Can we ever be still? Still in thought. Still in ourselves. Still physically. Can we control stillness? How does it make us feel? Does one feel stillness, even though there may not be such a thing? Is there a dialogue between two bodies when there is stillness? How do you maintain a constant dialogue with your partner whilst moving?

The video Small Dance shows that there is no such thing as stillness in the body. There are variances in the skeleton, slight movements and a rocking motion. According to Brown “awareness of the small dance implies the opening of freer communication within the body” (Brown, 1980-81, 75). Standing still and focusing on this concept, I felt as though I was swinging, I felt dizzy and the blood rushed to my hands. Does my body do this all the time, I am just unaware of it? It was hard not to give into reflexes as areas felt tense, once I could give into reflexes the movements felt more meaningful, I could stretch further and move faster. It also made me feel more comfortable falling back into the arms of other dancers in the following exercise, as I trusted my skeletal system. I felt grounded, which links to Ravn’s idea that “putting the body in a position in which the muscles do not need to work and that instead you kind of stand and are able to balance more on the skeletal structure” (Ravn, 2010, 24). So far in my practice I have sensed sensations, my skin, other bodies, my body but never my skeletal system, so this was a new experience and has helped with managing my weight, gravity and mass, as I feel I can move in a more grounded and weighted way, which should aid control. I can manage and sense my weight. This links to personal responsibility and how one needs to alter their weight depending on the dance technique, as “dancers’ sensations of their weighted physical mass differ according to their different movement techniques” (Ravn, 2010, 32). In release I am trying to be more relaxed, weighted and not resisting gravity but not letting it control my body. It is also “actively influenced by other dancers movement” (Ravn, 2010, 31) as contacting is a shared process and our senses are affected by other bodies and the surroundings.

Personal responsibility is addressed over the two texts, in terms of controlling your own weight, the care of others and moving efficiently and functionally: “being functional as a principle of moving is integral to contact for safety, speed and ease” (Brown, 1980-82, 73). I discovered this when falling to the floor and developing bruises, I need to reduce the impact and release into the floor more. It can also aid momentum and flow.

“How do you manage a constant dialogue with your partner?” During our research lab we explored this through the eyes, touch and sound. We found out that that there were mixed reactions and each individual needs to find out what works for them the best. Some said that it was difficult to maintain eye contact, as the face is full of emotion and they could not focus, however some found a deep connection when the eyes were closed, as “we can close our eyes or cover our eyes, we cannot turn off our skin” (Heitkamp, 2003, 261 ). Some found that they “lost” their partners body when they had their eyes closed. Using certain points of touch was helpful as we gave the dancers unusual body parts, such as the knee and elbow, our feedback told us that it was challenging and when they were given the choice of a body part to use many stuck to a safe option, using the hands. Some enjoyed experimenting with sound and having more things to think about, it felt spontaneous; however some found it awkward and would prefer to be told a specific sound, dynamic or image. Overall, our research has informed us that during a jam you need to learn be active, present and use the different methods to connect, one may not work with a specific individual so you need to try another. If something goes wrong you need to enter the space again and not let that create a barrier or fear. So how do you maintain the dialogue when one person wants to lift and one does not? How do you establish who is the over or under dancer if you are both trying to be the same one? Once you leave the bad space after having a negative experience, how do you enter again? I have learnt that I need to enter the space again and improvise on my own for a while to feel comfortable and if I do start to work with a new body I need a fresh mind and perspective. Each week will vary and I need to learn to let go, let go of things that go wrong and if I have an idea in my head that I am going to be a certain role I need to have the openness and spontaneity to let that change and experiment.

Brown, B. Is Contact a Small Dance? Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I. Vol. 6

Heitkamp, D. (2003). Moving from the Skin: An Exploratorium. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook II, Vol. 28:2. Pp.

Paxton, S. (2009) Small Dance. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJKEXUtv44 (Accessed 19^th October 2016)

Sensing weight in movement’. Full text available By: Ravn, Susanne Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, 2010, Vol. 2 Issue 1

“The encouragement of a radically participatory, active subject – capable of acting assertively and attentively in determining its own life, liberty and happiness – was and is CI’s political potential” (Paxton, 2010, 129).

