Group Forms Week 7?

This week, our movement bank was to be inspired by cultural context and include music.

The first thing to come to my mind was Orthodox Christian wedding ceremonies, so I decided to trust my instincts. In Orthodox Christian weddings, the bride and groom wear crowns, which are tied together by a ribbon and switched between their heads 3 times (3 to represent the Holy Trinity.) The exchanging of the crowns and the ribbons represents Christ making them one flesh. There is another part of the wedding service where the priest ties their wrists together with a ribbon and they walk around a table 3 times--the ribbon also represents them becoming one flesh, and the priest represents God leading them in their new life together.

I drew upon those elements by focusing on the head and the wrists within my movement bank. I also used repetition three times in the beginning.

I felt uncomfortable using the Orthodox chants that would be sung during the ceremony (such as "Rejoice, O Isaiah") because I think that what is sacred should be left in its sacred context, and not decontextualized for a performative venue. Therefore, I chose a song about romantic love that moves me.

I feel a little frustrated with the middle section of this movement bank because it feels like I fell back into old habits and movement pathways I've retraced a million times before, when I want to branch out and challenge myself. However, I like the beginning and the ending because they felt new to my body. I have also been focusing on making the transitions smoother, and making transitions dance.

I would like to push myself to generate new material, especially quicker material because I like to move slowly and moderately. I'm not sure how to go about that. I guess I'll find out as I do it.

Our scores were to be inspired by weight sharing in a cultural context. One of the suggested ways to find something to observe was to think about rites of passages or religious services.

My score drew upon the "cross diving" tradition of the Orthodox Church:

Orthodox Christianity and dance have been on my mind lately because that is what my senior project is about; therefore, how well these assignments catered to my interests this week is providential.