The final week of contact and it’s time to perform the duets and in the underscore. After the weeks of preparing for the duets I was so nervous that I just hoped that it would go well and I would be able to present everything that I had learnt from over the past 10 weeks. The underscore is something we looked upon last year which is why I understood some of the terminology, but adding it into contact seemed difficult for me.

I knew from the beginning that everyone’s duets would be different, I was especially nervous about ours as I wasn’t able to be active during the sessions that involved lifting and connecting with a partner to build trust. This made me worry a little because I didn’t have the proper training for preparing in to a lift. My partner Lizzy made it easier for me during rehearsals with showing me each step and performing lifts we were both capable of doing. A struggle we did eventually overcome was fluidity through movements, as we both perform differently while improvising, me – fast and low kinesphere movements and Lizzy using slow upper kinesphere movements we continuously improvised until we found moments of connection that wasn’t forced.

Nancy Stark Smith’s Underscore was somewhat familiar as last year we learnt just about improvisation through scores. As this score allowed freedom- with or without contact, I felt myself revert back to solo improving. It was good to feel connected and to explore and challenge myself, especially in the high kinesphere because it’s a lot more open and people could view my movements and not necessarily like it which is why I prefer to use my lower one. With this being such a long score I felt myself daze and wanting to stay away from other people, unless another joint with me, but I wouldn’t contact for long. It made me realise how much I walked around the space, observing others and possibly get inspiration for when I was stuck.

Previous to starting contact improvisation I just assumed it was a different way to create a duet that involved lifts but with more habitual performance dancing. Including contemporary/lyrical style dancing between the lifting. As we began from week 1 I remembered feeling happy that we could explore habitual patterns but in new dynamics, this has been my format through the entire 10 weeks and as a result I feel completely different. Contact has made me more aware of my body, how capable it can be as well as how I use is to gain confidence in myself and dancing.

My main obstacle I that overcame was being able to do different lifts or stunts that require upper body strength and trust in myself that I can do it. As each week went on, we travelled the room doing different variations of cartwheels and other strengthening exercises. My strength comes from my thighs and back and having to do theses and flips and rolls of people’s back really challenged what my body could do. Learning all this not only did that but also give me a way of moving in and out of contact, and without that I would have been stuck and not been able to explore my own movements.  It was a tough module, but I felt I learnt a lot about it as well as myself and knowing that mind set is an absolute key to being able to achieve anything is vital.

Nancy Stark Smith (2013) An Emergent Underscore: a conversation with Nancy Stark Smith, London . Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzG609NWp1Y [accessed 29 November 2015].

From constantly doing score based work in improvisation last year to having the freedom of exploring, unplanned contact with anyone else in the space makes me wonder; is there a way to combine the two? To be able to have guidelines to follow but the surprise elements of people coming in and out of positions. Scores is the topic for this week and each group present their own version.

Half Way Score

-The audience are placed in the centre of the room in a line.

-Anything can happen in the space: trio, duets, solos, weight baring positions, upper and lower movements.

-People already pre set

-Can only entre the space as a duet

With the intention of merging both contact and scores we hoped that it would develop in to something contrasting. Using the audience as a barrier between the two spaces, we thought that by including more set people on one side compared to the other which was only set a soloist, would change up the dynamics on both sides, fast and slow. In actual fact the complete opposite happened, they all stuck to their regular movements and speed, creating the habitual atmosphere in the score.

We chose to play music in the background for our score, seeing if the pace of the song changed their speed in the space. I personally wanted everyone participating to succumb to the music, to see if it would change their own movements or the way they would contact with somebody else. Yet again the music had barely any effect on them.

The only rule that seemed to have an effect was entering the space as a duet. In our normal jams most people would have struggles to find a person to keep a contact duet going on for long enough. Our rule changed that, they would go in and stay together for as long as they could till one drifts off. It was interesting to watch them explore with new people and in new ways, as the hesitation was lost due to the sudden involvement in the space.

Mouse Trap Score

The object of this score is to travel through four sections of a square but only allowed to move into the next section once there are Five people in one section.

