Last week I supported Martin Hughes in teaching some principles of contact improvisation to twenty-one Year 9 boys. It was quite an experience. I’m curious now about the qualities and facility that would develop in a body trained in contact from a young age. I’d love to read anyone’s thoughts on this topic or hear from anyone who has more extensive experience in teaching dance to young people.
I also had the opportunity to create a short improvised performance with nine men a few weeks ago. Again, it was quite an experience. It’s very rare to be able to dance with so many men - and also rare to see such a performance as well. There’s a particular energy that is generated by men dancing contact that I love. The ability for men to soften and yield while also tapping into a very natural dynamism can create beautiful moments. As well as people enjoying the energy of 9 men performing there were many comments about the homoeroticism present in the piece we created. How do gender and sexuality change the way we dance or view dance? What are the differences or similarities between dancing with men or women for you? Let us know what you think.
Thanks to Tim Humphrey for a musicians perspective on choice in performance and to Wendy Smith, John Britton and Hilary Elliot for their ongoing discussion on improvisation and performance. Thanks to Hellene Gronda for providing the quote and Catherine Magill and Ryk Goddard for keeping us up with what’s going on..
