YELLOW
Dancers Lenard Glenn Malunes and Karli Padilla
Exploring the Color Yellow
As a visual artist and choreographer, I am attempting to present the visual qualities of color through movement quality and structure. I wanted the dancers to feel these qualities through their movement, to develop an abstract character that would play an integral role in their development of the piece. Therefore, instead of simply discovering through movement, I wanted the dancers to discover who their character was through stream of consciousness writing:
Examples of the dancers' stream of consciousness writing:
... As a dancer, I do feel that my qualities are not super sharp but also not super flowy -- hence the middle, yellow. I thought for a while I did not know my identity as a dancer but because being reassured that other people notice that thing about me made me feel more secure and happy with where I am in my journey. Many people do say that I am a positive person and I do my best to showcase that -- even see the best/good in people. I believe that there is something underneath and in the end, we can all be connected through love and community. I feel that this connection to yellow was based on a lot of trauma back in my life -- my upbringing made me look on the brighter side because sometimes when you do not have anything, what you do is dream forward. You dream about what could happen in the future and the reality that could potentially be yours. It keeps me going.
Lenard Glenn Malunes
If yellow was a person well I think we would all be drawn like a magnet to them. They would be cheerful and full of a spice for life while others would bask in their glowing light. As a dancer, I can imagine they would have a buoyant quality and be very light. They would have bursts of energy but also be able to glide and sail. Their presence would be inviting and revitalizing, one that is both encouraging and exciting. Yellow would simply make us want to get up and dance in the sunshine. Joy would be exuberant.
Karli Padilla
I wanted the dancers to make their own decisions about what they were exploring in their movement. In previously choreographed dances, I would tell the dancers about the qualities they should be feeling, however, I never gave them extensive time to explore the concepts themselves. Both Lenard Glenn and Karli seemed extremely open to developing their own ideas and had a firm grasp of what yellow meant to them. Together, we discussed what images defined yellow, and how, if the color were a feeling, it would be contextualized.
What are some keywords you would use to describe the color ______?
Joy, happiness, sunshine, mood, warm, glowing, peace, smiles, laughter, moon, hope, memories
What images come to mind when thinking about this color?
Bright glowing sun, a vast plain, people laughing and smiling (enjoying company)
Do you think that color and movement can relate to each other? If so how?
Energy levels are different for each color
Quality of the color and then embodying the color
Can be dynamic as well as peaceful --- vast plain because it is in the middle of the spectrum
It was from these discussion questions and answers that I developed vision boards for the color. These boards represent the dancers' feelings and relationships towards the color.
Next, I had Zoom meetings with the dancers where we explored our discussion questions through improvisation. I took this time to explore capturing movement through visual art. I led the dancers in a 5-minute improvisational exercise where I sketched them with a pencil and paper while they danced. I found that my hands danced along with them on the page as they moved, the circular shapes created by my pencil visualized the arcs of their torsos, the rapidness of their hand movements, and the position of their heads.