The reason I found this score particularly interesting is because it challenged both mind and body for me. With it being in a set pathway I wanted to move in a way that wasn’t just space consuming, that it involved interior movements also. With this being week 9 I feel I have gained much knowledge and was able to adventure out or my norm movements- low kinesphere, spiral movements to be able to move around the space using my high kinesphere and also contact with another person.

Another way it challenged me was how long we had to be in the space for, I usually take my time when moving but felt rushed this time, it may have been because I had a destination to reach. The second time I went round I focused on the new aspects we learnt for contact and tried to hone in on myself but slowly noticed the habitual movements I was performing. I still need to work on relaxing more and thinking less to achieve my full potential in contact.

Stover, J., 1989. Some Considerations When Structuring an Improvisation (to be seen by an audience). In: V. 14, ed.Contact Quarterly’s Contact Improvisation Sourcebook. Northampton : Contact Editions , p. 185.

This week I was ill and was unable to attend lesson but was given the opportunity to go to a contact workshop. My initial idea of this workshop led by other people worried me, I thought it would just be a long jam with experienced people which I didn’t think I was trained enough for and would embarrass myself.

When I arrived at the jam I felt a sense of relief when I saw how casual the ladies were who were running the workshop. They started off with letting us warm ourselves up and then introducing what their jam is based on- partner work. I thought this was interesting as we normally just get straight in to weight baring positions and lifts. We worked on building trust exercises that involved each pair giving the other their weight with added speed, as well as walking around the space with my eyes shut and my partner as my guide. This particular exercise showed me how much trust I lack in other people; I didn’t know the exact reason I wasn’t just going with my partner but all I knew was that I didn’t feel comfortable enough to fully release myself.

After this for the majority of the jam we practiced different ways of travelling along the room in our pairs, but while doing weight bearing movements that required certain anchor positions (hips, shoulders) that I noticed from the last time I was in a contact lesson. I worked with Claire in this particular part of the session as I felt we both needed to get over the fear of contact; me from being hurt and her from initiating a move too quickly that created the injury. This also gave us the process of building trust within each other so it wouldn’t happen again and because of this I notice how easily we found each other’s strengths and weakness.

During this process I also realised a change in my attitude, I wasn’t afraid to work with other people even if they were taller than me. Having that initial shock from last time made me recognise that accidents happen, it’s how to handle it afterwards is the key to getting over the fear. With these weight bearing positions we also had to figure the best way suited to smoothly come in and out of the, some were easier than most but I think it’s because we hardly do low centre positions.

Leading on from this we worked with just moving across the room in our pairs but making sure to keep a body part connected, I found this quite easy, maybe because I built a good connection with my partner as I normally struggle with keeping in contact as well as continuously moving. Even though this workshop is quite similar to what we would do in lesson it felt completely different in the space while contacting. It was possibly due to it not being in an environment that I’m normally used to, giving me the freedom of exploring more and worried less about what I look like.

Focusing on developing our partnerships for contact has been interesting, working on how we can sense each other and notice the specific movements we do in our bodies as well as build enough trust to start including weight bearing/ balancing positions.

This week we were introduced to two contact videos both including a pair and their version on contact.

• Martin Keogh and Neige Christenson- The play of weight (2009)

The first video for me was my typical idea of what a contact pair should look like; female and male taking on the stereotypical role of the man always lifting and the female up in the air. As for the chemistry the flow of their movements were constant as well as their points of contact, by keeping them interesting in using more than just their hands and feet. What was interesting to watch was their dynamics and speed, as they look comfortable with each other and the noticeable trust they had was used to build the dynamics and speed element in to their improvisation to also use levels.

• Mirva Makinen and Otto Akkanen – Contact Improvisation

This video was definitely different, comparing this to the previous one it had less elements of dynamics and speed. This may have been to the obvious lack of trust in this pairing with it also being a male and female pair but what I believe to be with the male having a lack of strength. What was fascinating to watch were their exploration of the space and how they broaden their bodies also which did create new points of contact but for me I didn’t feel as though they were as in sync with each other.

Even though these two pairs represented how contact improvisation is performed today I still feel there is an element that is missing, I think this may be from the Steve Paxton video we watched previously and how I thought the raw energy added a unique look to the typical look of a contact pair.

