Concluding reflection and evaluation

From all of the research, reading, and reflective practice I have done throughout the process of this project, I have discovered various aspects relating to how nature can influence and enhance creativity, and integrating natural environments into practice.

Beginning my journey with an autoethnographic approach, I explored the effects of moving outdoors, drawing from Suryodarmo's Amerta movement practice principles about being in flux with each ever evolving moment, Andrea Olsen's use of natural environments in her practice and the undeniable connection between humans and nature, and studies regarding nature's positive effect on creativity amongst creative professionals. I discovered a through-line that seemingly tied the different research elements together. 'In order to be in touch with your environment, you need to be in touch with yourself'. This through-line emerged through the project, as meditation and being in flux with one's surroundings and each moment was a present element in the practices of the practitioners I researched. Therefore, meditation and Qi Gong, focusing on self-centering and incorporating elements from nature, became an important part of my practice, as well as inspiration for my choreography later on. Nature having a positive effect on idea synthesis and creative problem solving stemmed from a sense of serenity it brought, as well as visual elements that seemed to spark creative ideas. I drew that into my choreographic practice as well, as I drew inspiration from fractal patterns seen in nature.

Furthermore, reflecting back on my own practice led me to choreograph a scene danced in water, as I, and also supported by research, found that immersing oneself in water put you in a mindful, present state of mind and state of being.

Using this research above to form my own practice, helped me to bring these elements into the studio, making it relevant to me, as my continued practice will mostly exist in a studio space. Furthermore, I felt that it made it more industry focused, again as most choreographic creation takes place in studios.

If I were to continue this research and redo the rehearsal and filming process, ideally I would work with the dancers for a longer period of time before filming, and conducting more rehearsals in the outdoor space, in order for the dancers to be able to fully embody the elements and the environment at play. Furthermore, it would prove interesting to work directly with a composer or a musician in order to create a soundscape specifically made for the choreography, the natural space, and the sensations used to create the choreography.

It would be interesting to share the choreography and research as an 'on site' event, getting the audience to fully experience the moment in which it is shared, and even include practical elements for the viewers that would be informed from the practice based research of this project.

I wanted to share the film as a part of an installation, as I found it important to give the audience context to what they were viewing in the film. Furthermore, I consider the reflective poetry an integral part of my documentation and gives good insight into the thought process behind the film, and the practice I developed throughout the project. I also wanted an environment full of sensation, similar to natural environments, therefore I included visual elements in the form of the film, photography, and projected poetry, aural elements in the form of water sounds and the audio from the film, and finally an olfactory element with grounding incense.

Hopefully this film will lead to more choreographic investigations in outdoor spaces and spark an interest for creatives to explore nature as an equal contributor in their creative work. Moreover, the use of camera brought forth a special element, which has an interesting relation to this research. As Suryodarmo says, each moment is constantly reshaping itself, therefore the ability of capturing those specific moments on film and sharing the exact flux of that specific filming day is quite special, and can hopefully be seen and felt when watching the film.

Until I step out again,

Íris