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
- As the performer when did you notice habitual patterns start to occur?
- As the observer when did you notice habitual patterns start to occur?
- As the performer when did you feel you had the best connection with your partner?
- 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
- Do you feel more confident now you have experimented with different transitions?
- After exploring with different transitions do you think this will help you in a jam situation?
- 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.