DAN2017M-2-1718

ASSESSMENT

I initiated explorations with Charlie at the start of class, feeling internal sensations, and using our limbs find new ways to influence movement but with all body parts, including the head. I was aware of Charlie’s injury as she was unable to weight exchange, however I was experimenting with new ways of moving, playing with dynamics and pauses. I enjoyed the experience of internal sensations with limited movement it gave me restrictions.

I made connections with every-body in the space during our last session, I created relationships and addressed injuries as there were many people that had. I was constantly listening to the bodies I moved with, in communication through the movements.

I did focus on a quote from Caught Falling by Nancy Stark Smith, ‘complementary sensation of support coming up from the mass of earth’ (Smith Stark, N, 2008) I took this quote towards my practise for the assessment I negotiated with bodies finding this sensation of support and experienced this with the outcome of play.

 

Main relationships I made were with:

Jess P- She focusses hugely on the floor. I was trying to enforce risk and interesting explorations. So, I attempted to inform initiations to move more creatively. I found that when I was dancing with Jess she stopped and then adjusted herself in restart mode, and I found this difficult to continue the relationship, as we broke connections. Very habitual movements were used with the tools we had learnt from previous weeks.

Georgia- Both of us were the over and under dancers. We made internal connections with the centre of gravity, the spine and core, using twists and spirals to influence something exciting. Myself and Georgia was dancing minimally and were joined by Hannah and Chloe, where we linked to form a quartet rolling over each body and changed partners which was interesting and unexpected.

(Picked out of the hat activity) Courtney and I were the first two to enter the space I encouraged high energy and momentum to enforce connections and engagement to one another, this worked well. We made some lovely work and I felt positive about our experience as myself and Courtney have worked together in previous weeks but to a slow pace, so I wanted to attempt new movement within each other. The playfulness of our relationship gave more in-depth experiments, I feel that ‘play’ is a big part of discoveries with contact improvisation, I feel that you have to let go and go with it, allowing the bodies to experiment for themselves than thinking to much of where it will go. It gives me adrenaline for the unknown.

Kye- Myself and Kye have formed a real connection during our time of learning contact improvisation. I feel comfortable and can trust him. I feel that we are working towards the same goals, of striving for explorations with the use of learnt tools but how we can take them to new formations and findings. I engage my mind to think of findings, attempting observations I have seen from videos by professionals. Myself and Kye work incredibly well together, I have found that he brought my confidence out in this module. How we work together has influenced further developments and now I take so many risks, and I’m not scared of falling. I find that falls are inevitable, so when they happen it informs new creativity for what can come, where can we go with it, using continuity of flow at all times, connecting with one another always. We have always been aware of each other’s bodies, engaging safe practise throughout. I feel that we have helped each other connect with the practise feeding the energy we both have to the practise, using the excitement of explorations to exceed our discoveries so more happen continuously. I feel that we have both found ourselves through the extraordinary art form of contact improvisation. I now LOVE it, I look forward to new adventures with the practise.

I have learnt so much over the period of the semester, I admire everyone’s support to each other throughout the process, I found it difficult in the beginning however I through myself into it and absolutely loved it. I have never induced myself into something so creative and enjoyed it as much as I have. I have learnt so much from myself but other bodies also.

I have found myself fully connect and I’m intrigued for future developments. My career has enhanced throughout the semester engaging my awareness to a mindful body approach. I have adjusted thoughts to the idea of phenomenological approaches and how I encounter this through dance movement. I would love to undertake further contact improvisation Jams in the near future, I feel that it is so helpful for the body but also the mind. The interactions which are made make me feel so positive, yes things go wrong, but it is how I find myself exploring the ‘going wrong’ how can we delve deeper.

Adhering to the learning outcomes of the module; dancing with a variety of bodies and safe weight transference, how to give full weight and how to receive it. I have fully expressed my bodies full motion and given my upmost energy and passion to enforce and engage within creative tasks.

I appreciate the process I have been on and will only progress with the practise in more positive variations.

Caught Falling, The Confluence of Contact Improvisation, Nancy Stark Smith, and Other Moving Ideas page 90 onwards

This week has been fun-filled at extreme levels, I encouraged myself to play with influencing myself from professionals. I have become more confident through this semester after week 7 research lab, I thoroughly excelled in explorative tasks. I no longer feel that I am only an over and under dancer. I am both. I have found the process exhilarating as it has caused mixed emotions for me as at the beginning I had little confidence and was tentative in contact, I found it difficult during ‘sensational’ felt work however this has grew on me. I now feel that I can take contact Improvisation forward as a practice for my career, it stems as a strength for me.

