Chapter 10 Moving three-dimensionally Kinesphere ************************************************** Hold markers in both hands. Begin to draw imaginary lines in the empty space nearest to your body. Create lines in space that almost touch your torso, head, legs, and feet. Extend your arms further into space and repeat the same process, drawing the space above, below, in front and behind you. Lunge onto one leg in varying directions reaching your arms further into space while keeping your other leg rooted to where you were just standing. Create a large bubble the color of your markers in the spaces that exist far away from your body. Stand in the middle of your bubble, and observe the places you visited in your Kinesphere: those near and far, high and low, in front and behind, to the sides, and all of the places in between. *************************************************** Have you ever played with glow sticks or sparklers or laser pointers in the dark? Have you performed balletic movement holding streamers in your hands? If so, you have likely discovered the joy of using these objects to create fleeting pictures in the air. Perhaps you drew zigzags or spirals that travelled from high to low, or maybe you wrote your name in cursive. Similar to the above exploration, these objects make it possible for you to see the impressions your movement leaves in the space. Every time you move, you design the space around your body your Kinesphere with a landscape of varied pathways. I am fascinated with how dancers design the space around their bodies. When I take ballet class, I sometimes imagine my body is covered in paint and the air around my body is an artist s canvas. I wonder: What will this canvas look like by the end of ballet class? What lines and pathways will I have painted with my limbs and torso? What spatial zones around my body will have the most paint? Those in front or behind me? Above me or low to the floor? To the right or left? CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 1 11/29/2017 9:35:32 AM
2 Creative Ballet companion website material Figure 10.1 Your movement leaves impressions in space Will the paint be close to my body s center, or will it be located far away from me? What parts of my canvas will have no paint at all? Imagine your body is covered in paint in your next ballet class. What areas of your Kinesphere will you have painted by the end of class? Kinesphere Ballet terminology and movement is spatially oriented: en arrière (backward) en avant (forward) en l air (in the air) à terre (on the ground) dessous (under) dessus (over) devant (in front) CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 2 11/29/2017 9:35:32 AM
Moving three-dimensionally 3 Figure 10.2 Painting the space with the limbs derrière (behind) de côté (sideways) en dedans (inward) en dehors (outward) At this point in your training you have learned this vocabulary and you understand that most steps such as glissade or pas de bourrée are performed in a variety of directions in space. Knowing how and where steps travel in space is important in ballet. As a spatial concept, Kinesphere aligns with this understanding. Your Kinesphere is the space directly around your body; it is your personal space. When moving with large reaching gestures, your Kinesphere size grows as you discover its outer edges. When moving with small reaching gestures, it shrinks as you explore its inner landscapes. Any part of your body can move to any region of your Kinesphere depending on your movement preferences and on the capacities and limitations of your body. CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 3
4 Creative Ballet companion website material You colored many different spatial regions with your markers in the opening exploration. These are referred to as the Zones of your Kinesphere. Since your body is three-dimensional, the Zones of your Kinesphere are also threedimensional. And, since you complete tasks that are both near and far away from the body (sewing a ballet shoes verses executing a grand jeté), the Kinesphere grows and shrinks with your actions. Table 10.1 Kinesphere Zones and Size Zones High Middle Low Front Back Right Left Size Small Reach Mid Reach Large Reach ************************************************* Kinesphere 1 Explore moving the following examples in a non-balletic way. a Large-Reach movements directed to the Forward Low Zones. b Large-Reach movements directed to the Back, Right, and High Zones. c Small-Reach movements directed to the Low Zones on your Right and Left. d Small-Reach movements directed to the Left High Zones. e Mid-Reach movements directed to the Back Low Zones. f Mid-Reach movements directed to Forward Middle Zones. 2 Explore a f again. This time, identify balletic movements that take place in these zones. Examples: a. I performed a battement degagé devant to a lunge in fourth position with a forward and downward reaching port de corps. c. I performed an échappé emphasizing the side low zones with my legs. e. I performed a battement frappé derrière. 3 What balletic movements did you discover in #2? ************************************************* CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 4
