Phenomenology is a word with a lot of meaning but from what I understand is that, phenomenology is the lived experience and that it is subjective and no one else can understand the world as I do because they have their own opinion of the world.
_________________________________________________________________________
This week we learned so much, and it was quite overwhelming. However, I loved coming out of the floor and experimenting with gravity. I found it quite interesting how our ‘centre of gravity changes’ without having an awareness and that it ‘can move around 6 or 8 inches from its standard position’ (Woodhull, 1978-79, 43-45). The body is an amazing thing, and it is always looking out for itself even when we are not thinking ourselves.
Going up was exciting but I did struggle with some of the exercises, however I just pushed through and worked with it. The key points to remember when going up are:
– Sharing weight
– Sharing centre of gravity
– Momentum
– Stay grounded
– Keep in contact
– Jig sawing together
It was difficult at times, especially with weight. Sometimes I would not be giving all my weight and I would not be aware of it, and I would have to be reminded. Another point I struggled with at times was momentum. I found out the hard way on the roundabout exercise, but I now know that the loss of momentum will make the movement harder, and if I keep moving with the flow the movement will be lighter and more fluid. By the end of this exercise we got the hang of it, and found it easy.
Compared to some of the other videos we have seen throughout CI such as Steve Paxton’s ‘Magnesium’ (1972), the video Embraced – Contact Improvisation made me realise that CI does not always have to be high energy. You can move slowly and keep contact. I feel this will help me in my practice to relax and go slow, so I can really listen to my own body and my partners. In Dance and Somatics, Chapter 3, it mentions that when dancers try too hard it ‘encourages dancers to ignore their bodies’ (Brodie, 2012, 69). I can relate to this because when I try too hard it does not work out, however when I relax and do not think about it, the finishing product is better.
I had a mixture of feeling towards this week’s jam, my first initial thought was how am I going to link floor work and up work together? I made myself anxious and ended up being the last person to go in, although I was observing other people in the circle to see how they coped. I then thought to myself, forget about linking them together, go in and see what happens. Throwing myself in there was the best thing I could have done, I worked with people I do not normally work with a lot and it did not feel awkward or uncomfortable. I let go, listened, and moved with another person and ended up with a few good comments, which boosted my confidence level.
Brodie, J and Lobel, E (2012) Kinesthesia The Sixth Sense for Dancers. Dance and Somatics. London: McFarlane & Company Inc. Chapter 3.
Irene Sposetti BeingMotion. (2016) Embraced – Contact Improvisation. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4wUEiHowSU [accessed 10 November 2017].
Tumasia. (2010) Fall after newton 1 . Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k768K_OTePM&=&t=300s [accessed 10 November 2017].
Woodhull, A. (1978-79) Center of Gravity. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I Vol. 4. Pp. 43-48