[embed]http://youtu.be/YLOnscS4TW0[/embed]
Movement in Context is a series of labs, classes and performances that raise awareness and sensitivity to our interaction with the environment. When I say "environment" I don't just mean what we have categorized as nature or wilderness, but all of the spaces and places that we humans interact with on varying degrees. I am beginning this exploration in the Mangroves to acquaint ourselves with an essential aspect to our South Florida Living. It is the beginning of a story that we are telling through physical exploration. The Mangroves are very specific to our Peninsula living. They act as guardians of our costal land. Their long leg like roots intertwine and grow in all directions creating an organic jungle gym. The features of this forest are perfect to transfer the dance movement style of Contact Improvisation from body to body- to body to tree. In these tight spaces and greater stretches between branches and roots, a mover can utilize the concept of weight sharing to move between or transfer the body slowly from one branch to a distant other. After a while of moving and becoming warmed up the serendipitous flow that occurs with another body in Contact Improvisation begin to occur with the Mangroves. There is a communication that is vibrant and alive between human and plant in this instance.
The forest in particular that we have been moving in is Kennedy Park- Coconut Grove, FL. This forest has some tree's in it that are 100 yrs. old or more. It is a gem of an example and it is easily accessible. While in the forest and facing out towards Biscayne Bay it is so dense and thick one could imagine that they are existing in a Florida that is pre-settlement. But then you hear children playing, dog's braking, cars passing, music playing, the occasional death rattle of a car hooked up with sub-woofers, construction, etc. But this does not distract from the point. As a matter of fact it is the point. There is this incredible piece of "nature" right next to all of the "non-nature" speaks to the truth of the matter, which is that we are not separate from our environment and the divisions we create in our mind make the interaction with the "dirtier one" more difficult.
Through holding space in this forest, I attempt to bring light to this division, which touches on other perceived dichotomies such as mind/body, mind/spirit, spirit/body and body/nature. I argue that there is no separation.
Moving in Context means to move with a purpose, moving with another body creates movement that is necessitated by the other body in space. It is the same with the trees.You have to lift your legs and stretch your arms and twist and bend and press your body in ways that are so complex and beautiful. Combining this dance with the tree's with the other people in the tree's is the goal of this project.
The continuation of this project will move out of the forest and into other areas. This will be the continuation of the physical narrative we are creating in our place of Miami.
Moving in Context (In the Mangroves)
Movement in Context is a series of labs, classes and performances that raise awareness and sensitivity to our interaction with the environment. When I say "environment" I don't just mean what we have categorized as nature or wilderness, but all of the spaces and places that we humans interact with on varying degrees. I am beginning this exploration in the Mangroves to acquaint ourselves with an essential aspect to our South Florida Living. It is the beginning of a story that we are telling through physical exploration. The Mangroves are very specific to our Peninsula living. They act as guardians of our costal land. Their long leg like roots intertwine and grow in all directions creating an organic jungle gym. The features of this forest are perfect to transfer the dance movement style of Contact Improvisation from body to body- to body to tree. In these tight spaces and greater stretches between branches and roots, a mover can utilize the concept of weight sharing to move between or transfer the body slowly from one branch to a distant other. After a while of moving and becoming warmed up the serendipitous flow that occurs with another body in Contact Improvisation begin to occur with the Mangroves. There is a communication that is vibrant and alive between human and plant in this instance.
The forest in particular that we have been moving in is Kennedy Park- Coconut Grove, FL. This forest has some tree's in it that are 100 yrs. old or more. It is a gem of an example and it is easily accessible. While in the forest and facing out towards Biscayne Bay it is so dense and thick one could imagine that they are existing in a Florida that is pre-settlement. But then you hear children playing, dog's braking, cars passing, music playing, the occasional death rattle of a car hooked up with sub-woofers, construction, etc. But this does not distract from the point. As a matter of fact it is the point. There is this incredible piece of "nature" right next to all of the "non-nature" speaks to the truth of the matter, which is that we are not separate from our environment and the divisions we create in our mind make the interaction with the "dirtier one" more difficult.
