Resistance, Delay, Accumulation and Mobilization:

Resistance, Delay, Accumulation and Mobilization are the subject matters of the workshop. It will involve learning to recognize primary impulses that result from our initial responses to thoughts and images. Our first reaction, particularly in the context of dance, is to get carried away by these impulses and move without consciousness. The time spent in the studio will allow us to find ways to develop awareness and understanding of when and how these impulses happen, to be able to recognize how we take the first steps towards moving and when we decide that these impulses should end. It is important for us as dance makers and movers to know how, why, when, for whom, where, etc, we move. 

Luis said:

"When you improvise one of the first things to take into consideration is:

Awareness of what you do.

Some of the relevant questions to ask to yourselves are:

Why do you move? Where do you move from? How do you move? When do you move? For whom do you move?

When you improvise: get rid of what you know as much as possible. Empty yourself, and look for the unpredictable and the unknown; be true and honest. Give more importance and value to movement by emptying yourself of expectations.

In improvisation you respond to the moment, impulses and situations that each occasion offer_s. But it is necessary to develop an awareness of how these responses can be used more efficiently. It is important to learn how to place these responses in relation to the surrounding environment and space, time, energy, other people in the room, the objects and props that are around the studio, the architecture, the light, etc.

When you produce a lot of movement just for the sake of it, without consciousness, the movement becomes a mask, a protective shield that prevents us from seeing the true mover hiding behind it.  You aren't honest anymore in your choices, as you become more interested, and distracted, by easy ‘effects’ and tricks: your body and your brain disconnect. The images, thoughts, contexts, the communication, the dialogue, etc. - all these precious things start to disappear. At the end we become a decontextualized moving empty shelf. 

It is very important “To be conscious when you improvise”. It is very easy to get distracted and have an “unconscious movement trip”.

Ask yourself this question: Would it be possible to find ways to move from a single starting movement; one and only one movement? You can make one, a thousand, choreographies and probably many more just by focusing on the relevance and possibilities that just a single movement has?

Resistance:

Why do you move? Would it be because you just want/need/have the urgency to move? Or because your partner/the person next to you/in front of you moves, and his action gives you the desire to move?

What do you chose to do?

Work on resisting by trying to not respond immediately to the immediate impulses that start swirling around. Wait. Be patient. Observe. Detect the small changes that start to happen. Own the situation. Let your body to be “filled” with clear sensations, information, impulses, knowledge. Then move.

Description of different tools to explore improvisation:  

Mobilization:

• 2/2: Work in duets. Through hands-on work, one person explores and feels the specific shapes of the bones of his/her partner. This will give the ‘receiver” a clear idea of the shape and length of the bones, the joints, the articulations, etc.

• 2/2: This develops into individualized improvisations. The improvisation will be focused on the             support of the bones and articulation of the joints. The “giver” will observe the “receiver” dance. He/she will write and describe his/her observations of where the movements were initiated from during this dancing period.  At the end of the improvisation, the dancer tells the observer/witness what he did and specifically what parts of the body he was initiating his movements from.

“This isn’t meant to be a memory task but is intended to exercise awareness when you improvise”.

The observer reads the list that he/she wrote while the partner was dancing. He/she chooses one body part from the list to do a more specific, focused and clear dance.

Music:

• Listen to a piece of music 3 times.

First listening round: improvise in the most spontaneous way to the music being played.

Second: Observe what kind of movement qualities repeat as an impulse and reaction to the music. Narrow your focus to familiarize with one of these qualities.

Third: choose 3 movements that are a product of this process.

• Do the same with two other pieces of music.

Improvise 3/3: From the chosen movements select two movements that you want to use and improvise with other dancers. Explore the potential of the movements you have chosen, exhaust them; be also aware of the other dancers.

Look for different ways of moving with the use of just one movement.

3/3: To the two movements of your own you can start adding some of the movements of other dancers.  Use awareness and try to be conscious of how you appropriate, use, transform, manipulate your own and other dancers movements. Have a kinetic “dialogue” and exchanges of movement

Stories:

• Tell a personal story, a real story with your body. Then, try another story and another story until you find one that you would like to “share”. Focus on that particular story and observe closely the physical impulses that the story is triggering in your body to move. Find a few movements (one, two or three movements) that can summarize your story; that could work like a title for your story. One movement = a title of the story.

Warm up:

• 2/2: dialogue between two heads, or two pelvis. Isolation, integration, mobilization.

               3/3: Improvisation with 1 or 2 selected parts of the body.

Resistance:

• 2/2: stand up close, facing each other.

