I was attending Georg Blaschke s class without any previous experience of his teaching and therefore no expectations. G.B. shared his approach on how to address the spine.

Description

G. B. talked about time being a main parameter of his work. Therefore he was facing a challenge to be restricted to a time frame of 10min.

We then formed couples. He explained that one should be the mover the other the person who touches. He taught by demonstrating how he suggested us to touch the spine of our partner. The focus for the mover should be the top and bottom part of the spine as well as the connective anatomy in between. The touching person could shift places and quality of touch yet staying connected to the bony structure of the spine of herself and her partner. The touching person was told to be responsible for the mover not bumping into something / somebody while moving with closed eyes. The mover was free to follow her own track informed by the touch of her partner.

We experienced this setting for four minutes then changed roles. Finally we moved drawing from the previous experience. Additionally we were invited to open our eyes and integrate what we saw and how we defined the space through our physical presence into our dancing.

Experience

As soon as G.B. talked about time it seemed as if we moved into a timezone of prosperity. I guess that simple got transmitted by G.B. s presence. It stayed with me even though a part of my mind was very aware of the minutes passing by.

In terms of content I felt invited to revisit a place which I have explored previously. In the way G. B. introduced his suggestion, by talking in a calm and spacious manner, with a friendly smile and a personal interest behind I felt invited to let myself drop into the experience yet loosely keep my inner observer alert.

In this way I could add to my body of knowledge concerning his suggested area. The way I took in the information and used his suggested “playground” was of course still very close to how I perceive and organize information about movement usually. This I realized while documenting my experience and not being able to remember the exact wording of G. B. s teaching.

Thoughts

Trying to remember my experience three days later I am curious on which levels G. B. transmitted his information and on which of those I could actually perceive it.

Here is an incomplete list:

field of energy

wording

rhythm of language

sound and resonance of the voice

pause in between information

embodiment of the material

touch

engagement

mind set

relation to the group / to single students

quantity of verbal information

content of verbal information

examples shown

Even though this list was not meant to be hierarchical I think it s interesting that verbal content is quite at the bottom of the list as well as examples shown.