Contact Improvisation

Personally, I was nervous for this lesson. It wasn’t like a ‘normal’ contact improvisation lesson as we had never been able to lead parts of the class ourselves. This was all linked to our research labs which involved working in groups and coming up with questions around contact improvisation we would like to explore in more depth. When we were coming up with ideas last lesson I contributed the question ‘How can I fully relax, when giving all my weight to someone else?’ The background idea to this question relates a lot on my own practise. In lessons I find it hard to fully give my weight so by exploring that question it could help me in my own practise by applying some of the findings from our experiment.

 

After discussing the questions we all contributed we decided on two questions. Firstly ‘How much would the experience of contact improvisation change if you took away one of these senses? (hearing, vision, touch, smell) and secondly ‘how to initiate points of contact?’ After exploring these questions we came up with two different activities for the class to participate in. The first activity was having a few pairs in the space improvising with their eyes close. A few other pairs were watching them improvise and then the rest of the pairs had their back towards the space and could not see them improvise and after a while they swapped so everyone got a chance to experience each station of the activity. We made the task like this so everyone could get the chance to experience their vision taken away from them whilst dancing and also spectating. The task was to mainly focus on senses and consciousness and how if one of them was taken away how that would change you experience.

 

In the discussion after this activity we asked the class how they found improvising with their eyes shut and how it made them feel? We got mixed responses with some people saying it was uncomfortable because they were not sure on where about their partner was but then others said they enjoyed it as it made them to sway away from habitual movements. This activity relates to the quote ‘display to the public the bodies innate ability to respond physically to its environment’ (Lepkoff, 2008) This linked because it was the dancers job to respond with their bodies instead of their sight as their sight was taken away from them. When I trailed this activity the other day with my group it was an odd sensation as I wanted to create interesting shapes and balances but felt that was restricted because of the loss of my sight. However it felt more natural doing it, which again showed me how I should focus less on what I believe it looks like and focus more internally what it feels like. This relates to a quote in A Question by Daniel Lepkoff (2008) he states ‘rather than formulated within ones verbal mind is formulated and resides’. (Lepkoff, 2008) I found this quote relatable to my practise because you normally ask questions and answer them vocally but this is stating its possible to ask questions internally within the body and answer them through your actions. I believe through dancing with my partner with no sight we were forced to ask and answer questions through our actions together internally. This made me feel slightly more connected to my partner as we were focussing on what we were both feeling rather than what visually the contact looked like.

 

The second activity was slightly different and involved going into pairs. One person would stand there still and the other would create points of contacts on different parts of the body. For example tapping on different parts of the body. At the start of this activity a lot of the class were hesitant to give contact to their partner as they were lightly tapping on the other person and not giving very much meaningful contact. We then stated that vary the amount of pressure in each touch and try and find points of contact, which are more vulnerable than others. We then saw a difference in the force that they tapped their partner resulting in it looking more meaningful and direct. The second part was in partners experimenting with how much pressure you can give someone without them falling or collapsing because of your weight. This exercise was designed to see how much pressure you can apply on others when dancing. It was also to make people more aware to not be scared to apply pressure whilst improvising. In my practise personally I struggle to apply pressure as I am scared to place all my weight on someone else just in case they can’t take it. But by completing this exercise with my group before the lesson it made me realise how much weight I can give people without making them fall over which gave me confidence.

 

By doing these research labs, it has enabled me to create exercises with my group which has helped our research into finding answers to our questions. The research labs have been interesting to find the results of our questions and it was helpful to get so many opinions and different types of feedback from are peers.

 

I also found it enjoyable to take part in the other groups research labs as it was fun to see my peers lead parts of the class. Throughout the lesson I feel like as a class we all supported each other and gave commitment and enthusiasm throughout each activity that was thrown on us.

 

Ravn, S. (2010) Sensing weight in movement. Journal of dance and somatic practices, 2 (1) 21-34.

Brown, B. (1997) Is contact a small dance? Contact Quarterly: Contact improvisation sourcebook, 1(6) 72-75.

 

 

…. off the floor, awareness, disorientation and letting go.