Through holding space in this forest, I attempt to bring light to this division, which touches on other perceived dichotomies such as mind/body, mind/spirit, spirit/body and body/nature. I argue that there is no separation.
Moving in Context means to move with a purpose, moving with another body creates movement that is necessitated by the other body in space. It is the same with the trees.You have to lift your legs and stretch your arms and twist and bend and press your body in ways that are so complex and beautiful. Combining this dance with the tree's with the other people in the tree's is the goal of this project.
The continuation of this project will move out of the forest and into other areas in our "environment". This will be the continuation of the physical narrative we are creating in our place of Miami.
Art Live Fair 2012
On October 27, 2012 the Body Movement Class (The End/Spring Break, me (Jenna Balfe) and Mr. Feathers (music) held workshops at the Art Live Fair. We had two workshops and at the end of each workshop participants were asked to use their newly aquired physical information to answer a simple question with their skillz. This quick “answer”was video recorded. click here to see a video!
We explored the concepts such as:
Weight Sharing - We will lightly cover technique that will give movers the ability to share a center of gravity and find momentum to dance. The play of balance and off balance will also be touched upon.
Gesture - Playing with the concept of everyday expression and movements, we will explore and re-contextualize their meanings and use.
Dancing with someone else- Really tuning into another person’s rythym and initiative to move is an art that extends beyond dance... but for the purposes of this small workshop we will focus on trying to listen to our partner as well as inspire their movement.
Sensitivity and awareness skills- This is a group movement oriented workshop. We will play with the concept of telling the same story at the same time as one entity with different moving parts.
Body Movement Class has been an ongoing class since January 2012 (with a 2 month summer break) These workshops were helped by people who had been attending the class regularly. Because of the skills they learned we were able to more easily delve into physical play with the attendees of the workshop. Thank you to: Jean Crystal, Misael Soto, Natasha Velez, Alicia Ziatsu, Patricia Margarita Hernandez, Domingo Castillo, Natalia Sturlia and Mauricio Abascal.
Press:
BODY MOVEMENT
Body Movement - A class based on contact improv with elements of dance theatre, improv and general playfulness. The class is open to all people ! Not just trained dancers. The goal of the class is actually to get people who are not aware of their movement capabilities to become aware of them and enjoy! Come visit!
Where: http://miadancestudio.com/
This movement workshop has a goal of engendering confidence through exploring human interaction and communication through movement. We will sample different movement styles and practices such as: capoiera, contact improv, dance improvisation, yoga and modern dance. I will direct a collaborative process of creating our own movement vocabulary based on each individual's movement style (we all have a movement style, whether we are conscious of it or not). Over time we will build a dance vocabulary based on these personal gestures and influence from other movement styles. We will learn how to create“scores,”( a set of physical instructions that can be interpreted and repeated loosley) We will learn how to read one another and recognize “triggers” that will allow us to move together and play off of each others movements creating loose scores that will enable us to jump into using a particular vocabulary in a mildly pre-determined manner.
Another goal, separate from our studio time is to take this to the streets! To other places, to the sidewalk, the median, the grocery store, the beach, a gallery, a party we were not invited too, a tree, on bicycles... The idea is to create a movement vocabulary and sense of each other in space that we are comfortable with which will enables us to create site specific works with ease. Perhaps some flash mob type things as well... Sometimes our audience will only be ourselves, other times it could be the pedestrians on a busy sidewalk or guests at a gallery...these are the details we will work out as the time comes.
Why:
We look at each other and a million or more thoughts are going on in our own individual heads... We filter/distill this muck of consideration down to a poignant expression, a linear abstraction of our emotions, thoughts and feelings intended to explain our state of being to other beings. By exploring the language of touch, sight and sound through movement we can get at these deeper truths from a perspective unencumbered by the barrage of verbal language that is tainted with pre-determined meaning. Find some freedom with the body and then spread this freedom through the streets of weird commercial beautiful Miami, a land of contradiction.
Press:
http://artpractical.tumblr.com/search/miami
http://artisabout.com/2012/12/26/art-body-contact-and-improvisation/
http://www.facebook.com/bodybodymove