ID Artists

As part of our self study tasks in Experiential Anatomy, we were asked to research some of the teachers who offer classes at ID. In particular, subject areas that are relevant to the work we have been doing at Coventry University.

So here is what I have found:


Andrew Downes

• He is drawn towards Western and Eastern Evolutionary Practices with a particular interest in Improvisation and Contact Improvisation.
• In his class description, he states he offers, 'an opportunity to move towards the unknown, in a safe environment'.
• I feel this description is very true what we are also told at University. A class (a safe environment) with a teacher and peers is the time to experiment, be creative and discover new things (move to the unknown). This can be applied in all areas of our learning, our improv, contact improv or phrase lessons.

Bettina Carpi

• This artist describes their classes as a release based class and aims to be inclusive.
• At University, we have participated in release based classes with improvisation and phrase based work in our final year.
• The course is also one of very few inclusive dance courses available. During my time at Coventry, I have had first hand experience in working with inclusive dance, having worked with Karen Rathbone on her FMP.

Claudia Kappenberg

• Her class description states she, 'explore non-dance film and video work in relation to choreographic composition'.
• Her biography explains that she has worked on single screen work as well as screen-based installations and live site-specific events.
• This relates to the Dance and the Moving Image and Site Specific modules we have covered at Coventry University.

Henry Montes

• His classes are informed by his ongoing studies in Craniosacral Biodynamics.
• According to his biography, he is a registered Alexander Technique teacher.
• Although we do not directly cover Alexander Technique at University, we have had guest artist come to work with us in this area.
• It is also an subject that we talk about quite frequently in Experiential Anatomy and in Feldenkrais.

Jan Burkhardt

• These classes aim to access sources of sensation in our bodies through tuning into specific anatomical systems.
• He has been exploring contact improvisation and BMC.
• At University, we have taken classes in both of these areas across our 3 years.
• We have studied BMC  as a part of our Experiential Anatomy classes.

Peer Facilitation

Friday 14th March

So I wanted to focus on my own curiosities from the things I have learnt and discovered in my 3rd and final year in Coventry. For me, I enjoy having a cross curricular approach when learning. This year, this has been present for me particularly in Experiential Anatomy and in the phrase based work in Andrea's Release Based Contemporary classes. This was the stimulus for lesson that I created.

In Experiential Anatomy, I found the homologus, homolateral and contralateral patterns most interesting. Consequently, I picked all 3 to focus on in my lesson.

For my lesson, I wanted to familiarise the patterns I was focusing on, and then building on my curiosities, I wanted to create a phrase that utilised these movement patterns.

My Lesson Plan:



Here is a video of the phrase I created using the homologus, homolateral and contralateral patterns:

 

 

 

After the peer facilitation lesson, I reflected upon my teaching and also received some feedback from my tutor and peers.

 

 

Feedback:

• Good use of technical terms as well as animal examples. Helped those who were unsure of correct terminology to understand which pattern was being used.
• Good communication with peers
• Clarifying my own knowledge whilst teaching others
• Clear structure to class
• Would I change my voice in a different context?
• Be more demanding with those experienced in dance

 

My own thoughts:

• I enjoyed sharing my own curiosities and exploring them whilst passing on information to my peers
• I like asking questions when I teach because I can be reassured that they have understood and retained the information I have given them.
• I was interested in the differences in opinion between myself and my peers. It wasn't to demonstrate that I was teaching it wrong but it reiterated previous discussions we had had about the initiation of the movement and the different ways movement can be interpreted. For example, I considered one movement to be contralateral because I was putting weight in to my R hand and pushing with my L leg. However in Natalie's demonstration of the movement, she had her body weight all on one side making it homolateral. The way we do a certain movement may not be the same as it was intended or how it was originally performed. We all make alteration to our movement in order to find the way that is most comfortable or familiar to us.



1st March - 25th March

03.03.14 - Release Based Contemporary

In this lesson, we began working with a moving and writing method in which we keep swapping between the two. I have worked with this method previously in year two but not since being a 3rd year. We were told not to make judgements which I have always found very difficult to do. I always like to compare to what I have done previously or what I felt I should be doing.

