Improvisation

During class I have been trying to understand what improvisation means and how is it used. I began to think of different projects that match up how improvisation would be used in my own practice. Art to me should be something that changes everyday life and gives meaning to the people surrounding you. As Marc Bamuthi Joseph said, “If what we do doesn’t impact the outside, we are not doing our jobs”. The project idea struck me at about 3 a.m. I am constantly receiving notifications on my cellular device on “breaking news” that can occur locally, nationally or internationally. I began to brainstorm what can I do with this incoming information and use it as a tool to create something powerful. I will take this information I have no prior knowledge…

would think there is anything humorous about Dementia? Most people who experience it or their caregivers wouldn't. But humor and improvisation may be a key element to reducing anxiety and creating joy for both you and your loved one. In Part I of this series I discussed some of the facts and myths about Alzheimer's and dementia. In Part II I presented five…

The strongest improv rule I did was keeping everything going throughout the whole entire process, trying to build off of everyone else’s idea. Through Conducted Story to Mr. Know-It-All I did my utmost best to make every sentence make sense and if it suddenly changed, go off of someone else’s emotions, and idea of a story. In Mr. Know-It-All most of our sentences made no sentences, I attempted to make sense of them and roll off of their ideas, when Mark would say the weirdest word that did not…

Life is a giant improvisation skit. You never know what will happen and how you are supposed to act. Improvisation is when an unplanned event occurs and you must deal with it without a specific plan set in mind. It is very simple when it is subconscious, but for me, the second that I am told I have to stand in front of people and perform a skit where I am in a dentist office trying to avoid letting the doctor work on my teeth, I completely freeze up and get lost in a world of fear. I start…

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MY CD "COMPOSITIONAL IMPROVISATIONS™ FROM THE "MYSTERIA", AND "COMPOSITIONAL IMPROVISATIONS VOL I: WATER": Because these are improvisations, the use of the motives in the templates is to some extent arbitrary, as choices were made "in the moment" of improvisation--which is one of the most important aspects of the templates, one that can bring tremendous spontaneity to a performance. Other motives not in this template are used in the course of these improvisations as well,…

Question 1: Improvisation Improvisation in music is making up the music as one plays, or freely. Improvisation does not follow sheet music like typical jazz does. However, the term improvisation is not just linked to music. Movies and television shows also have a technique with the same concept which is improve but with acting. Both of these mean the same thing, which is the artist/actor has the determining factor of what they will play or say. One genre that uses improvisation as a major…

to relax my body before a performance to increase fluidity within my movement. Both yoga and Pilates has enabled me to become more attained with my body. Spring Semester Dance Improvisation 2015 (Professor Hapke) Improvisation is the act of composing spontaneously, focusing on the present moment and playing with possibilities of the environment with the body. At the beginning of class for a few weeks, we were working with the grid created by Barbara Dilley. The grid was created to expand and…

instrument that conveys our unspoken words. Movement and Improvisation class is a creative platform that allows us to tap into our creativity and explore a large range of movements outside of our usual technique classes. It allows us to develop our ideas and thoughts and move in a way that expresses them. Despite being allowed this space of freedom in our dancing, it also requires thought and discipline to be able to execute movements and therefore we were taught different technique skills in…

Scat singing is a technique used by singers in vocal jazz music. Scat is a form of vocal improvisation that consists of nonsense syllables or no words at all. It requires the singer to improvise melodies and syllables from the top of their head, this is a very difficult technique to master as it uses the voice as an instrument rather than using it to speak. Though scat singing is improvised, the melodies are usually based around common musical themes, such as scales, arpeggios, or the chorus…

Improvisational theater helps foster interpersonal communication skills in many ways. It aids the development of relationships by creating a judgement free space for creative thinking. It furthers the formation of connections in the brain that aid retention of short term memories and faster cognition. Improv also can act as therapy for speech, learning disorders, ASD and dementia. I know that my personal experiences with improvisational theater have increased my confidence exponentially, both…