Building Fields of Play: An examination of the use of notational analysis to reinterpret dynamic and sequential movement from Rugby Union to inform the creation of a new dance work

Abstract

This article offers an examination of a research process that used elements taken from an elite sporting competition, in this case an international Rugby Union match, to develop choreographic thinking tools to create a new contemporary dance work. One goal of this practice-led research was to create a vehicle for penetrating the physicality and unpacking the bodily configurations created in a rugby match. Data derived from a frame-by-frame analysis of a recorded match allowed for the identification and deconstruction of sequential movement to be converted into set representational, abstract choreographic tools named movement signatures and blocks. Through this research, the main physical traits identified were entanglement, directional changeability and interlocking struggle. Subsequently, these choreographic stimuli were used in the formation of movement scores and an abstract movement vocabulary to inform the creation and performance of a non-traditional research output, Fields of Play (2015). Furthermore, this practice-led study utilized elements of Laban Movement Analysis and sports movement analysis to develop an experimental approach to movement annotation and the development of a choreographic process. Through witnessing this hybrid movement vocabulary evolve, the research revealed qualities of de-centred logic, interruption of flow and the potential for a game dramaturgy to emerge.