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Personal Project report.Expression through movement.

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Contents

A. Investigation…

- I Goal - II Global context- III Prior Knowledge- VI Research

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B. Planning…

- I criteria- II Planning and development process- III Self-management skills

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C. Taking action…

- I Final product- II Thinking skills- III Communication and social skills

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D. Reflecting…

- I Evaluation of project- II Extension of knowledge, topic and global context- III Reflecting on your learning skills as an IB learner and your selected Global Context

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Bibliography…10

Appendixes…11-19

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A. Investigation:

I goal.

My topic for the personal project is expression through movement. My goal, after much consideration and changes, is to express through movement, by selecting an appropriate photo (see appendix 7), and creating a choreography trying to represent the photo. Then do a video editing of me performing in unexpected places, including different points of view, and finally, share it in order to have feedback. Dancing is my passion. I really like it. I started dancing when I was two years old, and since, I have never stopped. Dancing is also a tradition in my family; my grandmother was a dancer, and she danced with Irene Popard (1894-1950), and Isadora Duncan (1877-1927). My mother is also a choreographer, a dance teacher, and a dancer.

It is a challenging goal for me, because I will have to create a new choreography by my own, and it must represent the photo I have chosen (see appendix 7). It is also challenging, because I will have to show it to people around me and they will have to evaluate it, so I must be able to perform it perfectly. I have chosen to perform in a public place: at Noarlunga beach. This is challenging and stressful because unknown people will see me. What is also challenging, is that I have to perform in different places with different floors, such as sand, concrete, grass, and I will have to adapt myself to those, and keep the balance even doing turns in the sand. I also had to cope with issues caused by the coronavirus. I was finishing my initial personal project, when I heard that the triathlon I had to do was cancelled. In consequence, I had to change my personal project, because the triathlon was my goal, and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it. So, I had a really short time to do my personal project. But I believe I am organized, and I can be a hard worker, so, for this reason I have changed the whole project and started something new. Finally, I have decided to write my report in English. English is my second language, and I really want to improve it, so this is a real challenge for me.

II Global Context

The global context that I have aligned my goal with is personal and cultural expression. To achieve my goal, I am using two different arts which are photography and dancing. A photograph is a form of expression, because it can express lots of emotions and ideas. Dancing is also a kind of expression, because each movement in a choreography is chosen to convey a message, or a feeling to the audience. Culture can also mean art, which is what dance and photography are. So, the combination of dance and photography is matching with the global context personal and cultural expression.

III Prior Knowledge.

At school I have done dancing in year 8, where we tried to make a choreography on a music. In year 9 I have also worked on photography, and with my class we have learned to describe

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a photograph. Out of school I have practiced dancing (mostly ballet) for eleven years and I have been in an art school for one year where I have participated in several choreographic workshops with famous dancers, such as Romain Panassier. I have also done photography classes when I was 14, and my mother taught me a lot, because she has studied photography. Finally, I went to a lot of photography exhibitions with my family, and dances shows. I remember about an exhibition of Joseph Nadj (a Serbian artist) called Mnemosyne. The goal of the artist was to show photography through dancing. There was an exhibition with all the photos that he had made, and at the end there were a solo performance of Joseph Nadj himself. This exhibition was really interesting and prepared us for the solo performance. The performance was breath taking. The stage was extremely small. It was representing a camera box. It was a square of about five meters side. To represent photography through his dance, Josef Nadj was doing really slow movement as if the time was stopped. The performance was of twenty-five minutes, but I still remember it as if I had spent hours in this tiny room, watching a man moving really slowly. The costumes were simple. The only man on stage was wearing a suit and tie, but his face was wrapped of white bandage. I also remember this performance scared me, because the lighting was dark, the music was really minimalist with strong accents, and the movement were so slow that we felt somewhere else, maybe in another dimension losing our repairs.

VI Research.

