"The choreographic question you are interested in investigating and its relationship to somatic principles and experiential anatomy.

I have become extremely intrigued by the nature and physiology of the tarantula and its hidden similarities and vast differences to that of the human being. One of many of my fascinations and indeed the main focus of my work; is in the movement of a tarantula. Due to them being shaped and structured by an exoskeleton their internal structure is more akin to liquid jelly, movement is by aid of nature’s hydraulic system. In order for the creature to move it pumps its bodily fluid directly along the limbs by aid of the heart. The limb is arranged into four segments like the human finger and to extend the limb each segment experiences the fluid entering the joint via inflation. When the joint is full the fluid is then sent along to the next joint; allowing the next section of limb to extend. In order for the limb to contract; the process is reversed, contracting the limb inward toward the body once more.

The heart and indeed all its organs including the brain; are contained in the abdomen (in young spider-lings this can be seen quite clearly under the skins surface). Due to the position of the heart in relation to the legs; which are attached to the carapace (the area where the eyes are situated and often referred to as the ‘head’) it means a tarantula’s movement is driven from behind, or as I like to term it... they move from the heart.

Underlining this investigation I hold in the back of my mind a fable or moral tale I once heard as a child. The Greek myth of Arachne and Athena. This story will lie in the shadows of my working process as it holds many emotive and cultural references. For instance; I have decided to use an all female cast which has brought about notions of feminist readings and the role of the female performer in a strong, authority role such as the ones presented in this work. Arachne represents the boastful, talented mortal and Athena the righteous and respected god. When cursed; Arachne witnesses the eternal turmoil of being trapped inside a web of her own making, weaving constantly and endlessly but having all her works destroyed by man, a tale which reflects the history and development of nature in our culture.

It is evident that this work has a multi layered quality in its questioning, nevertheless; in short the main choreographic nature of this work will emerge from my fascination of the embodiment of another living creature and the movement possibilities this may bring to the human form. The significance of the 'suchness' of the tarantula is particularly informed by the experiential anatomy work of the human form I am experiencing through the MA (this is explained further under the subheading of sourcing and structuring)."

These paragraphs are  taken from Gemma Collard-Stokes Deepening Process and they express her interest to tarantula world. Our final performance will be on 4th of June, in Ice Building Studio and will be an mixture of instalation, sound, lights and movement.  We were asked by our choreographer to learn 4-6 tarantula names in Latin, and the ones that I chose are the following:

• Avicularia Fasciculata;
• Avicularia Huriana;
• Avicularia Purpurea;
• Avicularia Versicolor;
• Bonnetina Rudloffi;
• Gramostola Rosea.

This group of artist has some videos as well, which can be seen at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_101086986644035&ap=1

I will add some photos just to enjoy some tarantulas:)

I really enjoy the principle of "moving from the heart" and acting like a tarantula, which has interesting moments of stillness, waiting for the food. This stillness is actually an active rest, which doesn't mean relaxion, but means the still state of being ready to attack. A tarantula can wait in the same position even years and years, but it is still am active being. This principle is the score for our improvisation and set choreography, which will transmit to the audience a "creepy" feeling.

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

A104SPO 2010-2011

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

Student: Oana Alexandra Rotariu

Introduction

As a performer I am aware that to obtain the best results in competitions and performances I have to establish a balance between training, eating and resting, which is not easy, but achievable, as Anita Bean suggests (The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London).One of the biggest challenges for me as a dancer is to fuel my body properly so I can assure the energy for being able to train enough and the physical state to do my best in every performance.

Goals and recommendations for athletes and regular exercisers

While examining my three days diet diary I observed that I need to change some of my eating behaviors, as I try to keep my weight under control and will have to maintain the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a dance and theater student at Coventry University, my daily activity consists in pilates, yoga and dance classes, which improve my technique, but for my endurance and strength I practice a range of exercises in the Gym. Jaime S. Ruud affirms that physical activity is one of the largest influences of energy expenditure, and he suggest that for dancers this would be 1673- 1890 kcal/day.

( Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska)

To achieve a healthy diet I should choose products from the seven types of food which will provide my body with the essential nutrients: carbohydrate-rich foods, which are the most important fuel for any physical practice, vegetables, fruit, calcium- rich foods, healthy fats and sugar and sweets in moderation.. To achieve this objective the nutritionist recommends us to use wholegrain products and to cook with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fats, that have no positive benefits for an athlete's body.

Another important objective is to increase the volume of fluid intake, before and after my training to improve my daily practice and to keep me exercising for longer.

( Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

http://nutrition.org.uk)

Diet Analysis

Even if my intention is to respect a healthy diet every day, my Analysis identify some imbalances between the seven types of food that the Food Pyramid from Anita Beans Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition recommends to combine. The basis of this pyramid is made of 5-9 portions of vegetables and fruit, while mine is a number of 3 portions a day of this type of food, which means that the intake amount of vitamins and minerals doesn't meet my needs. As an athlete I should eat a balanced diet based on vitamins and minerals, like 4-6 portions of cereals and starchy vegetables a day, or 2-3 portions of milk and dairy products a day. This type of products have many regulatory and structural effects over my body, like controlling the fluid balance in tissues, increasing the energy, regulate the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.

To maintain my teeth and bones healthy my body need a certain amount of calcium, which is a mineral for vital functions, like healthy nerves, muscle functions and hormone release. Besides that a good calcium intake can decrease the risk of osteoporosis, protects against bones fractures and blood pressure.

(Mann & Truswell, Essentials of human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press)

Furthermore, to be able to train at a high intensity, my muscles need a high-glycogen concentration, so before any training session I need to fuel my pre- exercise glycogen stores to prolong my endurance.

According to Anita Beans study over role of protein in an athlete's body, this substance is needed for the formation and growth of new tissues and for making up a part of the cells, including our internal organs, tendons, skin, nails and hair. As my diet shows, my daily protein intake is a low quantity of 2 portions, which is a very low amount for an athlete. Many studies show that the protein requirements for athletes are estimated around 1.4 to 1.8 g/kg a day, depending on the type of training. Anita Beans suggests that after every practice, an additional amount of protein is needed, to accelerate the repair of the lost tissues.

(Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London)

According to ACSM (2007) guidelines of fluid intake, my priority as a dancer has to be to be well hydrated. It is recommended to consume the fluid two to three hours before a training starts, just to prevent a possible dehydration, that can negatively affect my endurance and work intensity. As my fluid tally shows, my intake fluid is around 1 l of liquid a day, which doesn’t correspond with the recommendation of 1.5 to 2 liters a day, an amount that keeps a human being hydrated for one day.

When my practice is longer than two hours, I should consume a sport drink that contains sodium (Coyle, 2007), that will replace the salt loss during sweating and will delay the fatigue. (Galloway & Maughan, 2000).

RMR= (48x14.7) + 496= 1201.6 kcal a day

Key Action Points

Ultimate goal: change my eating habits, including more vegetables and fruit in my daily diet, balancing out the seven types of food needed by any athlete, and increase the intake of fluid consumption.

Areas of improvement

-As an athlete I should make a better plan of foods intake, based on fruit and vegetables;

-Keep practicing a variety of exercises in the Sport Center, to increase and maintain lean muscle mass;

-Keep a detailed evidence of the intake food for a long period and compare it with the food pyramid available in the guide;

-Measure my weight every week;

-Getting used to drink a higher amount of water, before and after training sessions;

-Adding sodium to my drinks

Time-frame: 4 months

Increasing the quantity of vitamins and minerals, by adding in my daily diet vegetables and fresh fruit salads plus carbohydrates will get my body ready to move more actively during all dance sessions, which is one of the positive benefits. Applying this strategy, I will be able to train for longer periods of time, like two-three hours, without feeling the fatigue and my bones and muscles will get stronger.

Increasing my fluid intake will benefit my practice by replacing my water losses while training. The amount of sodium intake is one of the key points of maintaining the muscles and nerves activity, which will assure a better endurance during my sports sessions.

All these changes can happen in my body just by being supported by my strong motivation of improving my eating and drinking behaviors and I definitely believe in my capacity of respecting a healthier diet.

Reference list

Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

Mann & Truswell, Essentials of Human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press;

Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska;

Maughan Murray, Sports Drinks- Basic Science and Practical Aspect, 2001 CRC Press LLC;

Berning Steen, Nutrition For Sport & Exercise, 2^nd edition 1998, Aspen Publication;

http://nutrition.org.uk.

A104SPO 2010-2011

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

Student: Oana Alexandra Rotariu

Introduction

As a performer I am aware that to obtain the best results in competitions and performances I have to establish a balance between training, eating and resting, which is not easy, but achievable, as Anita Bean suggests (The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London).One of the biggest challenges for me as a dancer is to fuel my body properly so I can assure the energy for being able to train enough and the physical state to do my best in every performance.

Goals and recommendations for athletes and regular exercisers

While examining my three days diet diary I observed that I need to change some of my eating behaviors, as I try to keep my weight under control and will have to maintain the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a dance and theater student at Coventry University, my daily activity consists in pilates, yoga and dance classes, which improve my technique, but for my endurance and strength I practice a range of exercises in the Gym. Jaime S. Ruud affirms that physical activity is one of the largest influences of energy expenditure, and he suggest that for dancers this would be 1673- 1890 kcal/day.

( Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska)

To achieve a healthy diet I should choose products from the seven types of food which will provide my body with the essential nutrients: carbohydrate-rich foods, which are the most important fuel for any physical practice, vegetables, fruit, calcium- rich foods, healthy fats and sugar and sweets in moderation.. To achieve this objective the nutritionist recommends us to use wholegrain products and to cook with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fats, that have no positive benefits for an athlete's body.

Another important objective is to increase the volume of fluid intake, before and after my training to improve my daily practice and to keep me exercising for longer.

( Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

http://nutrition.org.uk)

Diet Analysis

Even if my intention is to respect a healthy diet every day, my Analysis identify some imbalances between the seven types of food that the Food Pyramid from Anita Beans Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition recommends to combine. The basis of this pyramid is made of 5-9 portions of vegetables and fruit, while mine is a number of 3 portions a day of this type of food, which means that the intake amount of vitamins and minerals doesn't meet my needs. As an athlete I should eat a balanced diet based on vitamins and minerals, like 4-6 portions of cereals and starchy vegetables a day, or 2-3 portions of milk and dairy products a day. This type of products have many regulatory and structural effects over my body, like controlling the fluid balance in tissues, increasing the energy, regulate the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.

To maintain my teeth and bones healthy my body need a certain amount of calcium, which is a mineral for vital functions, like healthy nerves, muscle functions and hormone release. Besides that a good calcium intake can decrease the risk of osteoporosis, protects against bones fractures and blood pressure.

(Mann & Truswell, Essentials of human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press)

Furthermore, to be able to train at a high intensity, my muscles need a high-glycogen concentration, so before any training session I need to fuel my pre- exercise glycogen stores to prolong my endurance.

According to Anita Beans study over role of protein in an athlete's body, this substance is needed for the formation and growth of new tissues and for making up a part of the cells, including our internal organs, tendons, skin, nails and hair. As my diet shows, my daily protein intake is a low quantity of 2 portions, which is a very low amount for an athlete. Many studies show that the protein requirements for athletes are estimated around 1.4 to 1.8 g/kg a day, depending on the type of training. Anita Beans suggests that after every practice, an additional amount of protein is needed, to accelerate the repair of the lost tissues.

(Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London)

According to ACSM (2007) guidelines of fluid intake, my priority as a dancer has to be to be well hydrated. It is recommended to consume the fluid two to three hours before a training starts, just to prevent a possible dehydration, that can negatively affect my endurance and work intensity. As my fluid tally shows, my intake fluid is around 1 l of liquid a day, which doesn’t correspond with the recommendation of 1.5 to 2 liters a day, an amount that keeps a human being hydrated for one day.

When my practice is longer than two hours, I should consume a sport drink that contains sodium (Coyle, 2007), that will replace the salt loss during sweating and will delay the fatigue. (Galloway & Maughan, 2000).

RMR= (48x14.7) + 496= 1201.6 kcal a day

Key Action Points

Ultimate goal: change my eating habits, including more vegetables and fruit in my daily diet, balancing out the seven types of food needed by any athlete, and increase the intake of fluid consumption.

Areas of improvement

-As an athlete I should make a better plan of foods intake, based on fruit and vegetables;

-Keep practicing a variety of exercises in the Sport Center, to increase and maintain lean muscle mass;

-Keep a detailed evidence of the intake food for a long period and compare it with the food pyramid available in the guide;

-Measure my weight every week;

-Getting used to drink a higher amount of water, before and after training sessions;

-Adding sodium to my drinks

Time-frame: 4 months

Increasing the quantity of vitamins and minerals, by adding in my daily diet vegetables and fresh fruit salads plus carbohydrates will get my body ready to move more actively during all dance sessions, which is one of the positive benefits. Applying this strategy, I will be able to train for longer periods of time, like two-three hours, without feeling the fatigue and my bones and muscles will get stronger.

Increasing my fluid intake will benefit my practice by replacing my water losses while training. The amount of sodium intake is one of the key points of maintaining the muscles and nerves activity, which will assure a better endurance during my sports sessions.

All these changes can happen in my body just by being supported by my strong motivation of improving my eating and drinking behaviors and I definitely believe in my capacity of respecting a healthier diet.

Reference list

Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

Mann & Truswell, Essentials of Human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press;

Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska;

Maughan Murray, Sports Drinks- Basic Science and Practical Aspect, 2001 CRC Press LLC;

Berning Steen, Nutrition For Sport & Exercise, 2^nd edition 1998, Aspen Publication;

http://nutrition.org.uk.