Contact improvisation has the force to impact our lives. Contact has progressed and spiralled into something else since it was first presented by Steve Paxton in 1972. This can be identified in the videos Magnesium 1972 and Earth Dance 2010. During Magnesium there is crashing, falling and crowding. It is like a series of harsh waves. It ends with five minutes of standing still; however through my practice I have realised that standing still is not stillness, one has to balance two legs and it exemplifies our reliance on gravity. This links to Lepkoff’s idea of “being present”, tuning into the space and listening to the movement and vibrations in stillness (Lepkoff, 2005, 2). In contrast Earthdance is a smooth, gliding and soft current. It is calming and continuous and uses rolling points on a low and medium kinesphere, exploring the interchangeable roles of the under and over dancer. Unlike Magnesium, there is a constant conversation, using different types of touch, balance and release. The change in style could mirror a change in society, culture and historical context. What we know affects how we move, as Lepkoff says that “movement dialogue is highly composed and full of personalized knowledge, sensuality and imagination” (Lepkoff, 2005, 2) our surroundings melt into our skin and each person is different.

At times in our lives we feel isolated and out of control, contact improvisation has the power to supply the dancer with personal decision making authority, so they can confidently determine their own lives, whilst feeling liberated and happy (Paxton, 2010, 129). This has helped me in other modules and was also highlighted in yoga. If we are faced with a challenge, it is important not to give up, we should hold for a little longer or find a way to get through it. In contact we can become stuck or feel anxious, but we need to find a way to maintain the flow, we should be determined, creative and adventurous. The power of thought is incredible, which was shown when Nancy Stark Smith was dropped, but her body absorbed the shock, it shows that what the body can do to survive is faster than thought.

Activating the eyes and head assisted easier changes of direction and level. Last week I identified tension in my upper back and neck, this week allowed me to explore a free floating neck and a more flexible spine. My head was supported by my partner and I felt as though I could drop my head more, linking to the power of gravity, and I found a circling action, which links to Alexander Technique with the floating head and the interplay between the primary and secondary curves, which allows for more space in the joints and range of movement. We also moved with our head connected to the floor and this affected my vision, the floor appeared to be a longer stretch of blurred grey, the bodies looked bigger and when my vision was down I felt trapped. As I moved backwards, it felt similar to what Lepkoff describes as “panning”, the space moves, which can affect you, for example feeling as though space is pushing against you and you are falling backwards. It is important to become submerged into the space, there is a reading that you need to take, similar to reading a book, you have to focus on each letter and not just the page to find meaning, you can track how the space moves, so more than just bodies are moving and connecting, it could be as simple as being influenced by moving dust (Lepkoff, 2005, 3). Focus can also help you to move more assertively, linking to choice and political power, I also recognised this in the partner work with the Aikido roll as looking behind me gave me momentum. Vision leads you and can connect bodies with decision making and coordination. There should be a connection of all the senses with the bodies and environment surrounding you: “on the level of perception, the movement of the eyes is inseparable from the images of the space” (Lepkoff, 2005, 3) our eyes should be active and not a glaze we hide behind, our eyes have freedom to lead us, take in information and connect.

Finally, in a typical dance class, as Paxton describes, we are isolated and afraid of proximity (Paxton, 2010, 124). We stand in our own space with the external pressure from those higher in the hierarchy pounding upon us. Our eyes are focused upon ourselves and our external image. In the jam the hierarchical power relations were different, there was equality and I could make my own decisions. I found the partner work fragmented and difficult, as we rolled over the under dancer doing an aikido roll, put our weight on our partners back and wind milled our legs over, put our head on the floor and arched over. At one point me and my partner struggled to counter balance so we stepped out of the circle, once we left the circle it was hard to enter and the energy felt slightly lower this week. So I need to consider how to get back into the zone and move forward. There were some creative moments though, as I explored new found skills, such as using the head and eye contact. It has brought to my attention that things can go wrong, we need to be safe, but this is part of the practice and development; it is better to be explorative. I felt aware of my reflexive reactions at times, which created flowing movement, undisturbed by social expectations, habits or pressures. I felt energized and daring. The freedom of my head and eyes, literally, physically and metaphorically in terms of being free from social or political pressures and having my own authority, also aided this (Paxton, 2010, 126).

Steve Paxton’s “Interior Techniques”: Contact Improvisation and Political Power. Full Text Available By: Turner, Robert. TDR: The Drama Review, Fall2010, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p123-135, 13p, 5 Black and White Photographs

Lepkoff, D. (2005) The Movement of Attention. Available at:

http://www.daniellepkoff.com/Writings/Daniel%20Simone%20Interview.php (Accessed 12^th October 2016)

Paxton, S. (1972) Magnesium. Available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FeSDsmIeHA (Accessed 12th October 2016)

Nellis, B and Brando. (2010) Earthdance. Available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQRF2sLK1vY (Accessed 12th October 2016)

‘Touch is the parent of our eyes, ears, nose and mouth’ (Bannon and Holt, 218, 2012). It provides us with a sense of reality, a connection between our inner self and the outside world, it can influence reactions, emotions and how others move.