For my personal project, I have researched different information. Firstly, I have studied a wide range of photographs that inspire me, and that maybe I could use for my final choreography. I have noticed that the photos that I preferred, were photos in which we could feel movement. I have also noticed that the photos where mostly in black and white with dark colours. This was also really inspiring, because the darkness of the photo creates a particular atmosphere, and I felt doubtful. I was wondering what the photograph was actually representing, and this gave space to my imagination, and helped me to give a sense to the photograph. The photos I have used for my research were mostly taken from Joseph Nadj or with Josef Nadj dancing. Some of them were in the exhibition I saw. It was really interesting to work with photographs, because we have to create the information, and try to understand what the photographer wants us to feel, to understand. It is not written it is more subtle (see appendix 1). I have also studied a video, of Josef Nadj in which he talks about his performance “le corbeau”. In the video, Joseph Nadj expressed how he felt during his dance. He explains how important music is and the connection he has with the musicians. He also explains how he integrates different textures and techniques in his performance, such as painting, music, lighting(Nadj J. , 2010). It is a really reliable source because it is a primary source. This inspired me a lot and made me think about the aspect of the music and how I could incorporate different techniques in my final project. This is why I am doing a video editing, mixing different places and camera angles. The video comes from a French art group called “les quinconces”. It is a reliable source because it comes from a national theatre organisation. I have also studied an article that explains how to read a photograph. I found the information interesting and relevant. It was logic and it made sense, so I think that it is a reliable source. It helped me to understand the photograph I have used for my choreography (see appendix 2). The last research I have done was about Josef Nadj, and his work. The person who inspired me the most and gave me this idea of dancing on a

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photo. For this reason, I have decided to do some research about him and his artistic project Mnemosyne.It turned out really interesting, because overall, in my personal project, I will follow the steps of Josef Nadj and his work, to achieve my goal (see appendix 3).

B. Planning

I Criteria.

I have decided to construct criteria, in order to evaluate different aspects of my project (see appendix 4). The first criteria is to evaluate the link between the photo and the choreography. Is my choreography representing the photo? Is it evident? The second criteria is to evaluate the quality of dancing. I find it really important to have a good quality of dancing, because, it is essential to be able to convey a message and express an idea. The third criteria is to evaluate the filming and the video editing. This is essential in my project. It is a big part of the goal. The quality of the filming must be really good. And the video editing must not break the continuity of the movement which must be in rhythm with the music. The audience is supposed to have similar feelings when looking at the video, as if I was performing in front of them. Finally, fourth and last criteria is to evaluate, the choice of the music. The music must contribute to the understanding of the dance and to create an atmosphere that matches with the photo, and the choreography.

II Planning and development process.

During my personal project I had some issues planning my time. By the end of year nine, we had to choose our personal project goal. I had chosen to make a video editing interviewing different surfer about their feeling when they surf and why they do it. After much reflexion, and assisting to personal project day, I had decided to change my goal, because I found it not enough challenging and not really constructive. I had then started to work on a new goal. My new goal was to train in order to finish a long-distance triathlon and make some experiences to find out what are the most motivating ways of training in order to ameliorate my performances. Unfortunately, with all the circumstances related to the corona virus, the swimming pool were closed, the velodrome also, and finally the triathlon was cancelled. After much reflexion, I arrived at the conclusion that I couldn’t keep going with this goal. I have then changed my goal by the middle of June. I like choreographing, and I do it a lot for my own pleasure. For example, I had finished a choreography on a gymneopedie from Eric Satie, and I have used it as a base for my personal project choreography. But I was still really late, and I needed a good planning, in order to complete my task before the due date. So, I made and used a timeline, that helped me a lot to be on time (see appendix 5).

III Self-Management Skills.

