Aspect of 'play' within improvisation

During improvisation classes this year we have been introduced to the idea of incorporating 'play' within our movement explorations, through the use of different scores.

For me, the idea of play within dancing means allowing myself to let go a little more and allow freedom into my movement, enjoying what I am doing and the interactions i may have with other people, not taking my dancing too seriously (this is something I often do), not being too judgemental about my moving, allowing the idea of fun and playfulness to influence the way I explore my body and its surroundings.

Sometimes I find this difficult, as my past experiences as a dancer have been focused on learning set things and trying to accomplish learning and building technique, and performing. However with an open mind and response to new ideas and ways of working I feel I am allowing myself to become more open and receptive to using play within improvisation.

Activities such as installations around the University building, story telling and using poems have allowed me to directly explore these ideas. I have found that the feeling of less pressure in what I produce does sometimes actually allow me to produce more in depth and fully explorational work.

Peer teaching

As part of our movement studies module we were asked to get into groups of four and each devise a 15 minute session we could teach to each other which would explore one of the movement patterns within our experiences within body mind centering.  I decided to use the Star Fish pattern which also explored navel radiation.

I began with a hand out, which showed a picture of a star fish and then showed some notes from my journal and hand outs we had received when originally exploring the pattern. I allowed them to read through it and ask any questions.

Then, I lead a hands on graphic. this involved tracing the star fish pattern from the centre out through the limbs to the ends of the body to enhance the attention in these areas.

Then a taught a short phrase which included condensing and expanding, rolling and pausing using the star fish pattern. I then put on music and watched them perform the phrase a couple of times. 

I then asked them to come back to their journals and write or draw anything they needed to and then reflect and feedback anything they wanted to.


After we had a feedback session with each other and our tutor- here are some of the notes I took during this..

• Clear structure throughout
• Using the graphic first allowed them to incorporate it within the phrase easier
• Asking them for feedback such as if they needed to go over anything again was reassuring for them, as was doing the phrase with them originally
• Pace of it was not too rushed
• Use of language could be explored more- such as the intentions of the movement
• transitioning from one activity into the next could have flowed a little more

Over all I was pleased with how the class had gone, and I had managed to explore everything I wanted to confidently,adn my peers seemed to enjoy it and gain something useful from it. However if I was to do it again for a longer period of time I would take on board the feedback about the use of language and the transitioning of activities as this could allow more flow and clarity for the students taking part.

'2 Minute dances'

We were asked to improvise around our personal interests within our developing practise this year. We did 4 lots of 2 minute dances in between writing about our experiences in our journals. I found that each time I improvised I found new interests and further developments- here are some of the rough notes I recorded in my journal during the class:


1. Loose jaw. Free neck. Head- gravity, air, focus. Roll, stretch. Internal- External. Utilising the whole body. Full exploration. freedom.


2. Hips, pelvis, jaw- Free. Rolling- taking to extreme- where else can this happen in the body? How can gravity support this? taking the limbs to extremes.


3. Folding every possible area that can be. Balance. Gliding. How long can the fold go before having to give into it and give into gravity. ripples. Being seen. Being heard. How can this be possible at all times, even when focusing internally?


4. Loose limbs. Light touch- leaving the floor. Soft. Sponge. Transition into shapes. Soft air over limbs.

Technical phrase clases with Andrea Barzey during Term 2

Throughout the technical phrase classes this term with Andrea I have been aiming to focus on these aspects within my moving:

• Leading with the head/neck
• Flatness in the back
• Fluid movements that melt one into the next
• Not over preparing the hands- particularly for jumping phrases
• Articulating though the feet- again mainly when jumping and travelling
• Energy and power within travelling sequences

I found that moving through a phrase with all of these focuses and aspects to think about fairly difficult, so focusing on the most prominent ones for the different types of phrase helped me to gain the most out of the exercise.

I noticed that after practising the phrases over the few weeks then allowed these things to come more naturally to my movement. I think this is due to not having to over think what I am actually doing movement wise when I don't know the phrase fully, which I often find distracts me from finding other important intentions within the body while dancing.

The CONTRALATERAL pattern of movement

• Opposition of limbs
• Finding diagonals through the centre
• Body in 4 quadrants
• Spiral in our movement
• Mainly in mammals- fish and lizards a little
• Mammals have a different muscular skeletal organisation, so the belly is more easily off the floor
• All senses are fully operational
• Vocal communication- free head and neck
• Eyes and ears fully engaged with the world
• Reaching for objects for a baby encourages motion and vocals into the environment
• Babies turn towards sound, and go backward in space to do so sometimes

It's very imortant when you do a movement that your attention (which is what is stimulating you) and your intent (which is what you want to do in relation to that stimulation) align up with the movement that you're doing. It's a key.




