Improvisation

From the reading ‘Composing while Dancing’ the information I gathered and sank in was that we are the image, we have to become them instead of just being a shape. I liked the idea of if ‘the image fades, you leave’ in The Red Square score of Barbara Dilley’s. Depending on how you take this in, you can either leave the space or pursue and create a new image.

I thought it was interesting how we developed the session. By the exercise being broken down, I found I got a better understanding of what each section consisted of. Starting with one person walking into the space with the eyes closed was daunting in a way. When I went into  the space I had an image, but it could look completely different to what I thought because I didn’t have my vision to help. The development of this was another participant to come join and complete the image. Simple as this sounds, it could actually be quite challenging. I felt the need to somehow make it interesting to the eye. What will my image communicate? How will someone respond?

Most of the session I was an observer. Observing helped me think about my movement material and what movements I can gain from others. I needed this because in the previous week I felt I struggled and stuck to my habitual movements more than I normally do.

Before the readings I thought form and structure were the same thing. I’m still not 100% sure of what the big difference is but I know now that form is always there if we want it or not. Anna Halprin mentioned that we can not explore improvisation if form is in place. However, if form is always there, how do I explore? I find it hard to understand if form is there when I dance, on the other hand I’ve never considered  it.

I understand the element of structures in improvisation, I like how structure can be so little such as how many dancers are on stage or where you enter and exit the stage. Also how complex structures: such as run a circle. As you can tell running in a circle is quite limited and you will struggle with what to do. Lisa Nelson mentions that you need to break these limitations without actually breaking them. In my own words the comment made, made me think that somehow we can drive our self to make new material to live up to the structures set.

‘time will press on your mind and squelch your creativity’. I can relate to this sentence in Landscape of the Now. When I’m not comfortable, time stretches. I want time to go quick. I feel like it’s been 10 minutes but it’s been 2. This shows the body has a different time to the actual time.
Space is a place we dance in? That is what I thought, but from the readings and lesson I now consider it as an element or partner to the dance.
To start, we had to stand in a space, in any direction and listen. I heard many things that I wouldn’t notice normally. I noticed my breathing, and others that were around, I could also hear people fidget. After a few minutes, we could move and change levels. When my head was on the floor, I heard vibrations from people walking. When I stood near the window, I could slightly hear the wind and a train pass by. Depending on where I was in the room, I could hear the air-con, some places it was louder than others.
The next exercise was to diminish your partners moves, at first it was easy until we were told to make the moves bigger. We all felt silly at some point, due to us putting so much enthusiasm into it.
Final task. Improvise but keep these in mind:
– Enter and exit (walking is banned)
– How will you contribute
– Pick the ‘right’ time to go on
– Replicate
– Echo
– Mirror
– Diminish
I found this session difficult and I couldn’t block out distractions. I feel this was because I was not in the best of moods before.

Bibliography
De Spain, Kent. (2014) Landscape of the Now. New York: Oxford University Press.

Intention, awareness, and attention. These 3 words can come in any order, there isn’t a fixed way. From Landscape of the Now I read that ‘some intentions never enter conscious awareness, they come from nonverbal realm’. I saw this reflected in the practice, because when told to improvise with our eyes shut and no arms (arms inside shirt). I did moves that are not habitual to me, because I was more aware of the people around myself. Adapting the exercise with our eyes shut, we were told to dance a duet with our eyes closed and coming to a stillness together. I enjoyed doing this exercise, and found it quite easy to come to a stillness with my partner.

The following exercise was 3 down 2 up, which is 3 people have bent knees and 2 have straight legs, sound easy? However, I found it difficult because we couldn’t look anywhere except the front, therefore we had to use our peripheral vision and somehow know when to change.

The next parts to this exercise was easier:
– 3 forward 2 back
– duets and a solo
– duet and a trio
– only one duet touching

Finally, to finish the practice off we did a ‘performance’ of a solo, duet, trio, and quartet, although only one of each was allowed. At points, it was difficult because some people would have the same intention as yourself, but then one would have to change your mind without communicating.

Bibliography
De Spain, Kent. (2014) Landscape of the Now. New York: Oxford University Press.

From reading, Landscape of the Now I found tracking easy, all you do is remember what you did and try not to repeat the same movement. When put into context it’s difficult. These tasks were to help us understand tracking:
1) In partners write down the movements that the other improvises
2) Improvise while one shouts out movements to include
3) Task 2, but as a duet
4) Improvise across the space and don’t repeat the same movement
5) Task 4, but changing the speed from 0-11 with the average being 5
6) Improvise and saying a movement on what you are going to do
Through doing these tasks I taught myself that I stick to an average speed when improvising, because I feel more in control on what I am doing and what I will do next. Although when told to go at a faster pace I found it easier and I did not have time to think because my body took over instead of my mind. Why was it easier? I still don’t 100% know why, but I know that movements that you would not normal do come out when you’re put under pressure.
In contrast with myself saying I feel more in control when at an average speed, I found it hard to improvise at a slow speed in the improvised jam. However, with being on the floor for a long amount of time I felt restricted and struggled with what I could do next.