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?
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