Digital Stories

(My own digital story starts at 7:35)

Artist/Teacher Statement 
This assignment was definitely one of my favorites to do this semester. Usually, I prefer to work alone for my assignments, especially projects, but this one was much better done as a team. For our final project, we focused on a theme from the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson which was different modes of speaking. Each of us group members began to brainstorm different ways in which we each like to “speak out.” We all had some sort of outlet that allowed us to express our opinions in the best way we could. It was also something we each enjoyed and had talent. After we each chose our mode of speaking, we needed to decide how we would present this cohesively and collaboratively. Since I decided that my mode of speaking was dance, I chose to do a live aspect of my presentation. The first half of my digital story are dance clips with music and my voice over while the second half was images and my live dancing. Paired with my live dancing were words on the video that describes emotions I was emitting. While I was dancing to music, behind me are these words that represent what I am expressing. This is exactly why dance is my mode of speaking that my digital story is emphasizes. It is powerful to move my body in a way that touches people and allows them to feel something. That something is what I chose. In a classroom, this would be so beneficial to use with students. I would allow them to make they're own digitals stories that represent something about their live, personal or public. This is a great tool of using media for storytelling in any setting like class.

Script/Storyboard 
“The truth about me is I love to speak and I must be heard. Dance is the best way that I can do this. I am very opinionated and my experiences are important to be heard. Being a good listener also comes with being a good storyteller. Performance is ironic because it’s in your face but it isn't always specific. Different modes of dance express various messages. What I want to express is up to me and my body and my performance.”

Part 1: 6 dance clips one after another (Genesis music track and voice over underneath)

Part 2: 5 images with words (Ambivalence, Apprehension, Isolation, Comfort, Optimism)

Part 3: Live dancing to music (Til Enda) and choreographed piece both done by myself