PLES

Prireditve

OPUS 1
SHORT DANCE PIECE 2010
2ND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF YOUNG DANCE PERFORMERS
(18TH NATIONAL COMPETITION)

Celje, June 12, 2010

SHORT NOTE TO MENTORS AND MORE EXPERIENCED YOUNG DANCERS/AUTHORS

The aim of the competition of young dance performers is not to push for competitiveness but to foster their creativity.

Annual topics are meant to stimulate critical thinking in young performers about specific issues and give them means to learn about, research and study specific dancers/artists.

This is why this year's topic is meant to stimulate young performers to get acquainted with the work of three immensely important dance performers - Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham and Michael Jackson.

I am aware of the complexity of the topic for the youngest age group, but this is where you, the mentors, will have to provide appropriate explanations. You could discuss the difference between abstract and expressive gestures or movements (Cunningham vs. Bausch). You could juxtapose dance as a means to communicate ideas or dance as art and dance for entertainment (Cunningham and Bausch vs. Jackson). You could discuss the lives of the artists and dance development (by using any of the available books dealing with the history of dance and ballet). I believe that the topic can be tailored to young performers and that they can learn a lot from it, with your help of course.

The older groups will have fewer problems understanding the topic and I would suggest that you check videos of the three artists' performances (You Tube), search for visual and printed materials (freely available on the internet) and immerse yourselves in the work and lives of Bausch, Cunningham and Jackson.

The next step could be used to discuss ways of approaching the topic - you could choose just one of the performers, two or all three. Bausch, Cunningham and Jackson could also serve as stimuli for developing your own creativity. You could research collage in dance, try to re-enact a part of a piece and think of the (im)possibilities and importance of re-enactments. And the ideas and questions will just keep rolling in!

Mentors should discuss the topic with the young performers, while the latter should also be autonomous and critical in creating their views about it.

The most important part of the competition is the process of shaping the idea and creating the short dance piece - the process of learning and self-development. During the process, young performers should draw on their existing self-confidence or be able to acquire it.

The role of the mentor in creating the short dance piece is to counsel, lead and guide children/the young into creating their own ideas, dance expressions and autonomous choreographies.