Video transcript
@The Arts Unit Art Bites – Contemporary choreography – 01. Creative accumulation

[music playing]

LEXY PANETTA: Hello, lovely dancers. It's Lexy here checking in with you all in our virtual studio. I'm really missing dancing with you, and being able to share movement. But this is the best we got, and it's great. It's a nice way to connect. And I hope you're all keeping safe and well at home, and been taking care of your bodies and keeping creative.

So what I'm going to share with you guys today is some choreography. So we're hoping that we'll spend the next 10 to 15 minutes learning a few steps, and learning a little bit of a combination. And then hopefully, in the weeks to come, we can keep adding on it, and then see where it ends up at the end. It can be like a little Frankenstein dance, who knows?

Keep in mind that the movement is going to be quite confined, because I know we're all working in very different spaces. So that's been an inspiration for my idea. We're working with some concepts around confinement and being boxed in, go figure. But we're also working with a contrasting element of that, which is about horizons, and possibilities, and potentials beyond the box.

So if you kind of think of a space in your house where this might be really suitable, it could be a cool way for us to connect and circulate this chore. But we'll cross that bridge when it comes, because it might be nice just to share some creative tasks with this idea as well.

But before then, make sure that you guys have all watched-- I mean, you have a great selection of warm up videos. Please make sure that before you continue from this point, your body is warm, and you are completely ready to move, and you've done some stretching, and you're prepared for dancing. If you haven't done that, pause me and come back to that in a minute. Make sure you go and warm up first.

And the second thing is to make sure you've got a clear enough space. Please be aware that you can modify my movement and choreography in any way that you need to for your space and your body. So there's a lot of options that will come through, so don't feel limited into what I'm giving you. If you feel a little bit of creativity with it, or if it's to do with the space that you're working with, go ahead. I can't wait to see what you guys do. And additionally, there's also the element of using the floor in this combination. So I would give some opportunities for different modifications if you're working with tiles or a cement floor, something that's not supportive for your back. So don't fear, we've got some options. Yeah, I'll deliver them throughout the class today.

[Phrase 1]

So we're going to get started. We're going to start by sitting on the floor. And we're going to sit on a slight diagonal with our knees softly in front of us, just bent. Now with this, the music is very, very slow. So we're going to just work with the steps today, and maybe we'll get to the music next week, or maybe by the end of today's lesson. But I think we're just going to work with the steps first, OK? Excellent.

So it's a very slow eight. We're going to start the first eight. We're just going to have our hands in our lap, and we're just gazing. We're completely still in this time. Hold for eight.

The second eight, we're going to take a right hand, we're brush along the floor. And it has a little bit of push in it, because that velocity is going to allow our hand to raise up to the diagonal, and then it's going to sink back in our shoulder, and then gently drift off and undulate down towards the floor. So we have six counts to get to there, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, curl in, 7, 8. Excellent.

From here, once we curl in, we bring the right knee in as well. And we're going to kind of take this moment to stretch with the arm and leg. And it could be in any direction. 7, 8, 2, 2, 3, 4. We're then going to scoop the right arm through, 5. Take the left arm to the floor, 6. Draw a circle around, 7. Swing up, 8.

Now I know that seems like a lot of movements for eight count, but when you hear the music, it's really, really slow. So no panicking there. Let's go from the little curl in, 7, 8, we open up, 2, 3, 4, curl in here, 5. We do a little contraction, take the arm around 6, 7, open, 8.

From here we hold, 2. We're going to do a little lift. It's like we're following it up a little bit of port de bras. And then we're going to undulate the arm, 3, 4. This time, we contract even further, and we bring both knees in, 3, 4. And then this time, we take both arms and legs, 6, 7. Open up the hands, 8. Beautiful.

When we come down from our little extension in the suspended abdominal hold-- when we come down, I want us to almost imagine that we're opening up a box. And it's kind of got the essence of a very gentle bubble bursting. So you almost have this little lift in the upper body with it as well. Beautiful. That's 7, 8.

From here, we change the tempo a little bit. We're going to firmly fold down the right hand, 1, 2, 3, 4, OK? So right hand folds down, left hand folds on top. It's like we're closing a cardboard box. We then flip them forward, and then we lunge them between our knees. From here we lift up, 5, 6, to our head. And then we push our limits, open with flexed palms, 7, 8.

Great. Shall we try it from the beginning? Just without music, just with my fabulous voice instructing. We hold for 8. 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 4, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Great. It will make much more sense with the music, I promise.

[Phrase 2: Options on the Floor]

We're going to learn a little bit more. So from this extension outwards, we've got two options coming up. Because we're going to be laying on the floor. The first option-- if it is safe for you to lay on the floor, and it's not hard to damage or hurt your back-- we are going to take up arms in this position, and we're going to swipe them on the floor this way. And it's like we pick up dust and we lay down, and the knees compress in. From here, whoosh, straight down. Great.