Wait, observe and allow impulses to be recognizable and delay responding to them with a rush of movement or activity.  Resist, wait, accumulate images and information; observe the tension that piles up by quietly waiting patiently. Observe your partner. Be honest by avoiding getting carried away by the need to move; avoid “creating” movements that you know are already recognizable to you. Don't respond to the first, second or third impulses, wait maybe for the 5^th or even longer, and then follow your impulses to enter in a movement exploration. Don't use the action/reaction tools that you already know by responding consciously to the person standing in front of you. The connection with the other person will build-up; allow it to happen. Naturally, understanding a new space, observing and using the sensation and energy that is created in the space between the two of you, allow a different dialogue, interaction, language to be created. Surprise yourself. 

• 3/3 : Open movement. Using resistance as a tool to play in an open space. 

Warm up

• Together stand up close, just feel the others without touching; eyes are closed. Use that situation to enter slowly into a search for movement; feel free to feel the contact and touch of the others but avoid contact improvisation forms to get in the way of your explorations. Change levels and explore the space between people. 

 Slowly start moving away from the group, carry with you this information and sensations, to move through the space.

• From the distance, find a connection with a partner. Explore that relationship. What happens? What changes?

Allow the desire to move freely to take over.

Accumulation :

• 2/2: A person dances with the eyes closed and the other witnesses it.

The dancer explores, discovers the different sensations (cf: authentic movement)

              2/2: Sensorial journey. One person (eyes closed) discovers the space, different materials, textures, etc. with the help of the other partner by being guided through the surrounding environment. It is possible to “touch” with the hands, the skin, all over.

To explore materials, to feel, to smell: the journey helps to unleash new sensations and awareness of the surroundings, it creates a new kind of intimacy with the space and its objects, props, things. 

• Improvisation: dance linking the movement to a specific object of your choice found during the journey; it could also be a texture, a movement, a material. Move the object/selected “item” to a new location in the space.

Everybody join to move the objects, to bring them in and around the space, to relocate them and change their places in the space until a collective installation is created.

Then stop: look the landscape created, observe the installation...then remove the installation and clear the space.

 Next step. In a circle: say with words one image, a visual, an action, an activity that you remember while creating the installation. Use of the photographic memory and the sensorial awareness when we create things that at first seems random games.

One image, one sensation, one word, one composition.

Similarly as with the other sessions summarize the experience in one or two movements

 Then, improvise using the physical memories of the last actions with the objects. Select and use only one movement.

Delay: 

• Lie on the floor. Find a body position on the floor and consciously observe what parts of the body are in contact with it. Visualize those body parts being printed on the floor. Observe that. Then move onto a new position being aware of what part of your body is initiating the action. Observe in your mind’s eye the new imprint of your body on the floor.

Do this several times. Then take a paper and draw as many of the imprints as you can remember.

• Imprint game. 5 people. One person, “the initiator” moves in the space, moving the energy of the space and the other dancers. Following and moved by the initiator’s energy the dancers respond to  his actions modifying their location in the space in relationship to the initiator; the length of the action is dictated by the suggested movement of the initiator and finishes when he/she stops. This will create a collective imprint of the group in the space. The initiator does this a couple of times. Then, a new initiator re-starts the action until everyone in the group has been initiator and follower.

We did this twice by leader and 2 rounds. Then we change to a new group.

It is important to use different rhythms, different energy, space, surprises and unpredictability.

 Further into the session: Use the energy and dynamic proposed by the leader (initiator) to create a score. Also feel free to use the words found while improvising based on the installation session.

Creation of the presentation (cf : video)

Link to watch video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITrekiZNSU 

Part 1:

In the hall, and before the audience enters the performance space, give a short presentation/explanation of the workshop’s content to the audience. Then ask them to write down their preferred body part. Perform a short duet with another dancer, using the body part the audience has mentioned to you. Then lead the audience to the stage. The audience is asked to sit on both sides of the stage.

Part 2:

The dancers put on red clothes

The dancers sit on the audience’s red seats. Change seats 4 times.

Walk on the stage and perform “Resistance”. Use resistance as a tool, get rid of the clothes. Individually, once the red clothes are gone, run on and around the stage.

Sit on the red seat 

First group do printing. Two rounds.

Second group the same.

First group go in and do the installation (only the memory of it, without objects)

You can stay dancing or leave. You can come back to the space and appropriating the space of another person, take their space and using your body to subtly push them out of the space.

The end: techno music: move the part of your body that the audience told you that was their preferred one.  Allow yourself to use the rhythm of the music to be carried away and to develop this final dance.

Dance, but don't dance indiscriminately! Try not to get lost in the abyss of pure irrational movement, own your choices, be curious, take riskx, find something that you don’t know yet and explore it.

Use the learned tools: be aware of your choices, impulses, of the space, the rhythm, your energy and the others energy…and more.