Music as a creative starting point

Towards the end of my DYCP research, it was time to get into the studio and explore some

music ideas. I invited Ant, musician, composer and Sonrisa director and musician and dancer, Sioda, to join me for 3 days of exploration. The beauty of having this research funding meant there was no pressure for a fixed outcome, my aim was merely to explore sound and music as a starting point and how this could be integrated into movement.

 We spent time playing rhythm games, word games, jamming on our instruments (guitar, violin and flute) and moving with our instruments. I also picked out some classic nursery rhymes as a starting point, finding unexpected ways of performing them.  I brought in a variety of props and instruments for us to play with, things that made sounds such as rustling emergency blankets, squeaky pigs and cups as well as more traditional instruments, ukulele, cajon, glockenspiels, shakers and cabassas. There were many ideas explored including, a waltz, an Irish jig, a percussive nursery rhyme, banging cups to make rhythms and we even wrote a couple of fun songs. In the spirit of co-creation it also felt important to invite a handful of families with children aged between 7 months and 3 years into the studio on the third day to input into the process.

 It was a challenge to be really open ended, especially with families joining us which creates a sense of self pressure that brings an expectation to perform. However, I tried to keep this in mind and spark dialogue with the families, emphasising this was a workshop not a performance. We showed them some of the ideas we had played with and also set up the space with instruments and props to see what they would do with them. I encouraged mirroring, call and response as well as just observing.

Having been inspired by my time at Magic Acorns, I was keen to try and create an inviting environment for the families to come in to so I set up a projector which I linked to my iPad and played with the experimental Brian Eno app, Bloom. The app allows you to create calm, ambient melodies just by tapping the Ipad screen. When you tap the screen you create a sound accompanied by a circle which floats around the screen on a coloured background, this was then projected onto the wall behind us. I was curious to see how children interacted with this technology. I found it very mesmeric and engaging and unsurprisingly the children loved tapping the screen and seeing and hearing what they had made.

What did I discover????

These three days were loads of fun but I felt that I really only touched the surface of what is possible. I came away with at least two new show ideas but also feeling that more time is needed to explore the challenge of both playing music and dancing. I feel more passionate than ever about keeping live music a central part of my dance making and I have definitely gained confidence to use my flute and voice more within my early years dance practice.