Before starting taking this course, I felt a bit afraid because this type of class is different than any other class I took. This course revolves around moving, dancing, thinking, and reading. However, the morning dancing class vanished these feelings. In the dancing class, we were allocated in a comfy environment where we can be who we want to be. There were no strict rules in the exercises we did. Therefore, this made me feel relaxed and more comfortable. The comfy zone made me started to think about how movement and dancing can be used as a tool to express the invisible or things that can not be easily expressed. Movement considers being a tool that reveals the invisible or uniqueness.

The choreographic workshop with Professor Harrell built more into my thoughts on movement and meaning. His stories about his career and contemporary dance brought up the idea of combination and integration. Different movements and poses are been accumulated together to produce a distinct meaning. This meaning could be intersubjective in which it could be perceived differently by the performer and the audience. Thus, movements can be interpreted differently by people. Their experience and culture will have a great role in shaping their interpretations. Professor Harrell said that people called him “the weirdest person” because he has a different way of thinking. By breaking up the rules, and producing something different and irrelevant, he succeeded.

The reading by Stuart Hall discussed stereotypes and representation. One key term that is important was transcoding; transcoding is one of the ways of breaking the rules. It is used to violate stereotypical images. Meanings are been fixed and re-appropriated by breaking the rules; this is done for the purpose of producing a more appropriated and preferred meaning. Sometimes, it is done for producing a message that serves for political, social, economic or cultural purposes.  To conclude, the world of dancing is where you dive into new worlds because rules can be violated.