"The choreographic question you are interested in investigating and its relationship to somatic principles and experiential anatomy.

I have become extremely intrigued by the nature and physiology of the tarantula and its hidden similarities and vast differences to that of the human being. One of many of my fascinations and indeed the main focus of my work; is in the movement of a tarantula. Due to them being shaped and structured by an exoskeleton their internal structure is more akin to liquid jelly, movement is by aid of nature’s hydraulic system. In order for the creature to move it pumps its bodily fluid directly along the limbs by aid of the heart. The limb is arranged into four segments like the human finger and to extend the limb each segment experiences the fluid entering the joint via inflation. When the joint is full the fluid is then sent along to the next joint; allowing the next section of limb to extend. In order for the limb to contract; the process is reversed, contracting the limb inward toward the body once more.

The heart and indeed all its organs including the brain; are contained in the abdomen (in young spider-lings this can be seen quite clearly under the skins surface). Due to the position of the heart in relation to the legs; which are attached to the carapace (the area where the eyes are situated and often referred to as the ‘head’) it means a tarantula’s movement is driven from behind, or as I like to term it... they move from the heart.

Underlining this investigation I hold in the back of my mind a fable or moral tale I once heard as a child. The Greek myth of Arachne and Athena. This story will lie in the shadows of my working process as it holds many emotive and cultural references. For instance; I have decided to use an all female cast which has brought about notions of feminist readings and the role of the female performer in a strong, authority role such as the ones presented in this work. Arachne represents the boastful, talented mortal and Athena the righteous and respected god. When cursed; Arachne witnesses the eternal turmoil of being trapped inside a web of her own making, weaving constantly and endlessly but having all her works destroyed by man, a tale which reflects the history and development of nature in our culture.

It is evident that this work has a multi layered quality in its questioning, nevertheless; in short the main choreographic nature of this work will emerge from my fascination of the embodiment of another living creature and the movement possibilities this may bring to the human form. The significance of the 'suchness' of the tarantula is particularly informed by the experiential anatomy work of the human form I am experiencing through the MA (this is explained further under the subheading of sourcing and structuring)."

These paragraphs are  taken from Gemma Collard-Stokes Deepening Process and they express her interest to tarantula world. Our final performance will be on 4th of June, in Ice Building Studio and will be an mixture of instalation, sound, lights and movement.  We were asked by our choreographer to learn 4-6 tarantula names in Latin, and the ones that I chose are the following:

• Avicularia Fasciculata;
• Avicularia Huriana;
• Avicularia Purpurea;
• Avicularia Versicolor;
• Bonnetina Rudloffi;
• Gramostola Rosea.

This group of artist has some videos as well, which can be seen at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_101086986644035&ap=1

I will add some photos just to enjoy some tarantulas:)

I really enjoy the principle of "moving from the heart" and acting like a tarantula, which has interesting moments of stillness, waiting for the food. This stillness is actually an active rest, which doesn't mean relaxion, but means the still state of being ready to attack. A tarantula can wait in the same position even years and years, but it is still am active being. This principle is the score for our improvisation and set choreography, which will transmit to the audience a "creepy" feeling.

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

A104SPO 2010-2011

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

Student: Oana Alexandra Rotariu

Introduction

As a performer I am aware that to obtain the best results in competitions and performances I have to establish a balance between training, eating and resting, which is not easy, but achievable, as Anita Bean suggests (The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London).One of the biggest challenges for me as a dancer is to fuel my body properly so I can assure the energy for being able to train enough and the physical state to do my best in every performance.

Goals and recommendations for athletes and regular exercisers

While examining my three days diet diary I observed that I need to change some of my eating behaviors, as I try to keep my weight under control and will have to maintain the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a dance and theater student at Coventry University, my daily activity consists in pilates, yoga and dance classes, which improve my technique, but for my endurance and strength I practice a range of exercises in the Gym. Jaime S. Ruud affirms that physical activity is one of the largest influences of energy expenditure, and he suggest that for dancers this would be 1673- 1890 kcal/day.

( Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska)

To achieve a healthy diet I should choose products from the seven types of food which will provide my body with the essential nutrients: carbohydrate-rich foods, which are the most important fuel for any physical practice, vegetables, fruit, calcium- rich foods, healthy fats and sugar and sweets in moderation.. To achieve this objective the nutritionist recommends us to use wholegrain products and to cook with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fats, that have no positive benefits for an athlete's body.

