“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” – William Shakespeare
“Names have a mysterious transforming power. Like a ring on a finger, a name may at first seem merely accidental, committing you to nothing, but before you realize its magical power, its gotten under your skin, become part of you and your destiny.” – Stefan Zweig
Name: Perform in class on Jan 28
We will work on this study in class, but for future reference here are our steps.
STEP ONE:
“Write” your name in the air around you, on the floor, on the ceiling, or on your body. Will you use your whole name? A nickname? Initials? Find the deliciousness of this movement. Where does it take you? Up, down, high, low? With straight lines, swoops, twirls, rolls? Are you writing in cursive? Are you printing? Is there an accented moment? Save and remember this movement phrase.
STEP TWO:
What is the meaning of your name? Has your family shared the meaning of your name with you? Or maybe your name came to you not via family – but through a different naming process. Did you name yourself? Did someone else name you? If you have never explored the meaning of your name, check these resources – and search more as well.
https://www.behindthename.com/
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/
https://babynames.com/names/search.php
Create a movement sequence about the meaning of your name,
STEP THREE:
If you are able to ask the person(s) who named you, what is their story of why they chose to give you your name? If you aren’t able to ask this question – make up what you would like the answer to be.
Create a movement sequence in response.
STEP FOUR:
You now have three movement sequences. Put them together in any order that you would like, or you could also mix them up.
MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT NAMES, SECRET NAMES, POWER OF NAMES…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name
“The Power of Names” article in New Yorker (The drawings reminded me of Halvor’s drawings on the white board!)
“The Power of Names: Uncovering the Mystery of What We Are Called” by Mavis Himes
Acknowledgement: Though I have been “spelling names” as a movement exercise for many years, I want to acknowledge that choreographer Julie B. Johnson uses this “spelling names” movement exercise as a powerful tool in dance & community work.
Upload your video to youtube, vimeo or other (you can make it private and supply password only for us)
Load the video to “Add Media”
POST YOUR VIDEO HERE: As for all videos include: Title, your name, and 1-3 sentences about your process, ideas, etc. If you have problems uploading, check in with Tierney Steelber and Morris Pelzel. Contact info in syllabus.
NAME – Carissa
I followed the formula outlined above, but I switched up the order of the pieces. I start with the reason for my name, then the meaning, then the spelling. Since carissa is a plant, I worked with metaphors of growth and life and the idea of myself as a plant. I arranged the three segments so that the piece grows in scale, energy, and confidence as it progresses.
For my piece, I explored both physically spelling out my name as well as emotionally experimenting with my name. I spent a lot of time deciding what name to choose for myself after coming out as non-binary, and is based on a family name and ancestry leading to the MacFie clan. I explored my own feelings of gender euphoria and dysphoria, and what changing my name meant for those experiences.