 

We started this session off again by looking at the assigned readings and sharing our ideas and thoughts with the rest of the class. Firstly we talked about Sensing Weight In Movement by Suzanne Ravn. We discussed how this reading focused on different types of dancers and how they centred their weight differently depending on their techniques. I found this interesting to read because I had never really stopped and thought how dancers use of gravity differs so greatly demanding on their style of dance. For example for ballet dancers ‘For the four ballet dancers a sense of vertical balance is central to their control of their weighted mass’ (Ravn, 2010, 23) this quote relates to my own practise as I have been bought up with a very heavily ballet background which is why I struggle to sometimes let go of my posture and weight when improvising. The article then goes on to describe the use of gravity within contemporary dancers which is ‘giving up control of movement to let the body be connected to gravity’ (Ravn, 2010, 24) This quote was interesting as this is my objective within my own practise to become more able to completely drop my weight and let go.

 

The next reading was Is contact a small dance? By Byron Brown. The one quote that stood out for me the most within this reading was ‘ongoing process of awareness and responsiveness which requires no thought’ (Brown, 1980, 74) I again picked this quote above others because I believe this relates again to my own practise. By having no intention and trying to not think about my movements before performing them is constantly an obstacle I am always facing within contact improvisation. The thought of moving without choreographed moves frightened me at the start of this module. However through the weeks have progressed I feel like I have got better at just going with the flow and letting my internal self make spontaneous decisions with out thought.

 

We started of the practical side of the session by standing in a space with our eyes closed. The aim was to focus on our body and what it was doing when we were focusing on keeping our body as still as possible. We then started to shift our weight forwards and backwards and experimented with how far we could shift our weight however still balancing. This exercise then relates back to the reading of sensing weight in movement. This made me aware of where my weight was and how interesting it was to see how far you could shift your weight with out stepping of it.

 

We then went onto a group exercise which involved a lot of trust amongst the group. I believe my year group are all very close and we get on so well together so group activities never make me nervous. This involved someone moving into the middle of the space and saying 3,2,1 and then a group of people would guide you to the floor by placing you slowly down. Even though I completely trust all the people in my class and know they wouldn’t drop me I still found this exercise really difficult. This was because I didn’t give them all my weight which caused my body to tense up. I will have to learn how to relax my body in these situations so it will look more smoother.

 

Lastly we tried some lifting work. I found this fun and exciting, as it was something we had never tried at university before. We were split into two groups and tried a lift where we simply lifted one person horizontal lying down above our heads. This lift worked successfully as we worked as a team and distributed the weight evenly amongst ourselves. I even had a go at being the person in the air, which was an experience as I am taller and heavier than most other girls so I am traditionally a lifter instead. I found it easy to be lifted, as I wasn’t nervous and found it a exciting sensation by giving all my weight to my friends and them being able to take the weight at ease.

 

This week we also started our research lab. This involved picking questions the group has on contact improvisation and then pick two to focus one. My group picked the questions, ‘how much would the experience of contact improvisation change if you took away one of these senses? (hearing, vision, touch or smell) secondly ‘How to initiate points of contact?’. Im looking forward to exploring these questions in more depth with my group and then see what the outcomes are to these questions.

This lesson really made me aware of my sense of gravity and how I need to keep being aware that my objective is to try and let people take my weight and to let go of it myself.

 

 

(Research lab poster)

 

Brown, B. (1997) Is Contact a Small Dance? Contact Quarterly: Contact Improvisation Sourcebook, 1(6) 72-75.

 

Ravn, S. (2010) Sensing Weight in Movement. Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 2(1) 21-34.

This week we started the session by discussing the readings that had been assigned for this week. Going though the readings in my reading group helps me to understand them in more depth and also by listening to other peoples views and explanations makes the content of the reading make more sense. Not only this, but by explaining it to my other peers within the class then makes sure I understand the content even more as I am re wording the information to explain it to my peers.

 

We then watched two different videos of examples of contact improvisation. These two videos were very different types of contact improvisation and made me realise the style is very broad and can be performed in different ways. The first video was Blake Nellis and Brando at Earthdance (2010) This video showed very slow and sustained movements and the dancers made it look so effortless. By watching this, it made me more aware of my aims to perform the quality of movements they did and the effortless look the dancers shown. Another video we watched was Magnesium by Steve Paxton (1972). This dance showed a different side to contact improvisation as this piece showed more weighted movements and more levels. It also included more rolls and more risky movements that looked more exciting. ‘Unexplored possibilities of movement’ (Turner, 2010, 126) I feel like this quote really does sum up what Steve Paxton intention is, which is to fully explore the body and the possible ways it can move. This really showed through watching this contact improvisation piece as the movements were imaginative raw and risky. This also inspired me to make my movements more out of my comfort zone and to really challenge myself.

