Beginnings- An Interpretation

The beginning of something can take many forms. Some would argue that it is purely subjective- is it the point at which a person makes a conscious decision to perform a task or is it the point at which one puts pen to paper or foot to floor?

I liken the beginning of the MAPP to ordering a flat-pack chest of draws from the internet. Fully expecting to receive a box in the post with all the required boards, screws and instructions to construct the drawers, instead I receive a box of clay with minmal/no instructions. It is now my task to mould my own set of drawers, with no interpretation being wrong, it is merely my own perception of what drawers should be from my interaction with others, research and past experiences.

Adesola Akinleye theorises beginnings as having three distinct points- The Official Beginning, the Energetic Beginning and the Effective Beginning (Adesola MA Professional Practice, Beginnings, 28th Jan 2019, Adesola Akinleye, http://adesolamapp.blogspot.com/)
In her blog post she relates her theory to two different performance works she has been a part of, both of which are open to interpretation. Relating her theory to my own experiences, I am reminded of a piece I danced with The Cape Town City Ballet. Le Sacre, choregraphed by John Neumeier is a neo-classical piece of dance set to the music of Le Sacre du Printemps (Stravinsky). In this piece the curtain rises in silence to near black out where one can start to see bodies slowly walking across the stage in various patterns. As the lighting slowly increases the amount of dancers walking across the stage also increases but eventually the stage is left with just 9 soloists standing in their 'starting positions'- it is at this point the orchestra starts playing Stravinsky's infamous score and the soloists start dancing. The introduction of this piece of music is often used as the ballet's overture but here it consists of the soloists setting the scene of the piece through Neumeier's distinct choreography. Musically, the introduction leads into Part 1 (Adoration of the Earth) and this sees the full company bursting onto stage.
Applying Akinleye's theory to Le Sacre, the official beginning could be interpreted as the curtain rising on a silent stage of dancers. The energetic could be deemed as the moment the orchestra start playing and the soloists begin their choreographed movement. Given that the ballet was written with an orchestral overture sans dancers, I feel I would define 'Part 1 (Adoration of the Earth)" as the effective beginning in the case of this piece, where the full company is seen dancing for the first time.

Cape Town City Ballet in Le Sacre (Neumeier)- Picture by Michael Groenewald

In response to Akinleye's theory, I would argue that there is always a Conscious Beginning before her three defined points. The point at which a person makes a conscious decision to start a process and give thought to it. In dance creation it could be the point at which a choreographer starts a thought process either in their head or on paper, toying with different ideas for a new piece. In performance one could say it is the conscious decision the spectator makes to enter a performance environment- so much of the theatre-going experience nowadays is changing to incorporate the experience gained as you set foot in the theatre, be that themed hospitality and foyers, performance spaces in theatre foyers or completely immersive performance environments. 

 

As I begin the MAPP one would definitely agree that there are many points of beginning that could be interpreted as the start of this journey. Was it the application process in which I had to reflect on my professional practice to date in the form of a personal statement? Was it the conscious decision I made to accept the offer of a place on the course? Or was it the official first week of term?

Personally I feel the process of applying for the MAPP course required me to sit down and reflect fully on my professional practice to date in the form of an in-depth personal statement that was delivered to an academic standard. This in itself was the start of my MAPP learning process and what I consider to be the concsious decision I made to start this journey (my conscious beginning). Following on from this, the day I enrolled in the course and received access to all the online course material and handbooks was the official beginning for me. The welcome skype held with the course faculty and fellow students was the energetic beginning where the requirements of the course were outlined and the use of the courses resources were demonstrated to us and the effective beginning I feel at this point in time is the moment I sat down and started to engage in the MAPP community via blogspot, the module handbooks and suggested reading. It is at this point I realised the MA would not be akin to receiving a flat pack chest of drawers, but rather, I would be required to embark on a learning journey over the next three semesters to mould and shape my understanding of my professional practice that is unique to myself and a product of my own perception.