The organisation of my project was not really easy. I have used different self-management skills, in order to complete my goal in time. I set goals. For example, I made a timeline (see appendix 5) to organise my goals and achieve them in time. I have also practise “bouncing

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back” after adversity, mistakes and failure. For example, I had to choose a day to shoot the first films of the choreography. I wanted to film it on Tuesday and Wednesday week 9. We went on Tuesday and shot some of the main films of the choreography. But we failed using the drone because of windy conditions and a lack of experience. To cope with this issue, with my friend, we went practicing how to use the drone on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was too windy, so we went filming on Friday. I have also demonstrated persistence and perseverance, because I had to make up my choreography, in a few days. We also got lots of troubles using the drone, we almost broke it, but we fixed it to be able to use it for the final shots. I also had to dance under the rain, and in a cold weather, wearing a really thin costume, so I was cold, but I had to face this issue, and perform with all these circumstances.

C. Taking Action.

I final product:

I have decided to do this final product, because I love dancing, photography, and also video editing. For this reason, I have chosen the idea of making a clip of my choreography. My final product is a high-quality video editing of my choreography (see appendix 6). I can justify that my final product is of high quality, because the choreography is really elaborated, and I have worked a lot on it, in order to understand the movements and create a chronology in the dance. I have also worked a lot on my quality of dancing, because I needed to feel the character and put myself in the skin of a bird. My video editing is really elaborated, because I have mixed different points of view, different films shotted in different places, and recorded multiple times my choreography, in order to have the best films I can have. I have even used a drone view to give the impression of flying and reinforce the idea of representing a bird. The video editing is also high quality, because I have cut all the plans in order to create a transition that increases the idea I was looking for: represent a bird, as in the photo I have used to make up my choreography. My final product was even better than what I expected. For example, it was raining the first day that we filmed, and I thought it would be an obstacle and have a negative impact on my final product, but it rather had a positive impact because it created a wild and uncertain atmosphere, and it created suspense.

II thinking skills:

At the beginning, my goal was to create a choreography that describes a music. I tried to think about a possible choreography, and, I noticed that describing a music was not what I was looking for to develop my choreography, because it didn’t help to create a theme. So, I decided to make my choreography on a photo, because a photo would inspire me to create the dance, and give me a theme, advices, and a common thread. Throughout my project, I have used critical thinking in different ways. Firstly, I had to see the strength and the limitations of my choreography; is it representing the photo? Is the music appropriate? Then I had to find a place where I could film the dance. I had to consider different elements in this part, such as; is the lighting contributing to create an atmosphere that matches with the character I am interpreting? Is the floor compatible with my movements? Is it an

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appropriate place to film, in which I can include different camera angles? Finally, I had to think critically when looking at the editing, to see if the atmosphere of the dance was preserved throughout the clip. If the flow of the movement was still clear and understandable even with the points of view and lightings swaps. In order to achieve this, I had to ask for an external viewpoint. So, I have surveyed people around me to see what they were thinking about my product and see what I could improve. I think it is really important to have externals ideas, and comments, because they have a different approach on the project, and their recommendations can result really interesting, and helpful. I also made research about how to use efficiently the photograph on my choreography. And about artists that had made this before.

III Social and communication skills:

Throughout the project I have used social and communication skills in different ways. Firstly, I had to interact with different people such as, the persons that have filmed my choreography. I have asked three people around me, to know if they could help me to film my choreography. I have asked my parents, because my mom has studied photography, but I have also asked for a family friend to help me shotting on the beach. Our family friend is studying visual arts in Adelaide University, so he is really busy. We have communicated by E-mail, in order to find a day to film the choreography. We have met twice, once to organise the shooting and review all the material we were going to need, and another time to talk about my final clip and try to improve it. So, we had to choose a day to film that matched with everyone’s availabilities, and with the weather. I have also communicated with different people around me, to know what they think about the clip, and have some feedbacks in order to asses my video editing and make some possible changes. Because most of my family and friends are overseas, I had to E-mail them. It was hard, because I had to send the clip, and it is a heavy video, so I had difficulties sending it. I also had to cope with the time difference issues. I couldn’t call these people because the time difference is really important, so I had to understand all their comments E-mail. In those ways, I have been social, and I have interacted with people to ask them feedbacks and help for my personal project.

