Alice Hinde
- 12 Mar 2014
What
Alice was funded to undertake The Anima Project to develop the necessary skills, understanding and artistic vision to make the transition from successful dancer to choreographer.
The project involved three interconnected components. The first component was a six week creative development period to develop concepts and material for the new commission, Anima, to be presented in Dancenorth’s Evolution Series in 2015.
The second component involved collaboration with mask and puppet maker, Danny Miller, to develop designs for masks and costumes.
Choreographic and management mentorship from Dancenorth’s Artistic Director, Raewyn Hill, comprised the final component of the project.
As a result of the mentorship and the developing professional relationship with Dancenorth, Alice has been granted a three-week residency at Dancenorth, Townsville, in October 2014.
When
October to December 2013
Where
Melbourne and Townsville
Arts Queensland contribution
$8369 – Individuals Fund
Outcomes
- Creative concepts for the dance work, Anima, were developed. Alice believes she is now well equipped to launch into the further development of this work as a choreographic commission.
- Alice gained professional development in choreography and management by working with Dancenorth Artistic Director, Raewyn Hill.
- Alice’s collaboration with Danny Miller resulted in the development of designs and templates for masks and costumes. This collaboration demonstrated the benefit of working cross-genre and fueled her interest in interdisciplinary exploration.
- Alice has been offered a three-week residency at Dancenorth, Townsville, in October 2014. During this residency Alice will have access to administrative and production teams as well as company dancers. Anima will be presented as a natural extension of the artistic vision of the company, and regionally-based audiences will be provided with a diverse program.
Learnings and reflections
As an established artist, working on her own choreographic work was unfamiliar to Alice. In order to refine her artistic vision, she found the time working on her own in the studio was vital:
‘Maintaining momentum, focus and continuing to research and ask questions of myself was a challenge, and I learned early on in the project to set parameters. I would take time on a day prior to the day I was to spend in the studio writing a list of things I would like to achieve the next day. This became my ‘textbook’. I would constantly refer to it to maintain focus and momentum and direct my time in the space.’
Alice also discovered myriad ways to generate and refine ideas and concepts. Specific choreographic methods that she found rewarding were structured improvisation and task work.
Alice found that in collaborating with other artists outside the studio space, it was important to share the overall essence of the work:
‘I found it exceptionally beneficial to express everything, even partially formed ideas so that a creative flow of ideas would form, inspired and evolving from conversation.’
In the future, Alice would consider getting the performers involved sooner to trial some of her ideas. Alice feels it would have been ‘ideal’ to have divided the Anima Project into two components: firstly, individual research and exploration; secondly, a period of time in which to trial ideas with other performers.
Finally, Alice consolidated her strategy of developing a ‘choreographic manual’. In this manual, Alice notes methods and techniques of creating that she finds insightful, selects documents and texts that inspire her and even associated memories, projections, reflections and images.
Contact for further information
Email: alicehinde@hotmail.com
Phone: 0407 906 440
Links
Alice’s biography: http://dancenorth.com.au/?p=172
A pdf version of Alice's case study (PDF) (304.62 KB) is available.