For example, when doing this previously, I would move on to a different stimulus for moving each time. I also found the easiest way to continuously write was by engaging with free writing. On returning to this method during this lesson, I found that enjoyed staying with the same moving stimulus and exploring it further each time. I continued to engage with the free writing strategies; this is something that obviously works for me.

In this lesson in particular, I noticed that I wrote more each time I came back to the writing task. I assumed this was because I was re-familiarising myself with this method. The more I became engaged in the task, the more I was getting out of it.



17.03.14 - Release Based Contemporary

Again in this lesson, we returned to the moving and writing method we covered in our previous lesson. This week in particular raised a lot of questions for me personally. Why is this not the same for me now? What's changed? I also included feedback from Katye into my free writing. For example, How long are you Emma Woolley?

I feel this way of working is something that really suits my style of working. I feel very focused and motivated when engaging with this method. It is something that I would like to continue to use in my personal practice outside of class.



21.03.14 - Feldenkrais

This final Feldenkrais class was used to talk about Feldenkrais as a method (based upon the readings) and what we have taken from it throughout our final year. In small groups we discussed the reading; the group I was in, focused on The Feldenkrais Method and The Dancer. We dicussed a number of points:

• There is no right and wrong
• Efficiency in moving
• 'Only the really gifted teachers can convey how something can feel'.
• Feldenkrais Method - Group of participants, not hands on
• Alexander Technique - Individual, hands on
• Authority- not teaching but sharing information - individual interpretations - self authority
• Sensory information
• Moshe Feldenkrais - Didn't consider himself as a teacher, he provided circumstances

From the discussion, I really picked up on the authority/ self authority information. I hadn't thought of it in this way before but as it was presented to me I could understand it so clearly. For me, Feldenkrais engages individuals in different ways depending on a number of factors, physique/ body make up, gender, age, abilities/ disabilities and injuries. As a method, Feldenkrais is inclusive of all of these factors and each person can tailor their learning to suit their needs. For example, with my shoulder injury, I found it difficult to lift the arm above the head. This method allowed me to make the movements smaller and to just visualise the movement if needed. The self authority aspect of the method allowed me to make allowances in my moving practice.

As discussed, it is very different to structured techniques such as ballet where to student has to copy the movements of the teacher and then perform them. There is no demonstration in Feldenkrais which means each individual has a different interpretation of the instructions given. As noted above, there is no right or wrong. It is also different in the sense of the body as a whole. Ballet used the whole body, arms, legs and torso, whereas Feldenkrais focuses on a specific isolated area each week.



24.03.14 - Release Based Contemporary

This lesson was our final Release Based Contemporary class of the year!!! Again, we began working with the same method as we have for the duration of March, the moving and writing method (as I like to call it). Today, I noticed that I didn't do what I had done before. Previously, I had written more and more as the task went on however today, I wrote a lot to begin with, then less, then more again. Rather than a continuous progression, I seemed to follow a more random pattern this time. Last time I explained that I wrote more as I became more engaged and more exploitative. Today though, I didn't feel any less engaged than before and somehow the outcome was slightly different.

At the end of the class we moved on to duet based work. It left me with questions about my practice and the others around me also in their own practice. Can I be in a duet/ conversation with the floor/ space around me rather than being in a duet with another person?

Elevation Phrase

This phrase is taken from the movement we have been studying in Andrea's Release Based Contemporary classes. The phrase doesn't have a name, but I have named it the elevation phrase based upon the nature of the movement included.

In class, we have been particularly focused on:

• Line of the body - from fingers, down the spine to the toes
• Elevation
• Use of space
• Landing with the heels on the floor
• Alignment of the knees over the toes
• Engaging the feet - not too little, not too much
• The pathway of the arms

Move It 2014

Representing Coventry University

This opportunity allowed me to develop my networking skills. I was approached by people who were interesting in offering opportunities in order to develop my future career. For example, workshops in a variety of dance genres and teaching opportunities. It also gave me a chance to ask others about their experiences and advice they would give me to kick start my career as a dance artist/ teacher.

3rd February - 28th February

This month feels like it has been a quiet one because it's shorter and we had reading week too. Anyway...


