"Weightless"...Erika Janunger

Sometimes at SERVINGCHOREO, its what you DON'T do that makes a piece stand out! Let's take a look at "perfect restraint":


MUSICALITY: So much of this piece depends on letting the music inform the pace and organic growth of the action. Too many young choreographers are quick to blow their best "tricks" straight out of the gate, in a naive attempt to impress the viewer. However, the more experienced choreographer knows that surprise elements must be revealed in a way that is natural and slips into the viewer like smoke. The movement is fairly freeform, but its obvious that the dancers were deeply informed by the mood and tone of the track.

DANCER SYNC: Sometimes the most effective choreographic choice is seemingly the simplest, notice how the choreographer just asked the dancer to push her chest forward (1:33-1:39 minutes) with full commitment to the illusion...pure magic was created. Imagine a less experienced choreographer who probably would have had her do a front flip on to the wall...restraint achieves so much more!

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: Going back to the idea of perfect restraint...Erika knows how to play her audience! She could have easily thrown out the best visual elements right off the bat...but instead, she reveals the secret little by little. We don't actually see the full effect of the illusion until 4:11...this takes a lot of guts and self-control. However, for the audience, the tension builds slowly and methodically, and we slowly absorb the clues and hints. Consequently, by the time we see the entire picture of her vision, we are prepped and satisfied with the conclusion!

KUDOS to Erika for using restraint and maturity in developing an idea, piece by piece, bit by bit...and not getting side-tracked by the novelty of the plot twist.