Movement Lab- Critical reflection and analysis

Movement Lab: Collaborative exploration of ritual and movement within rough frameworks of contact, stillness and improvisation both in the studio and outside world. Mariana, Felicity, Vanessa and I met regularly to have a practice of movement. We started off with themes of contact- bringing together various warm up exercises and meditations to start the practice. By the end of our time together we were presenting movements publicly: at religious sites, part of a large performances and in urban setting like market places.

Working at specific sites:

Through this work I developed an interest in site-specific work and the creative input that a site can have. From the abandoned theme parks to site of historical and religious significance.

Organising a group creates a need for commitment and trust. We had our own schedules so working with a collaboration we had to commit to one another. This process was harder when there were no goals in mind. However, as we started to develop a practice and we were invited to take part in demonstrations, we worked quickly and efficiently.

Leadership: as a collective we did not have a leader but we selected various themes and each weak we would come up with exercisers, themes, and playful ideas. I found that we worked better when one person had a concise plan of what they wanted as an outcome:
Marianna's Ritual
Emma's painting, working with bamboo

Movement Lab's presence in public spaces as well as the Amerta Movement workshops drew my attention to the way in which people move and behave in public. I began to realise how conscious I felt in public but how I was able to dissolve these feeling of shyness when I became more aware of my body. For example: 'touching my self in public': is a great exercise. You begin by touching your self in public, on the knee, bending down slowly, pressing your self against a rail, feeling the ock of a step on the foot… etc. By bring awareness to you body and points of contact with itself and the external world one learns to subtlety increase your awareness. Addtionally, doing this in public as an initial exercise helps you to recognise small movements hold great power as your onset is not to draw attention to your self.

Movement and change: Move like the river

Stillness: we decided to explore use to explore movement. Juxtaposing moments of stillness with movement, using a subject to be still whilst other movement was captured. Learning from stillness, what can stillness teach us?
From this practice I grew to appreciate space, and the lack of something in a composition to exaggerate that which is there. A pause to show movement, the inanimate to exaggerate life. On a physical level stillness was felt in the body, especially when pain arose from our positions. This work urges me to become aware of the movement, performance and gesture in ritual. Work that I cold develop when exploring the Mouth-rite ritual and the Mask- Movement ritual.