Big group piece

From our interviews and the idea of people trying particularly hard to be politically correct, we created the first part of our piece. I really like this moment, it allows us to shed light on a different side of the current issue of migration. We're able to keep it relevant with the subject matter by linking it back to the current crisis whilst observing and exploring it in a different way. The action of us all running to cover someone's mouths whilst they're talking really shows the pressure some people feel to constantly be PC. I feel like maybe we should edit some of the dialogue people say in this section to make it less blatantly racist. This is because I feel that some people could possibly think we are giving racists a platform to spur hate rather than make a point about

I really liked that we were able to include Ivory and Jasmine's running into the big group piece. I thought the piece they created was extremely poignant. With the entire group doing it, if it's done well, it looks really good. It provides us all with an individual platform to each tell a different story of someone who may be fleeing their home in a way that isn't generic and moving for the sake of moving.

Incorporating Isabella and Imogene's duet work was slightly harder as the movements were more intricate and precise. It was harder to get everyone working at the exact same time to the interview whilst doing the correct movements but we all definitely improved over time. I really like the idea of relying on someone else to safely take your weight being explored in this moment. This allows us to present the idea that we, the UK/Europe/the World, have an obligation to help those in need. We have the ability the take the weight of those who have fled their home - it's just the question of whether or not our government are brave enough to do the right thing.

The last part we developed was taken from the group piece we developed previously. This involves all of us walking around before all trying to fit onto one piece of floor. his was taken from Jasper's interview with Ellie in which sure uses the word 'crush'. We thought this was an extremely visceral word that pushed us to look at the idea of a mass group of people attempting to all fit onto one small space. Not only would this show the idea of a mass movement of people towards the same thing but it would also look at the idea that some people possess that we, as a country/continent/world, do not have enough space to take in any refugees.

• asylum seeker: noun, 'a person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another'.

• migrant: noun, 'a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions'.

• immigrant: noun, 'a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country'.

• refugee: noun, 'a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster'.

Looking at the actual definitions of the words will definitely be helpful in our physical development as it will ensure we keep linking back to the truth behind what we're looking at. It'll be really interesting to perhaps contrast the google definitions of the words with our interviews and what others may think they mean. 

It's also helpful in general to know what each of these terms mean as in recent history they've become interchangeable and our actual process of development will be made ten times easier if we were well informed. 

Interviews

The best interview I collected was from my friend Jake. This is because he gave the most interesting and less generic answers in comparison to everyone else that I asked. Answers that are different and hold more truth have the most to work from and I feel like there are multiple aspects we could build from using Jake's interview.

Before he even answers the first question, 'can you summarise in the three words the characteristics of migration', he asks 'can it be bad?' - checking whether or not he was allowed to possibly offend anyone with his answers. This was very different from the other people I also spoke to who mostly skirted around offending anyone with the language they used. Furthermore, when asked what the definition of migrant was, he answered "Is it bad I just thought of illegal?" this statement is pure gold when looking at it from a devising point of view. The idea of censoring yourself around other people to remain PC can be explored in so many different and interesting ways physically - it's also a very controversial statement to make, especially in this day and age. This then poses the question - who's the one censoring us?; Is it the social pressure to not offend anyone?; Is it your own guilt/discomfort over what you really think?; Is the first thing that pops into your mind what you actually think or is that just an impulsive thought? All these questions present different and interesting answers that we could explore and weave back to link with the current issue of migration.

His response that 'This is so bad, I should've paid more attention in Geography.' stuck out the most for me as he really presented the lack of understanding some people have about current issues. It's not even ignorance, the words 'refugee', 'migrant' and 'asylum seeker' have become somewhat interchangeable and can become confusing to tell the difference. The average person may always think of the same group of people when asked what one of those mean; someone fleeing from war and coming into the country either legally or illegally. The distorted or in-the-dark view that some people have when it comes to migration could be something we explore physically - it would be interesting to contrast what people think they mean with the actual definition.

Group & Duet Piece

Using Jasper's interview with Ellie, we picked out the fact she was saying all the migrants coming to our island (UK) isn't going to crush us.

We decided to look at the idea of a large amount of people attempting to all fit onto one space, this was slightly hard for us as we didn't have anything to actually mark the spot when devising but we were able to come up with the framework with the piece. We decided to show some elevation by holding Robin up, this was to explore the country holding up the weight of all the extra people. One by one we dropped away so she was left without supporting. This was to explore how so many countries have turned their back on the migrants and closed their borders.

I think the piece definitely has potential and I would like to develop it further to make the movements more precise and choreographed as it's currently quite messy. I also think we should prolong the moment when everyone is struggling to fit onto that one spot as I think it could look really effective - especially with the entire class doing it.

Moreover, Isabella and Imogene worked on a duet piece using the rest of Ellie's interview. It revolved around sharing each other's weight - which ties in perfectly with our larger piece. These two pieces can work side by side or separately as they're both about the same subject.

Though both pieces definitely need a lot of development, we're in a better place than we were previously.

24/03/16's Lesson

I feel the piece we began to develop as an entire class - the slow motion running - could definitely be extremely effective if we work on refining it. I really liked Jasmine and Ivory's initial ideas for the piece - contrasting it with loud footsteps underneath, allowing individual stories to be played out, the quick running at the end - and I think it could be very powerful once it all comes together.

Working with TJ to establish a father/daughter relationship was interesting as we wanted to explore a different way two people in that situation with that relationship would react. We tried hard to show how protective a father would be of their daughter however, this was slightly hard to do in slow motion - especially the moment he picked me up. This is because it caused him to lurch slightly to carry my weight and he couldn't properly control his movement.

The slow motion movement really allows us to explore the different stories individually as it prolongs a moment that is usually done quite quickly. It's extremely hard to control your movements so you have to be fully committed to make sure it doesn't look bad.