Another important objective is to increase the volume of fluid intake, before and after my training to improve my daily practice and to keep me exercising for longer.

( Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

http://nutrition.org.uk)

Diet Analysis

Even if my intention is to respect a healthy diet every day, my Analysis identify some imbalances between the seven types of food that the Food Pyramid from Anita Beans Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition recommends to combine. The basis of this pyramid is made of 5-9 portions of vegetables and fruit, while mine is a number of 3 portions a day of this type of food, which means that the intake amount of vitamins and minerals doesn't meet my needs. As an athlete I should eat a balanced diet based on vitamins and minerals, like 4-6 portions of cereals and starchy vegetables a day, or 2-3 portions of milk and dairy products a day. This type of products have many regulatory and structural effects over my body, like controlling the fluid balance in tissues, increasing the energy, regulate the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.

To maintain my teeth and bones healthy my body need a certain amount of calcium, which is a mineral for vital functions, like healthy nerves, muscle functions and hormone release. Besides that a good calcium intake can decrease the risk of osteoporosis, protects against bones fractures and blood pressure.

(Mann & Truswell, Essentials of human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press)

Furthermore, to be able to train at a high intensity, my muscles need a high-glycogen concentration, so before any training session I need to fuel my pre- exercise glycogen stores to prolong my endurance.

According to Anita Beans study over role of protein in an athlete's body, this substance is needed for the formation and growth of new tissues and for making up a part of the cells, including our internal organs, tendons, skin, nails and hair. As my diet shows, my daily protein intake is a low quantity of 2 portions, which is a very low amount for an athlete. Many studies show that the protein requirements for athletes are estimated around 1.4 to 1.8 g/kg a day, depending on the type of training. Anita Beans suggests that after every practice, an additional amount of protein is needed, to accelerate the repair of the lost tissues.

(Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London)

According to ACSM (2007) guidelines of fluid intake, my priority as a dancer has to be to be well hydrated. It is recommended to consume the fluid two to three hours before a training starts, just to prevent a possible dehydration, that can negatively affect my endurance and work intensity. As my fluid tally shows, my intake fluid is around 1 l of liquid a day, which doesn’t correspond with the recommendation of 1.5 to 2 liters a day, an amount that keeps a human being hydrated for one day.

When my practice is longer than two hours, I should consume a sport drink that contains sodium (Coyle, 2007), that will replace the salt loss during sweating and will delay the fatigue. (Galloway & Maughan, 2000).

RMR= (48x14.7) + 496= 1201.6 kcal a day

Key Action Points

Ultimate goal: change my eating habits, including more vegetables and fruit in my daily diet, balancing out the seven types of food needed by any athlete, and increase the intake of fluid consumption.

Areas of improvement

-As an athlete I should make a better plan of foods intake, based on fruit and vegetables;

-Keep practicing a variety of exercises in the Sport Center, to increase and maintain lean muscle mass;

-Keep a detailed evidence of the intake food for a long period and compare it with the food pyramid available in the guide;

-Measure my weight every week;

-Getting used to drink a higher amount of water, before and after training sessions;

-Adding sodium to my drinks

Time-frame: 4 months

Increasing the quantity of vitamins and minerals, by adding in my daily diet vegetables and fresh fruit salads plus carbohydrates will get my body ready to move more actively during all dance sessions, which is one of the positive benefits. Applying this strategy, I will be able to train for longer periods of time, like two-three hours, without feeling the fatigue and my bones and muscles will get stronger.

Increasing my fluid intake will benefit my practice by replacing my water losses while training. The amount of sodium intake is one of the key points of maintaining the muscles and nerves activity, which will assure a better endurance during my sports sessions.

All these changes can happen in my body just by being supported by my strong motivation of improving my eating and drinking behaviors and I definitely believe in my capacity of respecting a healthier diet.

Reference list

Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

Mann & Truswell, Essentials of Human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press;

Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska;

Maughan Murray, Sports Drinks- Basic Science and Practical Aspect, 2001 CRC Press LLC;

Berning Steen, Nutrition For Sport & Exercise, 2^nd edition 1998, Aspen Publication;

http://nutrition.org.uk.

