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.