Creative Study Improvisation

Catalog description

Whenever we make something, we are improvising—making it up as we go. But imagination and creativity are not random. Artists of all disciplines, indeed, have eureka moments and epiphanies; but those “aha” moments are born of practices that engage experimentation, strategies, observation, and decision- making—supported by states of concentration. Similarly, the notions of “perfect forms” and “free improvisation” are theoretical impossibilities. Nothing is ever totally fixed nor is it ever completely open. No matter what creative endeavor in which we are engaged, we are always in the real world, in a space between the two extremes. In this course, we will make dances in real time with varying degrees and types of determinacy. We will be guided by various concerns and ways of focusing our choices but will be consistently aware that we are composing dance in real time. That will require honing our perceptual skills, as well as our skills of articulation and communication, with our collaborators. Throughout the semester, we will develop our abilities both to build coherent structures that will guide our choice-making and to notice and use the serendipity that chance brings. This component is open to students with prior experience in improvisation and dance-making, as well as to those new to the form. Performance Project