Contact Improvisation

Focussing on weight and counter balance progressed significantly in the 3 hours. I tried to stick with the same partner for the majority of the lesson – I found it easier to lift/be lifted by someone a similar build to myself.  Leavers and Anchors is important to think about whilst taking weight. I found I work better as an anchor and I kept myself well-grounded, I believe this is due to being uncomfortable in the air as I am trying to protect my spine, as there is a chance of a lift failing and causing injury.

I also learned that momentum was key for this session in particular. Without the momentum during a lift, it would fail – which I unfortunately experienced during travelling across the room by pulling at the wrist. After verbal communication we eventually acknowledged the problem and managed to execute the movements well. Other examples where momentum is crucial are: lifting partner over the shoulder and rocking side to side – lifting the partner on the hip and outside edge of the thigh. Keeping momentum in mind made the lifts flow much easier and it was a sense of a natural feeling to lift my partner, and to be lifted. The video below shows how our momentum made our movement flow continuously.

The last 30 minutes of class we had a mini contact jam. I applied my knowledge from today’s lesson and tested some of the new movements with different partners. I found this slightly rocky to begin due to not being used to different bodies. I entered the space as much as I could, I found that my peers were afraid to try out what we learned today. Very little happened in the space and the atmosphere was not the best I have experienced. It was tough for the same people to improvise in the space because I am moving with the same people each week – I want to experience movements with new people.

I received feedback after this class, where I identified that I am not fully released whilst being lifted which can be dangerous – this is due to not working with my partner before, so I need to build trust before going up in the air. Lepkoff states “…by the time an intention has become realized in a physical action, it is too late to alter how this action is played out”. (1999). Going up with the intention of trust will change my reaction of being lifted – hopefully having this intention of trust will help me release my body.

 

Lepkoff, D. (1999) What is release technique? The movement research performance journal. Available from: http://www.daniellepkoff.com/Writings/What%20is%20Release.php [accessed 6/11/16].

“Standing still is not actually still.” Paxton comments on his piece Magnesium (Ramsay Burt, 2011). Paxton’s ‘small dance’ supports his quote from the video clip. Small Dance is where the skeleton sways slightly whilst finding ‘stillness’ in the body. Video evidence of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJKEXUtv44.

Our research lab was based around the question: How can we take away our habits of defence? Inspired by Paxton’s article “Interior Techniques”: Contact Improvisation and Political Power (2010). We planned 3 tasks for the class:

1. Keeping the eyes open and working with back to back contact with releasing the head.
2. Closing the eyes and continue the first task – could you approach people without being afraid? Could you identify your partner through touch?
3. Complete darkness – working with releasing the head, activation of the eyes, counter-balancing and/or body surfing. Does darkness have the same sensation as closing the eyes?

The feedback we received was approximately unanimous. People found that whilst having their eyes closed they went back to habitual movement as a form of self-protection – which goes against our question. However in darkness they felt and visually looked more confident with a slight change in dynamic. They understood their trust had to grow for their peers in order to complete our research. Since it was difficult to see in the dark – they felt assured no one was judging their movement (no judgement happens in class anyway!). The thought of people observing may be off-putting for performers but darkness gives the sensation of freedom and internalisation.

The movement progressed from stop/start to fluid continuous movement – which tells us researchers that over time their trust grew and became less defensive over their bodies; allowed other bodies into their kinespheres.

This week’s contact jam was uneasy compared to last week. Reading Urmston and Hewison’s Risk and flow in contact improvisation prior to class, made me realise that people are avoiding me because my peers are aware of my spinal surgery.

“There is the risk of injury, of unintended intimacy and the potentially bigger risk, in terms of a student’s perception of their own ability to achieve, of failing to connect with our movement partners and thereby getting it wrong.” (Urmston and Hewison, 2014, 221).

As this week we began to lift bodies, it made myself and my peers nervous due to risk of injury. I got into position to lift during the jam several times and my partners failed to work with me – possibly because they do not want to injure my back? However I do have the strength and courage to lift and to be lifted.

 

 

 

Ramsay Burt (2011) Reflections on Steve Paxton’s ‘Magnesium’. Available from https://vimeo.com/22515367 [accessed 16/10/16].

Urmston, E. and Hewison, J. (2014) Risk and Flow in Contact Improvisation: Pleasure, Play and Presence. Journal of dance & somatic practices, 6(2) p219-232.

ZayacZhe (2009) Steve Paxton Smalldance. Available from: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJKEXUtv44 [accessed 27/10/16].

“The understanding of personal space is social/habitual and since the habit is defensive, having that space invaded can be shocking.” (Paxton, 2010, 125). Watching a small section of Paxton’s Magnesium (1972) put this quote to the test. This was one of the first documentations of contact improvisation – contact was introduced in the 70s which is still developing today. Magnesium bursts with vigour and confidence as they launch their bodies into people’s kinesphere’s. (Ramsay Burt, 2011). Paxton experimented and fought against defence which has made a revelation on contact today.

