Movement Studies 3 December Relfections

The next pattern is the Yield and Push Pattern. Thinking about a fish with its fins and lateral line helped when sinking into yielding then pushing back up. It promotes finding support to move upwards into activity. During this session I felt a sensation and awareness to deepen right into the ground, and searching beneath and below me. I thought about the boney spine and my central nervous system running through myself.

• Leading from the head
• Head as a limb
• What is below me?
• What can I feel?
• Yielding deep into the ground
• Curly shells!
• Softening through each vertebrae 

Movement Studies November Reflections - Experiential Anatomy

Throughout this month we have been layering more and more information into Movement Studies 3. Leading on from the Naval Radiation Starfish pattern we have began to look at the Mouthing Pattern (Sea Squirt Model). Within this session we looked at how the mouth can initiate whole body movement. The Digestive Tract was essential when thinking about this pattern. Imagining I had a central line running vertically through the middle of my body helped me to visualise and feel the Digestive Tract within my body. We imagine the image of a sea squirt. Its has a long, tube like appearance with no spine. We brushed a partners cheek and watched them follow the brush with their mouth. This movement initiated a sideways rolling action. We have also looked at the Mouthing Pattern. The animal that we think of is the Lancelet when looking at this pattern. It has three tubes down the centre of the body. These are the Digestive tract, Neural tube and Notochord. Thinking about having three lines within my body helped me to think clearly about my head to tail relationship at the same time as making movement continuous and fluid.

October Reflections on Movement Studies...Experimental Anatomy

This past month has been thirty one days of rich information, new experiences and interweaving lots of ideas throughout Studio Practice classes, dissertation group sessions and my day to day life. We began this term with Experimental Anatomy sessions. The first pattern we looked at was Cellular Breathing. Thinking about the structure of a cell in more detail and the idea that millions of cells are living within my body really connected me to my breathing. A sense of my body cells all working together helped me to soften my whole body, yield fully and kept my mind free while moving. When taking part in Katye Coe's Studio Practice class on 15th October 2012 we used our own breath to initiate movement. As I sighed and released the breath I thought of the cellular breathing pattern and applied what I had learnt from this lesson to the movement I was making. I felt secure and could trust my own instinct and rhythm of my body.

The Starfish Pattern looks at the navel being the central part to the body. We think of each body part being equal. I think of my moving body as a whole self instead of the separate body parts working alone. Natalie suggested that we practice the Starfish Pattern using a gym ball. I practised this when moving for myself. I could feel my naval radiation and found the expansion and extension when reaching out.

Skin Image

Inside the Caravans at the performance 'Eat'.

Eat - The Birmingham Rep Theatre performed at the Roundhouse

Feasting, Fasting, Famine and Food for Thought Ladies and gentlemen, we give you – Eat! A theatrical journey in four… caravans. We take food for granted; we diet, overindulge, grab it on the go, but rarely do we delve into its stories. From famine to hunger strike, persecution to celebration, anorexia to obesity, food and eating has an important place in historical events, the present news and our own emotional memories. This year a team of researchers, writers, actors and designers, The REP, and Black Country Touring have cooked up a new site specific production using four caravans based on personal accounts of what, when and how we eat and why it matters. The production weaves together theatre, live music, installation, beatbox and spoken word taking audiences on a unique journey inspired by the many stories we have been told. (Taken from Birmingham Rep Theatre)

Traces left behind after filming

Filming for Dance and the Moving Image