For today’s session the focus was shared between pushing beyond our boundaries and experimenting with more advanced lifts as well as focusing on the fluidity of moving and staying in close contact in a duet or trio. We watched two videos that incorporated both the daring and fluid nature of contact improvisation in which both videos included a man and woman duet. In the first video, Martin and Neige never broke contact once during their duet, constantly alternating between who was the over or under dancer although dominantly the male maintained a more under dancer role supporting and lifting the female dancer. Whereas Mirva and Otto equally distributed weight between one another crossing gender barriers as the female dancer lifted the male numerous times. In both videos, the fluidity and effortless dynamic of the movement was mesmerising as they constantly travelled around the space offering new surfaces for their partners to balance or initiate movement from. The dynamics within these two videos is something I want to strive for over the next couple of weeks with the intent of always offering surfaces for my partner and to experiment with how much weight I can give or support instead of limiting myself.

To begin the session today, we experimented with rolling across the floor in numerous ways, focusing on the idea of reaching across the space with same arm as leg, which in turn moves the torso to initiate the roll. The banana roll was including in this, which began by lying on our backs before moving both arms and legs in the direction of the roll, coming onto that side of the body to create a ‘banana’ shape. As you twist onto your stomach and begin to roll onto the opposite side, the arms and legs extend from the back creating a back bend before returning to the starting position and beginning the sequence again. Another roll included the helix, which also began by lying on our backs with the left arm crossed over the right in front of the face. The left leg crosses over the right initiating the roll, while the left arm still in the same position extends into the space to also assist the momentum to roll. These exercises hinted at the fluidity of using the legs and arms to provide the momentum to roll instead of pushing onto your hands to manoeuvre the body. Both these rolls could be transitioned onto an actual body during contact improvisation allowing the momentum of the roll to take the duet or trio in a completely different direction instead of habitually initiating the roll from the hands to move off or away from your partner statically.

Carrying on with the floor work, partner A lays with her back on the floor while partner B lays across her stomach-to-stomach to create a cross position with the two bodies. Pressing our centres together we were able to sense our partner’s breathing pattern and any slight torso movement in which this discrete movement progressed to the extent of changing who was the over or under dancer so that partner B now lays with her back on the floor ready to repeat the movement. This then developed further by using different body parts of the body to remain in close contact instead of just the stomach with the aim of travelling across to the other side of the space. Keeping in mind, the familiar issues shared in Curtis’s Exposed to Gravity, which touched on the idea of “not giving or taking weight without listening for the agreement of your partner’s body” and to “stay in the present moment as mutual trust is based on uncompromised attention”, I realised the importance of really listening to your partner’s movement, whether they initiated it or not, and how this allows the two bodies to work as one. This therefore creates dynamically fluid and an almost effortless rolling motion. Although it was easy to maintain close contact with my partner, the movement felt clumpy at first as we had to think about how I could become the under dancer from the over dancer without losing the contact of our stomachs and vice versa. Having to keep our stomachs constantly connected, it provided a way to investigate how to move in a completely different way with my partner, rather than falling into habitual patterns. As our confidence grew with the notion of rolling and changing positions from under to over dancer, we began to quicken up the pace of the duet, promoting non-habitual responses as well as creating new movement potential.

Afterwards we were introduced to more advanced lifts than those from last week, starting with a back-to-back lift, in which both partners stand back-to-back while the lifter lowers her pelvis and the lifted lifts her pelvis resting onto her partner’s back. As the lifter leans forward, grabbing her partner’s hip flexors, so much so that her partner is off the floor balancing on the lifter’s back. As the pair returns to standing the lifted becomes the lifter creating a seesaw transition and vice versa. Completing the movement slowly I found it easier to trust my partner to take my weight, especially if I was supported by my partner grabbing my hips rather than holding my hands above my head. I found it difficult to relax my head and shoulders over my partner’s back at first as I was worried I’d carry on moving over her body instead of returning back to standing position. Using my back as a steady base I was able to support and lift a variety of people and by practicing the continuity of the seesaw motion, my partner and I began to give each other much more of our weight making the lift appear effortless and dynamically smooth.

Another lift I enjoyed was where partner A places her hands around and under partner B’s shoulder blades. As both plié, partner B jumps back while partner A supports her partner’s weight, running back as she follows the movement, providing height to her partner’s jump. I found it easy to support my partner’s weight from her shoulders and was able to lift a range of different people as well as those I hadn’t had chance to work with previously. When I was being lifted, I was able to travel across further and jump higher while my partner supported my weight as well as trust anyone to initiate this lift with me. Being both the lifter and the person lifted; there was a sense of ease and comfortability around the group, as the jump reduced the amount of weight given to the partner supporting the movement. I definitely want to experiment with both of these lifts during the jam to not only experience taking and giving my weight to different people but also where the lift is initiated from and to.

Another lift I want to introduce into the jam is the paper clip lift. Facing one another partner A throws her right arm over partner B’s right shoulder so that her armpit is resting on B’s shoulder. As A faces to the side away from her partner, B grabs her waist with her right arm to provide support. A then leans into the movement in which the momentum lifts her feet from the floor as her weight is distributed onto her partner who provides a stable base. I personally think this lift would be easy to initiate in a jam atmosphere by simply placing your arm over your partner’s shoulder or placing your arm around her waist depending on the role you wanted to play. I think it would be interesting to see what possibilities this lift could provide after it has been completed in a duet and how it can be adapted in an improvised setting. I was comfortable being both the lifter and the lifted as the lift focuses on a shift of weight rather than actually carrying someone hence why I was able to support and create the lift with numerous people.

The final lift began like the paper clip lift with partner A throwing her right arm over partner B’s right shoulder, however her pelvis is resting on B’s shoulder as A relaxes her upper body giving her weight into her partner’s back. During this, B plies supporting A’s legs and rises to stand once A is in correct position resting on her shoulder. The height of this lift caused some difficulties as it challenged our ‘safety blankets’ surrounding lifts as we were used to being lifted no higher than the chest. However when the lift was successful, it wasn’t difficult manoeuvring in or out of the lift, it was more to do with the trust between the two people and how much weight the person being lifted would give in order to make it easy to be lifted. Without enough practice, I personally don’t think I would be comfortable in initiating this lift as the fall from this height would be a lot greater than the other lifts we have been introduced to and therefore too much of risk in a relaxed jam setting.

Finally, we ended the session with a duet integrating the lifts we have learnt into the lesson. This then expanded into two duet’s performing in a round-robin formation in which other members would choose when to join to make a trio and then who would leave to create the duet once more and so on. Being the first time we were able to watch others improvise, it was interesting to observe the movement escalate, how lifts were incorporated in and the relationship between all the dancers. When creating an improvised duet, I always try to maintain the bodily-felt relationship between my partner and I to communicate when to give and take weight as well as staying open to possible impulses and where this will take the movement next in which Ptashek in Exposed to Gravity states will create a “playful, energetic and innovative dance”. It was evident that the group had not only become comfortable moving in close contact and able to equally distribute weight between one another but also the confidence had grown as people were pushing the boundaries and testing new lifts even if they didn’t successfully work at first. Personally I felt closer to the videos we watched at the beginning with the fluidity and comfortable nature of the duet from when we were first introduced to contact improvisation in September.

Citations

Curtis, B. (1988). Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quartlerly/Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I. (3)156-163.

Neige Christenson (2009) The Play of Weight. [online video] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltq6y06E8ew [Accessed 13 November 2014].

Omegabranch (2011) Contact Improvisation Mirva Makinen & Otto Akkanen. [online video] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLbWxujoGw [Accessed 13 November 2014].