Wayne Mcgregors Career As A Choreographer Drama Essay

Wayne Mcgregors Career As A Choreographer Drama Essay Wayne McGregors career as a choreographer has been experimental and Innovative. This essay is an overview of his career so far as a choreographer, looking mainly at his work as Artistic director of Random Dance, Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet and his interests in Technology and Science. The essay begins with a brief biography of McGregors career and goes on to show his collaborations and choreographic works and finally analyzes what makes him unique as a choreographer. Wayne McGregor was born in the year 1970 in Stockport, England. He studied dance at Bretton Hall College which was at The University of Leeds and he then went on to study at the Josà © Limon School in New York. In the year 1992 McGregor was appointed choreographer in residence at The Place, London and in that same year he founded his own dance company known as Wayne McGregor | Random Dance which was invited to become the resident company at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London in the Year 2002. In 2004 Wayne McGregor was appointed Artist-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge at the Department of Experimental Psychology. (www.randomdance.com) In the year 2006, Wayne McGregor was appointed as the Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet. This was a great achievement as he was the first Modern Dance choreographer with no ballet training to be given this role at the Company. In 2009 McGregor premiered his production of the Opera, Dido and Aeneas at the Royal Opera House, London, this was his Opera debut. His newest choreographic works are Outlier, which was premiered this year by the New York City Ballet on May 14th and Yantra, premiered by Stuttgart Ballet on the 7th of July this year. (www.randomdance.com) Wayne McGregors company Random Dance premiered Xeno 1 2 3 at The Place, London in January of the year 1993, this was their debut as a company. Throughout the 1990s Wayne McGregor and Random Dance continued to develop the company with choreographic works such as AnArkos 1995, 8 legs of the Devil 1996, The Millennarium 1997 and Sulphur 16 1998. Wayne McGregors interest in technology developed and his choreographic works from the year 2000 onwards really reflected this with performances such as Aeon 2000, digit01 2001, PreSentient 2002, Polar Sequences 2003 and Qualia 2004. (www.randomdance.com) Wayne McGregor has a great interest in science which greatly influenced his choreography in 2004. During his time at the University of Cambridge where he had a fellowship for six months at their Department of Experimental Psychology, he started to research a condition called Ataxia. . (www.randomdance.com) The word ataxia means without coordination. People with ataxia have problems with coordination because parts of the nervous system that control movement and balance are affected. Ataxia may affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech, and eye movements. The word ataxia is often used to describe a symptom of incoordination which can be associated with infections, injuries, other diseases, or degenerative changes in the central nervous system. (www.ataxia.org) At the Department of Experimental Psychology, McGregor worked with scientists who had interests in areas such as object recognition and spatial processing, movement analyses, cognitive dimensions of notation, and relationships between representation and self. ( Kupper, 2007, p.178) After his research Wayne McGregor choreographed Ataxia, the performance was designed with the help of his experiences with neuroscientists; his company of professionally trained dancers, along with the help of a person experiencing an ataxic movement disorder, her name was Sarah Seddon Jenner. ( Kupper, 2007, p.178) McGregor uses lighting effects to add to the choreography and bring it to life as he does in many of his choreographic pieces. In a review of Ataxia for The Guardian, Judith Mackrell says In Wayne McGregors latest work there is a moment, in the middle, when the stage seems to dissolve into an electric brain storm. Pulsing currents of brightly coloured light stream in disorienting patterns around the space. The music judders and strains as if several clashing scores were being played at the same time. (Mackrell, 2004) In 2005 McGregor continued to use science as a tool of exploration for his choreography for the piece Amu. He worked with heart imaging specialists for this piece, along with artistic collaborators. They wished to question both physical functions and symbolic resonances of the human heart. (www.randomdance.org) In a review of Amu in The Sunday Times, Debra Craine says If you thought about it too much it could haunt you. Each minute of every day, through a complex web of arteries, your heart is pumping the bodys lifeblood. Its a fact of nature that we take for granted but its something that the choreographer Wayne McGregor and the composer John Tavener want us to think about. Their fascinating new collaboration Amu (Arabic for of the heart) is all about the organ, seeing it through McGregors embrace of science and Taveners famous spiritualism. (Craine, 