From the last session concentrating on lifting I was interested to see how we could incorporate these lifts into our contact sessions. To say lifting isn’t my strong point I thoroughly enjoyed the session and learning about the different safe positions and points of contact between two bodies. At the start we watched two videos, from watching these there were many contrasts and similarities. In the first video, The play of weight by Martin Keogh and Neige Christenson. It was obvious who the other and under dancer was, the female was always the over dancer and the male the under. This is something which would typically happen in dancing which would involve lifting. The movement they produced was smooth and effortless. However after watching a Contact improvisation by Mina Makinen and Otto Akkanen, the difference was noticeable. The over and under dance parts were equal. To me this jam looked less choreographed and carefree unlike The play of weight.
After the two videos we started to move ourselves. The first exercise which we learnt was called surf and roll from watching the video on how to do this it looked effortless and easy, but when I tried it I found it harder than expected. Two bodies trying to stay close for a long period of time I found hard as our bodies would often get stuck in difficult positions and we would have to loose contact to then gain it again. After practicing this for a while and with different people I feel like I was more confident to use different levels and let my weight go and ground myself into the floor and my partner. The Akidio roll is a roll I watched and instantly wanted to try it was mesmerising to see how two bodies moved together in a controlled way. Claire and I was partners for this, I decided to be the one who rolled first but when it came to do it I didn’t feel comfortable enough so Claire decided to perform the roll and it worked perfectly. Momentum was a key point throughout it allowed you to work the roll numerous times in a smooth dynamic. Once we had got this it felt good to perform and the momentum lead the way.
We then revisited the lifts which we performed last week. As last week I came out confident with this I was looking forward to see where we would go next. The key factor throughout all of the lifts was down to come up which helped the under dancer get a good base and the time to prepare. The idea of not being able to use your hands on some lifts is a scary thought, especially the first time you have to do the lift, after I have completed it numerous times my confidence and trust with my current partner grew and the lifts got easier. The see-saw effect on the lift where one person laid on their partners back and then the partner swapped rolls it had to be smooth. Nicole and I worked on this and it did not work as of the height difference. As you had to place your pelvis in a certain position to get the lift correct because of the height difference between us we found it difficult as I had to pliẻ low almost to the floor to get our pelvis in the right position. Doing the paperclip lift and incorporating this to go up and to go down I found easier than last week. I worked with Rebecca and we worked well together to get this lift and land it with the height it needed. The last few lifts we were taught I found really difficult, the level was advanced and I struggled to grasp the lifts. I did not let this ruin my confidence as the lifts was an advance level. There are many anchor points on the body when lifting, some of these include the hips and shoulders, these places can facilitate most weight, when you recognise them it is safer and the trust between partners becomes more prominent. If I wasn’t on these safe points it would have been difficult to balance and hold the lifts.
Laying on the floor with another body on top of yours was interesting as I could feel their breathing and the weight of the body. It was difficult to get your breathing to time differently as your bodies breathing moulds into their breath as like the two bodies are one person. Steve Paxton’s Small dance is an internal feeling and this related to this exercise as we wasn’t moving it was our internal organs and our breathing which was doing all the work.
From this week’s reading Exposed to gravity by Bruce Curtis and Alan Ptashek. One quote which stood out to me was about the music and how this can initiate the movement you produce when contacting. ‘The body tends to move to the rhythm of the music instead of the internal rhythm of shifting weight, sensation and communication’ (Curtis, B, Ptashek, A, 1988, 158) as much as I agree with this the music to me makes me feel less exposed which I like and I enjoy trying to play with the different dynamics of the music and see where the music takes me.
Questions
How can you trust someone in a jam to lift you without preparing?
How do I know any of my peers want to initiate a lift in a jam?
Bilbliography
Curtis, B. and Ptashek, A. (1988) Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quaterly/Improvisation Sourcebook. 13(2) 156-162.
Neige Christenson (2009) the play of weight. [Online Video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltq6y06E8ew [Accessed 11th November 2015].
Omegabranch (2011) Contact Improvisation Mirva Mäkinen & Otto Akkanen. [Online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLbWxujoGw [Accessed 11th November 2015].
ZayacZhe (2009) Steve Paxton. Small dance [online video] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJKEXUtv44&feature=youtu.be [accessed on the 11th November 2015].