The main focus of the session was to look at Scores and how they can be used to help structure improvisation. As I have never learnt about scores before and the other girls studied it last year as one of their modules, I felt slightly in the dark and one step behind everyone else.   However, after briefly researching Nancy Stark-Smith’s Underscore I was fascinated to see how one would look and happen in reality.  The weekly reading Some Considerations When Structuring an Improvisation (to be seen by an audience) also helped me think about what I should consider when planning a Score. For example ‘What sort of structure do I want in terms of spatial rhythm?’ (Stover, 1989), it heavily influenced the Score we prepared for the class.

We began the class with our eyes closed, listening and taking in our surroundings. I enjoy doing this at the beginning of any class and in particular Contact because it allows me to re-focus and zone into the lesson. I feel like it gives me a slight chance to be on my own and in my own mind before being in contact with another body for a long period of time after. This was then led into several different exercises that initially started the formation of a Jam. The exercises included:

• Making brief points of contact
• Being a base for someone to manipulate in any way
• Finding anchor points
• Embracing
• Controlling speed and dynamics through touch
• Improvising individually

All of these were merged together as opening starting points for contact between bodies to naturally evolve from these ideas. It was very bizarre for us to begin with a Jam as we usually end with one. However, I quite enjoyed beginning with this as I thought it was a strong way to establish connections between bodies early on in the class. It was a great chance to be independent and be in control of how we wanted to Jam instead of being led through one. I enjoyed the freedom and responsibility of allowing my body to do what felt natural and these small suggestions really helped get things moving.

We then moved on to a series of travelling movements that the girls learnt and explored at the Contact Improvisation trip at the weekend, which I was unable to attend due to another commitment. I loved the opportunity to explore these new discoveries, as it provided me with new skills and ways of moving that were interesting. We looked at:

• Surf and Roll (on stomach and back)
• Aikido Roll’s
• Headstand over partner’s table top back
• Walk over partner’s table top back

After looking at all these separately we were given the independence to experiment with all of them using in them in different orders. However, we had to remain in contact throughout the transitions of all the different ideas. I realised that the most effective to way to move was by taking my time and being in control. Moving slowly allowed the connection to remain strong. It was an excellent chance to listen to another person’s body and how they wanted to move, because the role of the over and under dancer was continuously changing. The movements felt very natural and organic which was a good feeling as everything was spontaneous and not forced, and that fluidity allowed the connection to continue.

We were asked in small groups to prepare a score to present to the class in which they would jam within the given structure. We tried to incorporate skills we find most difficult in class as rules/limitations for our score. For example a couple of our rules were:

• You can only leave the space after you have participated in a lift or some form of weight bare.
• You are not allowed to walk into the space
• Before you exit you must create some form of sound.

I believe these are areas we all struggle with as a class, so I found it helpful to be able to use them as rules as part of a Jam as it meant they had to be done. I felt that we could have been more adventurous with our staging, for example we did it ‘in the round’ which seemed slightly predictable and the norm to us.

‘The Half-Way Score’ I found was very interesting and successful in its design. The layout was very diverse and exciting to watch as an observer, due to the audience being in the middle there was two sides to watch and there was lots going on in the separate sections. I found that you could only enter with another body was a motivating approach, it really made me realise how you can enter and exit with another body instead of individually. I felt it pushed my limits and I appreciated that.

‘The Sensory Score’ was a good structure to help build on awareness, as some of the limitations were to make the space smaller, only having some people using the lower kinesphere, always having a trio going on. There was a lot to think about, but I think it was good to think about we should be are about what is going on around us sometimes, as we need to be careful and safe. As there was a lot of instruction I felt that it was quite forced instead of my body doing what it naturally wanted, but I am glad I have developed my attentiveness.

‘The Mouse Trap’ I found rather confusing, but very clever. It made me think about things I have never thought about in Contact before. For example the use of space, I mean I know how to use the space, but there was a playful element of territories and what part of the space you was allowed to enter. I felt that it made everyone move differently, it shifted the movements to being cautious, as we were being careful about where we could move. I will think about applying this into future Jams.

Overall I found the lesson very insightful. I learnt a lot of new things, which was very exciting. I feel that I have now had an intuition to what Scores are about, and I look forward to developing this knowledge further and applying this to taking part in future examples. I can see how scores can be a useful tool in helping to structure a piece of improvisation and making it more interesting. I feel that it will help prevent us from feeling like we are getting bored or stuck or falling into habitual patterns.

