dancing 'the score'

Juliet Shelley

The Score
Sunday July 24th 6am - 10am, 2001
Wellington, New Zealand
‘The Score’ is the name of a CI score created by Nancy Stark Smith over the course of around twenty years of teaching and dancing CI nationally and internationally. At her Melbourne workshop in November 2000 Nancy described briefly how it was that she came to develop ‘The Score’, a name given it purely for practical reasons. She had been teaching CI for many years and began to notice that aspects of the material of CI were beginning to develop quite organically and almost of their own volition in her classes.

Students would approach Nancy at the end of a class and talk about a part of the work or class which Nancy had not been fully aware of but which was beginning to be transmitted through her work. She realised this was the beginning of a new phase in her teaching and developed ‘The Score’ as a way to structure those aspects of the work which were beginning to transpire and take shape.

In January 2000 I attended a three week Continuing Training workshop in CI with Nancy in Northampton, Mass. USA. The Continuing Training is so called because it invites participants to return annually and continue in the work and practise of CI, Changing States, The Elements, Improvisational Scores and Performance. During this workshop I was introduced to ‘The Score’ for the first time and practised it in depth. At this workshop Claire Filmon began to develop an idea she had had for many years - to create a global practise of ‘The Score’ which would take place simultaneously in the world. This first practise was called The Score - Solstice, for the June 21st Solstice.
It took place on the weekend of the 24th June to allow full participation.

The idea : “At the same moment around the world, we will dance through a frame”. A four-hour time period was proposed. There needed to be at least one person in each place who had practised the Score with Nancy and who could teach ‘The Score’ to other participants beforehand. This person needed to find a place to dance ‘The Score’, secure communication (by email connection) organise the finances - cost of the space, means of communication etc., and communicate to Claire throughout the early stages. A Score chat room was set up to connect with other participants at the beginning and end of the practise by email. Participating groups took part in Paris, Tokyo, Wellington NZ, Seattle, Chicago, Massachussetts and Portland in the USA, Bristol UK and Gers, France. This project was set up as a pilot project for a larger one in July of this year and has an article about it by Laura Blackburn in the Winter/Spring 2001 issue of Contact Quarterly. The article is called ‘On Being and Observing the Moving Ball’.
The Score in Wellington, New Zealand 2000 and 2001:

The dancers for the Score 2000 in Wellington were Juliet Shelley, Kristian Larsen, Maaka Raynor, Stewart Armstrong and Jacquie Gray. By July 24th 2001 the dancers in Wellington had expanded to a group of nine: Juliet Shelley, Damian Tossman, John Andrews, Chris Bant, Philippa Clements, Judith Byrne, Andrew Jarry, Megan Stokoe and Katherine Tate.

The Schedule for the day was as follows:
6.00 - 6.40am arriving
6.45 Opening Small Dance facing Japan
6.45 - 8.40am Dancing The Score ( 6.45 - 7.30 ish) to arrive in Open Score
7.30 - 8.40 Open Score
8.40 Ending bell
8.45 - 9pm Reflection
9.00- 9.45 Harvest
9.45 Closing Small Dance facing San Fransisco
10am End and breakfast in nearby cafe.

Practising ‘The Score’ and being able to participate in the Score 2001 as an event has given this group and myself the experience of being able to practise the skills of Contact within the framework of a bigger awareness and connection with others. For me personally, this encapsulates a major part of the spirit of contact itself. For this reason Score 2001 has been a gift and has catapaulted the group into a new level of practise both as individuals and as a class.

Facing Japan in the Small Dance I had an experience for the first time in New Zealand of a connection with others over distance which was palpable. The effect for me of sensing this connection over distance was to have a huge vista, a view open up for me, like a landscape. Within that and from that place, I was able to relax in a way that I had not done for a long time. I was able to relax and soften and breathe and experience myself in relation to others who were a long way away and yet who I felt connected with. The smallness and isolation of New Zealand geographically was temporarily lifted and the effect was surprising, easing and delightful. I had not realised just how much I had been feeling this until that moment.
This experience had a profound impact on me personally and on my dancing throughout the duraton of the score and for some time afterwards. I was able to access the Chat room very early on that day which was part of this experience for me. This also felt like a breakthrough in my consciousness.

People interested in accessing write ups and diologues exchanged during ‘The Score’ practise can do so at the following website: www.egroups.com/group/ci_score.exchange
Write in ‘Scoreguest’ as your user name.
Password: surf123 & click on to ‘files’ for download the dialogues and conversations.


vol 6 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3&4 - 2003
vol 5 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2002
vol 4 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2001
vol 3 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2000
vol 2 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 1999
vol 1 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 1998

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