WORKSHOP REPORT – Wednesday, November 12 2014
10am – 1pm
Asheville Butoh Studio
475 Fletcher Road, Alexander NC
10am – 1pm
Asheville Butoh Studio
475 Fletcher Road, Alexander NC
Participating in the workshop were: Sara Baird (Artistic Director – Anemone Dance Theater), Julie Becton Gillum (Artistic Director – Legacy Butoh), Jenni Cockrell (dancer), Diana Brewster (graphic designer).
Physical Exercises:
Combined abbreviated Vibrations / Joint Spirals warm-up
Body Soundz
Breath
Journaling and feedback from these three exercises.
Video documentation of Breath exercise.
Body Soundz:
Hanging forward, humming into head resonators, vibrating, rolling up & opening to “Aah” sound while still vibrating the body. Repeat with progressively higher pitches.
Deep breathing – exhale on “sshh”, “sss” & blowing through lips.
Plosives. Plosive rhythms.
Wow-wee.
Body drumming – add voice – interactive body drumming.
Breath:
This exercise has several sections that progressively build up, starting very simply and advancing to more complex instructions. Ideally, in a series of classes or workshops, the exercise can be developed gradually over time.
In this workshop session, we spent about an hour on a “crash course” on each section, and then documented the whole progression running straight from one section into another.
A full description and demonstration of the Breath exercise can be found in my PHYSICAL EXERCISES – SoloSketches blog page.
Workshop Video Link:
Discussion & Feedback:
Sara –
Commented on the mental and physical discipline necessary for maintaining focus throughout the exercises.
Enjoyed the Body Soundz vocal exercises using vibration and pitch (frequency) and breath control – felt that there was a connection with the use of breath in the Body Soundz work and in the Breath exercise (where the breath is the initiating factor for movement).
In early stages of the Breath exercise, she felt limited when only initiating motion inside the torso, as though trapped inside the torso – however, once movement initiation was introduced into other areas of the body – felt more freedom. Although she did also comment that, even when only in the X shape at the beginning, there was still a lot going on inside the body (responding to visualization) before physical motion was introduced.
She enjoyed the shift of scale (between small & large movement / areas of the body in motion) and the unexpected, random movements influenced by breathing into different parts of the body.
She discovered the ability to let go and not dictate the
movement.
impulse vs. sustained
rhythms vs. fluidity
surprise vs. consistent/predictable
Jenni –
Was in constant dialogue with self … to let go of the concept of time … to let go of being task-oriented … to stop “trying” to do things.
She found subtle moments by not forcing anything – if there was an impulse, she would follow, but would not force anything to happen … to the point of sometimes giving herself permission to do nothing. She found details of fingers, bones and delicate moments of subtlety.
She commented on the grounding of the tailbone in relation to the opening lightness of the crown of the head.
She became aware of the ribs as protector – the ribcage physically protecting the organs, but also the emotional idea of protecting the heart.
She quoted an Improv dance teacher she has worked with – Chris Aiken – “avoid the tyranny of doing something interesting”!
Diana –
Regarding the warm-up (using vibrations/joint spirals) - she would have liked more time for slow, controlled energy for the spirals.
Breath exercise – lying on her back, the X shape felt like too much of a stretch on her chest / front of shoulders area, so she brought her arms down to the Yoga “corpse” position. She had some confusion initially with my instructions regarding the cycle/rhythm of the breath, as she was used to a certain Yoga breathing technique, but after listening to my instructions for a while, realized what I was trying to communicate.
She very much enjoyed the Body Soundz exercises, as she felt these were more group oriented and social, exploring sound and the body in a fun, childlike manner. She appreciated the power of group chanting.
Her general comment was of feeling a bit isolated in many of the movement explorations, as they are quite a private and internalized process.
Julie –
Began by noting body parts that “don’t work like they used to” and felt a constant judgment of the body in the more physically focused work (as opposed to when the focus becomes creative).
She suggested a book by Cecily Berry – a theatre based artist who has developed vocal techniques. She thought this would be relevant for my Body Soundz vocal work. She noted Butoh exercises that use the breath cycle for imagery – such as living a whole life span (birth to death) within one breath. Or of each breath bringing a different character or elemental image.
During the Breath exercise, she visualized an octopus propelling through water (shooting dye – squid?) on the exhale.
Other general comments were in regards to ideas of vibrations from nature, sounds and earth actions.
impulse vs. sustained
rhythms vs. fluidity
surprise vs. consistent/predictable
Jenni –
Was in constant dialogue with self … to let go of the concept of time … to let go of being task-oriented … to stop “trying” to do things.
She found subtle moments by not forcing anything – if there was an impulse, she would follow, but would not force anything to happen … to the point of sometimes giving herself permission to do nothing. She found details of fingers, bones and delicate moments of subtlety.
She commented on the grounding of the tailbone in relation to the opening lightness of the crown of the head.
She became aware of the ribs as protector – the ribcage physically protecting the organs, but also the emotional idea of protecting the heart.
She quoted an Improv dance teacher she has worked with – Chris Aiken – “avoid the tyranny of doing something interesting”!
Diana –
Regarding the warm-up (using vibrations/joint spirals) - she would have liked more time for slow, controlled energy for the spirals.
Breath exercise – lying on her back, the X shape felt like too much of a stretch on her chest / front of shoulders area, so she brought her arms down to the Yoga “corpse” position. She had some confusion initially with my instructions regarding the cycle/rhythm of the breath, as she was used to a certain Yoga breathing technique, but after listening to my instructions for a while, realized what I was trying to communicate.
She very much enjoyed the Body Soundz exercises, as she felt these were more group oriented and social, exploring sound and the body in a fun, childlike manner. She appreciated the power of group chanting.
Her general comment was of feeling a bit isolated in many of the movement explorations, as they are quite a private and internalized process.
Julie –
Began by noting body parts that “don’t work like they used to” and felt a constant judgment of the body in the more physically focused work (as opposed to when the focus becomes creative).
She suggested a book by Cecily Berry – a theatre based artist who has developed vocal techniques. She thought this would be relevant for my Body Soundz vocal work. She noted Butoh exercises that use the breath cycle for imagery – such as living a whole life span (birth to death) within one breath. Or of each breath bringing a different character or elemental image.
During the Breath exercise, she visualized an octopus propelling through water (shooting dye – squid?) on the exhale.
Other general comments were in regards to ideas of vibrations from nature, sounds and earth actions.
Summary:
Something that seems to be similar in each individual’s report is the fact that they are having an inner dialogue about the process. The fact that these exercises give a defined enough concept and also enough space for that dialogue to occur is encouraging to me in itself.
It seems there are comments regarding coming across various physical limitations, various mental blockages or wanderings – these are all good things to become aware of. It also seems that there are ways each individual is discovering about how to deal with these issues for themselves as the process continues.
Their reports are not just about coming across a problem, but how they began to solve it.
- I realize that most of this current aspect of the work is very insular and I do want to get back into some more Creative Response interactions – which I will do in the next session.
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