improvisation as a way of life
tomorrow lotta and i have our weekly rehearsal. i’m looking forward to it–the last few have felt really good. it just keeps amazing me how dance can continually go deeper and bring up new ways of experiencing life. a couple of weeks ago we were beginning to work on a new piece we have in mind that entails telling stories, abstracted stories, via movement. and the feeling during that rehearsal of getting up in front of lotta to tell her something, to be as authentic as possible–not cliched, not stereotypical, not showing what i might think she’ll want to see but trying to be fully genuinely honest and present–was such a challenge and yet so cool. i swear, it’s a parallel to life, trying to strip off all the layers and find whatever original thing it is that one has to say–constantly trying to be more authentically oneself.
i felt similarly at last week’s rehearsal. lotta can be shy about making eye contact while dancing but i tend to crave it, so we did an exercise that focused on connecting via our eyes. and it was amazing–being in touch that way made it feel much more like a duet than 2 solos happening in the same space. i felt like lotta’s movement became freer and more inventive, and it seemed like mine did too. suddenly i realized what a whole world of movement possibilities i often overlook, b/c they’re too “weird” or way out–and yet it means that i ultimately limit myself and my options.
writing this reminds me of the exercise from liz lerman (i think) that helps dancers get out of their patterns. one person moves while others watch and take note of what they’re seeing–for example, they might write “lots of fluid movement” or “head never initiates movement”–just observations, not necessarily good or bad. after the person stops moving, the others read their observations out loud, and then the mover moves again, but this time trying to keep in mind a few of those observations. it can have an amazing effect–just trying to move differently and suddenly being conscious of your habits often can get you out of your ruts immediately.