I've been investigating the Yield and Push Pattern and there are a few reasons for it.
First of all I have missed the class when Natalie was teaching it so I've decided to pay more attention to it, to read about it and try to embody the theory I've read. And one interesting thing happened. It felt like a deja vu. My body felt familiar with this pattern even if I never was aware of it before. I made a connection between 2 different classes I have participated to: Katye Coe morning session at ID, London and Kirstie Simson Winter Laboratory, ID London.
Katye Coe leaded a skull exploration where the partner takes the weight of you skull and supports it while moving. Between my partner and I happened a playful exchange in terms of weight given/received which implied pushing through the crown of my skull into her hands. At other times she was pushing through my skull. The exploration started on the floor by releasing ourselves to the floor, in other words yielding into the floor and then finding that moment to send out directions of energy. The moment of initiation felt like a push.
Throughout the workshop week Kirstie Simson was talking about our center as humans and dancers and its connection to the ground or Earth. There is a clear pattern in our bodies that connects our skull, center and ground. While exploring Yield & Push pattern I found this connection as I was yielding into the floor and then pushing out through the crown of my skull by being aware of my centre.
So I have decided to combine these two intentions and to put them together into a partner exploration. It has been a long process of inhabiting this pattern before the 28th. I've started by:
- reading academic information about it
- I was surprised to find other artists' blogs in order to gain a deeper understanding of the use of the patter in different situations (e.g. improvisation and set work),
- I have been conduction little experiential sessions and reflective discussion with course mates in order to understand how the impacts of this exploration
- Reflective writing in my journal after studio sessions
I found it very captivating as I was delivering from an embodied point of view. I tried to share with the class my experiences/sensations while being involved in the exploration but also I enjoyed offering space for the students to enjoy finding their own approach to this task. I have offered different levels of awareness and I noticed different levels of engagement with the task. I have tried to use a clear professional terminology.
I will also post some pictures and videos in regards with this teaching session.
Looking back at this session I noticed how important the terminology that we use as teachers. The word choice is very important and it can determine students' level of understanding. Also while teaching Salsa (not related to this course, but it was a good way to practice the teaching of a dance form) I have noticed that people have different ways of learning so as teachers we must provide different ways of delivering: talking it through, embodying and doing the phrase/exercise with them as an example, set of instructions. My class has appreciated the fact that I was involved in the class. I have been practising teaching my exercise before the assessment and there is no other was of teaching it. It is such a embodied approach that allows me to send out clear information. Also keeping a clear structure of my exercise helped students and myself as a teacher. I have noticed that it is very important to give students time to explore a certain task in a free way/through improvisation in a certain time frame. I would have like to be more confident, but I guess teaching is a life time practice that builds up skills. My students have appreciated that I offered options so that they can choose which one they can embody the best/ which one works best for them. This teaching session was also informed by Artists in Education Module, where I was shadowing Jenna, even after the module finished. I gained a deeper understanding of what teaching means and now I actually see it as an option for my near future. I think I broke that mental barrier, I am not scared about it, I look forward to it. And it is this embodied approach that eased my way into this way of thinking and looking at teaching.
ReplyDeleteKatye Coe was talking about adding 3 layers of information while teaching or 3 different instructions and notice how the focus changes; what the students take from it and what they don't. I will now continue by looking at the brain and how we process information.
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