Creative & dance journal – Page 2

Residuals: mark-making investigation

In December, I investigated surfaces and mark-making for the residuals project with Oxfordshire artists Hugh Pryor and John Hazel. Canvas, paper and various grades and sizes of carbon (charcoal) were investigated. We used hands, feet, broom and sponge to research mark marking.

Visit to Statolit performance by artist Adèle Essle Zeiss

I visited the contemporary art gallery Moderna Museet in Malmö, Sweden on August 26, to watch ‘Statolit’ a performance created by artist Adèle Essle Zeiss. Suspension and balance (arrested movement giving stillness) was presented in a gallery setting.

Kinetic sculpture: Clock at Slower than Slow

In June, I attended a workshop entitled ‘Slower than Slow’ with Eva Karczag in Budapest, Hungary. On the second day, Wednesday 28 June we used our feet to contact each other in a sequential production. We created a kinetic sculpture with our moving bodies which I named Clock.

Grounding exercises for contact improvisation

I attended a class on 10 June lead by Justin Philpot with Soledad at CI Goldsmiths, University of London. Two exercises which he presented, left me questioning how we teach and what the exercises taught us. Here, I discuss and analyse them.

Kinetic sculpture: Waterfall at Co-Creative Practices in Contact Improvisation

I attended a movement and dance workshop with Nita Little teaching at Wainsgate Chapel, Yorkshire on Friday 3 June – Sunday 5 June. We practiced falling and catching a partner in continuos contact. I named this kinetic sculpture: Waterfall.

Dance making + Mark marking = Residuals

I started a new dance project in April. Initially, I held a stall at the jumble sale of the Oxfordshire Visual Arts Development Agency and their Osney Mead studio space in Oxford. Read more about the project.

Manifesto for Embodiment: a riposte to machine capture

Digital devices – ‘smart phones’, etc – and their infrastructure are machines for capture. Our jewelled-like devices capture us physically, psychologically and socially. The history of digitisation and machine capture is separation of being and body: disembodiment. A response – or riposte – are practices and human relations through embodiment including dance, movement and physical presence.

Jam! Dance session for contact Improvisation, February 2023

In February 2023, Oxford Contact Dance held a dance session for contact improvisation in the dance studio at the Old Fire Station, Oxford. One of the dancers – Marta Wasielewska – who is also photographer, took some wonderful photos – presented here. Thank-you Marta.

Beginning Contact Improvisation, January 2023

I taught a day workshop on 22 January for people beginning contact improvisation. My good friend and dancer Aundre Goddard attended. During the Covid pandemic we’d created dances outside in the park but now ‘post covid’, I could finally introduce Aundre to my favourite dance practice: contact improvisation.

Captioning Contact Improvisation 1972

This year 2022, is regarded as the 50th anniversary of contact improvisation. In 1972 there was a performance – recorded on film – at the John Walker gallery in New York City showing contact improvisation. To aid understanding by everyone, I created a set of captions for the film which you can see online and download. The captions are a transcription of the film’s narration by dancer Steve Paxton.