Bainbridge- Cohen, Bonnie (1993) Sensing, feeling and action. Northampton.

Overview of the developmental patterns we have learnt during term 1

These patterns have been explored as part of our movement studies module during term 1. I can now apply these to every movement class as they all related to my movement processes.


Cellular breathing: Expansion and contraction of each cell of the body in internal respiration. Integrates and aligns the physical body. Present throughout life form conception, as it underlies breathing and all life processes. We used hands on activities, with focus on the breathing and moving with the idea of condensing and expanding.

Navel radiation: Integrates of the body into the centre through the navel. Starfish pattern. Present in utero. We explored this by focusing on the starfish pattern on the floor and moving with the idea of 6 limbs which all move in unison, joining at the centre. I feel I connect to this pattern particularly well as I like the starfish imagery and can find support from the floor while I do so.

Mouthing: the head rocks on the lower jaw; nursing action of the infant. Sea squirt. Dominant During early infancy. We used a rolling action while a partner activated the mouthing awareness by stroking the side of the face from the mouth, which led the rolling. I thought I would want to go the other way from the hand and reject the action but I actually wanted to roll towards it in response to the action.

Pre-spinal: Integrated movement between head and torso to the tail; initiated in the 'soft spine' of the spinal cord and the organs. underlies spinal patterns. We moved with the soft spine image yielding and softening into the floor, which I was surprised to discover I use a lot during my improvisational moving, but never properly realised it was directly related to this pattern.

Spinal push from head, and spinal push from tail: Integration of the spine from head to tail, initiated in the musculoskeletal structure. I also frequently use this focus when moving in classes as we often focus on the way movement can initiate from the head or tail to enable leading from one movement to the next.

Spinal reach from head, and spinal reach from tail: Movement of the spine through space, led by the head or tail; enables change in levels. Initiation first from mouth; other senses develop in the first few months. Again, like the spinal push, I also often use the reaching pattern as ways to initiate movement.


Hartley, L (1989) Wisdom of the body moving. USA: North Atlantic Books.

''The whole body is connected, all parts are in relationship. Change in one part changes the whole. When we acknowledge relationship between parts of the body, it makes possible both differentiation of the parts and integration of the whole.''


Hackney, peggy (2002) Making connections: Routledge: london

Improvisation tasks 3rd December

Radiating from the centre:

• Fluid
• limbs
• integration
• radiation

Spinal axis:

• Lines
• spine

Dropping gravity

• Air
• Weight
• Tipping
• Balancing

Notes to remember/ recognise by Katye Coe f Improvisation classes

• Interior landscapes within space

• Ways of imagining space in the leg joints- create a sense of being lighter and more fluid and flexible

• Integration from centre to periphery- holding onto our internal space while reaching out or expanding

• Physical activity isn't just an idea or 'like' something else, dancing is really happening in our bodies

• making ourselves available, and knowing how to do so on all levels when working

• Gravity- what is it and what does it mean for us? How can I allow gravity to fall through every part of me all of the time?

Experiential Anatomy

New focuses;

• Mouthing pattern
• Soft spine pattern
• lancelet

2 Further tubes..

• Notocord = Soft. Becomes the spine disks. Pre spinal pattern
• Neurotube = Becomes the brain and spinal cord. Later become protected by bone (skull and spine)

Front of the body- Digestive track
Back of the body- Reminance of the neural tube
Front of the body- Reminance of the notocord

Baby 15-20 weeks = Pre spinal pattern
baby 3-4 months = Spinal pattern

Technique Improvisation 14th November

With both partners moving:

• I tracked my partners movement with my eyes open
• Then I carried on tracking the movement eyes closed
• Then we both closed our eyes while tracking
• Then we both had eyes open
• Then we both closed eyes again and tracked each other with our whole bodies not just our hands

I felt a connection with the hands, warmth,yeilding into the floor, muscles and tissue awareness, relaxation, focus on the back (spine in particular) and heat to tail connection.

Contact Improvisation 12th November

Working in partners, we traced our partners movement with our finger tips. First the mover had their eyes closed and spoke about what they were doing/feeling/focusing on while moving and the other had their eyes open and traced their body using the finger tips. I found when I was tracing the body that I focused on the textures I was feeling and to see what parts of the body I could reach, and find patterns being created. However when I was the mover I was focusing on what I could feel and how I could develop my movement in response to what I was feeling.

