OPEN DANCE CLASSES (90 minutes)

During last 3 months I have lead open dance classes in an eastern suburb of Helsinki. Dance classes are part of a longer community art project called TAIDEKUURI. The classes are free of charge and held in different spaces in Kontula suburb. People of different age and backgrounds come to classes, some professional dancers who are co-working with me in another dance-project in that area attend classes as well. Most of the people have no prior experience of dance or especially that kind of dancing. Classes are drop in-classes, new people are welcome to join.

The information about the open dance classes was spread via social media and through different people and organizations of the area. 

Here is the description (translation from the Finnish description) of the class that was used when spreading info:

FIND THE DANCER YOU ARE!

open dance classes (90 minutes) in Kontula, East Helsinki

We start with simple exercises that support the exploring of your own moving and help to create your own movement material. The exercises work also as a warm up towards dance and improvisation. There is an emphasis on dance being an accesssible form of art for everyone. We can let go of focusing on technical virtuosity and aim more towards how dance enlivens one´s physicality and choreographic thinking as well as increases happiness from freedom of moving.

No prior experience needed. 

In the first classes I told in the beginning that I see myself being a choreographer offering dance classes for “tasting movement”. I guess a poet would teach a different class from a language teacher - the same way I assume that an artist and choreographer I teach a different class from a dance teacher who teaches a certain technique or form..

Here is a description ( a written documentation) of a held class in 18 June (class number 13 from the series of 15 classes)

( I want to mention that, I wanted see what happens if I try remember and write the class quite exactly  how it happened and how it´s living (or not) on a white page)

STARTING with lying  on the floor, closing the eyes and feeling the support of the floor. By closing the eyes it is easier to let the other senses to receive information about here and now. How different parts of your body touch the floor, how the floor feels etc. Etc.

Here I mention Steve Paxton saying in one video referring to proprieseptive sensing that it´s like being a tourist in your own body and add how one is the tourist but also the constantly changing landscape. I also refer to Miranda Tufnell´s sentence: Moving clears the windows of our senses.

 WAKING UP THE PERIPHERY  (the ends of limbs). Moving slowly the head from one side to another trying not to lift anything. Changing the attention to the toes. Start moving (micro- moving) the toes very little or lightly. When moving the toes try to feel how the muscles on the foot can relax (especially the top of the foot). Gradually letting the moving happen also on the foot (circling the foot, initiating with toes). When (the top of) the foot is moving “more” you can shift your awareness to your heel/s. How does the weight shift on your heel/s and gradually you may notice how the moving of your foot and the shifting of the weight on your heel resonate all the way in your hip joint. Without lifting your leg on the floor you can play with your legs/feet turning them in and out. You can also try what happens if you imagine someone is pulling gently your toes and your leg is spreading and reaching long on the floor. (very much softening on the floor too). Playing with both legs. Then rest.

Doing the same thing with hands. Starting with moving the fingers (micro-moving), trying to not to lift anything. Just moving the fingers gently, then letting the movement of the fingers start to move the palm and so on- letting the moving grow to turning of the arm on the floor. How does the moving of the palm and arm resonate in your shoulders and in your shoulder plates?Then imagining that someone is gently pulling the tops of your fingers and you can let your arm/s spread, reach and soften long on the floor.

Finishing this playing with softening, spreading and reaching with all the limbs (adding also the tail bone and head with legs and arms).Finding by this soft spreading, reaching -moving a way to move through to one side and to end on your stomach and continue softening and reaching with your limbs. (And breathing).

 After a while a little rest.

TOWARDS MOVING: Having now found this softening (and melting) on the floor we start to play with a push. Pushing with some part of the body on the floor to lift  other part of the body off from the floor and/or use the push to initiate moving. (I mention: Through softening we can find strength)

Letting "this finding a push” grow into an exercise “Arrivals and departures - moving from one position to another”.  Everybody can play with this exercise on their own way and I put some music on (10-12 minutes). Movement can go to any direction. (It´s more a matter which directions we are used to go and how aware we are or get about directions). Towards the end of the 10 minutes I suggest the play with horizontal - vertical, finding different ways to get up and move on the standing level and ways back on the floor. Also playing with weight, falling up an down. Playing with timing. 