D. Reflecting.

I Evaluation of project:

I am happy with my final clip, because I have used different techniques to ensure the quality of the product. Firstly, from my opinion and the opinion of the people I have surveyed, the choreography is well representing the photograph, because in the dance we can recognise several times the position of the man in the photograph. I have also kept the theme of the photo in my dance; the bird. I have benefited on many occasions from working on my quality of dancing, and I have shown it to a dance teacher in order to have feedback on how I could make it better. For the filming and the video editing, I had the opportunity and the luck of working with two people passionate about photography and filming. My mom, and

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our friend studying visual arts at Adelaide university. They explained to me how to increase the interpretation of a bird, by using lighting, camera angle, and setting. The video editing was a big part of the project, and it has been a real challenge for me to mix different camera angles, lightings, and settings without breaking the energy of the movement, but fortunately, our friend Jason was here to help us. Finally, I chose the music “L’aigle Noir” from “Barbara”. This song is about a bird, and it creates a metaphor with freedom and childhood. For those reasons, my video editing matches with the descriptor in the 7-8 band. As well, the people I have surveyed loved the idea and the final product. They said that the dance was breathtaking, and the atmosphere and the energy of the choreography was really interesting, because it made them feel concerned by the ideas evocated in the music and increased by the dance which are; freedom, childhood, and nature. A family friend who is a teacher even asked if she could use my work for her classes and try to reproduce my idea with her students. To improve my choreography, I would have had to film more times the choreography, in order to have more shots and more possibilities of film, because sometimes, I didn’t have the choice of the plan, I had to pick the one in which the dance was the best. As said in the feedbacks from the survey, some shots don’t include my foots in the camera field. This contribute to break the energy of the movement in the final editing. To improve my choreography, I could have included more elements in it, to saturate it more, but I had a time limit, so I couldn’t include more movements in the choreography, because I wouldn’t have had enough time to practice and do it well.

II Extension of knowledge, Topic and Global Context:

With my experience as a dancer choreographer and video editor, I knew doing this project would be really hard. I was surprised, to see that it has been even harder than I expected. I was quite confident when I started, and as things were going, I realised that I needed even harder work than what I had planned. This taught me to not rely on the appearances, but rather be more invested and ready to listen to what people can tell me and what I can learn from them. I have also learnt a lot about choreographing. I used to make up some choreographies, and present them to my parents, but the one I did for my personal project was more elaborated than the others, and I had feedback from different people other than my parents, and this helped me a lot to learn about the strength and the limitations of my choreography. I have also learnt a lot about video editing. I was really proud of my final editing, because it was better than what I expected, which means that I have learnt a lot about this subject during my project. For all these reasons, I can say that I have improved my skills and learnt a lot about expression through movement, and cultural and personal expression. But also, about myself and my capacities to carry out a project that I am passionate and excited about.

III Reflection on Global Context and IB Learning Experience:

As an IB learner, I have developed skills that helped me to understand and succeed on my personal project. I have furthered my inquiring skills by investigating on the goal of a photograph, and how to create a choreography on it. I have also improved my inquiring skills by researching about previous dance choreographer and photographer such as Josef Nadj (see appendix 3).

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I was able to demonstrate critical thinking, by filming my choreography, and try to improve it and ameliorate it after a detailed analysis

. I have also demonstrated critical thinking in the edition of the videos, and by asking the opinions of external viewpoints, in order to improve the clip. Throughout the project, I have been a communicator, interacting with people around me such as my dance teacher, my family and my friends, to ask them for advice to make the best choreography and interpretation I can do. I have also been a communicator, asking for different opinions, and surveying the people around me in order to have feedback, and improve the final clip.

I have also been an open minded leaner. I have listened carefully and considered each of the opinions that people gave me, always in order to improve my final product. I have also been a risk taker, by changing my personal project goal three weeks before the first draft due date. This was a big challenge for me, but I have worked really hard on this project, and I have been able to finish it in the right time.