2005) McGregors concepts for choreography include technology as well as science, a good example of this would be Entity which was premiered by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London on April 10th 2008. Entity incorporated technology, with the use of a soundscape which was an hour long, created by Jon Hopkins and Joby Talbot. It incorporated the use of video; the video design was created by Ravi Deepres. (www.randomdance.org) The choreography was initiated from McGregors Choreography and Cognition research project which is a collaboration with scientists of Neurology and Psychology. (www.randomdance.org) The choreography was described by Gia Kourlas of the New York Times when he said, Wayne McGregors Entity begins and ends with a video of a greyhound seeming to run in place. The reference is significant: as entities, these slim animals are at once refined and fidgety, highly flexible and, of course, able to devour space at great speed. For Mr. McGregor, those are key physical ingredients that his dancers, also entities, must possess to have a solid grasp of his movement. In this world of glossy distortion, there isnt a place for hazy shapes. (Kourlas, 2010) After the success of his choreography for Chroma performed The Royal Ballet in 2006, Wayne McGregor was given the job as Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet. In 2008 audiences saw another great choreographic piece by McGregor which showed his innovative use of technology and lighting to make his choreography unique, this performance was called Infra and premiered at The Royal Opera House, London March 13th 2008. (www.randomdance.org) McGregor collaborated with many people while developing and choreographing Infra. Wayne worked with Monica Mason, Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet. He commissioned a British artist called Julian Opie to collaborate with him and create a visual set to add to the piece. For the music Wayne collaborated with cult composer Max Richter to create a unique soundscape to accompany the choreography. The choreologist for Infra was Darren Parish who recorded Waynes choreography in rehearsals with the use of Bensch Notatation. (BBC Documentary) The producer was Will Harding, the lighting designer that worked closely with Wayne McGregor was Lucy Carter and the costume designer was Moritz Junge. The artist Julian Opie that worked on the set design had never designed for the theatre before. Opie had created screen lights, which showed the silhouettes of a male stick figure and a female stick figure in light, these are in Dublin on OConnells Street. While researching for his set design for Infra Opie observed people walking along the streets and how they moved like choreography. (BBC Documentary) The music created by Max Richter was created on a synthesiser and Waynes choreography was created before the music as this is the way McGregor worked on this particular choreography. The performance was twenty five minutes long and cast included twelve dancers plus a cast of fifty extras that were included in the choreography. The process of creating Infra from the very beginning to the premier performance on opening night was filmed by the BBC for a documentary. The documentary gave great publicity for Wayne McGregor and Infra and he won South Bank Show award for Infra in 2009. . (BBC Documentary) (www.randomdance.org) In an interview by Sarah Crompton for The Telegraph, Wayne McGregor talks to her about the process of his collaboration for Infra with Julian Opie, McGregor explains: We both feel that the body can never really be abstract but he feels that there is a difference between a functional action he jumps up to demonstrate raising an arm, tying a shoe and a pose. A pose for him is something that cant be connected to meaning in a really exact way and I found that really interesting. So what we have done is worked with this absolute physicality and, at the other end, a kind of language which is oppositional to that. (McGregor Wayne, citied in Crompton 2008) In a review of Infra by Debra Craine for The Times, she gives her opinion on what strikes her about the performance, she says: The first thing that strikes you about Infra is Julian Opies set. His evocative figures, drawn in outline on a giant LED screen, move back and forth high across the stage, like busy London commuters. Underneath are the live dancers, the inner manifestation of the outer world above. Their memories, fears, dreams and desires are being lived out in the intimacy of their own heads. McGregors movement may still be a full-body workout (undulating torsos, limbs constantly in motion, muscles yearning to exceed their limits) but it speaks as strongly of compassion and anger, of happiness and anxiety, tenderness and tears. (Craine, 2008) Wayne McGregors appointment as resident choreographer for The Royal Ballet, was a great achievement, he continues creating choreographic pieces for his company Random Dance, while choreographing for The Royal Ballet. But does he work in a different way with the dancers in his company than he does with the Royal Ballet. During the rehearsals for Limen in 2009, Emma Crichton-Miller talked to Wayne McGregor about his creative approach and the