Some remarks to say to the movers:  “notice how letting the inside world and outside world can start to influence each other.”  Sometimes you can also move or stay working next to another mover for some time.  You can let yourself be influenced or just notice things that happen when you are moving closer to another person. There is no need to push towards having a duet (“ no need to make something happen”) or there is no need to look at the other mover all the time.

This part ends with walking through space - letting the soles of the feet soften on the floor with each step (softening and pushing) and playing with the feeling of the your weight taking you through space (some more attention on the weight of the pelvis). Playing with moving to any direction and changing directions.  

Adding to moving that is already established (= using tasks/exercises which have been done already as a source for moving) a play with eye -finger connection. Let your eyes follow one of your fingers (or your palm). You can change the finger any time you want. This helps to free the eyes and also to mobilize the upper back.

This grows into a free play for 8-10 minutes.

A little pause and some comments.

A TASK  WITH BONES 2 people working together ( A + B).

PART 1.  Person A stands still (eyes closed), person B finds different bones on person A to touch and to shake softly (mostly bones that are easy to see and feel). A  stands still and just “receives” the touches and information. B touches/shakes about 5-6 bones and then steps aside. A takes a moment to notice how the touches still resonate on her/his body and how  to start to move with those bones and how the moving feeds the exploration of moving with bones. 

B is observing  the mover (A) and is open to feel  her/his bones while observing the mover. After a while B can also become a mover for some time. (Both are moving)

Then changing the roles

PART 2. A and B both move (inspired and influenced by bones - “heavy skin, light bones”). Every now and then B touches lightly with her/his fingertips some bones of the moving A - “Reading with fingertips the landscapes of moving bones” - How to read distances between some bones and how they change. Also how to let one´s own bones and moving be influenced and inspired by this reading of changing landscapes?

Changing roles.

Gradually the roles can mix, both can read landscapes of bones with their fingertips or be movers and more and more the moving becomes the way to read moving bones and the fingertips are no longer needed.

This leads to free play and dance. 

After some time of playing together and having had dancing meetings, everyone finds their way to move on their own. 

 THE ENDING:  Coming towards the end of the class - movers can find their own way to make an ending dance OR go back to the task Arrivals and departures from the beginning and find their way to rest on the floor after 4-6 minutes. We do some relaxing things, shaking legs and arms, pressing softly the knees on one´s chest and rolling from side to side. We  also do two simple stomach muscle -excersises to release tension from lower back,  the idea is to change attention “from the backside to the front”. Finding a way to sitting, as a last thing doing the long brushes on the skin.(Like cleaning the sand off from the skin) and same time when doing this coming up to sitting or standing.

Ending circle. Some comments and talking.

 MY OWN REFLECTION/ THINKING:

# Very often I move along and do the tasks in the class. I feel that it makes it much easier to teach and also that feels supportive to  the participants. 

# I often prepare a class writing some words or titles I have given to some exercises on my notebook. Then I improvise the teaching itself using those words as guide or inspiration. 

# I repeat exercises and tasks. I also seem to have a habit of getting into something and staying with it. Like now I have had the starting on the floor, waking up the periphery and moving from one position to another as something that happens in every class. I remember having "a constant rolling -start" for some years in my classes. Before that there was a starting from being on your stomach on a narrow star-position.

# More I teach more I try to add free play to different moments during the class. 

# Questions, questions and questions….

What do you know about yourself as a mover?

What feedback would you give to yourself now?

 Where does the creativity start? Whose creativity?

LAST THING / EXTRA THING. I led this same class at LEAP -Teachers´ Residency in Vitlycke in July 2014 for my fellow TR teachers and some other participants. I wanted to be quite strict with myself and offer the class in a way it had been.  It was somehow hard to do (exactly) how it had been 2 weeks earlier and sametime I was surprised how easy it was to remember. What changed (the most) was the timing and that I couldn´t really "control". People with more experience dive sometimes deeper into the given task and they take longer time. That of course can be other way round too. Or I as a teacher I am more calm to let people explore longer if I know (or assume) they are familiar with that kind of material I´m offering.

I told the participants they are very welcome to comment on this i doc. The photos are from that class in Vitlycke.