Lastly, I have been a reflective learner, when evaluating my project, by considering and reviewing each step I made to achieve my goal, each decision I took and evaluating them. Also, by evaluating my final product, and having a critical thinking on what is good but also what I could improve to make my final product even better. And by reflecting on the impact of this project on me as a person.

Overall, I think that in this project I have used lots of different skills that are classified as IB learning skills, but what I have learned mostly in this project, is that I can achieve my goal. I have been self-confident, and I have succeeded, and realised what I wanted to make at the beginning. So, this project taught me that I can trust myself, and with determination, and organisation, I will make it. It also gave me back my passion for dancing. Dancing on the beach, with people looking at me and supporting me, showed me that I can dance, and that it is not because of an injured foot that I will stop dancing because dancing is not from the body, dancing is from the soul. From the soul, through the body. And it felt magical to be dancing again. For me, I won my passion back, and this is a big deal. It also encouraged me to do other project like this, this is why I have started to make a new choreography, to keep this passion alive.

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BibliographyAFP. (2010). Festival Mimos à Périgueux: Joseph Nadj en vedette. Retrieved from sud ouest:

https://www.sudouest.fr/2014/04/11/festival-mimos-a-perigueux-joseph-nadj-en-vedette-1522728-1980.php

Malbert, M. (2019). Mnemosyne. Retrieved from Josef Nadj: http://josefnadj.com/mnemosyne/#presentation

Nadj, J. (2010). Rencontre avec Josef Nadj - Les Corbeaux. (L. quinconces, Interviewer)Nadj, J. (n.d.). Mnémosyne. Camera Obscura, Avignon.Oosterhoff, D. (2015, december 10). how to read a photograph. Retrieved from evatotuts:

https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-read-a-photograph--cms-25495POUJOULAT, A.-C. (2010). Retrieved from GAS TV: https://www.google.com/search?

q=josef+nadj+les+corbeaux&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwim5qG3ooXqAhUbkksFHTJQBdcQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=josef+nadj+les+corbeaux&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1D1kwZY-qkGYN6rBmgAcAB4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=1ivoXqajGZukrtoPsq

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Appendixes:

Appendix 1:

The photographs I have researched and studied.

(AFP, 2010)I find this picture really inspiring. It is a photo from the shows “le corbeaux” from Josef Nadj. The man is coloured in grey and he looks like an iron sculpture. I think that there is a lot of movement on this photo, so it could be interesting to use it for my final choreography.

(POUJOULAT, 2010)

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This photo is also from the show “le corbeau” (the crows). I find this photo amazing because the lighting creates a shadow that forms a shape of a crow. There is a painting in the background. This painting is in black and also reinforce the image of the crow.

(Nadj)This is a photograph from Josef Nadj of his exhibition Mnemosyne. The colours are dark. The hand is bigger than the frog, so it creates contrasts.

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Appendix 2:

The summary of an article I have studied that talks about the reading of a photograph.

In the first part of the article it is said that there are two different types of photograph. There are the ones we take to remember an event (snapshots…) and the photographs that are messages from the photographer that want to show us something real adding his feelings in it.We can read a photograph in many different ways, depending on how we want to use it.

1- what’s in the photograph?When we look at a photograph, we have to identify the subject and so what the photographer wants to show us. Then we have to look at the background. It is also really important to consider what is not in photograph (out of camera), to have an idea of the context of when, where and how it had been taken.

2- how is the photograph composed?We have to look at how the photograph is composed. This mean identify what is in first plan, second plan… where is the focus made, how does the photographer lead us around and through the contents of the frame.

3-What materials and process were used?Identify the camera and lens? Is there a film used, is it in black and white? In colour? Is the photo printed or in the web? What is the size and the type of paper?

4-What were the circumstances in which the photograph was made?Try to identify the time when it was taken, the culture in which the photograph was made, the social beliefs and where is was taken.

5-What story is the photograph telling?Not every photograph will have an evident story to tell, but after this photograph “reading” it can be possible to write it and tell it(Oosterhoff, 2015).