development of his new work. She asks him: Do you work in a different way with your own company Wayne McGregor | Random Dance than you do with The Royal Ballet? To which Wayne Explains: In every new piece I create the process is different as the individuals in the studio (whatever the company) have their own direct effect on the choreography. That is one of the great motivators of working deeply with both companies; the individuals within them are incredibly inspiring. Equally, there are differences in the circumstances of making. At Random I have the dancers all day for many weeks at a time, exclusively. Their priority is dancing only my work and our collaborative journey together reflects this singular commitment. At The Royal Ballet I cant have the dancers exclusively, and theyre doing lots of other repertory simultaneously, so the demands they place on their bodies in a day are different and how I use their precious time is tempered accordingly. Both circumstances, each with their own innate challenges, nurture me in distinctive but highly complementary ways.

Pre-literacy and Modern Vestiges Essays -- Literature Epic Poetry Poem

Pre-literacy and Modern Vestiges For many years, the conventions and existence of epic poetry from the pre-literate age were explained as repositories for information. A well-known story, usually involving a hero that embodied the virtues of the society who told the story, engages in battles, quests, etc. As the epic is spoken to an audience, the hero’s actions and the way they are described impart the audience with information and teachings. The information the listeners received is thought by some to be analogous to a modern day textbook lesson, in which students learn mathematics, grammar, and law, all by the written word. So is the contention of Homeric scholar Eric A. Havelock. As Hobart and Schiffman state in Orality and the Problem of Memory, Everywhere he looked in Homer, Havelock saw a wealth of instruction. For instance, the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon at the beginning of the Iliad embodies for him a wide range of subliminal â€Å"teachings.† It lays out the rules for disposition of captives, the etiquette of making and receiving ransom requests, the reverence due to priests, the respect accorded to kings by powerful warriors, and the symbols of public authority†¦(19). Havelock believed the nature of the epic was to verbally hand down a type of classical social contract, so that society could remain stable based upon the information that the speaker’s gave audiences of the Iliad. Integral to the audience’s reception of these teachings was a willingness to become participatory in the communication of the epic. According to Havelock, this is not a choice, but a necessity for a pre-literate listener. Havelock contends that a pre-literate soci... ...ring a list of words and definitions. What is important in Hobart and Schiffman’s essay is the idea that the purpose of oral epics is radically different than what has been traditionally thought. Our modern concept of memory is a very personal experience, as is for the most part our learning styles. Books are intimate and stress the individual interpreter of them; their pages are filled with information that in the reader’s hands might be hundreds of years removed from the time they were written. Yet with spoken epics, the only way to experience them was in the flesh, listening in a group to the speaker. It was a nominally individual process, but did include information as a print culture knows it. In the present day, perhaps the immediacy of the performance nature of pre-literate work is overlooked when so many written words flash before our eyes on pages. Pre-literacy and Modern Vestiges Essays -- Literature Epic Poetry Poem Pre-literacy and Modern Vestiges For many years, the conventions and existence of epic poetry from the pre-literate age were explained as repositories for information. A well-known story, usually involving a hero that embodied the virtues of the society who told the story, engages in battles, quests, etc. As the epic is spoken to an audience, the hero’s actions and the way they are described impart the audience with information and teachings. The information the listeners received is thought by some to be analogous to a modern day textbook lesson, in which students learn mathematics, grammar, and law, all by the written word. So is the contention of Homeric scholar Eric A. Havelock. As Hobart and Schiffman state in Orality and the Problem of Memory, Everywhere he looked in Homer, Havelock saw a wealth of instruction. For instance, the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon at the beginning of the Iliad embodies for him a wide range of subliminal â€Å"teachings.