Key practitioners and playing with tone
The Skin: the outer surface of the brain (Heitkamp, 2003, 260)
The Brain: the deepest layer of skin (Heitkamp, 2003, 260)
Before this first session of contact improvisation I imagined two separate bodies sculpting shapes, rolling and lifting one another, in a slow, yet athletic and impressive way. I thought too much about the individual, about myself, but it is safer to care about the person you are in contact with. It is important to look after your partner and have an exchange of care. I also had the preconception that there was a specific body type required for contact improvisation. However, the shape and the weight of the body does not always matter, it is how you use your weight. I found it helpful to simply think of it as movement, with a focus on control.
This first session brought to my awareness the difference between choreographed contact and improvised contact. Choreographed tends to be quicker, with weight being thrown around and it appears to be riskier, for example in the video Humansex the girl propels and throws herself through the air to be caught by the man, there is a loss of contact and they are flung together, whereas in contact improvisation a point of contact is maintained; it is slower, more casual, with less performance and a strong focus on the partnership. The video Angela Donny and Athos Contact improvisation displays this, as there is communication and points of the body are clearly offered, working with the idea of anchors and leavers.
We experimented with a response task, with weight, momentum and touch. Heitkamp quotes that ‘whoever touches the surfaces moves the depths’ (Heitkamp, 2003, 264) therefore, the way that the skin is touched affects the type of movement. Sharp prods limit the range, whereas touch with different dynamics can create unhabitual movement. We discovered that it is more effective when the point of contact is maintained for longer. The person who is touching can become more involved, by changing their levels and extending and elongating the movement. To develop from this I could move more slowly and have less resistance. Throughout this task and the closed eye walking game I felt explorative yet isolated at times, however this did heighten other senses and helped me to focus on myself and direct the gaze inwards, as one should in duets (Heitkamp, 2003, 262).
I am undecided if closing my eyes made me feel more explorative or isolated, similarly was it comforting or intimidating being in such close proximity with the other bodies? I found that closing my eyes made me more tentative, however it made me listen to other bodies, I connected on a corporeal level rather than just through eye contact. Also being in close proximity when we were moving on the floor with a body part connected to somebody else, felt comfortable and made it more natural, you did not have to deliberately create a point of touch, it happened.
During the partner trust work, I noticed that it is important to put more weight onto your partner, to create balance and control. As we were new to these exercises it did not feel as if we had ‘a sense of unity provided by the feeling of a shared “center”’ (Heitkamp, 2003, 259). We need to think about the shared centre point, moving as a whole body, for example as we walked shoulder to shoulder the point was the two arms connected to create one centre line. There were a few moments when it worked, but as our trust, focus and familiarity develops this should improve. `
Overall, interior techniques, including images, observations, visual continuity and consciousness are needed for the unexpected movements. Mental attitude is important, to focus, take responsibility for others and zone in and out (let the reflexes take you to something unexpected). Paxton says that ‘contact improvisation constantly challenges one’s orientation: visual, directional, balance and where in the body the consciousness is positioned’ (Paxton, 2003, 178) and at times I did feel dizzy, I walked with my eyes closed and did not know where in the room I was or who I was in contact with, but at other times you feel a balance and a flow with another person, which aids a fulfilled experience. I imagine threads from each body connecting or sparking against threads from the environment and other bodies, each with different messages and interior techniques, coming together to create a web of movement. A web, like a glass bubble, a zone. Creative movement from the different bodies. The bodies are permeable and an ‘internal sense of self’ (Heitkamp, 2003, 258) focuses the individual and radiates. Our skin and brain are connected in a deeper sense than we are aware; our skin is not the only surface that thinks and connects.
Paxton, S. Drafting Interior Techniques. In Stark-Smith, N. A Subjective History of Contact Improvisation. In Albright, A. C., & Gere, D. (2003). Taken by surprise: A dance improvisation reader. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan. University Press.
Heitkamp, D. (2003). Moving from the Skin: An Exploratorium. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook II, Vol. 28:2. Pp.
La La La Humansteps. (1980) Lala Humansex. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRt5Y439dvU
Angela Donny and Athos. (2009) Contact Improvisation. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Angela+Donny+and+Athos.+%282009%29+Contact+Improvisation.