What is the "choreographic moment?" When does an idea form, movement turn into dancing, or a desire builds to create your new work? Throughout 2016, we will read ideas and essays from ten different choreographers.

Today we hear from Douglas Nielsen. To read Douglas's full artist profile on the blog, click here.

Photo courtesy of http://www.balletnebraska.org

THE CHOREOGRAPHIC MOMENT

The "choreographic moment” suggests the choreographic ACCIDENT – the MISTAKE – the thing that wasn’t planned – the thing that alters the perception of the viewer – that which changes the order, or focus, or timing of a dance. And yet, the choreographer gets the credit – because the situation was set up for it to occur. The choreographer noticed it, and deemed it important.

CONTROL is the enemy of creativity. Attempting to CONTROL every moment in the process of making a dance can KILL – or at the very least – INHIBIT the evolution of an idea. Often, when something happens – beyond the imagination of the dance maker – it is the result of a free-associated or accidental truth – something that happened for good reason. Something that makes one shout: “YES – That’s a KEEPER. That was worth coming in for.”

A second way of interpreting the "choreographic moment” would be to tag it as a DECISIVE MOMENT – a vital point in a dance where clarity, juxtaposition, or change takes a twist to reveal itself. Granted – some dances are designed to be a continuum – refusing to be labeled as any sort of journey with a destination. Still, I’ve never witnessed a dance without some sort of landmark shift that could be identified as a "decisive moment." An ENDING, for example, could behold the decisive moment. Which is why I have never WALKED OUT of anything. A good ending can absolutely change how I feel about a dance. (But that’s another essay.)

The third and final way to define the "choreographic moment” would be to give a nod to INSPIRATION – the moment when an idea plants itself so firmly in your head that you simply must pursue it. For me, the inspiration for making a dance needs to be present before I can move forward. Inspiration is a starting point. Inspiration need not be fully formed or ultimately illustrated. Abstraction is a legitimate approach to creativity – an approach that neither asks for nor refuses narrative.

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Related posts:

Choreographic Inspiration

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