A104SPO 2010-2011

Dietary Analysis and Action Plan

Student: Oana Alexandra Rotariu

Introduction

As a performer I am aware that to obtain the best results in competitions and performances I have to establish a balance between training, eating and resting, which is not easy, but achievable, as Anita Bean suggests (The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London).One of the biggest challenges for me as a dancer is to fuel my body properly so I can assure the energy for being able to train enough and the physical state to do my best in every performance.

Goals and recommendations for athletes and regular exercisers

While examining my three days diet diary I observed that I need to change some of my eating behaviors, as I try to keep my weight under control and will have to maintain the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a dance and theater student at Coventry University, my daily activity consists in pilates, yoga and dance classes, which improve my technique, but for my endurance and strength I practice a range of exercises in the Gym. Jaime S. Ruud affirms that physical activity is one of the largest influences of energy expenditure, and he suggest that for dancers this would be 1673- 1890 kcal/day.

( Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska)

To achieve a healthy diet I should choose products from the seven types of food which will provide my body with the essential nutrients: carbohydrate-rich foods, which are the most important fuel for any physical practice, vegetables, fruit, calcium- rich foods, healthy fats and sugar and sweets in moderation.. To achieve this objective the nutritionist recommends us to use wholegrain products and to cook with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fats, that have no positive benefits for an athlete's body.

Another important objective is to increase the volume of fluid intake, before and after my training to improve my daily practice and to keep me exercising for longer.

( Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

http://nutrition.org.uk)

Diet Analysis

Even if my intention is to respect a healthy diet every day, my Analysis identify some imbalances between the seven types of food that the Food Pyramid from Anita Beans Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition recommends to combine. The basis of this pyramid is made of 5-9 portions of vegetables and fruit, while mine is a number of 3 portions a day of this type of food, which means that the intake amount of vitamins and minerals doesn't meet my needs. As an athlete I should eat a balanced diet based on vitamins and minerals, like 4-6 portions of cereals and starchy vegetables a day, or 2-3 portions of milk and dairy products a day. This type of products have many regulatory and structural effects over my body, like controlling the fluid balance in tissues, increasing the energy, regulate the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.

To maintain my teeth and bones healthy my body need a certain amount of calcium, which is a mineral for vital functions, like healthy nerves, muscle functions and hormone release. Besides that a good calcium intake can decrease the risk of osteoporosis, protects against bones fractures and blood pressure.

(Mann & Truswell, Essentials of human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press)

Furthermore, to be able to train at a high intensity, my muscles need a high-glycogen concentration, so before any training session I need to fuel my pre- exercise glycogen stores to prolong my endurance.

According to Anita Beans study over role of protein in an athlete's body, this substance is needed for the formation and growth of new tissues and for making up a part of the cells, including our internal organs, tendons, skin, nails and hair. As my diet shows, my daily protein intake is a low quantity of 2 portions, which is a very low amount for an athlete. Many studies show that the protein requirements for athletes are estimated around 1.4 to 1.8 g/kg a day, depending on the type of training. Anita Beans suggests that after every practice, an additional amount of protein is needed, to accelerate the repair of the lost tissues.

(Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London)

According to ACSM (2007) guidelines of fluid intake, my priority as a dancer has to be to be well hydrated. It is recommended to consume the fluid two to three hours before a training starts, just to prevent a possible dehydration, that can negatively affect my endurance and work intensity. As my fluid tally shows, my intake fluid is around 1 l of liquid a day, which doesn’t correspond with the recommendation of 1.5 to 2 liters a day, an amount that keeps a human being hydrated for one day.

When my practice is longer than two hours, I should consume a sport drink that contains sodium (Coyle, 2007), that will replace the salt loss during sweating and will delay the fatigue. (Galloway & Maughan, 2000).

RMR= (48x14.7) + 496= 1201.6 kcal a day

Key Action Points

Ultimate goal: change my eating habits, including more vegetables and fruit in my daily diet, balancing out the seven types of food needed by any athlete, and increase the intake of fluid consumption.

