After a series of 3 classes with the IDOCDE group in stockholm  facilitated by Jan in may 2012, Jeannette asked him a few questions about his perception and the context of the process. 

What was the purpose of the touch and body contact that was initiated among the partcipants at the start of the session?

touch is one of the first and remains to be one of the most immediate of human body´s sensations,  it also directly addresses the most basic form of communication: touching&being touched, giving and taking, that then can be taken into more complex and  maybe indirect realms of interaction; physically, chemically, emotionally, geometrically.

Sensations and reactions as learning tools in movement exploration to define who we are and what we are was used as an open ended process . Have you used it in any other way and if so in what way?

directly or indirectly i feel i have used this whenever i facilitate an individual or group process, in artistic or educational or even therapeutic context. for me it comes down to asking and in some way defining the "root" of a situation or a project or a relationship: what really matters about it? what feels most alive? what is the core of it?and what can we come back to if we best distracted or lost in the process?

As the initiator of the process means that you as a participator must divide/ use your awareness and attention to create and objectify your position at the same time that you embrace a more subjective experience. How does this effect the efficiency of your interactions and the quality/depth of your envolvement?

 in fact i feel this "split" attention serves my intention of what i wish participants to experience and practice: for me it is a deeply human capacity, maybe even characteristics specific to human beings, that we can experience and reflect upon the experience at the same time. for some reason the more conventional presence in our society is either experiencing OR reflecting, which sometimes might be helpful, but especially in a setting of a live art such as dance a lot gets lost if the process is not synchronized.  so through the necessity of me as a facilitator having to be both in some ways objective and subjective can help generate this in others. ( anyways i feel that facilitating from a sensory-emotional-motorical place myself helps to transmit information beyond just the words i use, which is why i rarely stay out not moving at least in the beginning of a session in order to contribute to establish this space).

What does time mean to you?

 time is providing a frame of immediacy for us: we share the time that we have being in the same space. AND we can allow layers of time to open through accessing memory of our cells that re-experience events from the past in the present moment. an example: always when i meet a group of friends that i know from my teenage years and that since then live very different life`s from mine, i feel a part of my body embodies my body of that time ( my teenage time) in terms of muscle tone, posture, use of weight etc.  In that way my present body AND my past body layer in the presence, in this space.

thus we can have a multidimensional space in terms of times, including also desire, which can open also the future in the presence ( from now`s desire, what do i want the future to be?).

meaning, 2 bodies don`t necessarily only meet in the presence, but can travel through time together, or edit time ( through layering the proportions of how much past, how much present body is prevailing). all this is beautiful to experience, practice and cultivate in a setting of a class or rehearsal, even though it happens anyways all the time.

What is dance to you?

 dance  is a practice of  sensing, feeling, thinking with the body in time and space, so in a way it is what comes up : it can be banal or highly philosophical, technical or emotional, just like life itself. overall it is an amazing way to share multidimensional information, to communicate.

What do you consider to be physical skills in dance?  

for me i value skills of sensitivity, sensation, that can be processed and looped back into action.  more traditional skills of "dance technique" training certainly can help to be articulate, mostly in the 2nd half of the loop- the action. they also can offer new situations for the body to invite new sensation). so either way a practice of presence, reflection and openness on all levels ( emotional, physical, cognitive) is crucial for me, and physical skills are only interesting for me (at least on a deeper level) if contextualised in this frame. 

WORDS TO ELABORATE AROUND:

Empathatic tuning 

the fundament of communication: where am i, where is the other one?

Skin-Fat- Bone 

a trajectory of going from sensation and action from these different layers of surface, under-surface cushion and then the scaffolding of the body. each layer offers a different sense of our own body as well as a different membrane of in-/outflow of information.

Spaces/ Bridges/ Inner-outer scanning

what are we dealing with in sensation, movement and communication from these two? 

what are physical spaces like volumes that we define and design through our movement and positioning our body? what are the emotional spaces - memories, images, feelings - responding to those ( or also initiating)?

what are the membranes that we can use as bridges (e.g. do i work from my skin, from shape, from design of kinesphere etc.), how do i set boundaries, how do i break or open them?

experiencing all this: how can i scan what happens, reflect and feedback my reflection into the experience?

Spontaneity /Immediacy

to acknowledge and use the fact that we share this time and this space together. we can also see it as an invitation to take responsibility, commit to the moment, not waste the opportunity!

Awarenes/ Love

in my experience when we really open ourselves to share space and time , when we are aware of each other, something like love ( in the sense of respect and care for each other) emerges.