The lesson started off by watching two videos, whilst watching these we were asked to think about things that we do and what we do not do whilst in contact improvisation jams, the thing I noticed that I did not do were;
- Keep the contact flowing
- Connect with different/harder parts of my body
- Explore movements/ contact in detail
- Move in at different paces, I always move at a slow pace
- Trust people as much as I should do
The difference between us and the people in the videos is that:
- They were all smooth and flowing
- They all listen to each other’s bodies
- It shows that when you fall out of something, you can find and create new movement from it
- Their focus was on the connection of the side of the body and the torso (RoehamptonDance, 2011)
- They were always offering someone something
There was always Fluidity and momentum, which as a collective we do not have.
This weeks’ lesson was all about Nancy Stark Smith’s Underscore. To introduce this to us we watched a video GLOBAL UNDERSCORE with Nancy Stark Smith, the difference between a Contact improvisation jam and the Underscore is that with the score there are rules to follow and these will normally be spoken and everyone moves as a collective. There are many parts to this score, unlike when we learnt about scores last year in improvisation.
I was very surprised with this score, as I did not think I would enjoy doing it! To start off with it felt too structured but once you get into the flow of moving with the bodies in the space it becomes natural too you, as you do not think of the score as a set of rules, it becomes a list of tools that you use to help you when you get stuck with people or when you get stuck on the edge of the ‘Open Score’. During this score, I worked in a trio twice, and personally I felt like it flowed a lot better in comparison to when I have tried to work with others in previous jams. I also l achieved the things that I do not normally do and it was interesting to feel how using different parts of the body, like the side to connect. When doing, weight bearing movements I was not just the lifter, Casey lifted me off the ground and it felt nice to be able to trust someone with your weight, when doing this I did not pre-empt the movement with my partner of trio. They one thing I did struggle to do whilst in the open score was to explore pace, I worked slowly and steady, but I have not dared to move fast, as I am scared to fall, however I have discovered that falling is a way of finding new movements, another thing was we did the Underscore for over half an hour and it was so challenging to keep up the energy without having a break for a drink, or a quick breather, like we do in ‘normal’ jams.
Thursday nights jam, was not very successful for me as once it turned into the ‘Open Score’. As soon as I came out I could feel the pain from my back and it was irritating me, so I struggled to get back in, I found that this knocked my confidence as on Tuesdays session I did not want to come out of the circle.
Bibliography:
PERFORM fundacja artystyczna (2014) GLOBAL UNDERSCORE with Nancy Stark Smith
Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOGLMZdm2uA [accessed 29 November 2016].
Kanał użytkownika szimi82 (2012) Poland Contact Improvisation Festival – Warsaw Flow 2012 – Jam. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyaHk7KN9bY [accessed 29 November 2016].
RoehamptonDance (2011) Contact Improvisation Jam 20th May 2011
Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdKZlryJ4HY [accessed 29 November 2016].