5 - Practitioner Study 1: James Cousins ‘Taste Water Again’

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 James Cousins



I have decided to review James Cousins piece ‘Taste Water Again’, https://youtu.be/EqWgy8EMsY4?si=OfTqDiQGYltVZkDX . This was the initial piece my group was drawn to. 

 

“Taste Water Again follows a lone female in her search for resolve, in the wake of an unexpected and harrowing experience, beyond her control”. (Cousins, 2013) 

 

Dancer-choreographer collaboration is a big part of Cousins creative process, he believes that “Our ideas collectively together are far stronger than mine alone” (Cousins, 2019). Cousins intentions are definitely made clear to the audience when watching this specific piece. Having to deal with something that is beyond control directly links to our solo. In cousins piece the girl is only at the beginning of her journey while in our solo an external force is guiding us through towards the end, which finally alllows us to see more clearly. 

 

Overall I think the most intriguing thing about this piece is how Cousins ensured his dancers portrayed certain emotions. At 4:34mins, five dancers are in sync while the individual wearing white stands alone with an outward gaze towards the audience. This disconnect within the dancers relationships makes it obvious to the audience that distress is felt by the dancer wearing white. Again at 5:52mins, this dancers hand gestures portray discomfort and disconnect, also at 8:31mins she feels isolated from the two couples who are dancing on either side of her. At 6:52 the dancers all suddenly stop dancing, they hold a position. These moment of stillness contrasts to the chaotic movements. We hold multiple positions within our solo and will continue to include them as we choreograph more.  

 

We intend to use our music ‘Starry Night’, in a very similar way to how Cousins used his. He tends to highlight certain movements in sync with how the music sounds, eg. a dancer swipes their arm downwards on a deep beat that sounds like a swipe downwards. This makes a piece memorable and interesting. 


 

Video of our choreography so far - 



 

Bibliography:


www.youtube.com. (n.d.). James Cousins Dance - Taste Water Again. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/EqWgy8EMsY4?si=s2utsJFtE6CBsZc2

 

Team, T.S.P. (2019). Exclusive: World Renowned Award Winning Choreographer James Cousins | Student Magazine - Student Pages. [online] Available at: https://www.studentpages.biz/exclusive-interview-world-renowned-award-winning-choreographer-james-cousins/ 


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Comments

  1. Eloise Nugent5 November 2023 at 07:43

    Can you tell me more about James Cousins creative process and what his influences are?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katie Murray5 November 2023 at 09:14

      As I said before dancer-choreographer collaboration is a big part of Cousins creative process. I believe his collaborative style holds a great place in his process, as he creates an open safe place for his dancers to share ideas of their own. “I’m always really inspired by the dancers in the studio with me. They shape the work that I produce as I draw on their individuality and their skills”, (Cousins, 2019). Personally I think this makes his work uniquely his. Along with this, each work is different from one another due to the fact he uses different dancers in each piece. He takes ideas and is inspired by every individual he works with, which makes his creative process different every time he creates.

      Along with being inspired by his dancers, James cousins was greatly influenced by Mathew Bourne after he was mentored by him for a year after winning the Mathew Bourne ‘New Choreographer’ award in 2012. “He showed me how to really connect with audiences”, (Cousins, 2019). During this time both individuals appreciated their differences and Bourne helped make Cousins own style stronger without making him into a “Mini-Mathew”, (Cousins, 2019).

      Bibliography:
      Team, T.S.P. (2019). Exclusive: World Renowned Award Winning Choreographer James Cousins | Student Magazine - Student Pages. [online] Available at: https://www.studentpages.biz/exclusive-interview-world-renowned-award-winning-choreographer-james-cousins/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2023].

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