Another step in the choreographic process is to decide on an inspiration. Your personal impulses may take you in a different direction later, but having an inspiration as a starting point provides a framework for creating. Twyla Tharp (2006), a successful choreographer in both the artistic and commercial realms, wrote that she used a Greek tragedy as the motivation, or a starting point, for one of her works, but she soon became so immersed in what her dancers were doing that she lost track of her original motivation, the play, that initiated her creative process.
Developing Your Skills: Selecting an Inspiration
Creating
- Think about and evaluate a variety of sources to generate inspirations or ideas for creating movement. You can use the lists in the previous section to help you think of inspirations or create some of your own.
- Compare the possible inspirations in terms of your personal feelings about them, and determine which ones illicit the strongest, most in-depth and personal response.
- Select one of the inspirations and create several movements that capture your feeling response to it.
Performing
- Perform the movements you created.
- Interpret how the movements felt in your body.
Responding
- Analyze the way in which the movements you created are connected to your selected inspiration.
- Decide whether the movements captured or did not capture your feeling response to the inspiration.
Connecting
- Recognize how or why your personal experiences relate to the inspiration you selected.
- Describe this relationship.