† It lays out the rules for disposition of captives, the etiquette of making and receiving ransom requests, the reverence due to priests, the respect accorded to kings by powerful warriors, and the symbols of public authority†¦(19). Havelock believed the nature of the epic was to verbally hand down a type of classical social contract, so that society could remain stable based upon the information that the speaker’s gave audiences of the Iliad. Integral to the audience’s reception of these teachings was a willingness to become participatory in the communication of the epic. According to Havelock, this is not a choice, but a necessity for a pre-literate listener. Havelock contends that a pre-literate soci... ...ring a list of words and definitions. What is important in Hobart and Schiffman’s essay is the idea that the purpose of oral epics is radically different than what has been traditionally thought. Our modern concept of memory is a very personal experience, as is for the most part our learning styles. Books are intimate and stress the individual interpreter of them; their pages are filled with information that in the reader’s hands might be hundreds of years removed from the time they were written. Yet with spoken epics, the only way to experience them was in the flesh, listening in a group to the speaker. It was a nominally individual process, but did include information as a print culture knows it. In the present day, perhaps the immediacy of the performance nature of pre-literate work is overlooked when so many written words flash before our eyes on pages.

Physical Development in Middle Childhood Essay

One important factor of physical activity during these years is to improve their gross and fine motor skills which assists with the many other benefits that being physically active will give a child. Their gross and fine motor skills are becoming more advanced and need to be capitalised upon. Children are learning to ride bikes, play in organised and team orientated sports – all with more co-ordination and understanding than before. While engaging in these activity’s they are improving their gross motor skills and this gives them a great sense of gratification. Also during this time their fine motor skills will be improving such as their handwriting, drawing, painting, crafts and building. In the middle childhood years children are becoming more aware of their surroundings, community and culture. They can start to see themselves as an individual that can read, write, learn and adhere to rules and understand why we need them. Physical development can affect other areas of development in very positive ways. It helps them to be able to relate & interact with others. This era sees those making relationships with their peers. They make friendships with others and along with friendship come the enviable fights. This is also important as they learn to sort out these disagreements and learn from them. This comes from their developing ability to think for themselves – having different points of view, being able to see others points of view and having a longer attention span. The skills they are learning and improving at this very important time of their lives will assist them as children and builds the foundations of having great confidence within themselves and having healthy and active bodies. It is believed that inability to perfect their gross & fine motor skills by being physically inactive will lead to many consequences not only physically but also in other areas of their development. Inactivity will inhibit the Childs co-ordination, spatial awareness, social skills; their larger muscles would be underdeveloped. Inactivity promotes obesity and other serious health issues. At this age children have boundless energy and find it hard to sit down for long periods of time as their bodies and brains crave the need to more around and are active. Along with the need to move comes the need for attention and socialising. During this time their bodies are growing taller and gaining weight. Physical activity is crucial at this time because they are showing themselves what their bodies are able to do and what they are able to do better than when the learned the skill. For example when children are in their early childhood they learn how to run and jump, in middle childhood they are taking those skills and developing proper athletic abilities and talents. They can run faster on the track, swim faster in the pool and throw balls with more precision and show themselves and others the talents they are developing. If during this time they are not able to do that they will see their peers excelling at these activities and that they themselves are falling behind. This severely affects their confidence. They are very aware of their peers and compare themselves to others constantly which is why they are adapting to organised sports – their competitiveness is kicking in. It’s in the children’s nature to want to be active in sports and it gives them the stimulation and organisation that they need. It’s also in some children’s nature to be shy and reserved. It’s important for all students to be improving their skills but most important for the more reserved children. Inactivity will only perpetuate their shyness because they are missing out on group activities in a fun environment. Being a part of a team helps confidence and communication with their peers. Children need to embrace being active from early on – especially now as their bodies crave being active they will associate ‘activity’ with ‘fun’. Inability to develop their gross motor skills can lead to the children feeling sluggish, weight will be gained lowering their confidence and increasing the risk