S     L     A     L     O     M

CONTEMPORARY DANCE CLASS

Aims

• deepening the understanding the concept of balance
• helping to experience the role of weight in locomotion
• developing a more complex sensation of space
• developing the sense of rhythm
• to help experiencing how a mere change of speed can change the character of a movement

Class description

1. Walk with a comfortable speed in the space. Listen to your steps, more closely pay attention to which part of your foot touches the floor first and how do you transfer the weight of the body through your foot.

2. Be sure that you don’t bump into someone. In other words be ready at any moment to change your direction or even to stop.

3. Now watch more closely how you change direction while you’re proceeding in space; what do you actually do after you made the decision to change direction of the walk.

4. Change frequently in order to notice the method you use…

5. Now work the other way around: walk straight but meanwhile shift the weight of your body to the right and notice what happens; then shift the weight to the left and again notice the result of that weight shift. Similarly try out shifting the weight backwards as you walk forward. If you happen to come to a stop, start walking backwards and try the weight shifts to the sides again. Practice this for a couple of minutes and experiment with different speed and varying degrees of weight shift

6. Come to a standstill and for a moment listen to the sensations in your body.

7. Stand next to the wall sideways, feet parallel to each other, at a distance from where you can easily reach the wall with your right or left hand with your elbow bent at approximately right angle… Place your palm on the wall at shoulder height.

8. Now make one small step to the side away from the wall (keep feet parallel) and feel how the weight of your body shifts towards the wall through your arm. Keep your sole fully on the floor so your feet will start to pronate and supinate.

9. Repeat the small step a few times so that you gradually get further away from the wall with your feet but leaning towards it with your body. Feel how the weight of your body is shared between your feet and your hand that’s against the wall. Feel the support from the floor and from the wall.

10. Now slowly walk backwards with the small steps towards the floor and notice how the weight of your body gradually shifts back to the center.

11. Now instead of making small steps make one big step to the side away from the wall and give your weight to the wall again. Stay in this position leaning towards the wall.

12. Now with a very sudden move pull your hand away from the wall and place it back. Repeat it a few times and make sure that meanwhile you don’t shift your weight back up onto your feet.

13. – 18. Repeat the whole procedure from step 7. on the other side.

19. Come away from the wall stand with both feet in hip wide parallel position. In a small plie start to make steps without actually travelling in space. Suggested tempo: 138 beats / minutes (later on you can try it faster). Pace: 4/4. Start with an ‘auftakt’ so altogether you will make 5 steps in each pace, and you will always start it with the other leg.

20. Now start travelling in the space:
     a. make the first two steps sideways towards your right starting with your right leg and the left leg moving across in front of the right (on auftakt and beat 1)
     b. then step with your right leg towards your left side moving the right leg across in front of the left (on beat 2)
     c. next simply step with your left towards left (on beat 3)
     d. step with your right leg moving it across your left towards the left side (on beat 4)

21. Repeat steps from 20. a-d starting towards the left side. All the time during the exercise keep deep plié and keep moving sideways. Keep the speed and the pace, and experience how you have to shift your weight in order to be able to accomplish the movement. See if you are able to experience a certain kind of “spatial pull” that comes from the weight shift and actually moves you. This sensation may actually reveal that space is not just an empty and motionless entity but it is a dynamic and variable connection between us and other objects.

22. Once you are familiar with the movement, the rhythm, the speed you can try different versions of it, for example adding a turn, or a small jump, etc. You can also try to enhance the speed and to use more space for the movement.

Nice example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09GRD0YRnYk