What is Motion Index?

Motion Index is a 9-part class series occurring every Monday evening, starting on May 4th and ending with a performance opportunity showcasing the participants work on July 6th (there will be no class scheduled for May 25th) led by Backyard’s own board member and theatre artist, Emma Parsons. The class, much like the choreographically process it’s inspired by, will flow seamlessly through each step of four parts, the end goal being to build participants a toolkit to discover each individual’s creative process to bring with them as they navigate devising within the world of movement and dance.

Interested? Keep reading to learn more!

The enrolled ensemble will begin by dedicating some time to learning the vocabulary of each other’s pre-existing strengths, placing an emphasis on understanding that each mover brings their own unique experiences and stylisation to their craft. Participants are taught and encouraged to explore their own findings during this time using imaginative play, real world mimicry of objects and feeling, and learning how to best capture sightlines and shapes of one’s own body for intentional storytelling. 

The class will then transition to instructor-led mini-masterclasses on varied movement skills, hoping to further continue discovery of a deep understanding for participants' own choreography database, as well as an opportunity to learn (or further continue practicing) classic techniques and building a shared vocabulary within the entire ensemble. Improv (solo and contact), viewpoints, mime, and laban are just some of the methods the class will dive into as a jumping off point for effective techniques to grow our ensemble index.

At about the halfway process of the course, participants will begin to take their individual findings and re-share with the group what they feel they have learned about their own movement in relation to the room, working together to start building a true collaborative ensemble within the group. The ensemble will take their own individuality and be given tools to interweave and honour each other’s learned creative process using devised theatre-making techniques and a continuation of exploring group driven movement methods. 

Participants will be guided to use the remaining weeks of the class to start formulating their own collective piece within the ensemble - with an opportunity to select a theme, bring original written works or choreography to further develop within the group, and cultivate new pieces of movement to tell a story that feels it best suites the ensembles unique and diverse experiences of life. This can be silly and playful, serious and profound, or any combination of what the enrolled group develops. The point is that it exists authentically and uniquely from each member’s creative contribution! The ensemble will present (whatever stage of) their original devised movement is in with a free, public showcase on the last day of class, encouraging performers and observers to remember that an original work takes time, drafting, and feedback, but that the creative process begins the moment you have something to say, a desire to build it, and now, a Motion Index of your own to make it happen.

Who is this class for?

While the class pulls heavy influence from dance techniques and previous training can help to develop the progress of an individual's process, this class is for all levels of movers looking to strengthen their skill set in devised choreography and ensemble creation. If you are a dancer, director, choreographer, early-to-mid career actor, and/or just a curious human interested in building a better understanding of your psycho-physical being and how to connect to others in a creative format, then this is the class for you! 

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Note regarding attendance:

While we understand that conflicts happen and will do our best to work within your limitations, we highly encourage potential participants to have open availability to attend all 9 days of the workshop to experience the full duration of the process from start to finish. Due to the collaborative nature of the devised portion of this series, we unfortunately cannot accept any individual unable to attend the June 15th, 22nd, 29th, and July 6th sessions or any participant under the age of 16.