Friday 7 December 2012

Reflecting on November

I feel like November was a good month for me.  I had a breakthrough in terms of both my moving and my understanding of the work we’ve been doing.
 
The month began with workshops with Jenna Hubbard and Park Hill School.  As part of Movement Studies 1, the first years had to teach a small group of children.  I was invited to also take part in this because my final project is teaching based and it was a way for me to make some links with the teacher and with the possibility of working with her class for my final project.  After spending the morning with the children, in particular the group of 5 boys I was working closely with, I found it had an effect on my moving for the rest of the day.  That afternoon, I had studio class with Katye and I felt quite disconnected from the moving we were doing.  I wrote in my journal “I want to be back in my body” and phrases such as “feel my body”, “stretch”, “move fully”, “move like me” and “I am a dancer”. I spent most of the session trying to regain a sense of self and how I usually move.  I also found myself trying to lose the sense of having fun and being child-like and to become a 21 year old dance student again.  Towards the end of the session, we had to travel across the space speaking to a partner about our moving.  I found myself embracing the playfulness of the children I had been working with earlier that day and I was saying “I have a body.  I am a body.  It likes to move.  I like to move.  Stretch.  Play.  Bounce”.  This sense of play is something I have continued to notice in my studio classes this month particularly in Katye’s class and improvisation with Polly.
 
I feel like I’ve taken in a lot of information this month, especially in Natalie’s classes.  In Experiential Anatomy, we’ve moved on from The Navel Radiation and have been working with the Mouthing Pattern and the Pre-spinal Pattern and have been introduced to the Spinal Yield and Push Pattern.  The Mouthing Pattern is one pattern that I struggle with.  I understand the concept of it but I find it difficult to experience it in my moving.  The Pre-spinal Pattern is much easier for me to experience in myself.  I really enjoy working with a soft spine.  I feel like one movement is pouring into another and it is all fluid and relaxed.  Some notes from my journal say, “Moving in a way that is comfortable for my body yet still pushing it” and “Relaxed but alert body”.
 
Towards the end of the month, we have been beginning to explore the Spinal Yield and Push Pattern.  This pattern took a while for me to get my head around.  I wrote in my journal about understanding it in my head but not always felling it in my body.  This is something I want to explore more in the last few weeks of term in December.

Monday 3 December 2012

IPP3 Assessment - My Thoughts

On Thursday 29th November 2012, I had my assessment for IPP3.  My chosen research project was 'Chance'.  I've spent the term researching chance procedure and carrying out different tasks.
 
I felt like my assessment went quite well.  For my performance piece I had a number of different instructions written on pieces of paper that I would carry out.  These were folded up and scattered on the floor so when I picked one up, I wouldn't know what I was going to do.


Some of the instructions I had written myself but I didn't know what order I would get them.

 
I also asked my peers and my tutor Polly to write me some instructions. I had no idea what they had written down so when I picked up their pieces of paper, what was written was a complete surprise.
 
 

One of the pieces of paper had 'The End' written on it.  When I picked up that particular instruction, the performance would be over.  I was slightly worried that it would be the first or second piece of paper I picked up but luckily, it was the 18th!



As to be expected, there were some instructions I didn't get to carry out before the end of the performance. (See Below)

 
I was quite disappointed that I didn't two of the instructions.  These had the words 'Dice' and 'iChing' on them.  If I had selected these, I would have got the opportunity to show some of the chance tasks I had been working with.  If I had chosen either of these instructions, I would have used them to create a small movement phrase and demonstrate some of the research I had been doing over the term.
 
 
 
 
I'd also would have liked to explain to the group and Polly my research and what I had been doing prior to the assessment.  As I wasn't sure how long the performance would be, I didn't really give much context to my performance before hand.  Instead, I handed Polly my journal to look at.  Part of me wishes she had taken it with her to have a proper look through.
 
Something that worked well was where the audience were sat.  I'd asked the group to sit wherever they wanted to in the space.  This added another element to taking things out of my control.  I also enjoyed the audience interaction I had during the performance.
 
I've really enjoyed researching chance through out this module.  Something I picked up on during my research was how well some of the techniques would work with children.  Next term, for my final project, I will be teaching a class of 7 year olds in a Primary School and I will definitely use some chance tasks in our sessions.
 
We have our feedback for IPP3 on Thursday so hopefully I'll get some good comments.  I would really like to hear what my peers thought of my piece as well as my tutor.