 

One of the exercises we did involved a great sense of trust with our partner. This involved lying down and my partner lifting up my head. This sounds easier as it actually is. This was because giving all my head weight to my partner and completely letting go of any tension was difficult. This was mainly due to the fact in my mind my head was too heavy for my partner. But eventually my mind shifted and I realised that Ellie could easily handle the weight of my head. The sensation when she was holding my head whilst improvisation was very unique. Even though Ellie had full responsibility of my head I felt very safe and secure and made movements which were raw and less habitual than I have ever done in previous sessions. I believe this was because I wasn’t thinking as much on how I was moving but instead thinking about the way the movements were feeling when Ellie took complete weight of my head. This made me feel very dazed after the exercise however it was very relaxing. After that the roles switched and I took control of the weight of Ellie’s head. I felt a big responsibility with this because the head is such a vulnerable and precious body part. However I did feel very connected to Ellie’s movements and it made me feel like I was dancing with her. I believe this sensation linked in with the idea ‘to discover through spontaneous movement in contact’ (Turner, 2010, 123). This quote from the reading really did link into what just happened during that partner work. The effect of giving someone such a precious part of my body made in stem lots more spontaneous movements that I think I would have only performed because of the opportunity of completing this exercise. I feel it had such an effect on my movements.

 

We then ended the session on improvising with partners. We didn’t just dance with one specific partner but instead changed around and danced with a few of my classmates. I found this was more interesting dancing with different classmates instead of sticking to dancing with just one. This was because every partner I had we came up with completely different movements to the other partners. It was all different and was interesting to discover how my classmates moved as well. This also showed me who I worked better with and by this I mean which partner I felt the movements flowed out more with less effort. Not only that but which partner felt more comfortable and relaxed with dancing with me. Sometimes I still feel nervous to completely give my weight to my classmates but I am beginning to trust that they can take my weight and guide me into new movements and I hope that situation is the same from their perspective and how they feel with me.

 

Nelson, L. (dir.) (2006) Contact Improvisation Archive DVD #2: Magnesium, Peripheral Vision, Soft Pallet. [DVD] East Charleston: VIDEODA

 

Turner, R. (2010) Steve Paxton’s ‘Interior Techniques’: Contact Improvisation and Political Power. TDR: The Drama Review, 54(3), 123-135.

 

Aaron Brando (2010) Contact Improvisation: Blake Nellis & Brando @ Earthdance. [online v0ideo] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQRF2sLK1vY [Accessed 7 October 2015]

 

The rolling point and the interchangeable role of the under and over dancer 

‘If the body had been easier to understand, nobody would have thought that we had a mind’ (Bannon and Hault, 2011, 217)

 

I was nervous and apprehensive for this lesson because we got told this session requires more weight baring work. I was scared at the thought of this because I am self-conscious of my weight and the thought of placing all my weight on another person makes me feel like I going to hurt them.

We started this session off with an exercise that involved melting and be picked up/ picking someone up. This enabled me to ease in slightly with giving people my weight and learning to become more comfortable in doing so. Throughout this exercise I feel like our class became more comfortable in giving and receiving other peoples weight which is one of the most important qualities of contact improvisation. I felt more confident as the exercise continued in completely letting go of my weight and being able to give it in the hands of someone else. We were not allowed to talk through this exercise which surprised me as I felt we didn’t need to talk to each other in order to communicate. ‘Touch is more than making of contact’ (Bannon and Hault, 2011, 219) I feel this quote relates to my experience of this exercise. I felt like the touch of hand and helping another one of my classmates up, spoke so many words which showed the friendship and trust we have within one another and not just the touch which was the point of the exercise.