Proprioception relates to stimuli produced within an organism, it informs us where our body is and what we are doing, it organises our body for the movement that comes next (Marchesani, 2015). It is one step ahead. We should aim to have higher levels of proprioceptive awareness, as it will create a more balanced body, with a sense of self, improving our awareness of our anatomy and alignment. It can ‘bring a freshness of attention that you might appreciate as new sensory knowledge of your own anatomy and recognized in the context of your being’ (Bannon and Holt, 218, 2012).

The first touch exercise improved my sensory knowledge. My partner placed one hand between my shoulder blades and one on my lower back and pressed her hands away from each other which lengthened my spine, it also made me realise how tense my upper back and shoulders are, now that it has been brought to my attention I can focus specifically on loosening them. My partner then slowly released her hands, but I could still feel the connection and force. The concept of ‘not touching’ is just as powerful, as you can still feel a connection, a slow brushing action close to the body can initiate the dancer to turn freely. As my partner laid over me it brought to my awareness the under and over dancer and how they can connect, for example we tried to connect our breathing and in one partnership as one laughed it caused the other to laugh from the movement of her chest. Sensory knowledge was also essential in the frame exercise. One partner created a frame on a low, medium and high kinsephere for the other partner to put weight onto. Sensory knowledge was essential as many of us could not balance, so we need to know our bodies more and find interesting, yet stable positions.

We can strive to increase our proprioceptive reactions, but it is also acceptable at this stage to go back to a safe place, for example in the back to back exercise as we explored we returned to this position, in order to refresh. But, how do we remake contact once it is broken? It is important to always offer something, a body part, momentum or touch; we are striving to eliminate a clear leader or points of awkwardness, and to work equally as one. If the duet do become stuck, the under dancer could roll and the over dancer needs to be relaxed, with no resistance and let their body release to keep it flowing. In order to achieve this we need to consider interchangeable roles, it is important to not stick to one role but to try something new. I found that I often acted as the under dancer as I find it really hard to give my whole weight to one person and release, especially with the pressure of an audience, but I feel that our trust is improving and I am enjoying being creative. I discovered how vast the back is, with possibilities such as pushing, folding, relaxing, twisting and wrapping. There were so many angles and types of initiation and rolling points (in which you can roll or slide), which prohibited habitual movement as you could experiment with the rolling point, pushing against it, following it through or altering the weight. This variety enabled it to flow at times, as though we were unconsciously moving, Marchesani quotes that the ‘unconscious part of our brain is ten millions time faster than the conscious one’ (Marchesani, 2015).

Entering our jam on Thursday evening with the glow of the cathedral we were told to bring into the circle of trust what we had learnt so far, this seemed slightly limiting as we had only had two classes and it was new to most of us; however it surprised me how creative and flowing it was. At first I felt anxious entering the space, but once I had pushed through the wall of breath, I felt connected, comfortable and explorative. The music really aided the experience and as our class are familiar with each other we created nice bonds. I felt that my body was more flexible and supple as I moved in the space, when I dance alone I often hesitate and do not dance with a free flow, however the touch of my partner and the fact that I got into positions and the only way to get out of it was to release and roll, or go into a backbend made my body move in a different way, but still reflecting my individual style. It was also just as impactful and helpful watching the other bodies move, taking a step back and learning from each other. I found walking, running and doing simple movements such as a sway were good starting points, you feel as though you start simply but it develops into something complex and intriguing. I felt as if it was social interaction, especially when people had a clear character, made noises and communicated deeply, creating stories.

Overall, I believe that the extent in which you can communicate through contact is very high. Although during some exercises we fell in and out of communication, you can learn to avoid this by interchangeable roles, always offering something, experimenting with the dynamics of touch, not touching and by becoming more comfortable with your own body and the bodies with you. What makes contact improvisation so interesting and current is that it will change with whoever you improvise with, as Bannon and Holt point out that ‘we can think of the skin as animated, as a lively border crossing of social interaction’ (Bannon and Holt, 220, 2012).

Bannon, Fiona; Holt, Duncan. (2012) Touch: Experience and knowledge, Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices Vol. 3.

Marchesani, M. (2015) Available at: https://www.facebook.com/notes/michele-marchesani/contact-improvisation-and-the-missing-step/10153294881806865/ (Accessed: 5 October 2016)

Fundamentals of Contact Improvisation