The Improvisation Process

The Improvisation Process (Overview)

There are a few things to consider before you venture into the improvisation process with your students. The, "What I Like About You" game in, 'Improvisation: Lesson 1', can help you overcome some of the obstacles listed in numbers 1-4 below. (Reminder - This course is designed for ages 9-11, but can be adapted to all ages.)

1) That the majority of the class has been with you, as their teacher, for one season, or more, and they feel comfortable expressing themselves in front of you; and that the majority of the class has been together for one season, or more, and feels comfortable expressing themselves in front of each other.

2) Your students will follow your lead. If you're uninhibited; they are less likely to be inhibited. It is essential that the students are ready to take on the task of improvisation. The students need to feel safe that their peers' reactions will be positive reactions. (Insecurity will lead to nervous giggling, which will let you know that the class is not yet ready to experiment with improvisation.)
Improvisation time is different from regular class time, in that the dancers are opening themselves up and making themselves vulnerable. They do not have the security of hiding behind dance steps or choreography that they were taught. They are truly revealing themselves and they need to feel safe in their environment.

3) It is important to get across to your students, that in improvisation, no ones interpretation of someone else's improvisation is incorrect. Everyone has his or her own unique perspective. Like in abstract art. One may understand a piece of art to be frightening, while yet another may find the same body of work to be uplifting. In improvisation, everything is relative.

4) The last step in helping your students to become more comfortable in the improvisation process is to change the ambiance of classroom. Take it from a 'regular class time' feeling to an 'improvisation class time' feeling. All you have to do is 'set the mood'. Improvisation time feels safe and comfortable in soft light. The dancers are more likely to open up and 'let go' in this setting. These variables are very important to reach an immediate success when trying improvisation for the first time. You don't want to scare your dancers off during their first lesson. It will be more difficult to convince them that improvisation is not only fun, but the key to the freedom of self-expression, and the first step in experimenting with choreography.

Improvisation: Lesson 1

Body Language & Facial Expression

The game I play with the students shows them that they already know, intuitively, how to read body language and facial expression. I have the students sit in a circle. I separate all of the friends first, and then each student must say one non-superficial thing (i.e.-pretty hair, nice clothes, etc...) that they notice about each student sitting in the circle. I put suggested words/phrases that they can use on the mirror. Examples: friendly, helpful, nice to everyone, good sense of humor, kind, positive attitude, good leader, an inspiration, sweet, fun to be with, and whatever else you can come up with. The students always feel better about themselves, and each other, after this game. This game strengthens each individual and also strengthens them as a dance team.

'WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU'

I write several 'moods' on index cards. (Example: happy, sad, angry, surprised, confused, etc...). The students sit on the floor with the cards, face down, in front of them. I usually start the game. I look at the cards and pick a mood. (The cards remain on the floor in front of the students.) I leave the room and shut the door behind me. I then get myself into the mood that I choose, and walk back in the studio, displaying that mood. The students then have to guess what mood I am in by just reading my body language and facial expression. They will usually get it correct right away. They are always surprised that they can read moods so easily. I then ask them, "When you come home from school, and your mom is feeling angry, can you sense it right away"? They laugh and nod. "What about your best friend? If she walked into the studio right now feeling happy, would you know that she was feeling happy and not sad?" The answer is always a resounding, "Yes"! Remind the dancers that they are coming up with their answers intuitively. As developing artists, trusting one's own intuition is vital. True inspiration always comes through the intuitive mind, not the thinking mind.
That's it! The beginning. Ask if one of the students wants to try being the 'mood demonstrator'. If not, you'll need to do it again. Your students will enjoy this game. It's a great break from a regular, technical class and they are still learning extremely important dance related lessons, too. (At first, always ask for volunteers to demonstrate . Some students will feel very shy doing these 'non-dance' lessons. Let those students do the group exercises until they are ready to stand in front of the class on their own.)
Play this game until your outgoing students feel comfortable being 'mood demonstrators'. Now, you are ready to move onto lesson 2!

A note to parents...

Mrs. McGuilakudy
Parents, you are key in the process of tapping into your child's desire and natural abilities to becoming the creative human being that they are meant to be.
I know this for certain, because my mother brought my three siblings and me up in a 100% imagination saturated atmosphere. I remember loving rainy days, because it meant spending the day inside with my mother and all of her fun ideas. One of my mom's crazy creations was her character, 'Mrs. McGuilakudy'. She would go into the front hall closet and put on my dad's top coat and hat. When she emerged, she would change her entire persona, and she would become Mrs. McGuilakudy. This thrilled my sisters, brother and me! We loved Mrs. McGuilakudy! I will never forget that. She also helped us put on Plays, costumes and all. (I remember doing, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"). When my sisters and I played Barbies, it wasn't about changing clothes and brushing hair. We would make up elaborate stories and each doll had a role to play. We would transform the entire living room into a scene. We would do this for hours. By the time we were done, we practically had a movie script!

