Reflection on my first dance project

Find the project here -->Therapy 

My first dance project, titled “Therapy”, is a reflection of my own struggles dealing with depression last semester. I tried my best recapture how it felt in a way that would convey the point without hammering in cliché stereotypes. Going through depression was one of the most challenging this I have ever had to go through, and one of the main reasons I was able to make it through was because of the amazing dance program here at the University. I was forced to get out of my room because I had classes to take, workshops to attend, and performances to make. Anyone who dances can tell you how hard it is to be in a sour mood when you are doing the thing you love most in the world.

Depression is like getting caught in a vicious cycle that you feel like you have no control over, whereas dance is the exact opposite. In Dance you have all the control you could ever want or need, which gives you a much needed base to start recovering from. In this project that narrative I tried to tell was of a relatable college student just down on his luck. No drama or talks of drastic final measures, just a simple look at what it feels like inside the cycle. I dimmed the first few shots so they would be more pale and left a few out of focus to get my point across. In class we learned how vital it can be to use the movement of the camera as a sort of dance itself, so I chose to make the whole project in a circular fashion. It was split into two parts, in sense it was an act 1 and 2 of 3 (or act 2 and 3 without an act 1 if you think about it in a particular way), but the first half was done weeks before I even knew what the space of the bus would be like. Even after I had to shift a few things around and I changed the way I wanted to dance about 5 times before I settled on the concept.

During the day of the actual arts bus “performance”, the bus was almost two hours late, which of course meant that I second guessed whether or not I even wanted to use it anymore. I wish I had not been so attached to the idea beforehand. I wanted the bus to be more of a representation of dance then the actual dance itself. The character just sees this thing and approaches it on the off chance that it might help him, just like how I found dance. I never saw myself as a dancer and honestly used to have no sense of rhythm, but I stumbled upon a new hobby that would evolve into a lifestyle and I never looked back. The dancing on the bus was all improv, no planning except for the song that plays over it. We cannot predict how we will cope with depression, in fact sometimes the answer will just hit us out of nowhere, but when it does you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone if you want to heal.

This piece does not really have a true ending, and not because depression does not have a true ending or something like that (although I could use that excuse), but because I just did not know how to end it. The resolution would have to fit the theme, so the best thing would probably be for the character to return to his room, look at his bed as if he wants to go back to sleep but then decide that he has slept enough. It is a simple way to convey the more complex phenomenon of depression and the back and forth that comes with it. However, it does not last forever and if you find the thing that ties you to the world it is easier to elevate yourself to a more positive mindset.