I engaged with numerous bodies, I also feel that the amount of Jams we had helped influence experiments because of the intensity. I feel that I gave my all in every session and I thoroughly enjoyed every connection greatly, even the awkward points as it has given me experience and I will take my experiences onto further findings. I quite proudly ahered ownership on and off throughout my explorations, finding how new experiences arose venturing for exciting discoveries, I infact felt the movement and sensations, allowing my body to ‘go with it’.

Fenia- Throughout our relationship we had an exhilarating vibe, fore-that both of us were finding each others bodies… limitations, restrictions, influences and awareness of safe practice. We both exchanged weight to one another, I was reluctant at first as Fenia had informed us that she had a calf injury, so I was resentful of giving weight however we both focused on safe practice. I found dancing with Fenia so positive as she has so much experience. I drilled my energy into all jams however I felt super proud of my mind and body after realisation had kicked in from movements we accomplished, revisiting them in my brain.

I let go and allowed carried bodies through the space, myself and Kye explored ‘going up’ we did make exciting findings relating to falls causing us to gravitate to the floor however we persisted and formed interesting formations with our bodies.

The reading influenced my findings this week, by questioning my improvisations I took my findings on board learning from previous experiences.

In the first few weeks of this module we witnessed this video and at first I was really confused and now looking back on my progress I can relate to movements and how I take risks and fall during my improvisations. I endure the play of contact and where the movement can take you, I find it delightfully satisfying.

[accessed 20th November 2017]

I found from watching professionals it initiated influences for my movement, although I have observed many contact improvisation professionals however this one has stayed with me and enjoy the flow the two dancers create.

[accessed 2 November 2017]

Stover, J. (1989). Some considerations when structuring an Improvisation (to be seen by an audience). Contact Quartely/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook II, Vol.14. pp185

This week I am focusing on the reading ‘What’s the score?’ (Keefe, M. 2003) noting the influences it has given me, initiating ‘phenomenological’ approaches of improvisation’ being everywhere’, causing thought upon how the world accepts opinion during a score. Within restrictions we have instructions, within these we have rules, how can the score change movement? It can change in dynamic, speed and momentum, it can change with direction of touch. light/ heavy.

Including pedestrian every day life as a performance and improvisation which coincides with one another, expressing how it can be understood. Interlinking with ‘What is performance?’ (Carlson, M. 2010) informing us that performance can be anything, sometimes subtle and not noticeable as a performance by many but fulfilled of everyday life and how an individual approaches daily activities. I feel at first that the readings were complex however I have come to appreciate them as contradictions are good and there is not a correct or wrong answer as each individual feels differently and will judge an opinion due to experiences related to the topic.

I feel that when thinking about ‘score’ during improvisation it gives more structure, causing restrictions many of times fulfilling explorations that may naturally of not been found, however using ‘score’ can influence explorations without being fully aware.

I continuously think about staying with it, fighting for explorations. Whether exciting moments will take place? Awareness of new investigations in own body and in others, ready to find these patterns maybe another time.

Do we have time to think before we move?

‘Improvisation sets a sense of play’ Kirsty told us to think about this, how can our improvisations become playful, i thought to have fun with it maybe, enjoy the sensations of adrenaline which arise over the body during explorations finding new pathways to enter and exit a bodies connection.I take this forward for the next few weeks.

Carlson, M. (2010) What is Performance? In: Bial, H. The Performance Reader. London: Routledge, 70-75.

Keefe, M. What’s the Score? Improvisation in Everyday Life. In Albright, A. C., & Gere, D. (2003). Taken by suprise: A dance improvisation reader. Middletown, Conneticut: Wesleyan University Press. Pp 229-238

Research Labs wk7

I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the research labs, I fully found myself I feel that I attempted everything and was able to do this by not worrying of falling. I tried everything with a great open mind. I felt in these research labs I lost of what it needs to look like and focussed on exploring. We had been asked to question spiralling& twisting. I did this throughout contact with Kye, I fully threw myself into it. The experiments we made felt nice in both of our bodies. I tried to use some tools we had learnt from previous weeks but explore transitions and how movement takes you into constant findings making more exciting adventures with the bodies. I spiralled my body around Kye, hooking myself around playing with what can be made. Also using dynamics to enhance momentum.

 

My Research Lab

We are going to explore balance, body support, weight transference, consciousness and maintaining full awareness and listening each other’s bodies.

How do we know when a partner is ready to receive full weight?

 

 

I gave questions to inform improvisations during the jams we produced for the dancer’s influence.

How does it feel to work with a body you’re not so used to?

Are explorations minimalised?

Movements seem to be slower as you find the connections, can you still find the connection but with momentum enforcing quicker movements?

I feel that our research lab went well and saw new movements I had never seen in my peers bodies and may inform them to take more risks however having the full awareness of connection but maybe playing with momentum a little more as my observation was that because the dancers were focusing on connection momentum was lost and dynamics were dull.