Works Cited

Stover, J., 1989. Some Considerations When Structuring an Improvisation (to be seen by an audience). In: V. 14, ed. Contact Quarterly’s Contact Improvisation Sourcebook. Northampton : Contact Editions , p. 185.

This session was our second Research Lab experiments. I was excited for this lesson because it a great chance to play around with ideas and thoughts that have been building up over the last few classes!

The group I was in chose to explore the following questions:

How do speed and dynamics effect a Jam situation?
We were hoping to discover how dynamics and speed can be beneficial in Jam. For example: influencing movements, breaking habitual patterns, new explorations and sensations etc.

Task
In pairs, experiment with the indication of breath and develop this into improvisation. Then increase the speed to as fast as they can go, to then bring it down to as slow as they can (internal movements).  Leading on to differentiating between the two different speeds as many times as possible.

*The dancers were split into two groups, so whilst some pairs improvised the others observed and then they swapped over.

Questions we asked

1. As the performer when did you notice habitual patterns start to occur?

1. As the observer when did you notice habitual patterns start to occur?

1. As the performer when did you feel you had the best connection with your partner?

1. Do you think that what you have discovered would benefit you in a jam?

Feedback
All of the group were very helpful with the comments they gave after our first task. I learnt that speed and dynamics do not actually relate to habitual movement patterns, most of the girls found that they were only habitual when they initiated movement as they were trying to get into the flow of moving with another body. They commented on how the faster they moved the less they had to think so therefore there movements became much more spontaneous. I personally found from observing the task that the quicker the pace of movement the less contact there was between two bodies. Unlike, when the movement was much more slow and controlled I saw the girls were mostly on the floor.

It was clear to see that breath initiation was a strong way to establish a connection before improvising. I agree with this as I talked about how I enjoyed this sensation from the class last week. I found interesting that someone said that it is much easier to not get as ‘stuck’ because you can quickly change the dynamics to make things different and new. I feel as a group we will now be more confident to mix things up in jams as we will all be used to these new skills and negotiating between a variety of speeds and dynamics.

Our second question was heavily influenced by a quote in this week’s reading What’s the score that inspired us ‘ It must be noted at this point that the manner in which the first set of dancers takes their positions is a lively part of the improvisation.’ (Keefe, et al., 2003) We feel that despite the fact Maura Keefe is talking about her structured improvisation we feel this can relate to any type movements. This is why we have chosen to explore transitions in and out of improvisation to highlight the importance on how a performer initiates their movement as it can affect what follows after.

How can transitions initiate and influence improvisation with another person?
We were expecting to learn that different transitions can initiate a more efficient way of improvising, as well as developing confidence with entrances and exits.

Task
Two people enter the space exploring as many different ways to move in as possible. Then improvise for a short period of time before moving out in a non-habitual way. Running and walking is not allowed!

Questions we asked

1. Do you feel more confident now you have experimented with different transitions?

1. After exploring with different transitions do you think this will help you in a jam situation?

1. Did it help find new and interesting ways to make contact?

 

Feedback
I was pleased that the comments were so positive from this task, as I have been questioning transitions a lot recently and now I have the skills and ideas on how to create interesting ways in and out, it was fascinating to see how the girls incorporated them into a jam style. Apparently it was easier to find less habitual connections because the movements were so spontaneous. Comments were that because different people have different intentions and ideas on how they want to move it prevents planning and movements can just happen, creating new sensations. I believe people initially feared the idea of not knowing what is going to happen, I am so glad we have overcome this and are willing to let things happen in the moment.

All of the groups looked at speed and dynamics in one way or another. This was a question that has obviously become apparent to everyone in the group, including myself, over the last few weeks. Therefore I found it an excellent way to explore and discover new things about my body involving these changes of a variation of speed and dynamics.

From my personal experience from the other group’s tasks today I have discovered and learnt many new things about my body and how I feel during improvisation. I found it more difficult to keep in contact when moving at a high intensity as I become cautious about causing injuries and collisions, as I did get kicked in the head as one point in this session. I also felt that when I tried to make points of contact with another person, they were not as meaningful and purposeful when moving quicker and most of the time the other body did not even respond to it. The general vibe that came out of fast and high intensity movements was that there was less controlled and everything felt rushed, leading to missing opportunities for lifts.

