The stanzas in Choreographic Impulses to Explore, Improvise & Abstract are open-ended creative catalysts. It is up to you to decide what to do with them. They were envisioned to stimulate choreography yet are equally effective for creative dramatics, visual arts, music composition, and creative writing. (Why limit yourself? Do them all!)
Stanzas emphasize one idea (one word) which directs the creative process and keeps intent clear. Let that word title your creation and guide your artistic process. The nine-word diamante (diamond) offers a beginning-middle end structure that can serve as a guide for short creations. Permit creative work to be guided by design principles: unity, variety, transition. Allow punctuation marks to suggest whether to elaborate on a word (if followed by a period) or to cluster word cues (commas).
Let stanzas be points of departure that inspire original material in your art form. Challenge yourself to create abstract responses that do not precisely portray the idea of the stanza. For example, if dance is the goal, create a hint of the idea, capturing its energy, space, and timing rather than literally portray the idea (leave that to creative dramatics). If you are an educator, use stanzas to sharpen compositional skills by incorporating criteria from the bulleted list below. Select one stanza and invite other creative artists to join with you in creating original work in different art forms; perform/show them together.
With 187 dragonfly diamantes in hand you won’t run out of creative ideas any time soon. Return to stanzas you created earlier to discover new insights that present themselves–a joy of creativity and a delight of good open-ended stanzas.
By Brenda Pugh McCutchen
Dance Curriculum Designs LLC
www.dancecurriculumdesigns.com
Download Slides