ACTING FOR DANCER: MOVING INTO LANGUAGE
Moving Into Language is an approach to acting created specifically for trained dancers; taking what they know & understand so deeply about their bodies and using that as the foundation for their acting explorations. Dancers will learn how to use movement as a launching pad for building character, unlocking a scene and arriving at a unique interpretation of spoken material. They will gain greater access to their voice by seeing it as simply a natural progression of a scene’s physical expression. And they will acquire the necessary tools to independently prepare a scene/monologue so they can arrive at an audition or rehearsal creatively full & ready to play.
We'll begin with a series of physical improvisations aimed at tapping into the dancer’s impulses and at generating a sense of freedom & play in their initial experience of the text. The dancer will be released from any pressure to perform the words and encouraged to discover the world that exists around the words. They will learn to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view, and how to place that character within the dynamics of the scene.
Based on the discoveries made through these improvisations, we'll progress towards creating a score for the text. This will represent the dancer’s interpretation of the material, an amalgamation of the discoveries they made in earlier lessons and the choices they’d like to make now to solidify their unique performance of the material. We’ll practice how to “play” this roadmap, while allowing new impulses, as well as feelings/emotions/opinions, to arise.
This training in how to prepare encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings begin to arise at the time of performance.
With this method of working established, we’ll finish by looking at how to apply it to a wide variety of material. We’ll explore the humanity and immediacy in more heightened texts, as well as the fullness and complexity in very stripped-down naturalism. Dancers will also have an opportunity to bring in audition material, poetry, pieces of their own writing or texts that they’d like use in their choreographic work.
**WATCH THE TRAILER.**
We'll begin with a series of physical improvisations aimed at tapping into the dancer’s impulses and at generating a sense of freedom & play in their initial experience of the text. The dancer will be released from any pressure to perform the words and encouraged to discover the world that exists around the words. They will learn to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view, and how to place that character within the dynamics of the scene.
Based on the discoveries made through these improvisations, we'll progress towards creating a score for the text. This will represent the dancer’s interpretation of the material, an amalgamation of the discoveries they made in earlier lessons and the choices they’d like to make now to solidify their unique performance of the material. We’ll practice how to “play” this roadmap, while allowing new impulses, as well as feelings/emotions/opinions, to arise.
This training in how to prepare encompasses the essential first steps of the acting process; it takes the dancer through a period of exploration and invention, then into a conscious process of selection and refinement, and back into a state of discovery as unconscious reactions/feelings begin to arise at the time of performance.
With this method of working established, we’ll finish by looking at how to apply it to a wide variety of material. We’ll explore the humanity and immediacy in more heightened texts, as well as the fullness and complexity in very stripped-down naturalism. Dancers will also have an opportunity to bring in audition material, poetry, pieces of their own writing or texts that they’d like use in their choreographic work.
**WATCH THE TRAILER.**
Upcoming workshops
GIBNEY's Virtual Weekend Workshops Series
October 30th-November 1st -- "Exploring"
November 7th-November 8th -- "Interpreting"
All days: 12pm - 3pm EDT
Level: Open
Pricing: $60 per weekend, students can sign up for one or both.
Moving Into Language is an approach to acting created specifically for trained dancers. It uses movement as the launching pad for building character, unlocking scenes and arriving at a unique interpretation of the text. ‘Exploring’ will provide dancers with physically-driven tools to build a world around the words and to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view. ‘Interpreting’ will focus on movement-inspired text analysis, visceral choice-making and crafting an individualized performance for varying types of material. Both sessions will equip dancers to independently prepare a scene/monologue so they can arrive at an audition or rehearsal creatively full and ready to play. *LINK TO SIGN UP*
October 30th-November 1st -- "Exploring"
November 7th-November 8th -- "Interpreting"
All days: 12pm - 3pm EDT
Level: Open
Pricing: $60 per weekend, students can sign up for one or both.
Moving Into Language is an approach to acting created specifically for trained dancers. It uses movement as the launching pad for building character, unlocking scenes and arriving at a unique interpretation of the text. ‘Exploring’ will provide dancers with physically-driven tools to build a world around the words and to inhabit a character’s circumstances & point-of-view. ‘Interpreting’ will focus on movement-inspired text analysis, visceral choice-making and crafting an individualized performance for varying types of material. Both sessions will equip dancers to independently prepare a scene/monologue so they can arrive at an audition or rehearsal creatively full and ready to play. *LINK TO SIGN UP*