The contact we practice today is more fluid and we are more aware of safe practice in the studio. Nancy Stark-Smith had a famous fall in which she saved her own body from injury and continues to dance. (Ramsay Burt, 2011). This made me realise the amount of trust we have to have for our peers and ourselves – meaning we really have to note all the safety tips from our lecturer.

Releasing the weight of my head for my partner to carry was challenging to do as I’m used to supporting my own neck and head. I never realised how heavy the human skull is. In addition head to head contact was a strange sensation to begin however we finally got moving and became natural.

Unluckily I could not participate in the aikido rolls due to my spine. Observing this section of the class was fascinating to watch how fluid some students and my lecturer performed these rolls. During the jam on Thursday we practiced these again where I stepped to the side and help aid students who struggled – from observing, I could pin point any problems and give them advice. During this session I also found time for myself to practice a forward roll over my shoulder. This is still painful for me at this time of the year but managed to get the correct motion for me to keep practicing safely.

I gained so much sureness and knowledge for this week’s jam. Being aware of new body contact movements helped me during my movements. Being in the dark let me be myself – knowing there’s little judgement. I felt free. Strong eye contact with my partners satisfied me and influenced my movements which flowed with ease.

Attending Jean Abreu’s “A Thread” was a perfect example of what we could be doing in our class. The fluidity was perfect – so mesmerising. (Abreu, 2016). This piece has inspired me to work 10X harder in order to get the power and strength what the portrayed.

 

 

Abreu, J. (2016) A Thread [live performance]. Perfomed by Jean Abreu Dance. Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre.

Paxton, S. (2010) “Interior Techniques”: Contact Improvisation and Political Power. TDR: The Drama Review, 54(3) p123-135.

Ramsay Burt (2011) Reflections on Steve Paxton’s ‘Magnesium’: Available from https://vimeo.com/22515367 [accessed 16/10/16].

To start the class, laying on the floor was incredibly relaxing whilst having my spine physically stretched by my partner. Having someone else’s hands on my back is a strange sensation for me: three years ago I had scoliosis surgery which has left the skin around the scar tissue numb – being only sensitive to temperature. Therefore my sensory knowledge is limited compared to my peers. As the under dancer, I felt our breath synchronise eventually when I carried my partners weight over my lower spine. As the over dancer, it was interesting for me to watch my partner’s spine extend as I physically pulled her head and lower back apart.

Observing the back to back contact was curious to see who trusted their peers. As one student stated in Bannon and Holt’s Touch: Experience and Knowledge “Touch allows you to connect with another, from my experience it has helped me engage with my group members to a higher level of trust.” (2012, 221). I strongly believe our trust will grow for each other during these next few weeks, including our contact jams – which was fascinating to participate in and notice this week. I was inspired by my lecturers and class mates which gave me a confidence boost for next week’s lesson.

Communicating through contact is natural with some people and not so with others. Touch shows how much you trust one – to the point of carrying someone body weight. Touch can also help drive away from habitual movement – for example someone may touch a body part which we aren’t used to moving – finding new movements from new body parts. Reacting to the sensation of people touching can also help us find new movements, such as trying different weight baring actions which we are not used to.

I was unable to participate in the release section of the class due to my scoliosis. However I attempted my first backwards roll since my surgery, I was not able to do this independently because I cannot carry my body weight in certain areas of my spine. I also felt it pull slightly in the top two screws as you see in my x-ray below. Looking at the class do release technique was easy to pinpoint errors in people, where I was able to give them feedback to improve their rolls and how to approach contact improvisation.

Bibliography

Bannon, F & Holt, D. (2012) Touch: Experience and Knowledge, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices. Volume 3 Issue 1 and 2.

My first contact session was refreshing and courageous; which I am thrilled for the weeks to come. Viewing the videos, before we got practical, gave the class a taste of what we have ahead of us. LaLaLa Human Sex and Blush by Wim Vandekeybus are both incredible fast-paced pieces of fiery contact – showing that contact improvisation is best and safest in duets. From these pieces it is obvious that the contacters are well experienced and had rehearsal – which almost seems choreographed rather than improvised. In addition, we watched two other videos – Berlin K77 and Angela Donny and Athos. These videos are a lot more slowly moving and more realistic for our class to relate to. Showing more of an experimental, connected atmosphere which I hope our classes will turn out over these next few weeks.

The first exercise in partners felt more fluid than last semester in improvisation. The touch gave me more momentum to move in different ways to last year. The touching eventually developed into slight contact improvisation for me and my partner – which felt natural to do. Observing this exercise seemed extremely rushed; slowing down this task made it feel and look better as it gave more time to think of movement material.

Walking round with my eyes closed and coming into contact with my peers gave me a huge confidence boost, it prepared me to expect the unexpected contact. However I found it difficult to identify my peers!

Experimenting with weight distribution in partners was interesting to participate in and observe. It was hit and miss for myself – for example I worked well with people a similar height to me but it was hard to get the balance right with anyone of a different build to me. Observing people was easier to identify the problems different pairs had, giving them feedback helped improve their weight distribution – for example altering the angle of their body or the force.

Unfortunately we had no improvisation jam this week, but looking forward to next week’s lesson.