Whilst researching for my dissertation, I found a quote within a book about creative arts therapy which I find really inspirational about the movements we create as dance artists...


'The movements that we make in our dancing sessions are all part of the dance of our lives. The movements that we express in accompaniment to music are movements from our being alive; they express our living presence. They are movements to be treasured. They are expressions of who we are and they effect the people we dance with. They ripple outwards. They connect us to eachother. dancing weaves us together.' 

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.

''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 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.

Body Space Image

Here is an image I find particularly influential when moving with the idea that the arms begin at the shoulder blades, and can move almost like wings.

  

‘The back is wide

Let the ribs open like wings from the spine

See the ribs are arms

Into which you can rest’

Tufnell, M., Crickmay, C.(1990) Body Space Image. Hampshire: Dance Books Ltd.

Reflections...

‘Our bodies are the reflections of our lives: sitting, walking, standing, we absorb the impact of each day. Each thought and sensation makes changes in the body.’ (Tufnell, Crickmay 1990).

Tufnell, M., Crickmay, C.(1990) Body Space Image. Hampshire: Dance Books Ltd.