Movement inspiration - Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh Shechter: Instinct is probably the best and first thing you have to trust when you go into the studio, from the way you deal with the dancers to the movement that you create. But instincts are tricky. You have to be clever enough to differentiate between instinct and laziness, or tiredness. It requires a certain amount of honesty with yourself. You can say, ‘Oh, I'm getting stuck here, let's just go on,' but are you actually just finding an easy way out? So you ask yourself, Do I really wanna solve this problem? Is it really important for me, or the process, or the piece?' And sometimes you go, ‘Yeah, that's the point, that's what I wanna do,' and sometimes it's, ‘Why am I bothering? It doesn't matter.' Even if you have a really good idea, you have to forget about it the moment you start to do it and just do it, which at the end of the day is instinctive.

http://www.hofesh.co.uk/mediaarticles.html

A contemporary choreographer who inspires me greatly is Hofesh Schechter. I find his work dynamic and exciting. His dancers have an incredible quality of movement, and I love the explosive energy and the flow of his choreography and staging. Although this example of his work is an ensemble piece, I want to take inspiration from these qualities for my solo.

From an interview with UK journalist Donald Hutera, Hofesh Shechter says of his choreography:

HS: There's something spicy about it. Something dark but smooth, and sarcastic in a very subtle way. And exciting in a very basic way. You're sitting in your seat and occasionally some adrenalin shoots into your veins. I don't know if thought-provoking is exactly the word, but it's kind of…riddling in a way.

http://www.hofesh.co.uk/mediaarticles.html

I like the rise and fall of the dynamics of movement, the moments of 'adrenalin' and the way it feels natural and not overly contrived or pretentious. This kind of work really satisfies my needs when watching a piece of dance.

In the top quote about using instinct when making work, I've highlighted the main points I would like to keep in mind throughout this process. Although I'm no Hofesh Shechter, I think it's important to use your initial instincts to go with something. I have a habit of changing ideas rather than running with what I've got, out of an insecurity and need to find a way to make the concept or movement feel 'right', when I think a lot of the time I should stay consistent with my initial thoughts and keep working on them.