little captain exploration

thank you to matthew for sharing with us material from a recent workshop with the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan, the little finger or pinkie as the leader of spiraling motion

-and enveloping

I just remembered-and forgot to add-that i was surprised about how much i was enjoying exploring envelopments. It reminded me of doing butoh-I somehow felt transformed into something else-almost unhuman. I didnt know that you could connect with a partner with such bound and internal energy...i look forward to this wed :)

trust, habits, how we say it, and pathways

There was a lot to explore this week. The yielding brought about such a wonderful connection for me with my original partner, Margaret. I really wanted to stay there to allow for smooth and seamless transitions of weight-sharing and pouring. It felt secure and allowed for me to find that trust in building a jumping off point and really sensing Margaret through her skin and through her micro-movements, rhythms, and breath.

When we began to add in all the other ideas yielding, pushing, reaching, pulling, following through, I found it interesting which elements seemed more naturalwith certain partners. It brought to mind about our habits and where we are comfortable being in the dance. Angie had said she really think she is a "yielder"-meaning she primarily enjoys yielding in the dance and going with the flow and action.

How do we, or do we , include all of these in a dance and how do we follow -through? How are we clear of our intentions and split-decision made choices in our dancing?

what do we say yes to and when do we say it-how loud do we say it
what do we say no to -even maybe-and how do we say it in our bodies-when are we hesitant or when or how are we certain of our response-?

I also brought up the idea of trajectories. I think it is important to know how our bodies can feed into movement though space and through an exchange in each other. i guess im interested in pathways too duh ( i think i might be doing a workshop in that-ha)I think this can allow a follow-through to be more effective and allow for juicier and more mindful dancing.

Enveloping and the Developmental Score

Lab recap:

We began by revisiting our idea of “hook, pull, follow-through” and by placing it into Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s movement development framework: Yield, Push, Reach, Pull. We warmed up with a score the moved along that developmental framework by exploring each stage and progressively giving us more choices out of which we might “build a duet”: Yield, Yield + Push, Yield + Push + Reach, Yield + Push + Reach + Pull.

After reaching the “pulling” stage, we introduced “enveloping,” a new variable, into our movement mix. The image of enveloping is that of swallowing. In partners we explored the tandem sensations of envelopment: enveloping and being enveloped. A dancer placed a hand somewhere on the body of her partner, who would then move her body to swallow the body part. Getting a little more figurative, we used the image of swallowing to expand the scope of what we were enveloping to include limbs, body halves, and the entire body.

Results:

Out of our work came a discussion about habitual movement choices and a curiosity how a variable like enveloping can create an opportunity to engage in several activities: to further explore images that we enjoy (for example, a top being wound up and released); to ask questions about the limits of movement (for example, what physically happens around the limit of enveloping); to provide a point of focus that clarifies other variables like habitual choices.

Next steps:

Next week’s lab may continue to explore enveloping. On my mind are some of Melissa’s comments about tension—especially as it related to energy/focus pulling inward or exploding outward. Also on my mind is Margaret’s idea about transformation at the limit. I welcome any suggestions for scores that might get at some of these ideas.

1/20/2010

I learned a lot yesterday as I do every time I practice. I felt like there was some deep bodily understanding happening around the vacuum. I surely never felt myself falling back into patterns, so that was lovely, I usually have to work really hard to find the other. There were some lovely moments to watch, and even the watching felt different. I was looking intensely for the hook, the pull, the vacuum. The looking sent my eyes more deeply into the connection and the space inbetween. I so appreciate the openness of the group and the collectiveness. p.s. my knee feels good today!!

I was talking to Margaret last Wednesday and mentioned the vacuum that is occurring with the lungs and diapraghm, and how that constant vacuum is more subtle. I would like to return to an exploration to this vacuum deep in our organs. I think it would increase awareness when I am responding to other people's vacuums. The more obvious vacuums are easier to respond to because I can see it change in space, but how quickly can I respond to it and then to another. Maybe spending some time focusing on the subtle will open the possibilities with the more stronger sucking vacuums.

Friday, Jan 8th

This past wednesday, I observed vacuums like I never had before..... Unfortunately I wasn't able to participate, due to a recent injury. I hope we stay with this idea for awhile but will definitely understand if not. (I haven't been attending for a awhile) I am excited to juice my way into this idea of ones self being a vacuum. I really enjoy seeing the moments of 2 vacuums within a duo. Whereas instead of one getting sucked in by the other, there is a moment of a tug, and wonder. I am also interested of switching partners more frequently, everyone has such a unique way of being a vacuum. I truly enjoyed watching everyone dance. I cannot wait for more.