Areas of improvement

-As an athlete I should make a better plan of foods intake, based on fruit and vegetables;

-Keep practicing a variety of exercises in the Sport Center, to increase and maintain lean muscle mass;

-Keep a detailed evidence of the intake food for a long period and compare it with the food pyramid available in the guide;

-Measure my weight every week;

-Getting used to drink a higher amount of water, before and after training sessions;

-Adding sodium to my drinks

Time-frame: 4 months

Increasing the quantity of vitamins and minerals, by adding in my daily diet vegetables and fresh fruit salads plus carbohydrates will get my body ready to move more actively during all dance sessions, which is one of the positive benefits. Applying this strategy, I will be able to train for longer periods of time, like two-three hours, without feeling the fatigue and my bones and muscles will get stronger.

Increasing my fluid intake will benefit my practice by replacing my water losses while training. The amount of sodium intake is one of the key points of maintaining the muscles and nerves activity, which will assure a better endurance during my sports sessions.

All these changes can happen in my body just by being supported by my strong motivation of improving my eating and drinking behaviors and I definitely believe in my capacity of respecting a healthier diet.

Reference list

Anita Bean, The Complete Guide to sports nutrition 6^th edt., A&C Black London;

Mann & Truswell, Essentials of Human Nutrition, 2007, Oxford University Press;

Jamie S. Ruud, Nutrition and the Female Athlete 2nd edition, Lincoln, Nebraska;

Maughan Murray, Sports Drinks- Basic Science and Practical Aspect, 2001 CRC Press LLC;

Berning Steen, Nutrition For Sport & Exercise, 2^nd edition 1998, Aspen Publication;

http://nutrition.org.uk.

FIRE

Last night we saw the first year theatre students performing... One of their piece raised some questions in my head....what is the fire? is it any fire inside of us? Is the fire the source of the passion?

IPP Final Presentation

Last Tuesday we had our final presentations...with the second year students! It was nice to watch their performances, because now we have an in idea of what teachers will expect from us next year and it was good for us to have a small "audience" for our presentations as well.

Everything began with the memory of my childhood village...a special place for me...pure nature, fresh air, animals, flowers, colors....
I got some objects from my grandparents' old house but my attention drop on my grand- grand mother's picture, with a white material on her head. I talked to my relatives about her just to find out more about this woman, that I never met, but which represents the human being and the place where I come from. Her qualities can be considered as scores for my improvisation:

• warm smile(she was always smiling);
• simple;
• modest;
• alone (her husband died after the First World War);
• honest;
• respectful;
• shy;
• pure;
• hard working (to raise her 8 children);

My opinion is that her qualities deserve to be conserved and even transmitted to the next generations...

Now days women have different characteristics, as:

• aggressive;
• violent;
• vulgar;
• seductive.

AS we studied about the idea of feminism, I started to explore it more and more and I tried to find a comparison between women who lived in two different ages:

• activities;
• interests;
• building relationships;
• qualities/goals;
• behavior; etc...

This is one of the reasons why I started to write a series of Letters to Myself, just to find out where am I placed in relation to there ideas. What changes happened in my life and how did they influence my behavior, my concepts, my feelings...Obviously new people came in my life, how do they change my personality and my way of being???

One amazing artist, Vava Stefanescu influenced my work...she uses the concept of transiency- what can you do with things and experiences from your past? She is inspired my the memories of old performances to create a new one, jut by having a journey into her past experiences...because things that we don't do or use anymore are still in our memory and body and they still affect our lives and they also define us as unique human being.

I would like to find out more about my grandma and the only way of coming in contact with her is by invoking her spirit! This is way I started to research more about rituals and symbols...
This book : "The International Encyclopedia of Dance" has a chapter called "Ritual and Dance" who defines "dance" as a integral part of the ritual manifestations, that often have religious or mystical significance. Theatrical dance evolved from primitive ritual idea originated in 18th Century and this form of art started to progress.
Someone special used to tell me interesting stories about different cultures and rituals like: Yemaya, Ochun, etc..and I start to understand their meaning and I notice how people try to transmit a specific message just be creating some movement...I find interesting to learn more about this kind of manifestations, because it is a significant part of history and culture! .... Thank you!!! (you always open me up...)
This ideas can be observed in the work of many dancers like Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, Doris Humphrey, etc , who tried to connect the participants to the fundamental spiritual principles.

 The dance is the connection between human and spiritual realm.

With this ideas in my head I tried to create some movement and even a collaboration with music students happened on this theme. We recorded some of my whispers, breath, steps, sound related to my piece of work, which will be the background song for my ritual.

