Improvisations

With the opportunity of participating in a course titled From Improvisation to Emergent Form arises another opportunity; the documentation of such improvisations and the journey of exploration until something emerges in form...

This page is dedicated to the improvisation process that began in September and will go up until December when the course will conclude.

Photo taken at Kinitiras Studio while at the Kinitiras Choreography Lab 2013

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11.09.2013

As with any type of movement exploration, we begin by exploring the body as the main instrument; moving the different body parts, shaking, twisting, pressing, pushing, in order to wake them up. We play with what we call the skeleton [joints and bones] that gives shape and structure to the movement. Yet, we stress the importance of muscles in giving quality to the movement [tension/release/breath]; a quality that gives us a sense of TIME. 

This magical instrument of ours, the body, stands in space. It inhabits a [personal space] simply by standing straight and still somewhere. It always occupies this personal space, but it also takes us to the [general space] when we are stretching, traveling...

The body has a dual function; it operates both as an object [the instrument] and as a subject. After all, you manipulate your own self and you deal with yourself as an instrument of movement. This body which we act upon is destined to sense, touch, feel, and listen. All these qualities are essential to start doing this; to enter into the [process]. 

Familiar bells are ringing in my ears when the word [process] comes into play. I can already see where the discussion is going: "What is the impulse/intention of the ACTION?" A déjà vu from the very first couple of day at the Kinitiras Choreography Lab where we were sitting with Ana (again!) discussing about the [choreographic intention]... So, where does it all begin?

This beginning is quite interesting. It's something that is unknown at first. It's unexplored. It's just an impulse. Yet, this impulse can grow, flow and propel you to endless moments of inspiration. Moments that flash through your brain like shots taken from another place and time. Moments that take you places during the mundane daily routines. Moments that keep you going. And these moments might actually turn into something very beautiful in terms of creating movement; or just creating...

Going back to the thoughts on the process we enter again into the duality of the subject-instrument with two options: Do we just let go and do [an action]? OR Do we think of the impulse and do it? 

Is that impulse enough to capture our attention withou any interruption? When do we get bored or excited throughout the process of hunting down that impulse? When is pleasure of the movement achieved through this process?

And what about adding repetition? Will this cause the attention to collapse at some point? No matter the way you look at it, this can either exhaust itself or take you somewhere else; take you to the next step into your exploration process. Mould that impulse into an intention...

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16.09.2013

Today we take another step by exploring the four movement factors: time, space, energy/flow, and weight. 

The time that it takes to move, to where [space] both in terms of personal space and beyond, the flow of the movement, and the giving/resisting of movement to gravity. 

The most interesting part comes later on where we continue exploring the pocket of movement created from previous days with the condition of touching the space around us. Discovering how each and every cell is touching the space around while executing the movement. And through this the movement is transformed, it deepens in essence and sense, it occupies meaning and not just space. 

Touching is essential to the perception of movevement of the [whole body] which gains even more importance in improvisation because you are full on (360 degrees) and you have to manage your [whole environment]! 

So, What is the sense of touch in my whole body? 

This way you experience the external affect as well as the internal. Touch gives us the unique ability of not losing the internal part which is essential in pure creation [at least for me..]

Touching and sensing all around, in a 360 degrees mode, also affects the kinetic memory one has. It is much easier to remember movement when you are touching the space around you. You are much more aware and in tune with your body, your emotions and the movement that is produced because you remember the feeling. You don't need to remember the structure (one foot there, one arms there, one turn over there). You just shape your instrument [the body] according to the sense you had while touching the space. 

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23.09.2013

Approaching Trisha Brown

Stepping into the world that Trisha Brown created for improvisation is not a easy task - at least for me. 

Apart from the must-get-used-to idea of the cube, the mere fact that she belongs to that time and group of people that were moving away from story-telling and expressionism is particularly disturbing for me. 

Story-telling and especially expressionism are two basic reasons why I find that the art of dance is so powerful - again for me. 

However, as the discussion proceeds, the idea of improvisation as a democratisation process where everything is possible is quite appealing. You can do whatever the heck you want with it. 

I must admit that after watching a video of one of her choreographies I was troubled in the sense that I felt that the choreography was robotic (for lack of any expression) and seemed automated. 

