Create your Own Solo: Part 2

In the last lesson we looked at using music to inspire your creative process but in this lesson we’ll look at being inspired by watching other dancers move.

 

I’ve already mentioned previously the incredibly helpful short series from The Place and in today’s lesson we’ll be drawing on the 1st part in their mini series and making use of the idea that when we watch someone dancing, an “echo” of their movement is naturally created in our own mind.

 

Watch this video first and then carry on reading…

 

 

So today all I’d like you to do is watch someone dancing (it could be in person or something on YouTube). Perhaps find some footage of your favourite dancer and allow those movements you see to create an “echo” in yourself. Then respond with your own movement, taking inspiration from that echo and your inner dancer. Sometimes that might be as direct as exact copying and sometimes it might be completely different. Make it your own, it doesn’t need to be an exact match, in fact I wouldn’t expect it to be, as we all have different body shapes and skill levels. See what comes out, anything goes!

 

For the really adventurous and technically savvy, record yourself with your phone or iPod and then send me a link in the comments below to where I can see it!  And don’t forget, this is precisely the kind of thing we work on in Creative Dance Class, so if you’d like to learn more about creating your own dance movement, come along to Creative Class on Wednesdays.