I need to become aware that another body can influence my speed and dynamics and I need to make quick decisions about whether I want to go with or against this choice. I now value decisions much more in jam situations as everything can happen very rapidly and unexpectedly. I also need to appreciate that I can have power to impact on others. I feel I have become much better at feeding into and off people and picking up different qualities of movement people have.

What I found most difficult throughout these Research Labs was finding safe ways to incorporate lifts into jams. I felt very awkward trying to move fluidly into a lift, this is definitely something I need to work on. I felt that there was also tension created when also trying to establish who is being lifted when in a suitable position, think links back to how I need to make quicker decision and trust other bodies more. However, I did enjoy the new raw movements came out of this experiment. I tried my best to keep lifts elevated and move with a dancer in the air instead of being in fear and just making them rushed.

I found this week’s reading very difficult, I think this is due to the fact that I have not learnt about Scores yet. I feel that as we are moving onto this topic more next week I need to plan ahead and research this so I am not falling behind.

Works Cited

Keefe, M., Albright, A. C. & Gere, D., 2003. What’s the Score? Structured Improvisation as National Pastime. In: Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improovisation Reader. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, pp. 229 – 238.



This lesson was our second session on flight and going up into the air. I was excited for this class as I was ready to develop on the skills I learnt last week!

We discussed last week’s contact jam as some of the girls were feeling apprehensive about how it went, due to the fact it was the longest period of time we had jammed for and there were new bodies in the room. I felt it was good to talk about it as I think it brought ease to some people’s mind. I learnt that it is normal for movements to not feel good/well connected with another body, because it may actually look interesting to watch to an observer despite it not feeling ‘right’ internally and physically for the Contacters.  I have begun to appreciate that I need to remain open minded about what can actually happen in a jam as many different opportunities can arise; involving changes of speed, dynamic  etc. I need to recognise that it is okay to not be in contact with someone the entire time, there can be moments of separation and playing around in the space with one another without the aspect of touch.  I do find it scary that we have new bodies now joining in with the contact jams; however I understand how great it is to have these new experiences and it also prevents falling into habitual patterns with the usual bodies we move with.  I found that this linked in with something I read in Exposed to Gravity ‘What is most important to remember is that each body disabled or not is unique and presents another opportunity to explore what movement is possible.’ (Curtis & Ptashek, 1988, p. 157)

In class we looked at two videos of two different contact improvisation duets. In the first video we saw The Play of Weight the duet was between a man and woman. It was clear to me as an observer that the male was the most dominant and was predominantly the under dancer. Unlike the other video Mina&Otto who was also a mixed gender couple. This couple had an equal shared balance between who was the over and under dancer. Watching these videos made me realise that it does not matter about sex, height or weight etc. to be able to establish who the most leading partner is. When moving there should be no muscular tension and bodies should be able to move and work as one. This makes me think that I do not need to worry and panic about giving my weight to someone who is smaller or less stronger than myself as when done correctly movements should have no strain. However, I do need to consider not giving or taking ‘weight without listening for the agreement of your partner’s body.’ (Curtis & Ptashek, 1988, p. 158)

We began the physical side of the lesson with improvisation on our own down the room involving:

• Spirals
• Coming up and going down repeatedly
• Rolling
• Creating loud sounds
• Being quiet with our bodies
• Allowing our bodies to absorb into the floor

This was a great way to start the class, as I personally struggle with improvisation, and we have not improvised on our own since the beginning of the module. It was a chance to go back and explore this, and I felt that I was in moment much more and my improvisation has progress a lot. It was a good chance to develop my confidence again as our focus from this has expanded into new areas.

One of the key principles of Contact Improvisation that we looked as today was Surf and Roll! This idea allows the bodies to keep moving and prevents bodies from getting stuck. It made me think:

How can we sustain contact through our torsos?

We then moved onto an exercise that helped me explore this query. In pairs one laid on the floor (back on the floor) and the other lay on top of them horizontally (belly buttons together). We then had to listen and feel for our partner’s breath and initiate movement from this connection of breath I found it easy to feel my partners breath as ‘breathing is done through the diaphragm with each breath being shallow.’ (Curtis & Ptashek, 1988, p. 157) However, I found it difficult to keep the torso’s attached as I wanted to use other body parts, but I thought it was a good way to initiate movements, and it actually led me to find new movements with a partner that I have not experienced as there was a lot of rolling around each other. It was nice to feel the constant change between being the over dancer and then the under dancer instead of primarily being one or the other.

