Creative Process Final Reflection

Creative Process Final Reflection

I chose to take this Creative Process course because I wanted to fill the open elective space in my class schedule with something stimulating that would allow for my artistic and choreographic voice to develop. Embedded in a semester of investigating improvisation in and outside of the class I not only got to participate as a student but also got the chance to facilitate activities as an assistant to my professor in this class. Leading guided improvisations, contributing to the direction of the curriculum and even coordinating an entire visual art collage project the class participated in was empowering and stretched my creative capacities quite far. I feel fortunate to have had the perspective I did in this class and I took so much away from it.

There was a very obvious arc to my semester: initially I was relieved to be entering into my final semester of college, then I became very overwhelmed by the realness of post graduate life approaching and college life slipping away, and now I have a balance of excitement and fear for my future. However without the outlet this class gave me, I do not think I would have choreographed work so distinctive of this time in my life as I did for the Senior Capstone Concert. “Ins and Outs” drew from experiences and relationships from the history of my life but very much grew from the techniques and inspiration I got from this class. I found myself journaling, outside of the required journal for class, jotting down words, ideas, memories and everything in between. I used the guided improvisational warm up I led in class with my dancers in an effort to get them in the proper headspace to move and think independently of the rigid method of staging exact choreography. I handed the artistic responsibility over to my dancers in the same way I, as a teacher’s assistant, and Erin, as our professor, did in the exercises we completed in class. Without the confidence I gained from practicing how to guide this improvisation in class, it would not have been as effective in my rehearsals.

The dance film project felt like the perfect way to close the semester. The movement and visual arts activities we participated in all semester long pushed me as a dancer and others as non-dancers to use movement as our primary realm of exploration. The film project pushed us all to learn the skills to film and edit original movement. Each layer of this process pushed me to explore a new medium that could be used to experience the medium of dance that I am so intimate with. Stepping far outside my box as a means to further investigate dance in a brand new way was so exciting for me! I loved seeing everyone’s finished product and hearing about the unique approach we each took in our process. I am grateful that Erin and my classmates forged such a supportive and engaged group of creative thinkers in our classroom.

I cannot talk about this class without talking about Thomas Greene. After seeing Thomas move in class I knew I wanted to work with him. His movement is unadulterated commitment and complete submission to the task at hand. He is aware and takes direction so well. I must also applaud his behavior and response to being cast as an understudy, having to step in the day of the show, and doing a phenomenal job. Getting to know Thomas, Erin Leigh, and the rest of this class opened me up to a new community of artists that forged a new pathway to direct my thinking. I loved that I spent my final semester in a dance class with non-dance majors.

I cannot say enough how crucial this class was to my own creative process in the work I presented at the Senior Capstone Concert and Bailey McFaden’s concert, Wondrously Clear. I actively used not only the methods but also the collaborative nature of the class to my advantage when setting “Ins and Outs.” I could not think of a better way I could have filled that spare time in my academic schedule and I am so pleased with my choice to take the Creative Process class.