Assenza _ Final Major Project in collaboration with Patricia Martin

'Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.”'

Brené Brown

This live work brings together four independent movement artists with mutual curiosity to explore a greater depth in performance with the philosophical concept of being present. The piece will display the potential intersection across movement and sound whilst acknowledging the instabilities and shifts in thinking patterns. 

A collaboration with Patricia Martin, Fiona Jackson and Benjamin Price

Photography by Alexander Hacking

BMC 7th Friday - last session of delivering material

I appreciate the start: revisiting hands-on work - diagonals of the body- always return to the centre.

Curiosity in cellular touch and paying attention. So soft and easy. Interesting feeling of witnessing today. While offering connecting with my centre, with my mind and becoming ore aware of my feelings/sensations. Brushing, elongation, pull, rocking, lengthening, stroking. Being moved away from my centre towards hers. Rocking through the tissues- new information---> duet: witnessing with our bodies, sensing each other, soft touch, finding head to tail connection once again and what it does to me, finding spiralling and again finding the ground and the air around, seeing eyes are coming with me as usual and how this experience vitalises me and changes me. Almost like I'm feeding myself with life and energy and absorbing it all!

Writing after the duet with Natalie:

'softness and cellular touch connection with such an inspiring human emotions and intellect being aware of all her background and our history together, moments, eyes, 3 years, up, even more up opening, cry, arriving, absorbing, having it understand'

Creating a little choreography from a few words that came up in our free writing. So what is the transition from improvisation to set material? I feel so alive and free when I improvise and I a spontaneous so when I pick and redo a certain movement feels dead and empty. why does it feel that way? Still judging? So is it right or wrong? 

Further research into instant composition- challenge. 

I mentioned spontaneity- I think I wrote about that topic already.

BMC 31/01

During this class I had a surprising moment: I understood why Katye and Natalie always practice their material one day before they actually teach it to the class. I believe that only while practising we achieve a personal and unique way of articulating what is that we want to share with other movers. I used this strategy for preparing myself for our teaching assessment. Initiation points. 

• getting dizzy
• simple
• pattern
• need 
• dancer or mover?
• real, simple movement
• witnessing
• moving, learning, understanding 

We also experienced the contralateral pattern - connections on a diagonal - muscular system becomes active- related to the use of voice- appetite to reach towards something.  

BMC 24th- intention and detail

Looking back at the BMC class on the 24th of January I have noticed a shift in my teaching interest. Even if I was exhausted from many points of view at that time (dissertation + final major project) I found myself in a very curious mode when Natalie asked us to create a homologous pattern phrase and to teach it to peers by using verbal instructions. I have changed the way I look at movement and at myself in motion. My intention became clearer and suddenly every little movement became about *intention and detail*. I also became aware of different ways of demonstration.


*intention*detail*attention*being present*focus*dedication*moment*honesty*sharing*thinking*

ID London Artists

One of our tasks was to look at the ID website and pick up 2 artists and to look at their backgrounds.

1. Kirstie Simson

 Kirstie Simson at ID

Kirstie Simson is an improvisation practitioner. She has a strong background in Contact Improvisation, Aikido and Movement Meditations. She has worked with Steve Paxton.

2. Eva Karczag  was trained in Alexander Technique, Ideokinesis, Qigong and Yoga (meditation) and she has worked with Hellen Poynor.

3. Gill Clarke - ballet, Body Mind Centering, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais.

Fascinating people and I am absolutely absorbed by Kirstie Simson, they way she moves, talks, breather. Her eyes send out so much, she connects, deep. You cannot put it into words. She's beyond what words can express. She is more than human ( Idea that I found in David Abram's writings)

Dear Blog, ...

Dear Blog,

I would like to start by apologizing for neglecting you. I have been through a very difficult and stressful period and I could not find time to sit at my desk in front of my laptop and focus on this activity of reflective writing.
But from this gap I have learned about the importance of your role in both of my personal and artist life. From today onwards my target is to find at lease a few minutes a day so that I can share with you what I take from my day, or a work, an essay, a thought or an experience. I am very curious how that will change the quality of my day.

You know what? It's incredible how I always find time for irrelevant activities, but never enough time for what it truly matters for me, and I am referring to writing, readings, people, videos, nutrition, etc. Another thing to notice is how we find excuses for not completing a task But then again, if it matters so much to me than why do I not do it? Is it just because it's easier to write in my journal?

On the other hand I can feel the end of 'University time' coming and hitting me with its cold reality and I believe that you, dear blog - you are the only thread that will keep me connected to everything I have ever done during these 4 amazing years. Therefore you are one of my main curiosities to keep exploring after uni.

With love and dedication,

Me.

Body Mind Centering teaching session

On Friday the 28th of April we have been asked to prepare a 15 minutes teaching session.

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.