Then we swapped so the mover had their eyes open and the other person tracing closed theirs. This created a whole new response and reaction to what I was experiencing. I found that when I was tracking the movers dancing I was noticing different textures, layers, patterns and shapes. When swapping roles after this I noticed a change in my moving and focuses as I was then moving in response to what I had just felt, not necessarily what I felt like I wanted to do. This then gave my moving more depth and development and a variety in ways to move.

 

Core distal movement

Moving from the centre with the idea of the body being like a starfish, everything comes from the navel. 'navel radiation pattern'.. this acnowledges the navel as a significant body point in the body.... equality of limbs... integrated through the centre.

By using a hands on with a partner, attention was brought to the centre of the body, moving out across the length of the limbs. Then moving alone using this idea of the starfish and condensing and expanding from the central point (navel). I found this image easy to connect with, especially after the hands on experience. I felt connected with my centre, and had the feeling that the body moves as a whole and all the limbs are connect and all work together.

 

Technical phrase class

Using the idea of 'yielding and softening' in and out of the floor throughout the class to enable support from the floor and using this support to take us in and out of movement within a phrase.

One exercise we participated in to gain a sense of gravity and being grounded was to lie on one of the side surfaces of the body and stretch the opposite side that was not touching the floor, and keep the side touching the floor soft and grounded. This was difficult as there was no evident line within the body that separated the two sides, although it made me realise that the body could stretch while also feeling a softness and support from the floor. This could then help me find a way of moving with these ideas but also finding strength and full extension of movement while doing so.  

Body systems

During an experiential anatomy class we brought awareness to the different systems in the body. I realised that the systems I notice the most when moving and witnessing in all the different types of classes we take part in are..

. Respiratory

. Skeletal

.Digestive

.Nervous

.Circulatory

Improvisation with Polly Hudson

We spent about 15 minutes doing partner graphics with a partner followed by 15 minutes of moving and witnessing, to see if and how our movement reflected the graphics we had just received.

While receiving hands on from my partner I lay on my back in a relaxed position as she used padding, brushing, and pressing all over my body which connected with my muscles, tissues and bones within my body. I felt warmth from this as I was still aching a little in my muscles, and having them pressed and brushed allowed them to warm up and feel less stiff and more alive.

After receiving the hands on I moved with ease and found support from the floor. I did a lot of rolling and stretching which made my body feel fluid and aware of tissues and nerves working together within the body. I moved with my eyes closed which enabled me to keep a focus with what I had just felt in my body during the hands on and really envision the insides of my body responding to what I had felt on the outside.

From witnessing my partner move in response to the graphics I noticed she also incorporated rolling and stretching within her movement, add looked relaxes and soft boned. I also noticed that the atmosphere in the room with several people moving stayed at a similar speed and flow throughout the 15 minutes, and I could feel a real presence within the room as it moved.

Technique class with Natalie Garratt

My muscles all over my body were aching a lot before beginning the class so I found it difficult to concentrate and find fluidity to my movement as I was constantly feeling the tightness in my muscles. We did a fairly slow phrase on the floor which explored initiating movement from either the skull or tail during rolling and other movements. This allowed me to stretch a little and concentrate on these parts, so I was able to just use notice my aching body and incorporate this within the explorations instead of allowing it to stop my taking part in class. The idea of yielding and softening in and out of the floor and from one movement to the next also allowed me to explore the phrase fully without allowing the aching to get in the way. Warming up the muscles has helped me feel less stiff and now I also need to rest so I can take part in classes without the distraction of aching muscles.

Improvisation using levels

Some reflective words I wrote in my journal during the class...

.Freedom
.Clear mind
.Fluidity
.Experiences
.Bouncing
.So many possibilities
.Taking in the room and other people
.Constant moving feet- padding not sliding
.Using the whole room
.Being true to the level and exploring every movement possibility fully
.Warming up the muscles and the mind

Improvisation class with Polly Hudson

We mixed with the second year students to enable more experiance and involvement with other body's, feel like I am gaining more confidence dancing with people I have not danced with before.

combing a partners body- flattening the muscles
                                      - pads of the fingers
                                      - brushing
                                      - untangling
                                      - tissues
                                      - relaxing the muscles

While taking part in an improvisation where the whole room was moving and we could step out to observe, and use the combing as stimuli I wote observations in my journal...

. Travel
. Contact
. Continuous movement
. Brushing
. Observing/whitnessing
. Pressing weight on body parts
. Support from the floor
. Leaning
. Touch


I enjoyed allowing my body to do what it needed and to embrace other movers in the space.