Nonetheless, I do find her choreographic/improvisation process very interesting in terms of treating space as a choreographic element and how we ourselves give value to the space; it does not exist ouside of us. Hence, the democratisation of the space. 

Of course, the talk about how the body/instrument decides upon certain rules and then the body must obey them somehow ruins the idea of freedom. 

So, there is freedom from story-telling based on the whole concept of moving away from expressionism, but there never complete freedom from some rules. 

In any case, it is true that as a choreographer/performer you must always place yourself to operate within A specific framework because absolute freedom - no rules whatsoever - can easily block you. 

You must start from somewhere, be guided by that [impulse and the intention] and move forward. 

On that note, I experimented with Trisha Brown's cube just by putting various body parts in various points at the cube. 

Yet, this was not random at all; it all begun with the inspiration coming from a poem by T.S.Eliot, "Rhapsody on a Windy Night." By playing with a few phrases from the poem two mini-sequences were created, were bound together and then were enriched with a few sub-rules (repetition, connection of two points of the cube at the same time, etc.)

This was the result (as seen from two angles):

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25.09.2013

Thoughts on Merce Cunningham

Another day...another choreographer who was unhappy with too much expressionism and personality on stage in th 50s...

However, this time - contrary to Trisha Brown - I like the string of thought of Mr. Cunningham. The fact that he was influenced by John Cage's [chance methods] and [indeterminacy]; the way that talks on the true meaning of improvisation lead to the concept of "a structure with something unable to be foreseen" (an unknown element, an element of surprise). 

The other fact that he created phrases/sections of movement that were predetermined and not improvised on stage (the content itself was set), but the composition/the structure of the contect was the one being improvised: [improvisational structures]. 

What I find problematic - for me - is that he really did not use any facial expressions. I don't mean to say that I'm a fan of hyberbole in the expression area. In fact, this can be as damaging as having no expression at all! However, I do believe that the natural expression that is externalised on the face of the performer while acting upon a specific movement/sequence of movements, and is a by-product of the movement and the internal process the performer is going through at the time, is something significant that needs to be communicated through to the audience. 

After all, dance is an art of communication and not just plain movement and aesthetics (in my opinion). 

As always, the knowledge on improvisation must be tested on one's body for him/her to experience the method and decide whether this is  something useful for him/her. 

Following the idea of the [improvisational structures], we are given 6 small pieces of parer numbering from 1-6 and are asked to write a movement or a set of 2-3 movements on each piece and then decide how they will be presented. 

So, I gather all 6 in my hands, I shake them well and let them fall onto the ground... I pick them up one-by-one randomly and write down the results...I continue as many times as it is needed by taking one out of the equation each time until I'm left with only one piece of paper:

4 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 6 - 5

5 - 1 - 3 - 6 - 4

2 - 6 - 1 - 4 

6 - 1 - 3

6 - 3

1

The numbers and movements come alive once the practice begins (from two different angles):

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16.10.2013

Let's put what we've learnt so far to the "test"

After immersing ourselves deep into the imporovisational processes of Trisha Brown and Merce Cunningham, it was time for the "dreaded" midterm...

But in truth, there is nothing to be afraid of as this is simply a day to present our work in progress, see how our work can be reflected on other bodies, observe, take notes and then proceed with the work into the next level. 

In terms of the process, I decided to utilise Cunningham's method combined with inspiration from a poem by T.S.Eliot. 

I really enjoy drawing inpiration from literary texts because I find it as abstract as it needs to be in order to inspire immense creativity. Still, it can give you a sense of "boundaries". 

In this case, I wanted to explore the different perceptions of people about certain words and how this could be translated into body movements. Explore potential similiarites and observe the differences and how this could potentially be combined together. 

The poem I chose was "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" by Eliot and I focused specifically on part of a verse that, to me, seemed abstract enough and at the same time able to provide some structural content. 

"The memory throws up high and dry

A crowd of twisted things; 

A twisted branch upon the beach

Eaten smooth, and polished

As if the world gave up"

My thought was to pick some words out of this verse and divide them into groups of three in three different columns. This way, I could maintain a structure which would be known to the subjects prior to the day of the presentaion, but choose the row randomly on the day of the presentation. 