As a direct result of our upbringing, my brother, sisters and I all ended up in the Arts, to one degree or another.
None of us, or even anybody that I know, are going to be the next Balanchine, Picasso or Shakespeare, but everybody has an inventive side. Creativity does not have show itself in the arts alone. Most people think of a physicist as highly intelligent person, not necessarily as a creative person. But, look at Einstein! He was a physicist. He combined his intellectual side with his inovative side and the man was ingenious! The two components, together, equal excellence.
Do not leave your right brain as uncharted territory, or you will never know the depths of your own originality. So, explore your creative side, parents. It's never too late. Then, do fun and inspiring things with your children. They will remember it forever, and they will inadvertently pass it on to the next generation.

Improvisation: Getting Started!

A Flick of the Foot; A Flash of the Eye
Improvisation is one of my favorite things to…let’s see…you don’t teach it, you’re more like a tour guide!
It’s your job to use one of the games in the lessons posted (or perhaps a game you’ve created) to assist each individual to find their own pathway, deep inside to the core of themselves, and to help them draw upon their experiences, and express who they are through their own unique movement.
Warning: Be prepared to have your breath taken away!
Watching the miracle of a young heart opening up is very overwhelming! Each individual will draw a different emotion from you and than ultimately from an audience.
Some will find their ‘artistic soul’ right away, and have the ability to express it. For others, it may take a little longer.
Encouragement is the source of every student’s success. You will notice degrees of improvement in all of your students. Make a big deal about everything that you see! Let each student know what their improvement is, so they will be encouraged to build upon it. And they will, with your support.
This ‘soul’ quality, combined with the dance technique they are learning in class, are the beginnings of authentic dancers.
A true dancer embodies the ability to move an audience with the,
'flick of a foot, or the flash of an eye'. Having been given this opportunity to learn both dance technique and how to express one’s self as a dancer is an empowering feeling for the dancer. It’s also an exciting feeling for the performer’s choreographer, a satisfying feeling for the performer’s teachers, and a very proud moment for the student’s family and friends.

Introduction to Improvisation

'The Land of Make Believe'
A big word for a four year old! But, believe it or not, that’s when you can start them on this adventure into, 'The land of make believe', self-expression and self-confidence. It’s to your advantage to start your students improvising before the age of, “self-consciousness”, which is usually before puberty or before the age of twelve or thirteen. Students can of course begin at any age; it’s just a little harder to get teenagers to let go of their acute self-awareness.
I have a unique lesson plan for every age group, but the one that is most comprehensive for all students, is the course shown, that I have created for ages 9 –11.
“The Improvisation for Ages 9-11 Course”, is for students with at least 2-3 years of dance training. They need the beginnings of a solid foundation in ballet, jazz (or modern), and tap (optional). Tap training gives the students a better ear for rhythm, which they can use to change the rhythms in their improvisation to make it more interesting and emotionally effective.
The next entry, 'Improvisation: Getting Started!', offers some exciting information about this wonderful journey you are about to embark upon with your students.

Beginnings...

Inspiration!
When I was a little girl, I used to go to my nana's house on Tuesdays after catechism. She would always ask me to dance for her. One day, "The Merv Griffen" show was on, and he had a dance troupe performing. When they were done, my grandmother said to me, "Kerry, you're as good as they are, get up and show me what they just did". (Mind you, I was probably 10 years old, with no training to boot!) But, my grandmother said that I was as good as they were, so it must be true! I got right up, as confident as could be, and danced for her. She told me I was wonderful. Nana's don't lie! So, from that moment forward, in my young mind, I was a wonderful dancer, period.
On holidays, she'd ask me to make up (choreograph!) something special for her. I'd try, but I couldn't always remember all the steps, so I'd end up making the dance up (improvising!) as I went along. My performances were always met with her cheers, hugs and kisses.
When I was 13, I realized that my grandmother was very sick. (She had breast cancer.) I was still visiting her house every Tuesday. I would sit by her green recliner, and we would talk.
She told me that someday, I would run my own dance studio in her backyard, in the barn, and that my office would be right where we sat, in her living room.
I was very concerned about where my grandparents would live, and she assured me that she and my grampy would live at their cottage on the lake.
Comforted, I set out to make this new dream come true. I never doubted, for one second, that I could not achieve this goal.
I asked my parents if I could start taking dance lessons when the new school year began, in Sept 1973. My nana died in June 1973.
She never got to see my recitals, as I grew up. She never saw me perform in the Company that I danced in for 5 years. But, most of all...she never knew that I made "our dream" come true.
When I was 21, I opened,
"Kerry Smith Academy of Dance Arts", in her backyard, with my main office in her living room.
I did it, nana! And I did it well, because you inspired me and believed in me.
In my heart, I know my grandmother knows everything that I have accomplished, after she passed. I am certain that she watches over me to this day.
The biggest lesson I learned from my grandmother is...Be vigilant with our young people. They believe and trust everything we tell them about themselves. More so, love them for who they are. They see themselves reflected back in our eyes.
Teaching is the single most important and rewarding thing I have had the priviledge of doing in my life, so far. Being a teacher is an awesome responsibility. That one factor is what kept being a teacher always fresh. Every day was a new challenge.
Every day (inspiration!), every student (inspiration!), one student at a time (inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!) .