Contact Improvisation

Following on from our last class we used the question we had created which was, “Can you apply the same trust and relationship with a new partner that you do with a regular partner?” and explored this question in a research lab. We used different exercises which helped us to explore our question, we began with the ‘pebble’ exercise from week 3. We began by rolling over every person in our group, some of them were regular partners and some were non-regulars, we wanted to see if there was a difference in trust between the two types of partners. After everyone in our group had done this we established that for this most part there was not a lack of trust towards the new partner however, we were aware that being on a low level made it much more easier to trust your partner.

Photos from the higher level of the ‘pebble exercise’ on all fours. 

Following on from this, we worked on a high and low level by exploring the ‘head’ exercises, also from week 3, to see if the level and the use of the head had a larger effect on trust. In this exploration we used myself as the main subject and I originally underwent the movement with my partner which I explored this with originally in week 3, then I repeated the exercise with my eyes shut dancing with an unknown partner in order to try and determine two opposites. I was very relaxed and trusting with my regular partner however, I was as relaxed with my unknown partner and if anything having my eyes shut made me even more relaxed and trusting.

Head exercise with a regular partner.

Head exercise with a non-regular partner.

To end of research lab we had 20 minutes for a Contact Improvisation jam, in which we could choose to move in and out of in order to not only experience but to also observe. The main aims for this jam were to see if we only worked with regular partners or if we mixed with each other and to also see if there were any differences in trust or relationships between partners. Overall we all felt as if we trusted each other equally however, sometimes a relationship would not always develop, and personally some of the best relationships I created were with non-regular partners. This may have been due to the fresh quality that being with a new partner brings as you don’t have habitual movements that you explore together. Moreover we found that trusting someone has more to do with whether they look confident in themselves, as even if they are a regular partner, if they don’t look confident taking their own weight, you are less likely to trust them to take your whole weight.

Photos from the end jam session.

If were to re-do this research lab we would have begun with a jam as well as one at the end so that we could take note of any changes which occurred also, from doing the exercises before the jam we had already built up trust between each other so doing the jam at the beginning would have been a more true way to notice differences in trust and relationship. Moreover, although some of us were not regular partners in Contact Improvisation, we have all known each other for over a year so we naturally trust each other more than complete strangers would. Due to this it would have been more accurate to incorporate people who had never met each other before as well as known people so we would try and incorporate this if we were to re-do this research lab.

In class this week we looked at being off balance and falling with gravity rather than working against it. We discovered ways to you gravity to enable us to fall and move without causing injury. For dancers, especially in release based movement, gravity is ‘considered a partner, used to lead and guide any movement’ (Ravn, 2010, 26). We began exploring this idea of becoming a partner with gravity by first performing ‘the small dance’, where you stand still and notice the tiny movements your body creates in order for you to stay upright. After noticing these instead of resisting gravity to stay still we began trying to allow gravity to move us, for me this we usually forward or backwards. We developed this further by allowing the movement to take us to the floor through falling, this was very difficult for me to do at first as I was scared of injuring myself however, I did begin to ease into this exercise the more times we did this. As a note for if I did this again in the future, I would try and be more daring as I never really dared to fall backwards as I couldn’t see what was behind me I feel it is harder for your arms to catch you from behind. Moreover after doing this exercise I realised that I didn’t fall straight forwards either as every time I did fall forwards I turned so that I would land on my side, so I would try and stop myself from doing this reaction if I tried this again.

After this we got into pairs, one person was the ‘cat’ the other the ‘owner’ the owner had to create surfaces for the cat the rest and lean their weight onto, like a real cat would as the rub their weights into your legs for example. We then swapped roles. I personally preferred being the cat as I enjoyed exploring new ways in which my partner could take my weight. The roles then became more fluid so that we were both cats and both owners. For me the quality of the movement became much more fluid, which helped to allow both of us to push ourselves further. My partner had never trusted herself to take herself completely off the floor in improvisation before but in our duet she trusted me enough to explore this which for me made it a lovely duet as we connected and trusted each other fully.

We ended the class by splitting into groups of four and writing down any questions we had about Contact Improvisation which we could explore in the following week.

