Anna Efthymiou Blog assesment 1

1: My initial thoughts were that physical theatre was apparent to dance theatre and that the majority of this was extremely choreographed to look aesthetically pleasing. However, this rapidly changed, and thoughts on physical theatre have expanded and adapted immensely, throughout the devising process as I became aware that ensemble work occasionally moves on impulse and pedestrian movements can also be classed as ‘physical theatre’. We have learnt to depend on the use of body memory. Each week we rely on our body memory to rediscover our centre and to recall movements and notions from previous weeks. I have learnt that physical theatre can act on impulse, you can move when you feel the moment is right, this is another clear difference between the physical theatre and the timing needed in dance theatre.

The use of pedestrian movements is something that is not used in dance theatre so is another difference between the two genres. It enables the audience to read the character and their emotions, and gives the audience a chance to question why the performers are moving rather than the performers making constant elaborate movements.


2: “The term itself – ‘physical theatre’ – denotes a hybrid character and is testimony to its double legacy in both avant-garde theatre and dance…” (Sanchez-Colberg in Keefe & Murray; 2007, p 21)

I agree with Ana Sanchez-Colberg opinion in which she implies that the ‘hybrid character’ in physical theatre is combination of different genres. It has a double current of influences one being dance and the other, theatre. When placed together a new genre is created, ‘Physical Theatre’. Although, like dance, there may not be a solid script to follow, but there will always be a meaning for the piece, whether it is personal or political. The argument between whether people who are involved in physical theatre are dancers or actors is still to this day in disagreement this may be because physical theatre does not yet have a clear definition.


3: “Jasmin Vardimon Company was founded in London in 1997 and rapidly rose to become a significant element within the British dance theatre scene.” http://www.jasminvardimon.com/about.html)
Through my own experience of working with the company on a workshop made for the university based on their performance ‘Yesterday’. I learnt one of the company’s ways of devising. Jasmin Vardimon has a lot of key techniques that pull her away from the conventional choreographed dance; we learnt that there should always be a motivation behind every movement, a feature that is lacked in a lot of traditional dance theatre.

Traditional dance theatre consists of aesthetically pleasing movements even when the performance does not require them. Physical theatre companies such as Jasmin Vardimon’s believe that ever movement should have a meaning, whether it is visually pleasing or unpleasant to watch. Their aim is for the audience to be able to follow the emotions of a journey through something deeper and more personal than just aesthetic movements.


Bibliography
Sanchez-Colberg in Keefe & Murray; 2007,
http://www.jasminvardimon.com/about.html)