I learnt that there are certain parts of the body that are great ‘anchor points’ for example the hips and shoulders. These points can easily facilitate weight and I plan on using these areas more to move/lift a body. I feel that these are two of the strongest places and I can see why a lot of the lifts we have looked at are positioned around these two anchor points.

One of the questions I asked myself last week was:

How can you incorporate lifts into a jam?

This week I learnt that whilst in a lift if the movement keeps going, instead of just being static it is a much easier way to find exits. As the lifts are only briefly in the air and are a good way to travel and create transitions!

The see-saw lift was interesting today, as I was able to achieve it with Ellie who is much taller than myself, and was not successful with Emma who is that same height as me. I found this fascinating as I thought it would be easier for people with the same body physique. This lift required the ‘scooping down to get up’ principle we looked at last week. I find this tool an excellent way to find the momentum for the flight.

I struggled with the ‘aikido roll’ in pairs in the session. I think this is due to the fact that my rolls seem to end up going to the side rather than forwards. I need to work on this roll before attempting with other people. I also think that if my partner pulled my hips in the right direction this would also help this movement come easier to me.

Trust has been an idea I have always wondered about throughout this module. I believe my trusting skills have improved and will keep growing. I think as the new skills I learn become more difficult I need to keep working on relying on other bodies more. ‘Learning where and how one’s contact partner senses and carries their center of gravity is essential to the development of trust and physical rapport.’ (Curtis & Ptashek, 1988, p. 160)  Especially, in these lifts because someone else is becoming responsible for my body and vice-versa.

A quote that I found inspiring from this week’s reading Exposed to Gravity was ‘An essential quality of improvisation is an appreciation of what is taking place within the present moment of one’s awareness.’ (Curtis & Ptashek, 1988, p. 160) I honestly can say that I do not appreciate what is happening at the time as I am so focussed on what is happening. Therefore I have learnt I need to develop this skill more and just enjoying being in the moment.

The Contact Jam for me this week was very motivating. We were joined by many other new bodies which was very daunting but great experience at the same time. Kirsty showed us how to create ‘conversations’ between two bodies without creating contact. I really enjoyed this, as it produced a playful atmosphere. It was also an easier way to experiment with different speed and dynamics, as I did not have the pressure of having to be in contact with someone else. I think this skill is really going to help progress and develop my confidence in Contact Improvisation.

Next week, we will be doing another Research Lab. I think this will be a good class as we have developed many more skills to work and experiment with in these explorations. I look forward to creating new discoveries, and hopefully finding the answers too many of my questions.

Works Cited

Curtis, B. & Ptashek, A., 1988. Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quarterly. Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I. Vol. 13. ed. s.l.:s.n.

We had our first ever Contact Improvisation session on Flight! I was feeling quite apprehensive about this class however, I came with a positive attitude ready to give anything a go. I could sense some of the nerves in the room, as I can understand that the majority of us were scared about being taken off the floor completely into somebody else’s responsibility.

We started the class with the usual travelling steps involving release technique and getting used to putting weight into our hands and going upside down. I feel I am getting much stronger at these and I think I am benefiting from doing these every week. I have noticed that sometimes I do not place my hands flat on the floor which is causing strain in my fingers and not giving me full support in my hands and arms. If I work on this I think my strength and base will be sturdier for me to put weight into. I think as a class we lack upper body strength, and this is something we need to work on, which is why I find it great when we do planks and press ups etc. in the warm-up. Developing this strength will lead to making these travelling steps a strong way to transition in and out of improvisation. These have helped me a lot with answering my question in Blog 3 about ‘How can transitions become smoother?’ These skills have been a great learning tool to discover the answer to this exploration.

