Rachel CaduriTracy NavarroJazz 329 April 2015Jazz 3 Choreography ProjectChoreographing has always been a difficult process for me. I see these dance majors doing these spectacular and meaningful choreographic practicals that inspire me so much and I just want to create movements like theirs. However, the technique behind them is far beyond me and so the choreography ends up looking sloppy. I also get blocked very easily when it comes time to physically create the piece. I listen to music all the time and have these great ideas, but as soon as I start working on it and physicalizing my ideas, my mind goes blank. So working on this as a group trio really helped me. I had other ideas to feed off and people to bounce my own ideas off of. Matt, Jessica, and I worked very well together. We wanted to incorporate a lot of the steps we learned in musical theatre dance but in a well-blended way so it didnt just seem like random out of place dance moves. I really enjoyed musical theatre dance so getting to use steps like the Suzie Q and the Black Bottom was fun for me. Having an improvisation section was very difficult for me, especially considering it was floor work. I always try to stay away from improvisations and floor work, but I trusted my group in their belief that an improvisation section would enhance our piece. I think one of my biggest contributions to the piece was formations and transitions. I am someone who always like symmetry and strong formations and I think they really enhance a piece and make it more interesting so I really focused on that with the group. Originally the Susie Qs had us all traveling to the left but I thought it would be a nice change if Jessica and I switched lines with Matt. I also thought having both Jessica and I face the left, and Matt face the right would add some asymmetrical balance. I also always love seeing diagonals in pieces, so I wanted to add that. They are a great way to fill the space and a different approach to a simple line formation. I think what worked so well about our group was that we each had important things we wanted to incorporate, whether it be formations, or specific movements, and as a group we were all willing to allow each person to contribute what was important to them.As far as the concept of the piece, we really wanted the movements to be bold and stand on their own so we chose not to incorporate a story but rather follow where the music led us. Manteca was co-written by Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo, Gil Fuller in 1947, during the beginnings of Afro-Cuban jazz. The song features trumpet statements by Gillespie, percussion from Pozo, and Fuller on the horn. When I think of jazz music, and movement as well, I always think sexy and so I wanted to find a song that embodied that sexiness. When I first heard this song I knew it was what I was looking for. The elements of the three instruments put together had the exact sound that I wanted to work with for the project and they really drew me in. Overall, I think our choreography came together very well. It was a fun experience getting to work with my friends on something out of my comfort zone, and something movement based instead of story based.