It was such a joy to dance last night. I benefited greatly from the spine exploration, and Margaret helped me find one bone that needed some light and space. I also found it fascinating to follow Margaret's spine, I felt the urge to dance with her as her spine warmed. The vacuum work was very challenging for me. I'm looking forward to working that way again and taking some time to findthe connections. I loved watching others find the "holes" and follow inside, it made for very beautiful connected dancing.

invitations

Following my spine today i really felt this expansiveness and spaciouseness in where the spine can move within, changing and transforming its shape in infinite ways-twisting, coiling, bending, elongating like a bizarre accordian-moving from the back body to the front body -curving to one side and the other. i found myself rooting from various points of contact that my partner gave me feeling how i could isolate movement above and below that point-also feeling how i could move a particalar area or vertebra inside. feeling like a snake-that can grow one part of its body and then suck that part in towards itself to move forward.

I like margarets comment here about the three-dimensionality-and the fact that Julie Ann began to touch her front body-which i saw her doing. It was a good evolution of this idea. I wonder about the quality or the different sensation that Margaret felt while doing this. I think that ultimately this sort of exploration could be done by giving feedback into any part of oursleves.

Different images and language always come to my mind- So, I began to think about invitations-as I was creating space. I am creating a space for someone to inhabit-and I want my friend-my partner to be interested to join-so I thought, I am inviting them to be with me-I am inviting them to follow me. I can invite them in obvious ways like pulling them, grabbing their hand. And then different parts of myself can be like my hand-pulling them into my space.

I enjoyed watching everyone dance tonite-It was sooo nice to see such a wide range of exploration, from the light and gentle and human to the violent and uncertain- thanks to all.



I began to think about vacuuming today

spine/vacuum

newly considered: the part of the spine between the back of the neck and the back of the throat. that part of the body inside the back of the mouth which has a spine behind it.

about vacuuming: a structure consisting of interrelated parts (perhaps a dance duo). one part of the structure (one dancer) deliberately moves away from the shared center of the structure. the other part (second dancer), instead of transitioning into a solo structure, follows the momentum of the departing part, thereby maintaining the shared center, of the original configuration—although it is changing in space and time.

the "vacuum" is created by the agreement between the partners to play their roles. one who moves away from the shared center of the duo, the other who desires to stay connected nonetheless.

1/6/2010 Session

1) Spinal mapping. My partner was JulieAnn and I benefited from being allowed to follow my desires to explore the 3 dimensionality of movement possibilities from the front/back points that JulieAnne touched. Sometimes pushed into the points of contact with her fingers, and sometimes explores radiating undulations from those points. Found a very free, liquidy, serpentine freedom in the jointy column of my torso, and it's connection down through my legs into the earth and up into space.
2) Duos. A creates vacuums---creating spaces by withdrawing the body from them--and partner B gives touch to indicate the vacuums points of origin-->switch
NOTE: In the beginning it can be important to create one vacuum at a time and then stop, reset, and create the next until comfortable with following the rain of one's own intentions.
-->toucher begins filling the space with other parts of her/his body in addition to hands
-->allow weight sharing to enter this process
-->allow spontaneous vacuum/vacuumed switching
3) Round Robin so we could observe how various folks handle this.
A Margaret and Chen-Je
B Asimina and Chen-Je
C Chen-Je and JulieAnn vacumed each other into a ball in which Chen-Je was standing his head in JulieAnn's belly and JulieAnn eas wrapped atop his back with her arms around his buttocks.
D JulieAnn and NiJa had some subtle vacuums with hands. And others resulting in several tender embraces.
E Melissa and Angela
F Melissa and NiJa had an explosion of holding hands while vigorously vacuuming with full bodies that resulted in full velocity revolving swings around the point of contact in the hands.
G Angela and NiJa
H Angela and Margaret

Very little hooking and pulling hapened today. Next week I'd like to take to touch warmup into the full bodied vacuuming more quickly so we can spend some time with all out pulling using various parts as hooks. Then we really play with dynamic shifts and awareness shifts between the gross and the subtle.