I did not attend the lesson this week due to illness and so I will be writing this blog in response to the jam and the readings.

“People tend to think that visualisation with be visual, but in fact visualisation can involve different senses than just seeing.” – Barbara Dilley, “Two streams: Many Ways.” (Buckwalter, 2010, 91).

The reading in “Composing while dancing” is about The Dancing Image.  It talks about the exterior perspective, and how there is an “orchestra of senses, including the kinaesthetic, involved in the perception, making the watching of a dance a full-bodied experience.” (Buckwalter, 2010, 91).  This to me, means that all the senses are involved when watching a dance.  As well as the eyes and ears, you are able to feel the movements being performed, as you get a taste as to what the dance is about and why the dancer is performing it in a certain way.

It then goes on to talk about the Interior perspective.  Buckwalter talks about how “heightened sensory awareness  and an accompanying sense of connectivity can translate imagery into movement.”  (Buckwalter, 2010, 96). To me, this means that your awareness of the space and what is happening around you, can aid in translating an image you wish to achieve, into a movement phrase.  I found this helpful, as if i enhance my awareness of what is happening around me, then when I am improvising, I can apply my awareness to my movement and creating the desired image.

The Jam.

In the jam this week, we explored the use of thick skinning and impulsing whilst improvising.  I really enjoyed both of these tasks, as it enabled me to work in a way which I had to be aware of the space, the movement happening around me, and my partner.  When thick skinning,  at first I found it difficult to do all of this at once, but as we warmed into the movement, it became easier, and it felt more natural.  I felt the same when taking part in the impulsing where you would send an impulse into your partner, to manipulate their movement.  I also found this interesting, as you could explore the different ways in which you could send an impulse, as well as being in control of where your partners would travel, and the movements they would do.

Buckwalter, M. (2010) Composing while dancing: An Improviser’s Companion. Madison, WI, USA: The University of Wisconsin Press.