3.02.14 - Release Based Contemporary

During the first term, I was advised to explore folding in the hips, knees and ankles more, so I decided to do so in this lesson. I worked with the idea of folding and unfolding as a way to warm up for class. I found this new exploration intriguing but also tiring. To begin with, this new concept filled me with high energy, but I soon found myself fatigued. I began working with my eyes open but changed to eyes closed when I began to work on the floor with smaller, concentrated movements. When moving on the the next task in small groups, I felt as though I wanted to continue with my current practice. My findings in my movement made me want to further this enquiry.

I feel this is still an area of my practice that needs understanding and further exploration.



14.02.14 - Experiential Anatomy

In the warm up, I was particularly interested in the skin, touch and temperature. This isn't something I usually work with and I'm still not quite sure how this topic came up for me when I was moving?? I think I was interested in the temperature between my body and the floor surface I was working with. Maybe I should investigate this further in my self study practice?



24.02.14 - Release Based Contemporary

In this lesson, we worked with a method we have used before in Yr 2. The idea is to move for a certain period of time and then write for a certain period of time, this is then repeated serveral times. Instantly, I very focused in my moving and was exploring a new idea that I hadn't before. In my writing time, I used the free writing technique to express my thoughts and opinions of my work. I used words such as, curling, expanding, active, continuous, spiralling, open, unravelling, reaching, tangled, tipping, challenge... to name but a few. At the time, each of these words really explained what I was doing but now, they don't have much of a resembelance.

When doing this task previously, I found myself jumping from different focuses and stimuli whereas now, I found it much more effective to focus on one area and continue to develop this throughout the overall process. I also found the writing section easier each time that we did it.

I think this method really works well for me because I have time to both move and reflect. Sometimes I find moving for long periods of time quite tiring and I forget what cocepts I have been thinking of in my moving. This method allows time for both respectively.

Release Based Contemporary

I have enjoyed learning new phrases in this terms Release Based Contemporary lessons. This is just one of the many phrases we have learnt. Since recording this video, we have spent more time during lesson perfecting the technique aspects of the phrase, in particular, the turns to the corner and the falling into the run.

 

Take One

After watching this video, I realised there were some areas I could improve. In particular, I feel I could improve my arm line when leaning backwards after the balance to the back corner. My arms raise too high, they need to be parallel to my extended leg. I also feel I could improve the fall at the end of the sequence.

Here is the second take of the phrase including the improvements I made.

 

Take 2

January Blog Post

6th January - 31st January

6.01.14 - Release Based Contemporary
This was our first lesson back after Christmas and I was a lot more engage than I thought I would be. I began with continuous movement to get started and this really worked for me. Continuous movement doesn't always have to be fast and busy, I prefer a slower and more flowing approach in order to keep moving. I found it easiest to connect with some of the principles we have studied in Experiential Anatomy in particular, naval radiation, yield/ push and reach/ pull.


13.01.14 - Release Based Contemporary
In this lesson, I was working with the connection between the heels, tail and skull. This is a focus I have engaged with the most since the end of Year 2. I don't why, but I can always come back to this notion when I am stuck for movement. I like the feeling of being connected down the back surface of my body, I can really feel a stretch through the back of my legs. I don't necessarily think of my spine in order to find these connections, I think its more of a cellular/ skin feeling. I documented my findings through this movement in the form a family tree. This is the first time I have journalled like this and I would like to use it again because it shows my initial thoughts at the bottom and how these expanded and grew throughout my moving experience.

17.01.14 - Experiential Anatomy

At the start of the lesson we wrote our aspirations for Term 2.

My aspirations are:

- To always arrive in the space early to give time to prepare for class

- To continue to explore new/ unfamiliar ideas to step out of my comfort zone

- To keep up to date with readings, journalling and blogging.

Reviewing these aspirations now, I feel that I have been arriving with enough time to do what I need to before the lesson starts. Sometimes I enjoy just resting in the space and sometimes I feel more active. I do try to explore unfamiliar ideas however, I like to stay with what I know works for me too. In Experiential Anatomy, we have been learning about different movement patters so I have been able to experiment with new ways of moving, for example, homologus, homolateral and contralateral. I haven't really kept up with my readings and blogging because I have focus a lot of time to my dissertation. However now it is completed, I will dedicate more time to this work.

In the main body of the class, we studied the homologus movement pattern, also known as the frog pattern. It marks the distinction between the upper and lower body. The movement to me, is symmetrical with both legs together and then both arms together. The movement mainly uses the sagital/ wheel plane of movement. I enjoyed learning about this, because it is something I have not studied before and I find it interesting.

