Part 1
1.1
There must always be three dancers in a squat position and two in a standing position.
You are stood in a line.
You must use your peripheral vision.
1.2
There must always be three dancers at the back and two at the front.
You must use your peripheral vision.
1.3
There must always be a trio.
There must always be 2 solos.
1.4 Anything Goes…
An open score with no restrictions.
Thoughts
I raise the issue of attachment yet again as this week I feel I have taken a step closer in combating the issue.
I see in 1.4 (the open score) that a trio is always present, perhaps this is because it was established early on and people feel comfortable in the safety of a trio.
I find myself trying to destroy the trio, using impulse to pull people away. Old me would have been happy for the established grouping to remain. New me wants rid.
But it doesn’t work out, as soon as I’ve taken someone away, a new person is there to take the place. It was almost as if the trio had become habitual to the score, to me it became its defining feature.
In retrospect I question why I did not bring back any of the features of sections 1.1 and 1.2. I am still questioning it now.
If I had, maybe the transitions from each step would have felt more connected. But we can never no for certain, the moment has passed.
The only conclusion I can arrive at is that an open score is too open. At the moment anyway. It seems odd that there are no restrictions or limitations to movement. I had too many ideas to put into play, I need to be more selective of what I bring to the score.
Part 2:
Write down your thoughts on improvisation and come up with a question or statement.
Through improvisation are old habitual movements replaced with new ones?
I pose this question as I was uncertain of the answer. In improvisation we find new and interesting ways of moving, but do the movements filter into our way of moving , merely leading to a new habitual movement vocabulary. I intend to find the answer in these remaining weeks.
Create your own score.
We followed the framework of Anna Halprin and her RSVP cycle.
R is for the resources available to you.
S is for scores, which dictated components such as time and space.
V is for valuaction, the feedback throughout the process.
P is for performancce. (Worth and Poyner, 2004, 1112)
What is your motivation? Habitual movements.
What resources are available to you? 5 dancers, with a common interest in the habitual.
Our score is as follows:
* One person enters the space, using their habitual movements.
* An interpreter enters the space, they interpret the movement of the habitual mover, showing how habitual movements can be taken and changed, so that they are not so habitual.
* Another habitual mover enters the space.
* Another interpreter enters the space.
* A manipulator enters the space.
* Any person may then leave the space and enter in a different role.
Limitations:
* There must only be one manipulator in the space.
* The manipulator cannot use their hands to manipulate.
* The manipulator can use their voice.
Our score takes an influence from Thomas Lehmen’s Funktionen (Husemann, 2005)
It works better on paper than it does in practice.
Issue 1 – It is hard for the audience to identify the habitual patterns of the performer.
Issue 2 – The movement of the habitual mover and interpreter are too similar.
Next week we will aim to make the score function more clearly.
Husemann, P. (2005) The Functioning of Thomas Lehmen’s Funktionen. Dance Theatre Journal, 21 (1) 31-35.
Worth, L. and Poynor, H. (2004) Anna Halprin. London: Routledge.
