Dance 287 - Lighting for Choreography Fall 2023

  For this week's blog I chose a picture I took as I was leaving tech one of the nights this weekend. Considering the amount of work and people involved to make New Slate happen and the love and dedication to our craft we all have is incredibly inspiring. Approaching not only how I give my designer notes but also how I view the work my other collaborators put into this show is something I really appreciate getting out of this class. I'm glad to have a better understanding of how to properly communicate with designers and to have more insight into what can't and can't be done with lighting. This has made the tech process for NS extremely valuable to me and I couldn't be happier with how my piece looks.

      I noticed the overlapping shadows on the walls of the dancers; something I often find joy in watching when they are present. It was fascinating to watch the dancers in their "free time" from the task, playing with the light and playing with the space. They were watching their figures and working to perfection, but also playing around. I always like to say that hobbies are something you enjoy doing with your life, and passions are something you need to do to enjoy life. For a lot of us in the major, that is dance. We are passionate about it, so much so, that even while staring down our every flaw or mistake we are able to find joy, love, and livelihood in this process. The color of the lighting itself gives a very warm and encouraging feeling. Here is a screenshot of a frame of the video in case the video does not upload properly

  For this week's post, I chose to incorporate a photo captured at a tech rehearsal from New Slate. The saturated yellow light that shines down from above to showcase the dancer is memorizing, beautiful, and pleasing to my eye. Also, the saturated blue lights coming from the side panels really give shape and form to the dancer and complement and expand the space while still giving focus to the moment.  The lighting creates a world for the soloist and serves the costume colors very well.  I also love the lineup of warm lighting in the background from below and above that supports the spotlight but doesn't overpower it. I'm passionate about this photo because it's from my work but also because it gives a world I never knew existed for my dance. It is magical and I am in awe of it all.  The illumination and collaboration of light and movement create a world beyond my imagination and really provide more insight into the choreographic process. 

  For this week’s post, I’m posting this shot of the curtain from tech rehearsal. The red curtain with the lights hitting it gives off a very passionate look. I feel a warmth when I see it, like looking into fire, but it also reminds me of a dress that’s draping down. It’s nice to think about the ambiguity of what may lie behind the curtain and that uncertainty feels exciting to me. 

I took this picture when I was walking my dog (Kiki) in the morning and loved how the sun’s rays dispersed behind her.    I consider Kiki as one of my passions so I snapped this since it looked like she was glowing. This was taken at 7:15am and loved how the light reflected off her fur since white reflects light. Her tail in specific shows this really well as well as the outline of her figure. 

Irvine Spectrum Center has drastically expanded over the past several decades. The residue of its original theme is most present by the movie theater which is where I focused my energy. The hanging lanterns, palm trees, arches, and domes depict a Moroccan theme also known as Hispano-Moorish.  The Islamic influenced architecture and pottery style is alluded to in tile work, square framing of horseshoe arches, and geometric patterns present on the buildings and fountains. The suspended lanterns are trying to hold the design ideas together but have become overshadowed by the LED lights framing the horseshoe arch. The LED lights increase around the mall and are used mainly for highlighting store signs. This jolts guests out of a North-African ambiance into a commercial Californian mall. As footfall increases deeper into the shopping center to its newer parts, the use of fountains and plants continue the theme, however, contemporary design begins to take over past Dave & Buster's. T...