A: memory - high - TWISTED

B: throws - TWISTED - upon

C: crowd - branch - TWISTED

Another variable that I added and was known to the subjects beforehand was the fact that one of the words was the same in all three groups and this meant that the movement must be the same every time but taking place at a different "location - level" (floor, wall, etc.). 

I wrote the "guidelines" in three pieces of paper and distributed them to Eva, Marina, and Artemis who were my fellow-classmates this semester a few days before the actual day of the presentation so they could reflect upon them (come up with their own movements according to the inpiration they could draw from the words). 

I gave the exact same piece of paper to all three and asked them to bring in again on the day of the presentation. That day I gave them the random row in which their movements were supposed to be executed (BCA) and gave them some free time to practice their movements, remember them and then start moving into the actual process. 

During the actual process it was very interesting and inspirational to see - as an outsider and an observer - how a private thought of mine could be transformed through the mind, body and soul of my fellow-classmates and how we are all different from one another. 

What I noticed immediately was that Marina was very external with her movement and much more spatial than Eva and Artemis who were mostly moving around one place. Artemis, especially, was basically at the same place and her movement and whole process was very internal. 

In this early step of the process I did not intervene because I wanted to see their very own thoughts and reflection being translated into movement and then become inspired from my part and start adding different layers to transform it. 

All of the dancers movements were different in texture, quality and speed and it was very interesting to observe how all these differences could be guided into being simultaneously present in the same presentation/on stage. 

As the process moved forward I stepped in and asked the dancers to change levels, speed in order to see how the movement could be transformed even further. 

From the very beginning, I had placed the dancers in very different positions in space because I wanted to be able to see each movement separately and them start bringing them together gradually. 

Near the end of the process, relationships between the bodies started to form and the movement was intertwined and transformed even more. Unfortunately, time was up before we could explore it even further... 

All in all, I was very happy with how the process moved forward and I felt extremely inspired by watching the girls' movement, thoughts and perception. 

In terms of how I felt performing the other girls' tasks, this was an extemely interesting and inspiring process as well because all three processes were different from each other in terms of quality of movement, texture, dynamic, sense and feeling. 

It was a different kind of challenge altogether because of the need for interpretation of more abstract concepts and instructions based on somebody's else thought rather than your own (initially). Yet, at the same time this is what made this entire process even more valuable. 

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October - November

The vocabulary of William Forsythe

Stepping into Forsythe was a transition, to say the least. 

From the very beginning I was extemely confused with how to interpret his instructions into movement. This was due to the fact that it was during lab time and you were literally "on your own" to figure this out. We had a piece of paper with explanations to each word, but it literally seemed unattainable and very very confusing. 

I was actually quite frustrated that first day. 

The second day was better because Ana Colberg was there with us and seeing examples of movement based on Forsythe on her body made the whole thing much clearer. That is when all four of us were able to get moving and start experimenting. Still, this was not easy. The vocabulary and the movement it produced at the time seemed quite alien to me and I did not enjoy much the feeling I derived from it. 

The revelation did come a bit later when one day Ana Colberg asked us to create a small sequence based on Forsythe's vocabulary. Again, this was a rocky start and apart from a couple of movements in the beginning I did not feel comfortable at all with my body performing these movements. It was so "out of me." It hadn't clicked yet. 

However, a little while later she told us to just incorporate the vocabulary into our own movement and this is the moment where it all made sense - finally! The whole process stopped seeming alien anymore and  became much more inherent. The movement and the sense of it just started flowing through my body like never before. I was ecstatic with the movement that was being produced and the feeling of satisfaction truly surpassed the feeling I had when creating other sequences. 

After the sequence was mostly there we began experimenting with dynamics, quality of movement, speed, etc., which made the process (and the movement) even more interesting! In the end, the movement was so intense and so enjoyable that I could definately see it expand into an entire presentation. 

The next step was to present our solo sequence to the rest of the class and discuss about how we felt and what problems we encountered while creating it. This process - talking about it - set me free and it was nice to hear that other people had encountered similar issues. 

Then Eva and I were placed in space and were asked to present our two distinct sequences and see what relations could be formed. We performed again and again with various variables being added (observing one another, being more apart, being very close, etc.) and the feeling of the two movements combined was just incredible. This is one of the processes I really enjoyed this semester: having completely different sequences of movement and putting more than one bodies together to see what kind of relationships are being born and how the movement of the bodies is transformed through this process. 