This week we focused more on our movements than weight baring positions, so increasing our technique by specifically moving in spirals and playing around with levels and speed. From this we learnt a new way of continuously moving called ‘surfing and rolling’. I found it difficult to do this as I kept struggling to find new points of contact with my partner, I mainly went for my stomach and back, creating the habitual pattern.  Within building this close connection to my partner we then went on to learn a new weight baring position- Aikido Roll.  This requires the two people in the position to be able to move smoothly in and out by aligning the hips together. We had previously done this role but on our own. I still haven’t been able to master the direction that I needed to go which worried me because I didn’t want to hurt my partner in the process.

I noticed that while I was the over dancer I could roll over smoothly but struggled getting back up with my partner, I feel that this was due to my lack of core strength and also my partner being a lot taller than me. When it came to my turn being the under dancer I panicked, this was my first time with working on a lift with someone else and my previous thoughts of not being strong enough waved over me and I froze. Being too scared to even do the role I needed extra assistance from Kirsty, she led me even though she was the over dancer, showing me that all I needed was to push up from my feet and hips.

After this we changed partners and with one lying on the floor and one on top of the other person. I was the under dancer at this point and with my partner on top me of we needed to create a simple connection by syncing our breath with each other. This led on to then creating a small contact duet. It was about a minute in the duet when my partner tried the aikido roll and I was not in the correct position or aware of what she wanted to do and because of this, it ended up with me being injured.  Having to sit out for the remainder of the lesson I observed the class in attempting other lifts such as: paper clip lift and cradle lift each having a development of their own. The only thing I was able to pick up while watching was how to use less muscular tension to create a smoother transition and anchor points for the body to help control the movement also.

Curtis, B. and Ptashek, A. (1988) Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quaterly/Improvisation Sourcebook. 13(2) 156-162.

Neige Christenson (2009) the play of weight. [Online Video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltq6y06E8ew  [Accessed 15 November 2015].

Omegabranch (2011) Contact Improvisation Mirva Mäkinen & Otto Akkanen. [Online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLbWxujoGw [Accessed 15 November 2015].

Back from after a week off and it felt so unusual trying to connect to another body. This week’s task was to start developing contact work by practicing lifts. We started the lesson as usual by strength training and travel work to loosen us up, which I found difficult for some reason.

After the warm up I sat out for the majority of the lesson but it’s interesting to watch everyone else try to attempt each lift, coming from last year I can see a massive improvement in the trust they have in themselves and that’s what I could see when they attempt the lifts as well as the drive to be able to get them right.

Kirsty started off with just small counter balances this week, not anything we haven’t tried in lessons before but with more focus on getting in and out of the positions smoothly. The first exercise was for the under dancer to be in table top position and the over dancer to roll over their back but with a slight flip of the legs. With each pair taking on the balances as an observer I could see the struggle they had with starting or even doing it, and while watching I wanted to correct them; lift the hips higher, or move the supporting arm closer but then understanding that if I were in the same situation I would also make the same mistakes and that’s the part of the process between partners, to build a strong relation.

The lifts started off pretty small just to build up the trust and confidence that we would need to be able to perform them. To develop on the relationship between partners the next exercise was to hold on to each other’s wrist and swing each other across the room and eventually build enough momentum to fly partway. This was interesting to watch as a few pairs had their own variation of the exercise; some were too scared to jump and others weren’t using the weight from each other to fully travel. The next lift was something I generically thought is something that once a pair has built enough trust to be able to perform is a form of the dirty dancing lift; holding the over dancer above the head while they balance with legs and arms out. This was definitely a lift I saw a few people struggle with, from what I could see it was to do with how high they would be lifted. The next was a pencil jump with a preparation, this tested how in tuned the partners were and whether they were in sync so the under dancer could catch the over dancer at the precise moment.

The reading from the week went on to explain centre of gravity and how to connect to it when balancing and also when acting as the lifter/lifte. After watching everyone during the lesson I can see how this can be applied for next lesson when I attempt it for the first time, my worry is seeing how everyone at one point or another struggled whether I would too. As a person my strength isn’t as strong as everyone else’s so I wouldn’t want to put anyone at risk as well as being of smaller height, the limited amount of people I can work with without complications.

Woodhull, A. (1997) Center of Gravity. Contact Quarterly/Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I, 4, 43-48