We then focused on one of these questions and thought of exercises we could undertake in our next class in order to answer this question. Our question was ‘Can you apply the same trust and relationship with a new partner that you do with a regular partner?’ I’m excited to explore this question and to find an answer to it next week!

Ravn, S. (2010) Sensing weight in movement. Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 2, (1) 21- 34.

We began the class this week by watching Steve Paxton’s Magnesium (1972) and compared it to Earthdance (2010) by Blake Nellis and Brando. These pieces were created with almost forty years between them and in them you can see many differences between the early stages of Contact Improvisation and the technique now that it has been further developed. Both are fast paced however, Earthdance has a much smoother movement quality to it and seems much more controlled and understanding to one another’s movements. It also creates more of a relationship between the pair. This is not to say that Magnesium was incorrect, it was just the early practitioners exploring the limits of the body. The forty years shows the progression in the tonal qualities of the piece, more knowledge on landing and strength and a further practice and understanding on how and where to make surfaces of the body available for your partner. Below is a recording of Earthdance to help illustrate the ideas that I have brought forward.

After this we moved around the space keeping our head attached to the floor at all times. We then found a partner and had to keep complete head to head contact throughout. I became much more relaxed once I was with my partner and enjoyed our duet very much, I also found that I bonded with that partner more than I had done in any previous exercise. I think this was due to us giving each other the weight of our heads and therefore creating trust, this connection was furthered by how much of a close proximity we had to remain to one another.

Moving on from this with the idea of making surfaces more available, we began rolling over our partner. Starting at a low level one partner would make a pebble shape and the other would roll over them so that they became back to back midway through the movement, keeping the neck and head relaxed. We then progressed to the base partner being on ‘all fours’ and continued the rolling action. I found this much more difficult than I had originally thought however, once I had practiced a few times I became more confident in the action and during the final improvisation in the class and the improvisational jam I continued to explore this idea as well as the idea of my head being in contact with my partners. I think it has opened up the ideas for partner work for me and allowed me to trust my partner more.

Brandes, Aaron (2010) Contact Improvisation: Blake Nellis & Brando @ Earthdance. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQRF2sLK1vY  [Accessed 12 October 2014].

This week in class we were exploring how to give our weight to each other rather than just the floor, we learnt how to do this safely and efficiently. We began in partners, one of us lied face down on the floor and the other lied across them and experimented with giving their weight to them and rolling up and down the body. As we did this exercise we had to try and relax our bodies completely and to give our partner all of our weight, whilst still being careful not to put excessive weight on the back of their knees. Being the partner on top I became more comfortable with giving my weight the longer I was on top of my partner, when I was the one being given the weight I was much more comfortable than I thought I would be and as my partner was rolling up and down my body it felt very relaxing.

Developing the previous exercise we had one of the pair roll along the floor whilst the other tried to ‘ride the wave’ of their movement, in order to roll over the top of their body. We continued this by experimenting with which body part we led with, in particular I thought leading with a foot and having the under dancers pull the rest of your body was very interesting.

We also played with giving weight whilst dancing. We tried this by having one dancer improvise and the partner pausing them when they thought they had found a position they could use as a rest place where they could give their weight. We continued this exercise trying different ways, I personally liked to try and push myself to into unusual ways of balancing my body so that not only would it be more interesting for the viewer, it would also be more enjoyable and experimental for me as the dancer. Our reading this week was on touch and the importance of touch as a sense. It linked well not only to our class this week as we were thinking about different intensity of touch, but it also re enforced our class last week.

Brandes, Aaron (2010) Contact Improvisation: Blake Nellis & Brando @ Earthdance. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQRF2sLK1vY  [Accessed 12 October 2014].

Curtis, B. (1988) Exposed to Gravity. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook 1, 13 156-162.

Heitkamp,   D. (2003). Moving from the Skin: An Exploratorium. Contact Quarterly/ Contact  Improvisation Sourcebook II, Vol. 28:2. Pp.  256- 264.

Omegabranch (2011) Contact Improvisation Mirva Mäkinen and Otto Akkanen. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLbWxujoGw [Accessed 17 November 2014].

Ravn, S. (2010) Sensing weight in movement. Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 2, (1) 21- 34.

Stover, J. (1989) Some Considerations When Structuring an Improvisation (to be seen by an audience). Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook II, 14, 185.