Today, I would like to analyse my field of profession from the Visual point of view and Ｋinaesthetic point of view; External way of learning and Internal way of learning..
I can say this is first part of self coaching project.
I guess some people may not be familiar with the word; kinesthetic awareness.
What is kinesthetic awareness?
kinesthetic awareness encompasses the body's abilities to coordinate motion (such as pitching a baseball) and the body's awareness of where it is in time and space (think dancing). When you see a troupe of ballet dancers moving together it is largely kinesthetic awareness that allows them to move in harmony together instead of bumping into each other.
Professional Inquiry is the way to learn what I am doing while I am doing, then this could be a good topic to anasyse.
Recently, the company I work for, they gave us dancers the DVD of current production.
The director often tells me that, I must watch myself on video so I can see how sloppy I look on stage. However, I did not watch it straight away.....
Well, I use to video myself often to see myself and analyse what I need to do to improve.
However, one day I realised that it is actually not so helpful watching me on video.
Video made me notice what I am doing wrong. So, I started to record myself and watch the video a lot in one point.
However, I realised that the field I am in, I should feel my body and aware of what I am doing instead of watching myself and FIXING myself from the outside. When, I realised that, I suddenly felt like instead of getting close the goal I am aiming for, I am getting father from it. I just did not know why but I felt like I should not rely on visual too much. So, I decided to leave my image in my head and I refuse to watch myself dancing for a while.
Because the video showed me what is happening, but, not why it is happening. And, I got confused and watching the video did not help. Well, I could not use the help from the video properly. I did not know how to use the video properly to help myself.
Because the video showed me what is happening, but, not why it is happening. And, I got confused and watching the video did not help. Well, I could not use the help from the video properly. I did not know how to use the video properly to help myself.
Best and most direct solution is to find out why it is happening. Then, how to solve the problem.
But, if we see the situation only from one direction, it is hard to realise why it is happeninig.
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Then, the other day I saw myself on the DVD.
I was shocked, I was so sloppy as the director told me.
It was a wake call to me. I just did not know why. It was not how I imagined on my head.
So, this time I watched the video and analysed differently; instead of fixing what I am doing wrong, I focused on WHY these mistakes are happening.
Then I thought about what is the advantages and also the disadvantage of watching the video and learning from it; from Visual point of view.
Advantages
1, Video does not exaggerate, Video shows only exactly what happened on that time.
2, Video can pause and slow down the footage; convenience to analyse to certain extent.
3, Video can provide bigger picture; whole stage. We can see our self as a part of performance; it provides different point of view.
Disadvantage
1, Now, I realised how to use the video properly to coach myself.
However, without knowing how to use it right, it will not work. Because video can provides only WHAT is going on, not WHY.
2, End of the day, even we understand what are we doing wrong by slowing down or pausing the footage, we cannot pause or slow down what we are doing in real life. Because, if we stop or slow down while we are dancing or break the movements down, and analyse them, that won`t work. Once stop or slow down the movements, The movements are not the same anymore. So, once go back to the normal speed, the habits are still there.
3, Dancers should feel and aware the surroundings and what are going on stage.
So we should be able to imagine whole picture without checking the video.
It is very similar to football player’s awareness on the pitch. Where ever they are, they sense where team mates and opponents are, and where the ball is.
The advantage and disadvantage of relying on physical sensation.
1, performing arts are physical arts. Dancers use their body as a tool to express whatever they need to express. Actor and singers use their voice to express.
Performing arts cannot be performed as an art without the physical sensations, body awareness, and feelings.
2, Lacking of kinesthetic awareness cause injure. And, I have noticed that dancers who do not aware of their kinaesthetic awareness injure more often than the other.
And, these dancers often rely on mirror or video instead of feeling and trust their instinct.
We should always move with the feeling and express the emotion. However, without solid technique, it cannot be a performance; it will become just a self indulgence.
No one understands actors who cannot speak or pronounce properly; even the actors had so much emotion or artistry to share with the audience, without the training and solid technique, it cannot be a performance.
Technique is only the tool to express our self on stage to share something special with audience.
So, end of the day video can be used to check to see the gap between artist`s own internal image and audience points of view; external image.
Today I noticed and realised from writing this journal; Focus on WHY things are happening, not What is going on. Studying is analysing why it is happening and not what is going on.
Analysing WHY will take us father and deepen our understanding to our self and the life it self.
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Thank you for a thought provoking post. I agree that it is important to think why things are happening.
ReplyDeleteI heard that there are two ways of using imagery in dance; one is visualizing yourself doing the steps, the other is imagining how it feels when you do the steps. The first one is seeing you from the outside, so it is external, and the second one is internal.
I think videos are useful for self-correction, because it makes me notice body memories that are wrong. Sometimes, 'why things are happening' may not be fundamental like muscular weakness or lack of coordination, but simply because the way we feel and think about the step are wrong. That can be corrected by seeing ourselves from the outside .
For example, I realize that my arms are too late in pirouettes when I watch the video, although I always thought it was in the right position. Then, I could start to rewrite my muscle memory, imagining and trying to bring the second arm faster. At the beginning, it may feel that it is too fast (going before my body gets around), but I feel that I get good turns. So, I practice until it feels natural. That way, I can correct myself and improve.
Daisuke - I really liked your analysis here of the physical attributes of dance that are examined though video. I have seen articles where dances are hooked up to sensors that record their movement and this records movement for choreography - but you practitioner's view about the 'inside' changes that are needed would carry across many different art forms aw well as sport. Good blog and provoking...
ReplyDeleteHi Mina.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my blog.
It is great to hear from you because you are in a same field.
I have same problem for pirouettes. I do turn but my position is rather strange, second arm is slow, so my upper body is look twisted. Ironically, when I watch it as slow motion, it did not look bad at all, every thing seemed be in a right place. But, when I watch it in normal speed, it just does not look right. I am confused and a bit up set.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your opinion.
Hi Ms Nottingham.
ReplyDeleteThank you for checking my blog and leaving a comment!
I will keep my self up dated.