If you are unable to lay back on your floor, that's completely fine. You're going to do the exact same thing, but just take the legs to here. Yeah? And you just do the same momentum with the arm. Wonderful.

The next move from here-- if you've gone to the floor, we're going to take the right knee up. And then we're going to bridge it through, threading it under. The left arm comes over, and we tucked into a little ball, OK?

If you are doing it sitting up, we've come from here. You take the legs down, and you take the arms back, and you do the exact same thing with the legs, but you don't have to go on your back. And once you've threaded the right leg through, you then just bring the left arm over, and we're all in the same place. Great, excellent.

[Phrase 3]

We're going to learn a little bit tiny more from this position. Once we are here, we're going to allow the leg to extend out this way. So the left leg goes out, and we're going to let the arm come around. We're going to push up, and we're going to tuck both the left arm and left leg in into a cross-legged position. I don't mind which leg is actually really in front, but it is easier to bring the left one through.

We've come here. We go up. We fold it in, and then we're going to do the same thing that we did when we were sitting on the diagonal with the opening of that bubble for the box, 7, 8. We're going to bring it down again. We're going to fold it through, up. And then this time instead of going this way, we're going to open up outwards. Excellent.

[From the Beginning]

From the top, lets just do that much all together. We hold, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 7, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 8, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Wonderful.

[Phrase 4]

We're going to learn just a tiny little bit more. And remember, you can go back and look at things altogether, take as much time as you need. We're just going to learn a few more counts, and then we're going to probably leave it there.

Once we've done this option here, we're going to lean to our right side. And we're going to take our left arm, and we're going to flip our weight into our left foot here, but we're leaning on our right knee.

So from our cross-legged position, we've opened up this way. We lean to the right. We take left and left knee over. But we're going to making this kind of angular shape here.

Once we've landed there, we're going to swipe with the right arm, so we're drawing kind of like a little semicircle around ourselves. We swipe through, and then we allow the left leg, and the left arm to draw a huge circle around, and we bring it in nice and close here.

So remember we're trying to kind of trace these sort of outskirts of our kinesphere, but imagining that it's almost the box that we're sitting in or confined to. Wonderful. From there, let's go from perhaps our option here. I'll do the seating option for those people.

We're here, we go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

[Movement with Music]

OK, guys, so now we're going to give it a try with the music. And we might learn just a couple more counts and see how we go. But as you could hear, the music is going to be very, very delicate and soft. So we're going to have a little listen with it, and we're going to have a little play with how I like to interpret the counts.

But you guys are welcome to do whatever you please with that. I like things to trail into each next transition. So if that's something that you would like to play with as well, that's really wonderful. But if you want to kind of take your own spin on it as well, we'll change the dynamics up a bit. I welcome anyone's opportunity with that. So now we'll have a little play together.

[music - Bon Iver, 'Wash']

Here we go, 6, 7, 8, we go.

(SINGING) Climb, is all we know. When thaw, is not below us. No, can't grow up in that iron ground. Claire, all too sore for sound.

[Review]

So once we've gotten to our little-- we're go through that little section a little bit slower. So once we've come from here, we're going to take the left arm and leg. We fold it into our little cross-legged position to repeat our little bubble box folding into this position. Once we open it up here, we lean to the right. We take our arm over this way to then swipe, and then reach around into the little box here.

[Phrase 5]

From here, we're going to stand up. So make sure you guys have a little bit of space behind you. We've come into this little box here. We're going to stand up. And you can push yourself off the ground. But as we do it, we're going to draw our wrists together this way. You have four counts for this, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Once the wrists hit, they're going to open up. So they just invert this way, and we bring our right leg to our left, 5, 6. We're going to invert them again, 7, 8. From here, we're going to slide out into a lunge. We trickle our hand down, but as we do it, we're going to spin in with the left arm and draw a circle and slide to the floor. OK?

One more time. So we'll go from here. We've come in from swipe. We go round. We bring it in. We step up, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Over, 2, undulate 3, 4, spin, 6, 7, 8. Great.

With the arms for that as well-- I'm sorry I haven't got enough space to show you.

But once we've come from here, we slide out. We're going to bring it in. As we undulate, we bring the left arm around with the left arm-- with the left leg-- And then from here, we step through. The arms go over the head this way, as we take our right leg, and then we go down to a lunge. Wonderful. Excellent, we'll try that with the music.

[music - Bon Iver, 'Wash']

5, 6, 7, 8, We go up.

(SINGING) Bet, is hardly shown. Scraped, across the foam, like they stole it, and oh, how they hold it. Claire, we nearly forfeit. I, I'm growing like the quickening hues.

[Conclusion]

Great, guys. I hope that's enough for today. I think that's a little bit of stuff to work with there. I don't to keep anybody's brains working overdrive. But have a lovely week, and have a little practise with that, and I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. Please ask me any questions. It's really hard to learn choreography this way, so I commend you all for giving it a shot, and I look forward to seeing you all soon with the next pieces.

Thank you guys, bye!