Ritual activities include also an unusual behavior:

• past occurs in the present;
• time stands still;
• repetitive actions;
• connection and communication with the spiritual realm;
• the spirit can posses the dancer;
• the dancer can be a character of a sacred story;
• the dancer can embody a spirituality;

All this ideas can be used as scores for an exciting ritual to connect with my grand- grand  mother...

The place should be somewhere in the nature, under the blue sky and stars, I'll use a huge fire, and it will happen at midnight!!!!

For my presentation I used the idea of "The Fire bird" (music by Igor Stravinsky) with the elastics...It represents that something doesn't let you go and even posses you, changes you, that presence can do anything with you, without being conscious...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J7XWwaDakw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-TbdTq7cm4

Photography

One student from Media and Production asked me if I want to collaborate with her, and of course I accepted!
Her photography scores were different parts of human body, in different lights and shadows...so you have here some of the final pictures and I hope you enjoy them :)

It is interesting to work with a visual artist, because we could share different concepts and while I was moving she could capture interesting parts of my body in different positions...maybe unusual positions....

Theatre Workshop Assessment

Today we handed-in the theatre workshop essay and I hope I will get good feedback; so enjoy my workshop!

Group trust and the art of improvisation

Theater Workshop

Duration: 1hour.

Oana Rotariu Dance, Theater and Professional Practice

Everyday life is based on human behavior, interacting with people around and exploring different situations of space, time and character, regular actions that may be developed into different directions, as main aims for an interesting theater workshop.

My workshop is the process of allowing everyone to release all tensions in the body, to be natural and neutral, and also offer the chance of developing the pattern of being aware of people around, and feeling comfortable with coming in contact with them.

The first part of my workshop is the introductory warm-up, which will run for approximately 15 minutes and will prepare the students to be able to move easily, bringing the focus on their own bodies and open up the sense of the group. The leader ask the students to take a walk around the studio, in different directions, trying to make eye-to-eye contact with as many people as possible and then give them also a small smile.

The game called “Fruit Bowl” (five minutes) is designed to make the student be present and give full attention to someone else. The leader asks the students to make a circle and one student stays in the middle. Every player receive the name of a fruit, like: strawberry, banana, watermelon. The student in the middle calls out the name of a fruit and all players who are that fruit have to find a new gap across the circle, including the student who is in the middle of the circle. Someone will not succeed to find another place and this person calls the next fruit. If he calls “Fruit Salad” everyone has to change their places. I find this game useful for concentration, because it involves watchfulness and also being awake, present and ready to move.

(‘House of Games’ by Chris Johnston,(1998) page 119)

The following exercise “Traffic Lights: Stop/ Look/ Go” (five minutes) will open the individual focus and concentration. The leader gives the students three clear instructions: number one is for freezing, number two is for changing the focus by turning just the head and number three means that students have to turn the head and allow the body to move off in that direction. After a few minutes the leader will notice that the students have the habit to anticipate the movement, before listening to the instructions, because they focus their attention on thinking rather than being present in their bodies and waiting for the signal. This exercise allows the students to concentrate inside themselves and also prepare them for being available and receptive to the rest of the games.

(’ Dramatic Events How to run a successful workshop’ by Richard Hahlo and Peter Reynolds, (2000) page 9)

The last game from the warm-up session is a massage experience that allows the students to release all tensions in their body, by softening the tissues, muscles and bones. Every individual needs to find a partner, who lies on the floor, with eyes closed, giving all body support to the ground. The other partner gently massage the tissues of the skull, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, pelvis, legs, finishing with a nice and slow rob down. After this moment, the students change roles and at the end of this exercise the leader asks the students to shake their whole body out, from head to toes.

Reference: This exercise was taken from our Movement Studies 1 class, leaded by Katye Coe, as a warm-up sequence.

The Main Exercises run for forty minutes and are designed to build up the group trust, as well as encouraging the relationship between individual and group.

“The blind car” (10 minutes)

The leader asks the players to divide into pairs and one of them will be the blind car, by closing his eyes. The other one, the driver will lead his “blind car” using a series of signals: touching the right shoulder means changing the direction to the right, a head touch means stop, and the couple have to find together a signal for walking backwards, like a hands clap, or a noise ('waw', 'hey', 'hop'). After five minutes, they switch roles. This exercise encourages students to be aware of the group and also be responsible of their partner's safety, an enjoyable way to build up partner and group trust. This game can be extended further by replacing the types of signal. The “car” can be driven just by small sounds, or by calling out the partner's name.

