Sunday Open Discussion Group

Our first Sunday discussion group of this term offered space for conversation around the concepts of Knowledge, Learning and Information. Observations were shared from those that were a part of the discussion, and a feeling of the concept of Change emerged.

We talked about transformation; of information into embodied knowledge, about 'technique', or 'Technique', what this is, or what is can be (mis)understood to be, about fear, language, assumptions, expectations, integrity as part of our learning, and of knowledge as something in-process, always growing, keeping, broadening and through it allowing ourselves to be open to the possibility of change. 

Sharing with you an excerpt from my own work, commenting of the concept of change in relation to relationships between somatic practice and improvised performance...

'Change illuminates the in-between-ness as a mobile place of form and fluidity through critical enquiry. For Irmgard Bartenieff, change is pivotal to working with Fundamentals and key to unlocking the full potential of the integrated body. ‘Change is fundamental. The essence of movement is change. As we move, we are constantly changing’ (Hackney, 2002: 12). The need to respond to change, feels strikingly present in our current global climate, as does a sense of community. Being responsive to the continual ebb and flow of our environments encourages one to remain present in movement that is meaningful through shared experiences with others. Bartenieff herself speaks of movement as a fluid phenomenon, likened to the ebb and flow of water. Change in the context of this research has emerged which is not simply an action or effect that is temporal but an event which is transactional and has the potential to be transformational through multiple encounters. Change is revealed in a becoming aware of, and allowing space for multiple possibilities through improvisation. The new methods developed through exploration of somatic practices actively embrace the phenomenon of change. The concept of hovering (discussed in chapter III) places the body, bodies, and environment in a state of flow where change is invited. When the body is experienced as becoming of, and as its environment, it is within a process of change. Theorizing my approach to somatic practice and improvisation through this thematic concept (re)opens form and offers further consideration of the language of practice'. 

Kindred, H. 2021, PhD thesis, dancing the in-between-ness: (re)articulating Bartenieff Fundamentals through improvised dance performance-making, pg.120)

Do share your thoughts, comments, readings around anything that emerged for you from this discussion group