Sunday 19 February 2017

Hi everyone! This is my first blog and am also extremely excited to be part of the MAPP DTP!! So, do excuse if this is coming across rather simple and not very deep!!

Reading through the Introduction Handbook - I came across (at the very beginning of the book) - that on this course, we are coming from the starting point of embodiment. I absolutely loved that - as dancers/dance artists or anyone in the field where movement is paramount, I think this is so appropriate. I do believe that so much of our knowledge is gained through bodily experience. Our body is certainly capable of 'knowing' and that knowing certainly happens through experiencing.

I attended a seminar by Susan Klein (of Klein Technique - The Klein School of Movement and Dance) some years ago and she talked about 'body intelligence'. There is the 'intelligence' of the mind and the 'intelligence' of the body. The body does 'know' and can gain 'knowledge'.  The dancer/dance artist that possesses both the intelligence of the mind and body would be the ultimate dance artist extraordinaire.

Don't know what the rest of the community thinks and I hope I am not going off tangent here!!

3 comments:

  1. Great start Raymond! and a great example of the theory/practice of embodiment through your connection with Klein Technique... it's this looking outside to make connections inside and looking inside to make connections with our world and the relationships between them that we are interested in through an embodied approach to learning and being... keen to read what others think on this too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. In the midst of frenzy and panic on Friday when I kind of realised with my AOLs (which I thought I'd finished with almost a week to spare and feeling rather proud), that perhaps I had approached them in the wrong way and decided I'd better do it all over again..... So there was a lot of rethinking and rewriting - which might not be a bad thing.
    A couple of things happened - I realised the importance of sharing, esp within our group - as Helen and Adesola keep saying. The sense of looking outwards and seeing what others are saying or thinking which in turn inspires my own thinking and reflecting. And from one thought leading to another with another thought coming in from nowhere.....
    And this afternoon, had kind of a lightbulb moment. Helen posted on Monday 13th Feb about 'Transactions". Couldn't really get my mind round that even though Helen gave us some insight. One of my AOL is communication - so often, esp in class or rehearsal/creation, we think of communication as what the teacher or choreographer is saying and the dancers/performers trying to understand and therefore recreate or deliver. But communication is two way - I believe it is just as important that the teacher or choreographer is hearing and listening to the dancers/ students as well and what they are saying. Therefore can that be a 'transaction'?? Between the teacher/choreographer and dancer/student??

    Thoughts, anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely agree. It's the transaction between those two parties that can help to develop and transition movement, I think listening to the opinions of dancers / students but also watching them recreate the movement they have been given. I think this can also reflect on the teaching of movement too and demonstrates a different understanding through each person who performs the exercise. Our communication through how we demonstrate or explain something can be reflected in how students perform this, and this further relies on us a teachers to communicate exactly what we want and how we want it! It's really an interesting process I believe and often will see things I have taught and feel 'this doesn't look right' or it wasn't how I imagined it to be. Student opinions are also valuable as they share very different creative ideas and thoughts. It's that choreographic process, sharing of information and ideas that's helps to create a great project and a certainly more enjoyable process.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete