So... I like to pride myself in having diverse interests outside of engineering, but dance has never really been one of them. (See Leah and I's concern when we were instructed to partner dance). I took ballet when I was younger and had to take part in various events/shows that involve dance in high school, but the expressive, free form style of dance that we experienced in this workshop was much different and way out of my comfort zone. I would not even say that its because I'm uncomfortable with my body. I work out quite often and pride myself in keeping that part of my life in check (although with finals coming up... I haven't touched the barbell in a good 3 weeks...). However, something about letting your body move without instruction or direction made me feel very disconnected with my body. It's odd because our body is an extension of us, and it is capable of so many cool things, but many times we just take that for granted.
This idea of unrestricted free-from expression is also not anything that new to me. I love painting and drawing, and I usually do that freely and with more abstract ideas. Even with our Mark Making workshop, I felt comfortable in drawing weird lines and random shapes. However, creating those movements with my body felt unnatural and weird. Like if I made a weird movement, others would judge me as an individual and not the work. In traditional paper and pencil work, it is easier to separate the art from the artist, but in dance, it feels harder.
The Workshop
In this workshop, we were guided through a couple of activities. The first involved going through meditative type of relaxation exercise that really helped me calm down and bring my attention to myself and my body. We had to lay on the ground and draw our attention to things from our toes to our breath. Once we were all centered, we then did a group "game" type of exercise where we had to fill the room with our bodies, and then we got in groups and had to fill the room with our circles. We also did an activity where we picked an "enemy" and a "guardian" and had the keep the guardian in between us and our enemy at all times. It was funny because we all ended up just clumping together. Many of these exercises were really fun and helped us bond as a class. It definitely allowed us to get more comfortable with each other.
We then moved to more "dance"-like exercises where we partnered up and used expressive dance forms to partner dance. We also did an exercise where we had to mirror the other's movements. Somehow I felt comfortable mirroring another's movements because I knew they weren't my own. These were really funny. At the end, we were instructed to dance across the stage and spell out our name while everyone was watching. I skipped out on that one... it was just too much for me.
Connecting this..
Though I still don't really think I'll start this form of creative dance anytime soon, I do think that finding ways to stay connected to your body is really important for one's self-confidence and self-image. Using our bodies is also an effective way of communication. You can tell stories through dance that may be harder to relay through text, and sometimes this may be a more effective medium. In exploring this concept, I stumbled upon the work of Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly whose art explores concepts of intimacy and relationships. I've inserted a clip from their "Modern Living" piece which explores the question, "What would a home have to look and feel like today to protect and produce intimacies and relations that don’t fit within dominant narratives of family, marriage, or domesticity?”
What intrigues me most is that their dance movements aren't like the traditional choreography that you'd see on a stage. Moreover, their work typically takes place in a museum setting, which reinforces the fact that their work is an art rather than a 1, 2, step. Their work also includes a sculptural aspect to it. Certain pieces like the glass and concrete enclosure stand as symbols for greater themes within the piece. Gerard and Kelly claim that, "The concrete and glass box becomes a boat floating on the horizon in which all expected norms and frontiers are, for the duration of the journey, interrupted or suspended."
Aside from the dance aspect of it, I love that they're exploring the concept of home because its been something I've been pondering for a while. Especially as I've moved to Blacksburg for college, I've learned to appreciate this area as my new home. Sometimes I'll even find myself calling Blacksburg my home when I'm back in Northern VA. What defines my home? Can I have two "homes"? Is "home" really where the heart is? I'd like to think that my home is where I've built relationships and connections with others. It's anywhere I have emotional attachments to; therefore anywhere can be my home. These are the exact sentiments I feel when watching Gerard and Kelly's work. I can't even explain why that is... I feel like it has a lot to do with the way the dancers interact with one another. You can really feel their emotions, even though they don't say anything. The physical setting of the work definitely contributes to these emotions.
Overall, I love the way this workshop has forced me to explore the emotions you can relay with the human body. There is so much power in expression that we hold within our bodies, and I feel like it's really important for us to utilize that in our day-to-day lives. Maybe I'll take a dance class one of these days...
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