We were then led into a small Contact Improvisation exercise with a partner. This was to allow our bodies to get used to being in contact again after having a week off for Reading Week the previous week. I honestly felt not as fluid as I usually do, despite Kirsty saying that me and my partner, Ellie looked very comfortable together. It was a good exercise to allow us to ease our way into contacting with one another. Throughout this exercise I tried to incorporate some of the mid-term feedback I received from Kirsty. She told me that I tend to be a ‘listener’ when I am improvising with another, meaning I do not lead. So in class I worked a lot on being the ‘talker’ so I used my body to manipulate and push Ellie’s body around the space. I found this easiest with me guiding her head. I also tried on allowing my head to be relaxed, as Kirsty has noticed I carry tension in my neck and don’t allow my head and neck to release and flow with my movements. I think this is because of my lack of confidence, I think I continuously look up and around at what other people are doing instead of being in the moment. This is something I really need to develop, the ability to let go and be free. This connected to what I read in Center of Gravity by Ann Woodhull, because she talks about how Contact is about sharing and communication between bodies, instead of over thinking the movements. (Woodhull, 1978 – 1979, p. 48) I have realised that I sometimes have great moments when I a fully let go and I am fluid with my movements but then I stop and start thinking, and I need to resist this temptation.

I learnt that the most important skill to have during contact lifts is to scoop under to get up! This means you have to go down to have the momentum to get good height up into the air. Another key skill to have when being lifted is to carry no muscular tension, relaxing the muscles makes you feel lighter to the lifter. One of the first weight bearing exercises we did, involved one person being in table top position on the floor, the other person then laid their back on to their partners and flipped their legs over. I found that this was another good example of a transition or movement to get out of a lift or balance etc.

The second exercise we looked at was ‘superman’ which involved one person lying down with their knees into their chest whilst the other put all their weight into the lifter’s feet to create the effect of flying. I struggled with this exercise, I think that was due to the fact I did not feel comfortable putting my weight into my partner Claire, as she is much smaller than myself. I felt that this idea of ‘going down to come up’ really came into play with this exercise, especially when we took away the use of our arms. As the lifter I had to really bend in my legs to get the momentum to lift my partner into the air, the deeper my legs plied the easier the flight came.

I found it interesting that some of the exercises throughout the class came really easy to me and others I struggled with. For example I found the exercise where I was lifting and being lifted onto the side of the body, where the principle of scooping under to get up applied. I found that this technique worked really well which is why I grasped these tasks easier. Unlike where someone was throwing their body and I had to catch them. Some of these lifts are going to take practise to be able to make them flow and secure. I think learning these new skills this work is really going to help develop and progress our movement in our jam sessions.

I was disappointed that I was not able to work on some other feedback I received from Kirsty, which was to experiment with pace and dynamic. I have also noticed that I seem to stay on the same level and there is no light and shade with in my movement. It made me think:

How does pace and dynamic affect movement?

This is similar to a question I first asked myself in the first week of Contact Improvisation. I feel that now I have developed the right skills to be able to contact well I can now experiment with these ideas and I look forward to playing around with this concept more in the future Contact Jams.

As the main focus of the reading this week was ‘Centre of Gravity’ it was fascinating to keep that in my mind through the class. I thought a good statement that defines centre of gravity is ‘the point around which the body is perfectly balanced.’ (Woodhull, 1978 – 1979, p. 43) I found it interesting how  my body instinctively remained in balance and centered whilst I was moving. This linked in with how Ann Woodhull describes this consciousness ‘We change center of gravity when we change shape, and often compensate so automatically that we aren’t even aware of it.’ (Woodhull, 1978 – 1979, p. 46) I love how clever the body is! I think a strong statement she makes is ‘In Contact Improvisation, we purposely change center of gravity in order to move.’ (Woodhull, 1978 – 1979, p. 47) Meaning everything in our body automatically happens. I learnt that there is so many different things going on in the body that I am so unaware of when I am moving. However, I need to keep my mind unaware of these things whilst contacting so I can go with the feeling of my body. It is a good thing to be aware about when learning where the body weight should be and centered in order to achieve the best potential in certain movements. It also applies especially to all the new skills I have learnt in this session as we are becoming responsible for other peoples bodies.

I look forward at developing my flight skills further next week!

Surprisingly, this week I thoroughly enjoyed the Contact Jam. Unlike all of the other girls  who said they did not feel in the moment and zone this week. I felt that I was much more confident and daring with my choices. I contacted with nearly all of the people in the room, and I focussed a lot on changing my speed throughout the time of contact.  Changing my speed and dynamic made the movements seem much more spontaneous and I enjoyed this sensation of not knowing what is going to happen next. I was very happy with my progression this week, I hope it continues!

 

Works Cited

Woodhull, A., 1978 – 1979. Contact Quarterly’s Contact Improvisation Sourcebook. Center of Gravity. Vol.4 ed. Northampton: Contact Editions.