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Appendix 3:

The life of Joseph Nadj and his work.

Josef Nadj was born at Kanjiža in Vojvodina. He first started with drawing after a formation at Budapest. After moving to Paris, he started practicing contemporary dance. During the years eighty, his modern and innovator approach of dancing, made him a pillar of contemporary dance. As Choreographer, plastic artist, but also photographer, he mixes textures, movement, speed, time… in his creations. Balancing between real, unreal, dreamlike, tradition, modernity, he makes us wonder the essential: the relationship of the human to himself. He is a famous international artist and have been invited in major international events such as Avignon festival, International Chekhov festival… Josef Nadj directed the national choreographic centre of Orleans (France) from 1995to 2016, before to create his own company: “Atelier 3+1” in Paris in 2017. Mnemosyne is uses to say a world memory; the one of the choreographer and plastic artist: Josef Nadj. In this project Nadj associate photography and stage performance. For Mnemosyne, he created an exhibition of photo accompanied by a dance performance. The dance takes place in a small dark box. A camera? Each movement, each action, is refereeing to Josef Nadj’s career. This creates a feeling of intimacy with the artist. Around this performance, each photograph is telling a long story about Joseph Nadj’s life. The photographs also create a link with the feeling of time lapse present in the performance. (Malbert, 2019)

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Appendix 4:Criteria.

The choreography represents the Photo.

Quality of the dancing. Quality of the filming, and video editing.

Does the music represent the theme?

Excellent7 – 8

The character of my choreography represents perfectly the photo. My choreography wouldn’t work describing another photo.

My quality of dancing is excellent, the movements are clean and easy to understand. There aren’t any mistakes during the presentation.

The filming is excellent, the camera angle and the video editing contribute to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance. The sound and image quality are excellent.

The music is perfectly chosen, it really contributes to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance.

Substantial5 – 6

My choreography represents pretty much the photo, and it wouldn’t work as good describing a different photo.

My quality of dancing is good the movements are mostly clean and easy to understand. There aren’t any mistakes/ a few during the presentation.

The filming is good, the camera angle and the video editing contribute to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance. The sound and image quality are good.

The music is well chosen, and contributes to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance.

Adequate3 – 4

My choreography barely represents the photo, and it could work describing a different photo.

My quality of dancing moderate, the movements aren’t always clean and easy to understand. There are some mistakes during the presentation.

The filming quality is moderate, the camera angle and the video editing barely contribute to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance. The sound and image quality are moderate.

The music is not really well chosen, it does not really contribute to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance.

Limited1 – 2

My choreography doesn’t represent the photo, and it could work describing any picture.

My quality of dancing is bad, the movements aren’t clean we can’t understand. then There are many mistakes during the presentation.

The filming is bad, the camera angle and the video editing don’t contribute to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance. The sound and image quality are bad.

The music doesn’t contribute at all to create an atmosphere that matches with the dance.

No evidence0

Appendix 5:

My timeline:

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June Week 8Monday Find a challenging goal and align it with a

global context and an area of exploration.Tuesday Do research about Josef Nadj and other

information, that could help to achieve my goal. And evaluate them

Wednesday Develop the criteria.Thursday Create a plan for my product.Friday Start the choreography.June week 9Monday Finish the choreographyTuesday Start filming the choreography in

unexpected places and start writing the final report.

Friday Finish all the films of the choreography and start the video editing.

June week 10Monday Finish the video editing.Tuesday Evaluate my product.Sunday Finish the final report.14/07/2020 Submit the draft on managebac.2/08/2020 Finish the changes for the report.3/08/2020 Submit the final report and all the

documentation required on managebac.

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Appendix 6:

The five evidence photos of my final product.

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Appendix 7:

The photo in which I have based my choreography.

This is a photograph taken during the performance of Joseph Nadj called “le corbeau” (the crow). In this photo, Joseph Nadj is representing a crow. He has integrated painting and have drawn the “rhythm” of the crow, shown as black lines on a white canvas.

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