We began today with the six Makko-Ho stretches and the six patterns of total body connectivity to warm the different parts of our bodies up. I am starting to find that I know the stretches and that I can complete a large portion of these once prompted, they are also becoming a lot easier to complete and I have found that by stretching in my own time as well as in lectures, I am able to stretch a bit further and with ease than when I first started.
After this we began working in pairs, one partner allowed smoe of their weight to be held by the other who remained in a still position, we tried this in various positions so that by the end the stationary person was also experimenting different positions such as lying on the floor or kneeling down.
After practising this idea for a while, we were then split into two groups of roughly ten people. We were given basic instructions to perform an improvised piece lasting roughly two minutes. The basic instructions included, focusing on the pace we used, either being in the performance space or not at any time it felt appropriate, and to use what had already been practised (leaning on other people). As a group, without any pre-discussions, we were able to tell a story through our movements, without any communication or words. As the exercise continued, I struggled to maintain a high level of energy as I began to experience cramp in different parts of my body.
As the other group performed, I was able to create a story from their actions in the same way and thought some of the aspects used were incredibly effective such as having a few characters copying off another to create a chain of people doing the same thing.
This week I discovered that some of the things practised in earlier weeks such as allowing the body to fall to the floor in a connected way were slightly easier. I also thought that during the exercise of leaning on others that this allowed me to feel powerful and strong compared to the person who was leaning on me as they relied on me heavily. On the other hand, I also felt very relieved and joyous when I was being supported by someone as I felt safe and that they were there for me.
On 11/10/2012 I went to a performance at Dance City in Newcastle. It is a devised piece of physical theatre called 'Not Until We Are Lost' from a company called Ockham's Razor. They specialise in aerial theatre which combines circus and visual theatre on original equipment which explores relationships between people in the air. From the moment the performance began I was blown away by the high level of risk taken by the performers with very minimal safety equipment. The performance involved a lot of strength and stamina and the level of trust between the performers was incredible. I found that some of the aspects mirrored what we are practising within movement, especially as we are now beginnning to explore our bodies collaboratively with other people.
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