Meet Joseph Svihel
Joseph is a fourth year dance major and a psychology minor. The title of his piece is Spectrum. Learn more about Joseph and his piece below!
Can you give us a brief description of your dance? The style of movement, inspiration behind the choreography, message of the dance, etc.
My piece, Spectrum, explores the variance of human identity and human interaction using 3 levels: individual, group, and societal. I use a blend of modern and lyrical movements to help me convey my ideas about the contemporary society-specifically Contemporary America. Spectrum aims to question the way we group/categorize ourselves, and reveal the grey areas within contextual dualities (light v. dark, opinion v. opinion, cohort v. cohort, and so on).
How do you personally prepare for your rehearsals? Do you choreograph on the spot or come with material prepared? What is your process like?
I prepare in different ways at different points in the process. In the early stages, I often come with some generated material, or lots of ideas about how to organize the space. I like to play with these ideas, and see how they look on the human body in the space. In the later rehearsals, I do less movement preparation-and more focus on movement intention and perception.
How do you think your cast would describe you as a choreographer/teacher?
Wild, exuberant, and scattered. My cast would probably comment on how I’m always changing my mind (and choreography), constantly contradicting myself, and forgetting my own corrections. But overall, I think my cast enjoys working and moving together during rehearsals-as well as my music selections.
How does being a Choreographer for Afterimages differ from choreographing for any other projects? If you’ve never choreographed before, how have you approached this process differently than when you were just a performer/dancer?
This Afterimages process has been very different for me than other years-as this is my first time working with such a large cast. It can be challenging at times to work with 11 other bodies in the space. To help this, I’ve tried calling smaller sections, or had multiple groups rehearsing different sections in the space at once. In the end, this has been simultaneously the most difficult and most rewarding experience of mine as a choreographer.
Joseph is a fourth year dance major and a psychology minor. The title of his piece is Spectrum. Learn more about Joseph and his piece below!
Can you give us a brief description of your dance? The style of movement, inspiration behind the choreography, message of the dance, etc.
My piece, Spectrum, explores the variance of human identity and human interaction using 3 levels: individual, group, and societal. I use a blend of modern and lyrical movements to help me convey my ideas about the contemporary society-specifically Contemporary America. Spectrum aims to question the way we group/categorize ourselves, and reveal the grey areas within contextual dualities (light v. dark, opinion v. opinion, cohort v. cohort, and so on).
How do you personally prepare for your rehearsals? Do you choreograph on the spot or come with material prepared? What is your process like?
I prepare in different ways at different points in the process. In the early stages, I often come with some generated material, or lots of ideas about how to organize the space. I like to play with these ideas, and see how they look on the human body in the space. In the later rehearsals, I do less movement preparation-and more focus on movement intention and perception.
How do you think your cast would describe you as a choreographer/teacher?
Wild, exuberant, and scattered. My cast would probably comment on how I’m always changing my mind (and choreography), constantly contradicting myself, and forgetting my own corrections. But overall, I think my cast enjoys working and moving together during rehearsals-as well as my music selections.
How does being a Choreographer for Afterimages differ from choreographing for any other projects? If you’ve never choreographed before, how have you approached this process differently than when you were just a performer/dancer?
This Afterimages process has been very different for me than other years-as this is my first time working with such a large cast. It can be challenging at times to work with 11 other bodies in the space. To help this, I’ve tried calling smaller sections, or had multiple groups rehearsing different sections in the space at once. In the end, this has been simultaneously the most difficult and most rewarding experience of mine as a choreographer.
Comments
Post a Comment