22.01.14 - Workshop with Cecilia Macfarlane

In this workshop, we learnt about the differences between therapy and therapeutic. From our discussion, I now understand that therapy is a form treatment in which a professional gives therapy to someone on a one to one basis. The term therapeutic is something that relaxes us for example, it could be shopping or watching television, it is something that can be done individually without the help of a professional. In the following Experiential Anatomy lesson (24.01.14), we discussed what we had learnt and taken away from Cecilia's workshop and what questions had been provoked.

- Speaking and listening is a form of therapy

- Energy does not always come from the obvious places

- Dance movement psychotherapy is a form of therapy. It is undertaken in a clinical setting, there is a client and therapist role and it is on a one to one basis.

- Dance artists offer therapeutic creative services. It is undertaken in a group setting and in a dance setting rather than a clinical setting.

24.01.14 - Experiential Anatomy

We started this lesson by creating a homologus movement phrase that we shared with a partner and then with another partnership. We were focusing on where the intention of the movement was initiated from. This was a real turning point and discovery for me personally. I realised that, "you don't have to dance identically to have the same intention in moving."

After this, we studied the homelateral movement pattern, also known as the lizard pattern. This is where the right arm and right leg move together, and the left arm and left leg move together.

31.01.14 - Experiential Anatomy

At the start of the lesson we began working with a partner. I noted the differences between mine and Chelsea's movement. Chelsea worked with the homelateral pattern, balance, folding and vertical plane. On the other hand, I worked with the homologus pattern, sweeping movements and was more grounded to the floor.  

We continued the progression with movement patterns and focused on the contralateral movement pattern. It focuses on the relationship between opposites in the body and is present in mammals. It differentiates between the 4 quadrants of the body. This movement pattern allows us the crawl, walk and run.



Study Group Tutorial (December)

I found the study group tutorial really helpful because I was able to ask questions about areas I was still unsure of. I think it is also helpful for tutors to see the progress we make outside of lessons as well as in.

My Questions

• Could you explain the difference between Yield and Push/ Reach and Pull in more detail?

I already understood:
Yield and Push - Establishing your own personal kinesphere.
Reach and Pull - Breaking through the kinesphere.
However I still did not understand this fully.
Natalie explained:
Yield and Push - Inner focus.
Reach and Pull - Hearing/ seeing out into the world.

• With hands on cellular touch the pressure is dependent on the partners preference. Is there a point where it becomes too much and therefore, becomes another form of touch?

Natalie explained:
The answer is yes, if cellular touch becomes too firm, it can become muscular touch or boney touch.


My Findings
Being given these questions to answer for the group tutorial helped me to discover new things that I had not understood/ realised previously.

• When doing some additional reading, I discovered a technique called Eutony. In the reading, it explained that this technique a distinction is made between touch and contact. This lead me to question if there is a distinction between the two in BMC?

• Homologous, Homolateral, Contelateral Movement. It wasn't until Release Based Contemporary, when I found it difficult to initiate crawling with my legs that I really undertood this concept I had read about! It was a real light bulb moment for me and I was able to understand why I fould this difficult and what sort of mover I am.

December Blog Post

25th November- 13th December

15.11.13 - Improvisation and Instant Composition
In this lesson I had a lot of questions... Am I copying? Am I following? Do I fill in the gaps? Am I in the way? Am I restricting movement?
I found this task confusing to be honest, each time we did it with a different partner, I still couldn't get into it. However, the final time we did it, I felt I could completely comprehend. I realised that I didn't have to copy to be a part of the dance. I complimented in a way that felt right to me.

29.11.13- Feldenkrais
I felt that in this particular lesson I learnt something that Feldenkrais hadn't taught me in previous lessons. We learnt about the four cardinal (?) points of the body. Baring weight on two hands and two feet. I was able to test my balance in a simplistic way without complicating it with grand movements. I suppose I really understood the purpose of this technique, to take things back to basics.

6.12.13 - Experiential Anatomy
In this lesson, we were talking about the structure of the spine. Typically, you would think that it is rigid and straight however, if you think of all the ways in which the spine can be moved, it is quite malleable. When drawing a picture, I drew honeycomb because it represents the spaces in between the spine.