - Russell Maliphant and Michael Hulls, Lucy Carter and Wayne McGregor, Guy Hoare and Henri Oguike are perhaps the most well known examples at present.  

When asked what makes a good lighting designer Michael Hulls reply is tongue in cheek, '...The eyes of a painter, the hands of a sculpture and the soul of a poet.'    http://www.worlddanceuk.com/content.asp?CategoryID=462&ArticleID=346

It is clear from his description that Hulls believes that his role as a lighting designer is fundamentally creative and in the collaboration that he shares with Maliphant both artists acknowledge that the lighting often acts as a starting point for the choreographic process.  Maliphant describes Hulls as an architect of space, '...the space is always changing, opening up or closing down.  It's like breathing' (ibid).  The result is a creative dialogue between light and movement where the dance and the light can't exist without one another.

Lucy Carter has worked regularly for a handful of top British dance makers including Charles Linehan and Shobana Jeyasingh and what each choreographer wants from her lighting varies dramatically.  In common with Hulls she sees the process of lighting design as a creative one saying, '...I don't see the lighting as a technical thing...I ignore that side until I have my ideas and concepts' (ibid). As a result Carter does not always keep up to date with technological advancement within the industry.

The Finnish designer Mikki Kunttu has worked closely with the Swedish choreographer Tero Saarinen and both describe the relationship as an open dialogue.  Discussing the body of work the pair have created Kunttu says, '...We're doing our own thing...without any history or reference to anything else...Every time we start a new creation we start from nothing' (ibid).  Kunttu is modest about his own contribution to the final choreography stating that her lighting should not be too highly valued because, '...by itself it's nothing' (ibid).    

Image above by Chris Nash shows Henri Oguike in his solo dance Expression Lines with lighting by Guy Hoare and is available at www.ballet.co.uk/images/henri_oguike/cn_expression_lines_henri_oguike_back_view_downlite_500.jpg

Initial Research Proposal - Light and Movement

I am currently at the start of a period of independent choreographic research which forms one module of my MA Choreography programme.  This blog will be used to help me to document and reflect upon the creative process I am about to undertake.  

The module aims to examine the application of skills and methods of independent research in current choreographic practice.  I will be using the studio as a laboratory of enquiry and will present evidence of my research at the end of the process.  It has taken me several weeks to feel that I have been able to develop the right question for this task.   I have spent time considering the notion of practice as research and I am certain that this has helped to shape my final decision. 

My research will explore the relationship between light and movement.  Specifically, I will explore how light can be used as a creative starting point for choreographic material.  I intend to explore the potential of the dialogue between light and movement through a series of practical sessions involving a lighting designer and several dancers.

I am interested in this area of practice because I believe that light can create a frame for the body which can be as much as a catalyst for movement as music.  In my previous choreographic project 'We Want You To Watch US' the dance concluded with a section in which three dancers were contained in three individual squares of light.  Although the initial idea for the lighting helped to shape the choreography I would have liked the movement and light to have developed a much closer dialogue.  This module will help me to explore the potential of this creative dialogue.

I intend to work with a lighting designer/technician to establish five pre-existing lighting states which will be used as the starting point for my choreographic investigation.  I will spend  one day working with each specific state to explore how the body responds to the light provided.  I am unsure at this stage what I will find as a result of this process but there will definitely be some choreographic material at the end which will can be seen as the output of the research.

Before and during the process I will be considering the following questions:

What is the content of the research?

What are my methods?

Are the aims and methods congruent?

Why am I interested in this field?

Are there examples I can draw upon?

Is it possible to formulate a question which the research will be attempting to answer?

Is there an output?  What will I do with it?

How will I evaluate the success of the research?

Information about the image used above can be found at http://www.sonicacts.com/03/conference/confprogramme.html

Sources

Books

 Baugh, C. 2005 Theatre, Performance and Technology, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan

Fraleigh, S and Hanstein, P. (Eds.) 1999 Researching Dance: Evolving Modes of Enquiry, London: Dancebooks

Morgan, N. 2003 Stage Lighting for Theatre Designers, Cambridge: The Herbert Press Ltd.

Oddey, A. and White, C., 2006 The Potentials of Spaces, Bristol: Intellect Books

 

Articles

Hutera, D. 2002 'Bringers of Light', Dance Theatre Journal, Vol.18 No. 1

Pake, A. 2004 ‘Art as Action or Art as Object? The Embodiment of Knowledge in Practice As Research’ Retrieved 6^th Feb 2008 from URL http://www.herts.ac.uk/artdes/research/papers/wpades/vol3/apfull.html

 Websites

www.worldwidedanceuk.com/content.asp?CategoryID=462&ArticleID=344

www.rmcompany.co.uk

 www.bristol.ac.uk/parip/

Other Sources

Television Documentary: Light and Movement A Ballet Boyz Television Production for Channel 4, 2006