of obesity and their relationship with physical activity will be mentally unhealthy. Inability to develop their fine motor skills is also just as important. This is the time where children need to perfect their handwriting, craft making and reading these are very important skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. If children find they don’t excel at these skills they will find they get frustrated, it lowers they confidence and willingness to try and parts of heir brain are underdeveloped. For example in this era children are starting to dress themselves and inability to do this will leave them frustrated and disappointed that they are behind. As parents and teachers we need to do our best to always keep the children active as it most certainly affects the other areas of their development. Implementing ph ysical activity in lessons is very important. There are 3 activities that I will now explain that I think are great ways to implement to help with keeping the children active and improving their motor skills. Firstly I would have each child in the classroom have a job they need to do every day in the classroom. Whether it is to give out work books, hand out pens, feed the plants or collect lunch orders. This gives each child the understanding of the importance of rules, responsibilities and the feeling of being included and the knowledge of being able to share and work as a team. This activity is more related to their fine motor skills and cognitive development. Secondly I would introduce the ‘Gold Star’ System. I would have the students chose a book and reading aloud to the class. During this time if the children are stuck on a word they don’t know other students can assist with helping them. If the student reads the book without any help they receive 5 gold stars. I would also have the children practice their handwriting and everything they submit a neatly written piece of writing they would also receive 5 gold stars. If the children need assistance many times or have sloppy writing they have stars deducted. This also helps with fine motor skills and they also can show how well they can read & write and help others with their reading & writing. Thirdly I would introduce team sports based around maths and spelling. I think it would be a great learning environment to take the students outside to a basketball court or an oval and have them grouped into teams. I would give them maths and spelling questions and the teams with the most correct answers would add more gold stars to their boards. I think this would be a really fun way to learn, challenge themselves and burn off energy. Working in teams is fantastic motivation to not let yourself or any of your team mates down. In conclusion, Physical activity is vital in the middle childhood years for many reasons. Inactivity leads to many consequences in the Childs Health, Motor Skills and all other areas of child development. There are many things as Teachers we can do to in a learning environment to accommodate the physical needs of our students as to make sure they are developing as best they can be. ? Reference List McDevitt, T. , and Ormrod, J. (2010). Child development and education (4th Ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

P3 Selected Organisations Usesmarket Research to...

P3: Describe how a selected organisation uses marketing research to contribute to the development of its marketing plans. My selected organisation is Thorpe Park; I am going to talk about the organisation uses types of market research they do to contribute to its development plans. Market research is broken down into four categories as they contribute into development plans. The four departments are: †¢ Primary research †¢ Secondary research †¢ Qualitative research †¢ Quantitative research Primary research Primary research (also known as field research) involves the collection of data that does not already exist. Some advantages of having primary research are that a researcher can focus on both qualitative and†¦show more content†¦In market research content, secondary research is taken to include the re-use by a second party of any data collected by a first party or parties. The research that I have undertaking has been on the park rides and advertising from other theme parks such as: Lego land. Advertising campaign as they are less than 30min drive from the park, this could be a threat. Qualitative Research Qualitative research is a method if inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences. In marketing terms, this means investigating the features of a market through in-depth research that explores the background and context for decision making. It’s also used to deeper into issues of interest and explores nuances related to the problem at hand. Examples of qualitative research are focus groups, triads, dyads, interviews, uninterrupted observations and bulletin boards. Bulletin Boards are used to advertise to the customers about Thorpe Park. On these boards, they advertise offers that may catch people’s eyes and persuade themselves to attend Thorpe Park. Quantitative research The use of numerical analysis techniques to provide information useful to those involved in promoting products or services.