The ‘Exposed to Gravity’ reading initiated thoughts of my contact experiences, “As both of us maintain this bodily-felt relationship to weight exchange and shared movement and stay open to sudden impulses and influences upon either of our bodies, a playful, energetic and innovative dance is created” (Ptashek, A, 1988. p160) My thoughts took me back to jam last week how it was our first week on ‘UP’ and I explored weight on my back walking, focussing on the feelings of gravity and where it is centred. However after research labs this week I found the “playful, energetic and innovative” (Ptashek, A, 1988. P160) within a groups research lab of experimenting with ‘standing’ and ‘floor’ gave restrictions and was interesting as Kye had improvised floor contact and I had done standing, to then mix and feedback to one another allowing relations and having freedom to stand and be on the floor gave a more interesting improvisation when experienced with Kye, I tried using my body to fly and wrap around his body whilst sharing equal weight throughout the improvisation. I was so focussed and mainatined strong awareness of my and partners body.

 

Curtis, B. (1988). Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quartely/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I, Vol. 13. Pp156-162

Due to injury I was unable to participate in the Tuesday session, however I observed and witnessed the tasks and tools which were given to explore. I found that watching others enhanced my learning of strengths and weaknesses, it also made me more engaged on the fluidity of the interlinking movements.

I witnessed first hand when the centre of gravity goes to far over the partner causing the structure to be unbalanced, therefore they will collapse. Remembering to be aware of own weight and correct placing when going ‘Up’ as these are extremely important.

Initially I was anxious of entering the space, as we hadn’t jammed in two weeks. We had Fenia jamming with us and Tess playing the drums and peers using other instruments which created a more generic, unique and focused jam as a whole. I fully concencentrated and picked up on the musicality from the composition of instruments. Firstly when entering the space I walked around, allowing myself to feel accepted I created a relationship wi Sammy, my anxiety was eased when jamming in the space however my body felt tense therefore I was not in the space long at all.

I explored the instruments (maraca) composing and gathering myself until I felt ready to re-enter the space. I did so and made some nice explorations with Kelsea. We did have times were we lost connection when attempting new ideas which caused  stops and pauses this therefore caused a decrease in momentum. I took myself away and tried to from the relationship again with Kelsea, I had not worked with her before this jam. I felt that I was repeating movements and getting stuck in table top. I left the space awaiting to form a new relationship with someone so I can experiment with this weeks tools.

I made interesting works with Courtney, using the ‘Up’ tools.

Facing opposite directions-Seesaw exercise

I was intrigued to try this exercise out as I missed out from the Tuesday session because of my injury. I found connections through the spine and side of the middle kinesphere during this exercise. I attempted my relationship with Courtney using knowledge and tools from previous weeks, we had been jamming for a while and pauses caused uncomftability so we left the space.

When entering the space I knew I would be working with Hannah as she had entered and was not creating contact with another body. I knew I worked well before with her so I empowered my explorations through this relationship, I found that I was most exporative wuth her. I found my spine as a jigsaw with Hannah and allowed her to hang over me. I walked travelling the space with this extra weight finding how the weight could be transferred playing with this sensation through the body. I was fully aware of safe practise during the ‘Up’ tools on the middle kinesphere.

We were given instructions and prompts from Kirsty:

“Don’t leave the space”

“Everyone in the space”

“Use the instruments, don’t be afraid”

“Only leave the space for no longer than 1 minute”

“Work with everyone”

I took these instructions and attempted to work with multiple bodies however it formed a relationship of myself and Chloe, we ended the jam with everyone taking to the floor.

During this jam I had to focus on my injury( shoulder) so I was apprehensive of taking weight, although throughout jam I fixed with other bodies not causing any strains.

Throughout my learnings this week I encountered the two forces of gravity, which arose within the reading, these being weight and force(Woodhull, A. 1979.Pp43-48). We are informed that equal weight from each person is vitalothersie one will fall. I have personally experienced this in warm-up exercises where weight is transferred through the middle kinesphere (back to back using the arms to keep connected) giving equal weight when back to back so there is the availability to explore this movement.

How important is balance?

We are influenced by understandings of how height of the centre of gravity affects stability. From experience this does make you less stable when being high during this sensation I feel vulnerable as my full trust is in my partner. Therefore u can reflect to Woodhull.

This weeks session and jam have made me think about ideas for my research lab.

How do we know when a partner is ready to receive full weight?

Does thinking of centre lines, kinespheres and planes help our composition when thinking of improvisation with another body- how can we use this knowledge to create exploratory contact?

Woodhull, A. Centre of Gravity. (1979) Contact Quartely/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebok I, Vol 4, Pp 43-48.