The “In-bodied” Self

I. Introduce Workshop

-What am I exploring as leader? What do I hope you will explore as participant?

Main Questions:

  • -Why study anatomy?
  • -Where did this human body come from?
  • -What does knowing about the contents of ME afford me?
  • -What does knowing about the body afford a dancer?
  • -I AM BODY

Part 1: The Body Moveable- David Gorman

  • What do you notice of this very skeletal representation of body parts? Highly “structured” imagery of the body
  • “Mind of Skeleton” vs. “Mind of Robot”? Body as Structure? Body as Machine? Establish a group sensibility of what this means.

Activity Response 1: Move from the Mind of the Skeleton

  •  -Pick a body part and explore that body part’s capacity to initiate movement.                                                       -Exhaust the possibilities of shape, direction, quality
  • -Now what happens when that body part isn’t leading?

**Maintain “Mind of Skeleton” idea through both parts

Part 2:  The Soft Contents

  • –Explore the “Mind of the ‘Organ’-ic self.” Weighted? sloshy? less structured? Integrated? Jumbled together? Messy? Liquid?
  • -Fascia? What is the “Mind of Fascia”? Stretching? Reaching? Limiting? Compressing? (Notice all the ACTION words here)
  • -What about other types of contents? Dive a little into Ayurvedic idea of ‘constitution.’
  • -Possibly share from The Universe Within- Neil Shubin

Activity Response 2: Move from the Minds of the Soft Tissues

  • -Pick a body part and explore that body part’s capacity to initiate movement.
  •   -Exhaust the possibilities of shape, direction, quality
  •   -Now what happens when that body part isn’t leading?

**Maintain “Mind of Soft Tissue” idea through both parts

Final Activity

  • -Pick a new body part and explore the relationship between “Mind of Skeleton” and “Mind of Soft Tissue.”
  • -Create a short phrase showing how your body part embodies each ‘mind’ of being. All body parts contain both soft and dense tissues.
  •  -Share and discuss phrases. Do different body shapes influence a penchant toward one embodiment quality or another? Did music influence your improvisational choices in these exercises? Does a particular embodiment allow for a range of emotional intention, or are there prescribed intentions behind particular movement qualities? Return to the question of How does knowing about the contents of me shape my dancing?