I always wondered how some people move so fast and most of it is just that, they are really fast. But because its a visual thing I knew there had to be some illusion about it; I've seen pieces that have the fast feeling but are actually deceptively slow when doing it. This led me to investigate and I now believe the idea of "fast" is more about the idea of the audience playing catch up rather than you moving fast. Going fast physically is one way to make them play catch up with their eyes but there are other ways:


Varied Timing- an even tempo no matter how fast can be understood around the 3-4 count; you pick up the pattern and then it's set in your mind. If you never know when the next "beat" is coming you feel anticipation; your mind is racing trying to figure it out. So you don't have to move your body fast at all. The same way a scary movie (if you are scared) isn't boring; your mind is whats moving fast, not the scenes. 

Traveling- another way to show "fast" I believe is the idea of progress and moving forward. Like if you watch someone make a lifetime of accomplishments but it only takes them one year you will logically think they are faster. There's no way he's going to move that much faster physically but he might mentally. So while the other person is lets say building up to it, making mistakes, and reworking the same problem, he gets it done in 1 try then he moves onto something else, something different. Even though it takes him less moves, I believe the audience will read that as "faster" because they will imagine what you did in your mind to get there that fast.  

You know like in scary films how even though the person being chased is running for their life, the killer somehow appears behind them and not even out of breath? It's basically like that: If you had to go from a--->b--->c--->d and in the time it took you to do that the other person found a way to get there before you logically you would think he is "faster" even if you never saw them physically run and it takes him less moves. This works because it forces the audience to put the 2+2 together so they are the ones working faster mentally, which will give them the feeling of catching up, which will make you seem faster. 

Getting a Head Start- conceptually that is. It's similar to the one before this but pertaining more to everyone's personal skill level; kinda like the early bird gets the worm type deal.  If you went to a market early, you would be the one to get the freshest fruits and veggies. By waking up early you are already out the door before everyone else has brushed their teeth. So it's more of a comparison between you and your surroundings but it works in a song as well. A song has its own "morning" and "night" sort of like a day. Starting your ideas early on will get you to those ideas earlier and without rush. 

Just as these two lines are the same length but one seems longer than the other, time can also act this way. There are ways to make it seem like you are going fast or slow while not actually and I hope this article might give you some insight on how to. 

Have a Good Day!

KK

This morning: The Wop =)

Tried an old 90s groove; did not fit well with my body. But ill keep trying. haha.

The groove is basically all in your core/back/and butt. When project forward the direction you are going, the shoulder follows, ex. going left your left shoulder goes down, right goes up. and going right, right shoulder down left shoulder up, and then just switch off.  

KK

Peace.

I've been having trouble with grooves so I've decided to do a different groove for 30 minutes every morning. 

Today's Groove: The Wave =)

A groove basically is when you move a certain part of your body a certain way and keep it going. You can add other moves while doing a groove the way you can add parts to a certain type of car. The "groove" would be like the engine and everything else is, well, everything else.  

There are limitless "grooves" which could range anywhere from "robot" to "cowboy" to "ballet." 

I think by doing something different everyday it'll keep things exciting and keep my body attentive. 

Good Day!

A concept can be as simple "always turn left" to as complex as "if the world had no sound how would we keep track of movement." But all in all a concept is a rule. 

The concept of always turning left can be applied in so many ways. For example, you can turn left (a) on every count, you can turn left (b) whenever someone touches you, you can turn left (c) every time you are left alone. But turning left is the main (1) concept, and everything else you apply to it is a secondary (a,b,c) concept.  

The concept could also be "cool" or your idea of the word. Or sexy, or sophisticated, or whatever it is. That's a bigger umbrella concept which constitutes a combination of concepts to work together. So let's take the idea of "cool" and break it down. 

Batman is cool because he is: powerful, fearless, and merciful. (we'll make it simple)

If that is your concept there are many ways to approach this and there are variations but you have a framework of what you want. 
Powerful; moves that command authority and can defend for what he believes in. (fighting moves, that one move where someone punches, you grab, and then bring them to their knees (corny but you get the point)) 
Fearless; not afraid of any man or woman. (maybe walks into a crowd full of criminals , or down an alley full straight towards his arch-nemesis.)
Merciful; giving people a chance even when they have wronged you. (maybe spares the bad guy's life.)

So these moves would make the person appear to be powerful, fearless, and merciful in your dance/story.

There are character concepts, story/situation concepts, setting concepts, move/visual concepts, and music/timing concepts but that will be for another post. 

Good Day!

I am currently choreographing at the moment and these are some of the things I've been keeping in mind while working. 

1. Listen More Than Think- Sometimes I doubt about how people will respond to it so I try to find ideas I think will mesh with everyone but it made my work a bit dull. If you just listen to the song real close, you'll realize that you already have bold ideas opinions about it and that you need to listen to them to make them fully realized. 

2. Don't Be Afraid To Let Go of an Idea- Going back and forth is fine, it's a part of the creative process. Just because I let go of an idea doesn't mean I cant come back to it later. I should appreciate that I have more than one idea and respect that I want the best for myself. Creatively, I have found that trying the new idea I have works in my favor. And if it doesn't work out then again, I can always go back to the original concept.

3. Perform It and Teach it Often- I have found that when I need to explain it to another person, my thoughts become more realized. Teaching will break down the shapes, concepts, and timing and performing will help realize what you really want to say to the audience. My piece from inception to performance changed dramatically and with each performance, my choreography slowly shaved down to what I really wanted it to be. 

4. Revise Revise Revise- Pretty self explanatory but cannot be stressed enough. Each time is like another draft of a paper/novel; each time you revise you get another clue about what you really want. Many novels are crafted this way also going through plenty of revisions up until it is published.

5. Don't Stop Until You Are Satisfied- It is a disrespect to myself. It is my work, my thoughts, and my ideas. This piece in the end is really for no one but me so what would it look like if I never had to show anybody. That's what it should look like. 

Ok, back to work for me.
Peace.