 

One of the safest place I believe to have a sense of touch is the back area. I think I feel better because it has the largest surface area and because of that I feel more safer when improvising. We completed an exercise when the only body part we had in contact with someone else was the back and had to try and improvise with always having the back in contact. This enabled me to practise even more with placing my weight on other people. I really tried to be more experimental in my movements with Ellie whilst trying to remember to not be afraid to let my weight drop on Ellie.

 

We then did an exercise which involved completely dropping the weight onto another person by just lying on top of them. We then switched around, and it was me being the underneath character. I prefer myself to be underneath as I prefer to take other peoples weight instead of giving my weight to my peers.

 

I completed another exercise however using parts of the body in my opinion were more vulnerable. For example holding on to just your partners wrists whilst leaning away from each other and walking. This was a tricky exercise because it involved a lot of balance and concentrating. The wrists is a small part of the body and I believe they can be quite weak as they are flexible meaning they don’t hold a lot of strength. This is why I was nervous for this exercise as the way it works is to completely give the other person my weight.

 

‘ Touch is a bodily idea’ (Bannon and Hault, 2011, 218) This quote sums up this lesson for me. I believe our sense of touch is one of the most influential senses. This sense has so much more exploration to what initially meets the eye and the literal meaning to it within dance. I feel throughout this module I will begin to start to underpin in more depth what the sense of touch really is within the genre of dance and how this infomation will help and mould my dancing in the future to come.

 

Bannon, F. and Holt, D. (2011) Touch: Experience and Knowledge. Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, 3(1&2) 215-225.

Before starting this module I was apprehensive to what these sessions were going to entail. I wanted to really throw myself into these lessons but the thought of dancing more intimately with another classmate made me nervous, as that is a style of dance I have not attempted before. Saying that, I was excited to see if I felt a significant difference improvising movements with partners, rather than improvising movements by myself, which I did last year in the Improvisation module.

My knowledge beforehand of contact improvisation was a brief connection with the choreographer and artist Steve Paxton, and how he influenced it to the way it is today.

At the beginning of this session I was shown two different pieces, which involve two very different examples of contact improvisation.

The first piece was La La La human steps. This duet was captivating because of its fast paced tempo and the aggressive quality that the male and female dancers showed. There were many strong and powerful movements, which showed off their strength. For example, balancing on each other’s bodies using just the strength of one body part.

The second piece, which involved contact improvisation, was called blush, performed by Ultima Vez. This was significantly different to La La La human steps, because it was choreographed. This piece involved softer dynamic movements and seemed like it portrayed more of a storyline. I personally think this piece was more interesting, because I believe it had a deeper meaning, which everyone would have their own personal perspective on. Looking at these pieces gave me an understanding on how this module could include all sorts of possibilities and ways of portraying contact improvisation, which made me excited to think what I could achieve by the end of this module. Could I achieve a stronger sense of qualities to my movements, which I struggle with now, by the end of this module?

 

One of the exercises in this session involved having a partner watch us improvise, and for them to see if there were any habitual movements I had whilst improvising. I think this exercise was useful, because it made me aware of my habits before I began the module. I was then able to start thinking about how I could try and stop the habitual movements, and try some other movements that I wouldn’t normally do.

Steve Paxton states “Improvising could not be taught, though it could be learned.” (Paxton, 2003) This makes me realise that through participating in these contact improvisation lessons I will improve, as I will always be learning and discovering new things about my body through practicing the style each week.

We then performed an exercise involving all the class, where we walked around with our eyes closed and our arms in front of our bodies. If you then made contact with someone, you would have to hug them. The main focus was to be aware of the environment around you, but without visibly seeing it. At first I wondered how this could be possible, as I’m surely going to walk into people. However, as the exercise went on, I felt more confident relying on my other senses, rather than my sight.

 

Throughout this session I could feel my body adapting to the idea of letting go and to experiment with different movements. However my main goal throughout this module will be to find shapes and move my body with different dynamic qualities. Not only that but to explore my body’s capability within contact improvisation.

 

Paxton, S. (2003) Drafting Interior Techniques. In: Nancy Stark-Smith (ed) A Subjective History of Contact Improvisation. In: Ann Cooper Albright and David Gere (eds) Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan University Press, 175-184.

 

Heitkamp, D. (2003). Moving from the Skin: An Exploratorium. Contact Quarterly/Contact Improvisation Sourcebook II, 28(2) 256-264.