After exploring different ways of lifting each other last week, we added onto this knowledge by learning even more ways to send our bodies up. There was one lift in particular which terrified me as you sent your weight over your partners shoulder meaning if done correct you would just balance on their shoulder however, I struggled to gain the confidence to send my weight over my partner’s shoulder. If I had more chances to practice this lift I believe that I would gain the confidence needed for it.
My favourite lift which we explored in this session was probably one of the easiest lifts yet, I found it the most enjoyable and relaxing. All this lift consisted of was you and your partner being back to back and leaning onto one another so that the ‘over dancer’ would come off the floor. The key to this lift like the rest, was what we explored a lot last week about the ‘over dancer’s’ pelvis being higher than that of the ‘under dancers’. As well as being relaxed I enjoyed this lift the most as I feel very connected to my partner, whereas in other lifts I feel this connection is sometimes lost.
Images from the lift mentioned above
We also watched two pieces of Contact Improvisation, the piece which I particularly connected to was by Mirva Mäkinen and Otto Akkanen. The thing that really intrigued me was that they almost always had a constant connection, this connection made their movement much more fluid and made their relationship look strong. Watching this video, created almost a ‘light bulb’ moment for me as I knew in my mind that that was what I wanted to be able to achieve. Thinking about this idea of being constantly connected to my partner I participated in our weekly jam, I was generally finding that my movement was becoming more fluid however, I was still unsatisfied. Later in the jam session I began to work with a semi-regular partner. Normally our duets are ‘nice’ but nothing too special however, this week something clicked for both of us and we found ourselves using momentum in ways we hadn’t before and travelling around the space more. This was due to us both remaining in constant contact with each other which gave our duet great fluidity even though we were travelling a lot faster than we normally do in Contact Improvisation. This duet between myself and my partner made this week’s jam my favourite so far as I really feel both of us experienced something really special which you don’t always get when improvising and it is difficult to put into words. I think this quote by Bruce Curtis helps to explain why this impulse of movement happened between myself and my partner, ‘What is most important to remember is that each body, disabled or not, is unique and presents another opportunity to explore what movement is possible’ (1988, 157). I think we were both ready to explore movement at this next stage.
Video of Mirva Mäkinen and Otto Akkanen doing Contact Improvisation
Curtis, B. (1988) Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook 1, 13 156-162.
Omegabranch (2011) Contact Improvisation Mirva Mäkinen and Otto Akkanen. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLbWxujoGw [Accessed 17 November 2014].