Until this week, during the contact improvisation module, I feel as a whole we have not experimented enough with giving the whole of our weight to each other, therefore perhaps restricting fluidity of movement. I know that in the past I have been quite hesitant whether or not to initiate a lift and this can sometimes make a contact piece look disjointed. This week however, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome as we were taught new and interesting ways of travelling in to lifts, some simple and some more complex which I will try my best to use in future contact work.
In preparation for the lesson I had read Ann Woodhull’s centre of gravity, enlightening me to the importance of correct use of weight and support in Contact Improvisation. I am glad that I had read this before the lesson, as I was able to apply my knowledge in to class. If the support of the under dancer is not right and they are not a stable base, than the over dancer will not be stable which can make in an unsafe practise. The over dancer also must share their weight correctly and a lot of the time when I was playing this role, this meant I had to ensure my pelvis was higher than my partners. When this was taken on board, many of the lifts were performed successfully.
I believe that along with correct placement, confidence is the key in order to have a successful lift, and this has to be from both the lifter and the person being lifted. One particular lift where this was evident was when we were in a counter balance. I was then lowered to the floor and my partner, who was Georgina at the time, span me round on the floor and then pulled me up to catch me. Reflecting on this, I noticed that the first few times we attempted it, because we both were not very confident that she would be able to catch me as she was a lot shorter in height, that as I jumped upwards from the floor, I jumped in an awkward position. This did not only made it look messy, but made it awkward for her to catch me. In contrast to this after a few practises were both began to relax more and it was easier for me to be caught, and the lift probably looked more appealing to watch as well as I was less of a heavy weight.
As we have developed further in to the module, i believe that i have increased my sense of trust with other dancers, and now feel confident to be lifted as well as lifting others. In previous lessons, although i have given weight to others, i feel that i have been working more as an under dancer. This week, experimenting with people that i don’t normally work with, I spent more of my time being lifted which in affect equalled out my roles working as both.
Woodhull A. Center of Gravity. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I, Vol. 4. Pp. 43-48.