This week we warmed up using some Qigong techniques, mainly focusing on the shifting of weight from one foot to the other in a rocking motion, we then added the arms to make the movement bigger and more energetic. I found that this technique of warming up was particularly effective in focusing the breath and using all parts of the body. I was even more intrigued when I found that Adele used Qigong warm ups before a major performance as a way of calming her nerves and breathing.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2284055/Oscars-2013-Adele-struggles-hold-tears-wins-Oscar-Skyfall-snaring-Golden-Globe-Grammy.html
The warm up then moved onto stretching different parts of the body, however, rather than completing stretches which we have done in the past, we used movement as a way to stretch parts of the body such as the toes and feet. We were asked to jump up and down but every time our feet lifted off the floor we had to try and spread our toes as far apart as possible. We then stepped this up slightly and began to move through the space using the same idea. We focused as well on the relaxation of the shoulders and working on transferring the energy between the two parts of the body which I had never considered as being connected before.
Once we had completed out warm ups, Liz asked us to hold our arms out in front of us in what I think is a basic ballet pose (slightly bent elbows, pointed fingers but not touching each other). We were then asked to imagine that the space between our chests and arms was full of some type of energy, a sort of big balloon i felt. We were asked to imagine that energy stretching and moving our arms out and then in again, we moved the energy up and down through the space until finally we were asked to bring the energy into our centres.
After this, Liz said that we were to move in whatever way we felt most comfortable, there rules for this improvisation were that we were only allowed to move if Liz was moving, and when she was still, we also had to remain still. I found this exercise quite good as I feel I have developed a better awareness of my surroundings and I am more aware of the actions being performed by those around me. I felt comfortable throughout this exercise until we were asked to get into pairs. Once in pairs, we performed the exercise once again, choosing one person to become the leader each time. Because the exercise was only being performed between the two of us, I felt that my movements were being watched more closely and even though we were told to move however we wanted, I thought that perhaps my movements should have been bigger or more choreographed. This was exaggerated even further when the rules of the exercise were changed so that in our pairs, when one was moving, the other stayed still. Because we had to constantly be aware of our partners movements I felt that the intensity was increased. I did however find the task of responding to my partner quite easy. I found from these exercises that sometimes we naturally fed off each other's energies and there were some great moments of echo or contrast.
This was followed by a game called "a little bit of me, a little bit of you" which Liz said was shown to her by Janis Claxton. It basically involves the forming of two circles, one inside the other, with equal numbers of people in both circles. The circle on the outside faces the one on the inside and vice versa. The people on the outside of the circle stand up and move in whatever way they feel for approximately 20 seconds, the person sitting on the inside observing the way they move. After the 20 seconds are up, the two people facing each other swap and the person who had been on the inside not moves for about 20 seconds, trying to include one element that they picked up from their partner. After this cycle, one of the circles moves to the left so that each person has a new partner, the cycle is then completed and followed by the circle moving one space again. This is completed until the circle has done one full rotation and each pair is reunited. This exercise was great, it was fun to see all of the different styles of movement from each person and what part of the body they choose to focus on the most. It was also good to see how challenging it was to copy something which someone else makes look so effortless and easy. By the end of the game, everyone was totally exhausted! It took a long time to complete and was full of constant action.
That wasn't the end of the session though! After we all had a chance to catch our breath and have a sip of water, we moved onto a less intense exercise. We moved in random groups of three from one end of the room to the other, again moving in anyway we wanted, however we were asked whether we wanted to make conscious decisions to move with or against the other performers in our groups. For me, I could see the importance of both within a performance and what possibilities performing in such a way can provide. The second time of completing the exercise, we were asked to mirror actions that other people in the group had completed. Finally, we were asked to think of things we had focused on the week before where the spine was the main idea behind the movement, there was a lot of variety in the groups despite the fact that all were using the head-tail connection. As a guide, Liz told us to either imagine our bodies as kites, the head floating first and the tail following, or to imagine ourselves as crocodiles, a very heavy tail that generates most of the power and causes motion all the way to the head. I found both techniques useful, depending which part of the body I was interested in leading with. Another option was to imagine that when our spines were open it was letting light out, and when closed, the light could not get out. This also helped to add some variety.
This was definitely the most demanding session so far. I felt really tired afterwards, but at the same time I went away from it with so many more ideas of how my body can move as a soloist or in relation to other performers.
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