Simple Authentic Movement Exercise
The latest ideas I have been delving into are to do with Authentic Movement and Embodiment. I am no practitioner of either of these fields, but the ideas I read about inspire me to try out exercises in my classes.
My interest in Authentic Movement has gone on a while now. After reading interviews with Mary Whitehouse and Janet Adler, a lot of the concepts and ideas they present really resonated with me. It’s the idea that the body has its own self. Of course it is integrated with our mind, but there is a lot that we can learn from it. There is also the idea that the body contains and expresses our feelings, finding it hard to lie. Therefore the expression from the body, of the body is generally authentic.
The exercise is asking 2 simple questions:
How does my body feel right now?
Where do I have this feeling?
Then focusing on this point with my awareness and waiting for an impulse to move. All movement should come from this point. While moving the question to ask oneself is: is this movement from my impulse? If not reduce and refocus.
The results an my experiences are really interesting. Mostly at the first attempt there is little movement… It perhaps has to do with awareness. What is the impulse that I feel? What is it that am I actually looking for? How much do I allow myself to release into the feeling or sensation that is there? Holding a simple focus on the feeling/point seems to intensify it. Remember it is a feeling or sensation that we are looking for that can include but is not exclusive to emotions.
In doing the exercise, my body generally wants to play with the feeling, moving it around, roughing it up as I go with it. It somehow intensifies the impulse, by being curious and experimenting. The movement itself is initiated from my body and the chosen point. A lot of the time I find the point is in my chest or back area so the arms and legs are initially not so involved. As the impulse expands and I further connect with it, the movement grows to “infect” the extremities. It’s a beautiful feeling, the reconnection to my body and self. It comes out of the resonance and vibration that is left over, and maybe a smattering of resolution and restoration of energy to its natural state.
In working with amateurs especially beginners I have had mixed results. Sometimes they just stand there waiting for an impulse, that never really seems to come. I question whether it is that they unsure, or just not yet physically tuned in enough yet? My guess is it takes a bit of time, awareness and trust, but as with anything, practice expands the skill.
Sometimes I too wonder then personally about the movement they make. I can’t say that it is not authentic, but there do seem to be patterns and certain types of learned movements that seem more produced than coming from an impulse. Structured steps. Whether this is authentic or not is really only for the person moving to know.
With more advanced students there is naturally a greater connection and it seems easier for them to establish a connection and follow the impulses presented. A quicker transition into the state, but in comparison to regular improvisation tasks there is a difference in the build up and direction of the movement. The body is focusing on a feeling or sensation that is generally abstract.
There is the question as to how music influences the process? I find it important that the feeling is established first. The above questions are asked of the body in silence and a short short pause is left before playing music. Naturally the rhythm and mood of the music played affect the way the movement component is developed. Whether it changes it totally I am unsure. I see it for the moment as inspiration.
As a second stage to the exercise, I have expanded it in pairs so that one person dances and the other observes. The dancer does the exercise as above and the person observing has the task of watching with the task of describing to the dancer what they have seen after the dance is finished. This has worked really well.
Though having someone watch what you move can be difficult at the best of times and descriptions may be different to what one felt, the experience has been positive so far. It is a setting that one may find in dance therapy, but here the purpose here is self-awareness and connection. There is something very comforting about moving with a feeling and being seen. Then hearing feedback about ones movement whether it be in pictures or feelings, specific or abstract gives a certain recognition and empathy, which feels good, just like having one’s thoughts reflected. I’m guessing it also builds trust and confidence in oneself, as one is exposed vulnerable and at the same time being seen.
Another aspect I personally find interesting to the exercise is using it to creating choreography from feeling. There are many ways to create and instinctively from my feelings I do this already. The difference I find between general improvisation and creating from this exercise, is that other shapes, forms and dynamics come out different to my standard habits. So far it seems to widen my movement vocabulary and offer another possibility to find movement. Some construction to clearly express an idea is still needed, but within a broader framework such as a phrase of music or a preconceived idea there are many possibilities. The inverse is possible too where the feeling comes first and is then given a structure on the movement created.
More to experiment on!