( 'House of Games', by Chris Johnston,(1998) pages 134-139)

“Complete the Image”

Duration: 10 minutes

The leader ask the students to sit in a big circle, someone comes in the middle of it and creates a shape, that can be abstract or representational. Any other player can come in and complete the picture with a different pose. The two bodies together will create an abstract image or a specific scene, and after one moment the first individual sits back in the circle and another one jump in the picture. As a variation, this game can be played with physical or eye-to-eye contact or using rules like using just gestures or being three-four players in the circle at the same time.

This exercise offer to students a great momentum, different possibilities of using the body in relationship with one or two other individuals and also create a “dialog” using just the body, gesture and the sense of partnership.

('House of Games' by Chris Johnston, (1998)pages 130-131)

The following exercise will run for ten minutes and the leader ask the student to divide in two groups: the players and the audience. The players make a semicircle facing the audience and when the music starts they have to come into space and do just normal actions, like: sitting, standing up, rolling or lying on the floor, having the sense of the group and establishing relations with the others. After five minutes, when the first group finishes the second one is asked to make a semicircle and to use the same idea, but this time, they have to come in contact with other individuals. The leader makes sure that the surfaces of contact are diversified and all students bring the focus into the group.

This game helps students to be comfortable with making contact and as a witness it is interesting to observe how people build up relationships without acting or miming something, just by being neutral, but aware of the sense of a group. This very simple way of contact is very useful in the release of psycho-physical tensions, as well as the use of a smooth music, that allows the individuals to get their minds free and to become more involved with this activity.

Reference: I played this game in Polly’s Hudson improvisation class.

As an extension of this game I chose a group improvisation, based on the art of improvisation, which develop student’s spontaneity and expand their imagination field.

Duration: 10 minutes

One individual starts to improvise a solo scene and after a few moments a second player enters and they create another scene together. More students can join the scene and they have to create something new every time they enter and they are also allowed to leave the scene. To test the players' memory, the leader can ask them to rebuild the previous scenes and even to develop them into different directions. This exercise offer the students a range of ideas that can be extended and it creates a certain complicity between the players while building the scenes.

( www.improvecyclopedia.org. - 2002-2011)

In the last five minutes of the workshop the leader asks the students to make a circle and to recapitulate all exercises from this session and to discuss the about aims and learning outcomes. Every individual have to say at least one thing that he/she takes from this theater class, that helps to improve the process of developing specific patterns. At some point, the leader has to give a general feedback to students and if there are some questions, or thoughts from students, he needs to clarify them using more explanations.

By the end of this workshop all students will be able to arrive easily in their bodies and to bring the focus quickly in the theater studio, leaving outside all other thoughts. One of the main aims of this session is building up trust, by working with different partners and teams and developing their self confidence. It is important for actors to release their body tension to be able to physically respond to the leader's signals and to open up their senses to understand that they can be individuals as well as being part of a group. The improvisation games help the players to develop their imagination, to build characters in relationship with other humans, by using the mixture between the neutral and creative sides.

All these games can be considered as a rich basis of the learning process and allow the students to explore themselves and their natural patterns.

Reference List

Dixon, Luke, (2003) Play Acting: a guide to theater workshops, London: Methuen;

Hahlo, R & Reynolds, P (2003) Dramatic Events: How to run a successful workshop, London: Faber & Faber;

Barker, C (1994) Theatre Games, Methuen Drama;

Boal, A (2003) Games for Actors and Non-Actors, London: Routledge;

Johnston, C (1998) House of Games, New York: Routledge;

Kempe A & Nicholson H (2007) Learning to Teach Drama, Continuum International Publishing Group;

Johnston C (2006), The Improvisation Game,London: Nick Hern Books.

www.improvencyclopedia.org - 2002-2011

IPP Scores

I've chosen some scores for IPP presentation:

• warm smile/ always smiling;
• simple;
• alone (her husband died after the first world war);
• honest; 
• respectful;
• modest;
• shy.

When I go in studio tomorrow I'll try to improvise beginning with these scores and I'll see what will happen next...