Kinesphere: technique and artistry Moving three-dimensionally 5 Kinesphere teaches you to focus on where movement originates, how it travels through space, and where it concludes. Focusing on Kinesphere size also teaches you to analyze how movements increase and decrease in size throughout a movement phrase; embodying these differences adds artistic variety to your dancing. Table 10.2 Technical and artistic benefits of Kinesphere Kinesphere is useful when: 1. Emphasizing the size of movements in space. 2. Clarifying how a movement travels through space. 3. Enlivening spatial awareness in different parts of the body. You can create pathways in your Kinesphere with any part of your body. Imagine I placed glow stickers on the major joints of your body from torso to distal and then asked you to perform a plié exercise in a dark room. The glow stickers would reveal numerous spatial pathways created by different parts of your body: Your knees would create linear, angular pathways that descend and ascend while moving toward and away from your body. Your elbow would create a triangular pathway as your arm moved from second, to bras bas, to first and back to second position. Your head would create an elliptical pathway as it followed your gesturing arm. Exploring how different parts of the body travel through different Zones and pathways in your Kinesphere develops both spatial and body awareness. You learn to ask: How does this movement travel through my Kinesphere? Knowing where to go (the Zone) and how to get there (the pathway) are crucial steps in actually getting there! ************************************************* Kinesphere: parts of the body 1 Choose an image for the following exploration. Some possibilities: Glow stickers Sparklers Motion sensors CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 5
6 Creative Ballet companion website material Figure 10.3 The knees create linear Traceforms during plié Lasers Paint brushes I selected the image of glow stickers. 2 Imagine you are in a dark room with glow stickers attached to each of your proximal, mid-limbs, and distal joints. Even imagine you have glow stickers attached to each vertebra in your spine. Take a moment and touch each of these locations on your body. 3 Play freely with both contemporary and classical port de bras, imagining the different pathways in space illuminated by the glow stickers on the upper body joints. 4 Choose one port de bras to repeat. Practice it. 5 Reflect: Where is this port de bras moving in your Kinesphere? Up to down? Side to side? Forward to back? Or, some combination of all these directions? How small or large is the port de bras? Does it change in size? How does each joint in the upper body create a unique pathway? Attend to the spatial pathway of the hands, then the elbows, the shoulders, the scapula, and finally the spine. Notice differences in the size and design of the pathways. What technical benefits did you discover in this exploration? 6 Repeat 1 5 with the lower body. I suggest experimenting with rond de jambe or developpé exercises. As you move your lower body, notice the size and design of the impressions the feet, knees, and hips leave in space. ************************************************* CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 6
Moving three-dimensionally 7 Figure 10.4 Lines of connections between the (a) distal, (b) mid-limb, and (c) proximal joints Exploring how each joint in your upper and lower body creates unique spatial pathways in space is a great method for increasing sensation in different body parts. It might be useful, for example, to attend to the spatial pathway of the upper thighs during a rond de jambe, especially when working on elongation and mobility of the legs in space. Or, you might investigate the spatial pathways of the elbows during port de bras in order to activate the upper arms. Using props to explore your Kinesphere! Materials needed: two lightweight scarves and two leg warmers Up, down, and all around! 1 Warm-up your Kinesphere before class. Hold one scarf in your hand and move it through the space in any way you want. Paint different pictures and travel to many Zones. 2 Tie the scarf to another part of your body the head, knees, shoulders, waist/pelvis, and so on. Repeat the above process. 3 Do this two more times with two different body parts. Paint your Kinesphere! 1 What parts of your body need more spatial awareness? Choose a joint on your arms or legs to focus on during technique class. Use the scarves for the arms and the leg warmers for the legs. CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 7
8 Creative Ballet companion website material 2 Attach the scarves or leg warmers to the same place on each side of the body: distal (wrists or ankles), mid-limb (elbows or knees), or proximal (upper arms or thighs). 3 Imagine the scarves or leg warmers are paintbrushes. As you progress through technique class, notice what parts of your Kinesphere you are painting with those paintbrushes. Focus on both the gesturing and supporting body parts. Are you painting the space close to your body or far away? Are the paint strokes small or large? Is the fabric travelling toward or away from your body? What Zones are you painting? Up High or down Low? Backwards or Forwards? Right or Left? Reflect: How did this activity impact your technical and expressive execution of the class exercises? CE...TSOê10-Moving-Three-Dimensionally.indd 8