“….to peruse mental operations to any depth, a person has to learn how to concentrate attention and that without this sense of focus, consciousness remains in a state of chaos.”
(Csikszentmihalyi 1997 :26)
Touch, touch is embedded everywhere within our bodies not just by what we sense but also by the way we speak. Touch is “the mother of sense” it’s about the body having contact since the day we were born and making that skin to skin contact with someone becomes vital. When using touch within contact improvisation it allows us to access peoples bodies and anatomy. Allowing our bodies to sense what is going on and how the person is feeling whilst having that contact with you. Instead of being reluctant to have this contact we need to become less reluctant and be aware of others within the space and how they work. How do they feel? As people work in different ways to my body and others. How do I dance with someone else? They may feel comfortable and some may feel awkward, uncomfortable to start with having that contact.During our session we did partner touch where someone laid on the floor and the other at the side of the body. The simple touch of hands on the back felt very surreal, we were told to put slight pressure on the back and then extend the back slightly and once it felt fully extended you bring it back in to the starting point. This made the back to me feel like and elastic band extending and the pinging back into a compressed state. When the hands hovered above the body it felt like they were still there putting a slight pressure onto the back and the sensation was still there. However, once the partner was stood over the top brushing the sensation away it’s almost like that touch of your partner is being brushed away and you can’t feel them anymore. It was odd because it felt like the touch was being wiped out of my body. They the laid over the top of the others body and it felt like I was being pushed into the floor and it was tempting to roll and take the rolling points make up want to go over and take the other weight.
Rolling on the body – this exercise felt like a massage on the body and I feel like it gave you more of a connection upon the body and you became more aware of your partner much more
Back to back – this was interesting as you were only allowed touch with the back, head, hips having this restriction and connection allowed us to find new rolling points and it allowed us to find new ways of weight baring. When doing this with Mia I felt comfortable because she allowed me to take her body as mine and we had a steady pace going between us.
Contact jam – as this was our first jam it was taken steady and watching it was good to see. I noticed as an outsider I noticed a lot of people need to find a way of learning to trust each other. When getting stuck people would come back to the original starting point. How do we remake contact when it’s broken? Don’t force. Don’t resist. When doing contact there should never be a clear leader. How much can we really communicate through contact?
Rolls across the floor/ safety rolls
Rolling backwards – this for me I found easy as I was able to go through and over smoothly. I think this is because I feel safe doing a backwards roll because I find easiest to come out of and I find that I can usually get into another movement more.
Rolling forwards – rolling forwards has always been something that is uncomfortable for me, I think this is down to the fact I am rolling over my head and don’t want to do something wrong. Although I found rolling over my shoulder forwards I was unsure how to get over once I managed to do it, I felt very accomplished and I’m going try to use forwards much more to enable myself to feel more comfortable with it.
Rolling onto my side – this roll I found very confusing to do and difficult to get from one shoulder to the other. I became very unsure of how I was meant to get up and over onto my side, this is something that will take a lot of practice for me and time to get right.
Running towards my partner (Bekah) -This exercise I found useful as I gave that contact and communication between partners it allowed me to understand their body even though we never had that skin to skin contact. Focusing on our partners’ eyes we would walk turn over our shoulder and keep contact, then run and then running with a jump. This I have realised is key to our improvisation as you need eye contact and need that communication with your partner in order to go through lifts and In general contact improvisation you need that in order to get a feel of your partner and their body as well as yours.
Thursday 6th October – Contact Jam
Some things to remember when contacting with someone is to always keep a form of contact with the body and never to separate unless there is that sense to move on and that communication between the two. Before the jam I noticed that just the slightest touch upon my body helped the fluidity and feeling within myself more. Side work – going across in pairs you were never allowed to let a gap happen, was the sensation light or hard and from the type of touch there seemed to be no habitual movement happening. It allowed for development and sensory knowledge, I feel I found this helped more when my eyes are closed and I was able to feel that touch more. How can you bring different qualities into the body? Allow my body to release into my partner. Remembering to always focus upon the partner you are with. How do you manage to keep a constant dialogue between each other? When rolling over the top of each other I found it useful as it allowed me to put my weight into someone and allowed them to put it onto me so they could find connection within my body as well as theirs. When weight baring it is important to accommodate for your partner and always keep a steady breathing.
The Contact Jam
During this jam we were allowed to look at anything we have played with over the past two weeks and figure out ways we could bring it into our improvisation. Whilst doing this contact jam there can only be two or more people in the circle no less, the more you decide to go in the easier the contact becomes. Whilst being outside as an observer you being to notice who really gets into the improvisation and the mind beings to wonder. When going into the circle if you’re not sure how to start walk around feel the energy between you and the other bodes and once you’re ready being improvising or that contact with someone. There were no expectations in the circle let your body feel free to do anything, be creative, weight baring, structures and be safe.
When improvising with the partners I was with during the circle I notice mine and their paces would adapt to theirs some I felt more comfortable with as I was used to their bodies others sometimes it felt tense and slightly awkward due our bodies maybe not communicating straight away. Even so you must always look out for your partner and gently build up through the contact. I found when I had a good sense of communication with someone I would get lost I remember when contacting with Emily. M we really got lost in the moment and started taking each other’s weight and rolling around onto the floor and once our bodies knew it was time to move on our contact communication was clear.
To continue, as it was clear that we were contacting we should still pay attention to the small movements we can do like with our hands. This could be down to the fact it was exciting to get into the jam so the bigger details were coming out more and the smaller details were put to the side due to excitement from being able to contact. Doing the contact in the dark it felt better because I feel like people were freer and really explored movement more, personally I don’t mind doing it during the light or the dark, although for some I feel like they find it easier because people can’t see them as much and they become more experimental and free with movement.
Finally whilst observing I noticed that there was a lot of eye contact to communicate with each other whilst during the contact improvisation which added in tension and drama between some pairs whilst they improvised with each other. At some points there were a few bangs so it is key to remember safe practice between everyone. When pairs were focused it was nice to see moments of structure and weight baring when people felt confident. The music helped the energy in the room at times and sound effects were able to tell a story between pairs.
Bibliography
Touch: Experience and knowledge. By: Bannon, Fiona; Holt, Duncan. Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, 2012, Vol. 3 Issue 1/2, p215-227