Bartenieff Fundamentals and Improvistation 26/10/11

Today, we didn't continue with learning the fourth principle of the Bartenieff Fundamentals we looked at improvising with the three principles that I have previously wrote about; breath, core-distal and head and tail. As well as improvising we practiced movement sequences that we had done in previous weeks and then adding these three principals to them, we practiced them separately but then tried to think about them all at the same time. We then split into groups of three and each one of us took one of the principles to focus on as the rest of our peers watched and observed how the quality of the movement changed within each of the three.

When just focusing on breath I observed that the sequence flowed more than without the breath. Instead of just getting to a place and stopping then moving onto the next step, using the breath made it flow through the movement added a sense of continuity to the sequence and also added more dynamic.  This was especially on one of the parts where we have chance to take a deep breath in and then exhale in one go this adds a sense connectivity between all the parts of the body to move as one and also makes it a bit of a surprise factor.


When observing the person concentrating on the principal of the core-distal, this also adds more dynamic because whenever there is a movement it comes from the core so shows more strength behind the movement and also it makes it more aesthetically pleasing because there are bits where we can really stretch out with all our 6 limbs and reach out and then places where we can curl up in a ball around the core.


Head and tail gives the sequence more fluidity and movement a softer feeling behind it, for me personally I find this principle the hardest, there is a lot to think about and with it being about the spine I feel that I don't have very much movement in my spine so even when consistently trying to improve, there will never be much movement in my back as to some of my other peers. I feel this gives me a dis advantage but if I can work my range of movement to my best and always putting effort in then this shouldn't hinder me any way.

Improvisation and Contact Improvisation

Improvisation is supposed to be the spontaneous creation of movement material for choreography but it can also be used as a warm up or to relax, improvising is quite a freeing exercise to do as it allows you just dance without thinking of technique or whether or not what your doing is right. There is no such thing as right and wrong in improvising even when given a starting point or a score to work from. Improvising is what ever feels best for you, what you think is right its your body and what you think might be completely different to one of your peers in the group.Its about doing what you personally what you want to do and what you have been told to do.
Improvising can also consist of contact improvisation, Steve Paxton began to develop the idea of contact improvisation, he trained for three years with merce Cunningham and then when on to perform works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown. Paxton had a contribution to the formation of the Judson Dance Theatre, this was an informal group of dancers, the dancers and the founders were extremely interested in experimental movement who reject the ideas of modern dance and therefore inventing the precepts of postmodern dance. Contact Improvisation is a way of experimenting with gravity, friction and also kinect movement. contact Improvisation can be explored with two people of a group of people, finding different connections between different people, lifts and experimenting with different places to place your weight and people, interesting balances its about being spontaneous with people and also trusting people. Contact Improvisation can be performed and explored with people that have never danced before, Paxton came to this idea from working with Cunningham and his idea of chance choreography, the idea that any movement can be dance no matter what. It doesn't have to fit with the music it can go against it or not go with the music at all and have no relationship.

...together with other Judson choreographers

such as Steve Paxton, Douglas Dunn, and Trisha Brown. However analytic

and austere these participants' independent work may have been, when they began

to improvise together, the invention and variety of their dancing knew no bounds.

Following (or disobeying) the slightest of plans for the evening's show, the Grand

Union performers would perform set choreography, improvise skits, quote stock

characters and movement idioms, extemporaneously devise new characters, and

comment meta-theatrically on these activities as they were happening. According

to Banes, "a social as well as an aesthetic world invaded the stage": 

Monten, J. (2008) ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed…: eclecticism in postmodern dance’ in Bales, M. & Nettl-Fiol, R (eds.) The body eclectic: evolving practices in dance training.  Urbana ILL: University of Illinois Press. 
I feel that one of my main weaknesses throughout the whole of university has been improvising, I don't have the confidence to do it and even when I start to get lost into the moment I think that I start just doing what I do all the time, always going back to my old habits and never finding new material. By using bartenieff fundamentals as a starting point for an improvisation gives me something to work from, something to think about, having a starting point helps me but its hard to not go back to old habits. Paxton wanted to break down the barriers between dancers and non-dancers, he wanted it to be a free expressive way of moving and to not focus on the aesthetics of the movement.
In my opinion I think improvising as a dancer is harder than improvising as a non-dancer, as a dancer I automatically think what does this look like or what do other people think about what I'm doing? I am too self conscious about my movement and should have confidence, it doesn't matter what improvising looks like its about what happens and not thinking about it before I do it. As in our degree at the moment we are doing more and more improvising and while I don't look forward to it to start off with, when I get into the "moment" I do quite enjoy it and lose myself in the movement. To be able to improve on this I could do it in my own time and just play some music and dance and see what comes out of it, I think if I did this it would help me when improvising in a group and give me confidence in what I do, not thinking or taking notice of others around me or letting their movement influence mine, stay true to my own ideas.
I need to take into consideration improvising is a great tool for choreographing allows you to come up with movement that is original rather than something you have seen elsewhere or go back to my old habits and place them in the choreography. Using the bartenieff fundamentals as a starting point for improvisations gives me something to work from and concentrate on which wont allow me to go back to old habits, thinking about the head and tail relationship will make me move differently than to what I'm used to as this is not something that I automatically do, it will give a different quality to my choreography making it flow as I see this as a more slow, gentle way of movement which is the opposite to what I normally do as I'm normally quite a fast mover. Also incorporating breath into my choreography will help with the dynamics, again this is something that I don't normally think about but over the past 3 years at University it is something that I have being trying and consistently trying to incorporate.


We study the Bartenieff Fundamentals in one of our technique classes which adds some variety to our other technique classes, its not about being perfect its about exploring different ideas and how it feels for me personally whether I think this would work or not, seeing how it changes the movement. Its really helping me at the moment also with choreography its allowing me to be individual and with this my choreography will not become like a technique class.