Diagonal room,
wave of three
body is vibration, peaks are knees
valleys are joints and fabric.
Morning:
Today KJ talked much abut vibrations. Vibrations nourish and calm. Vibration is motion... motion allows hearing. Motion allows communication. What is my vibration, my rhythm? KJ prompts us to notice- what is our body's weather today? what is it's rhythm? My weather today is partially cloudy. My rhythm is steady and calm, with little dips and moderate peaks. We do an exercise by lying on the floor and putting one hand in to the other, like a plug in to a socket, and rock. Vibration in a loose jaw and body. Going back idea of container, we question, what is our circumfrance? Can breath determine our periphery? KJ uses a cell membrane as an example of a container, one that allows things to flow into and out of the cell. The membrane is a space of varying size, depending on the cell. This can be a space of decision making. We question how we relate to what's outside of us, depending on the size (width) of the cell membrane.
Afternoon:
My own research
Outside, reading Moving towards Life by Anna Halprin
As I take notes from Halprin's book I sit on a warm rock at the trail's entrance, near my tent, my little home. I look up to the clearing of space between trees and see grey clouds holding rain. They whisper down to the trees, a smooth considerate warning of water to enter their space. The ferns chat in vibration response to the whisper, and relax in anticipation of their regular donation of water.
In Halprin's book I read about Scores. Scores are used as a structure from which to improvise. Some are open, others are closed, meaning they are more specific or complex. This book is so valuable to my growing interest in performance. Halprin said "once performed, a perspective is gained...and change and growth can occur" (p 49). In addition, scores can "externalize hidden feelings, attitudes and blocks," and "be used to bring the resources ('unconcious or hidden feelings') to the surface and put them into some kind of context." (p 49). This inspires me to write a score for my performance, one that project a new perspective on living in a healthier, sustainable lifestyle. Scores are like science experiments. They are art experiments.
Scores consist of these elements:
An overall theme, an intention, people, place, time, resources, activities, and assessment of the results, called "valuation." Some elements are fixed; the activities which performers must carry out, the length of time, location people involved. Other elements are variable; the resources from which performers may choose from to fuel or inspire their performance. Post-trial, the score can be edited, simplified or recycled to a new version that better fits the intention or produces the out come most intended.
RSVP cycles designed by Anna Halprin
R: collect resources (solidify theme, collect images physical or mental, emotions, stories, actions, written recources, props, location, footage, sound, etc)
S: write score (put together all elements collected and decided upon, try it out)
P: perform
V: valuact (did it work or not?)
Evening:
After a trip to the river today, a group of 5 women decide to write scores.
Nyx, Elise, Kiori and I sat down with Terre, who has studied for years with Anna Halprin. Tonight we learned to write scores! An introductory lesson, but a great one. Each women wrote their first score for the river. We compiled a long list of resources we gathered from the river: video footage, images, sound, movement we discovered earlier in the day, perspectives and emotions.
My first score: (to be edited!)
them: intersection of body + water
intention: what lies at the intersection of human + water? document through image and sound
people: 5 women
place: calm pool in river surrounded by rocks
time: 12 minutes
activities: appear/disappear, skin on rock, skin on skin, voice on water, into/out of water.
resources: image of body aligned with curves in rock, appear/disappear from camera view, sound of body on rocks, water
Best of all were the little connections made today. As we sat in the small library upstairs we noticed a painting against the wall, deep blue with a body floating in a fetal position. It matched our experience at the river exactly, our bodies floating in this position in the current. After learning about scores, we realized today is Anna Halprin's 90th birthday. Reading her book, and learning to write scores...what better way to celebrate?
Albert Einstein:
"It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure."
No comments:
Post a Comment