Rolling points, interchangeable role of under and over dancer
‘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)