The Viewpoint

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The Viewpoint

A cultural shift has been underway in the United States in the last half of the century passed. The cultural shift has been associated with shifts in aesthetic, personal and political values and culture held by the American people. Artistic changes have been immense given that this period was marked by heightened levels of enlightenment among artists. Over the years, the shifts have enhanced creation of art and literary forms such as dance. This resulted in the emergence of new approaches towards enhancing in delivery of artistic forms to audiences such as using the viewpoints. The viewpoints training has been essential to dance given that it has revolutionized choreography for choreographers, involvement of actors, directors,  their designers,  writers and dramaturgs.

Viewpoints are essential points of instruction in artistic forms such as theater arts. Their applications by theatre artists are widely present in rehearsals. They are essential models for training of theatrical performers, development of ensembles and creation of movements for theatre stages. Viewpoints discussed are namely physical viewpoints, viewpoints of time and viewpoints of space. Other viewpoints include the viewpoint of sound that is not relative to movement within theatrical performances.

Viewpoints of time

Viewpoints of time are namely tempo, kinesthetic response, duration, and repetition. Tempo is an essential viewpoint that is relative to the speeds and rates of movement in performance. Duration refers to the overall length of a given movement in theatrical performances. In terms of viewpoints, duration is relative to the length of the period of work for people in a group during a certain movement before change takes place. Kinesthetic response refers to the spontaneity of a given reaction to motion that may take place externally.

Furthermore, it includes the timing within which one responds to the various external events of movements and sound during performance. It is also defined as a movement that occurs because of spontaneous stimulation of individual senses. Repetition is defined as a movement that is done severally. It may include internal repetition, which is a form of movement that takes place within one’s body. It may take the form of external repetition, which takes a variety of forms such as shape, gesture, tempo, among others.

Viewpoints of Space

Shape is defined as the outline that the body of a performer makes in space. Shapes can be broken into a variety of groups namely lines, curves, and a combination of both lines and curves. Thus in training of viewpoints instructors aim at enhancing the skills and abilities of individuals to create shapes with their bodies, which may take the form of lines, curves or both. In addition, shapes can be either moving or stationary within space of performance. Furthermore, shapes in performance can be made in a variety of forms namely the body in space; the body with relation to architecture; and the body in relation to other bodies that are making similar or different shapes.

Gesture is another form of viewpoint of space. It refers to the movement that involves a variety of parts of the human body. Gesture is termed as “a shape with a beginning, middle and end.” Gestures take a variety of forms namely behavior gestures and expressive gestures. Another form of viewpoints of shape includes architecture. It refers to the physical environment within which a preference works and its effect on individual movement.

Architecture is divided into a variety of forms namely solid mass, textures, color, sound and light. When working with architecture, performers develop spatial metaphors such as “trapped, lost in space and time”. Architecture forms an essential viewpoint in enhancement of performances and movements in theatrical works.

Spatial relationships are forms of viewpoints of space and refer to the distance that exists between elements or items onstage. When performers are aware of spatial relationships they are inclined to work with consideration of the dynamic distances of proximity and separation between elements and other performers onstage. Topography is another form of viewpoints of space and refers to the landscapes, designs and floor patterns in the creation movements within a given space. Topography is essential in defining the shape and size within which individuals work or deliver to an audience.

Individual View

From the identified viewpoints, it is fascinating to understand that surroundings or work environment have significant influences on the overall quality of performance delivered to the audience. Viewpoints form important tools for enhancing individual creativity onstage given that they influence consciousness of a performer. In addition, viewpoints are essential for enhancing the recognition of individual strengths and weaknesses within the stage setting.

Viewpoints are liberating tools given that they free one from the existing or assumed absolute authority such as that possessed by a teacher, director and scripts or text. Furthermore, it is evident that modern development of theatrical performances has been enhanced by the development of viewpoints. They provide performers with enhanced freedom and options for choices, which has the ability to improve overall quality of performances and audience experience. In conclusion, viewpoints enhance the artistic process by making it collaborative using the various elements identified onstage. This includes individual ability and awareness of surroundings towards enhanced performance for the audience.