jessica rizzo-stafford
dancer. teacher. choreographer. yogi.
Create. Choreograph. Compose. Canvas. Convey. Capture.
Collaborate. Critique. Contact. Cultivate. Connection.
Conceive. Communicate.
Project C is a choreography curriculum I designed for the private studio sector after discovering the growing number of pre-professional adolescent dancers' interest and creative talent regarding choreographic composition; as well as the discovery of an increasing number of technical dancers who are finding choreography as their true calling. As my research also suggested, encouraging the creative process and individual, artistic aesthetic is pivotal during the developmental time of adolescence.
While technique is obviously essential within a training program, I realized how important it is to also cultivate the adolescent-dancers creative processes; encouraging the divergent thinking skills, problem solving and deconstruction of interdisciplinary content that dance-making stimulates. Integration of both technical and creative education develops and nurtures an enhanced, artistic, promising generation of dancer-choreographers; providing them with the opportunity to become dancers who think outside of the box by tapping into their creative potential; which they may not have realized existed.
Project C Workshops provide dancers the opportunity to create works and learn who they are as a choreographer by analyzing the fundamental principles of compositional design. Students will apply knowledge of choreographic structure and devices to create and perform individual and small group scores while demonstrating kinesthetic and cognitive development throughout creation and performance. Project C provides the necessary tools to explore individual creative process, architectural design, interdisciplinary prompts and emotional connections to ones own work. Critical evaluation and objective response will also become an embedded skill, prompting young dancers to engage in higher order thinking skills and metacognition; further supporting comprehension outside of the do and follow technique model, and building personal aesthetic; which will prove necessary for those who want to advance in all aspects of the quickly evolving professional dance world.
The classes are structured to develop individual creative process,movement profile and creative aesthetic (over the course of a studio's season)while focusing on the development of the following explored concepts:
•Movement analysis
•Improvisation
•Choreographic structure/form
•Choreographic devices
•Motif and phrase configuration
•The creative process
•Production
•Choreography of final small group works
By the end of Project C students will be able to:
•*Recognize and develop individual choreographic process & movement profile
•*Communicate choreographic aesthetic, emotion and storytelling through movement, discussion, production and written assignments
•*Synthesize improvisation and choreographic structure to develop movement scores both individually and collaboratively
•*Engage in critical thinking regarding choreographic development
•*Incorporate technique vocabulary and vernacular forms within choreography
•*Integrate various compositional tools within a final choreographic work
•Thoughtfully deconstruct and evaluate choreographic masterworks as well as the works of fellow peers
*If interested in bringing Project C to your school's curriculum, please email me for scheduling & workshop details.