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November

Scores 

This was the third time I got the opportunity to explore the world of scoring. 

The first time I encountered scores was in Summer Session I (previous June) in the Choreography course. The feeling was similar to that I had with Forsythe...CONFUSION! 

I really did not "get" them at the time. And we didn't work as much on them; it was just a first contact really. 

The second time I "met" with scores was during Kinitiras Choreography Lab this past summer where we worked extensively on them with Kiriakos Spirou as our guiding light. 

This time, althought it was still very confusing at first, their use became apparent to me. 

I used to play the piano for many years so scores were not alien to me, but their use of them as a choreographic tool was just so new. 

In Kinitiras, however, we were given the opportunity to work on our own scores and create our very own vocabulary for them and our composition which worked perfectly! 

This time, in the Improvisation course, I felt like we took it a step further. 

Ana Colberg introduced us to a very wide variety of scores and on the first day we just had to pick the ones or the one, that clicked the most and explore movement based on them. 

Some very interesting pieces of movement arose from this whole process which ended with me having my head on the group for more than 20' and leaving with a huuuuuge headache. 

I can't say it was not worth it, because the sense I derived from the movement at the moment was so sublime I really did not pay attention to the fact that I was upside-down for more than enough time! 

As the semester approached its end we had to prepare for our final exam and decide what we would do (tools to be used, instructions, etc.). 

During those sessions with scores I encountered one that really intrigued me; Song 2. 

Some would say it is too abstract, but for some reason it stayed with me. 

And after discussion with everybody ideas about tracing the movement in the paper began emerging and when I said it would like to draw lines to see what comes up, Eva proposed I should take some sketching paper and put it on top in order to do that. And that's what I did! 

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04.12.2013

The last day and "a score within a score"

The last day of any dance course presents mixed feelings to me; feelings of joy of what was accomplished and learned during this period and feelings of sadness and melancholy because a chapter is over. 

This day was no different, apart from the fact that there was some added stress about the process of the final, mostly because I did not know whether my plan would work out. 

But let me recap! 

Unfortunately, due to project deadlines I missed a couple of classes which meant missing part of the preparation for the final. This meant that I only got one day to prepare along with the girls because I wanted to an exploration with other bodies and not a solo. 

I brought the sketch paper, printed various scores and asked Eva and Artemis to sketch with a pencil what they saw through the paper on the scores. 

The whole concept was to find [a score within a score]. Explore the "older" score and come up with something new and very unique for each person. 

The first phase was something that we all had to go through, myself included. 

My own [score within a score]

Artemis' [score within a score]

Eva's [score within a score]

The second phase was for all of, again, to translate this new score into movement of our own. 

The third phase was going to take place on the actual day of the exam by putting this movement into space along with the rest of the bodies, except for myself. 

Marina was going to be a different variable because we didn't have time to sketch something, but I kind of liked the idea of the independent variable!

On the day of the actual exam I gave the two dancers time to remember their movement while I was doing the same and asked Marina to observe and keep in mind the movements that she liked most. 

After that, I stepped in and showed the dancers my movement because I wanted them to also keep in mind whichever movement(s) they liked the most and try to include them into their own sequence in any way possible. 

Then, I asked Marina to step in, placed all three in different spaces around the overall space and asked them to just start acting upon their (new) movements. 

Gradually and while I was observing I was stepping in to give various instructions in order to see how the movement could be transformed (varying speeds, etc.)

After that I began transforming the space by asking the dancers to change into a straight line movement in space, circular, etc. At one point I brought Eva and Artemis very close together and asked them to perform their movements in that small space to see what happens. The result was like magic to me! The movement of the two combined in such a close proximity was just superb!!!! 

Near the end, I came up with the idea to bring all three of them together and put Marina in the middle so the other two would "cage" her. The concept behind this was to try to make all three of them become one, but I don't think this worked out the way I thought of it in my mind. 

All in all, I really felt that this process went to a very special place especially in particular moments and it is definately something I wish to explore further and see how this can be transformed and move deeper even further. I might as well throw myself in and see what happens in the end! 

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