The painter of space
From Contactencyclopedia
The Painter of Space Leaps into the Void
- A Journey of Exploration between Dance, Visual Arts and Architecture
"Like silence and stillness we experience space as an absence, an interval or relationship between things. As we cross a town square, or stand in a crowded bus, we both change and are changed by the space around us. How we walk, sit or stand is influenced by the spaces in which we move. Space includes us; it is seldom the focus of our attention – we don't so much look at it, as look from within it. The sense of space is only partially visual – we experience it also through movement, touch and sound. But insofar as we see space, we see it articulated in light, shade and shadow. Composition of space is intimately connected with concerns of light and lighting. We respond to proximity and distance and to feelings of openness and enclosure; they recall our earliest experiences in the world. My distance from or closeness to you can be both metaphor and physical fact. Our sense of position and orientation in space – on top, below, behind, left, right – is a way of describing social or psychological relationships as well as spatial ones." (M. Tufnell & C. Crickmay, Body, Space, Image 1993, p.82)
The title of this text is inspired by a photograph taken by Yves Klein in 1960, in which his body seems to be flying through time and space. This will be my starting point as I try in the following to demonstrate how body-space and spatial bodies can be linked, and how images and concepts from visual arts and architecture can influence and kindle ideas in the realm of dance and theater.
One train of thought I followed in structuring this text can be described as follows: POINT – LINE – PLANE– SPATIAL BODIES. The idea for this sequence was inspired by Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook, which was published in 1925 as Volume Two of the Bauhausbücher (Bauhaus Books) series edited by Walter Gropius and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. The Pedagogical Sketchbook is exemplary of the interaction of "divergent forces" typical of the Bauhaus. It inspired me to a series of physical "dance experiments" that I tried out when teaching Contact Improvisation and Dance Performance. Besides Paul Klee, Yves Klein and Hokusai are two of the visual artists who stimulated me to conceptualize forms of movement and who provided inspiration for practical exercises and performances. New conceptual spaces are created in and through dance when two-dimensional images take shape in three-dimensional space. Practical movement exercises create space for communication and new ways of experiencing movement.
1. Reaching the Point of Experience
In one of the first exercises in Contact Improvisation that Christin Vilardo devised in 1977, two people sit opposite each other, the tips of their right index fingers touching, and try to feel what information is channeled back and forth through this one point (one dimension). At first this point remains stationary, but eventually it will begin to move – for example, it might drop lower because the two people's arms start to get tired. Ideally, movement will appear with neither of the participants leading and neither of them following. The result corresponds to Ill. 1 in Chapter 1.1 of Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook.
An active line on a walk, moving freely, without goal. A walk for a walk’s sake. The mobility agent is a point shifting its position forward.
On paper this line is two-dimensional, but between the two dancers it will soon move into a third dimension. Initially it will be confined to the space between the two dancers, but eventually it will venture beyond this space. The dancers focus solely on following this point; their movements ensue as a reaction to the way the point shifts in space. The main focus is on allowing movement to happen and permitting stillness to develop.
Letting things happen. Not making things happen.
"The beacon, guiding Klee through his adventures in seeing, is the line in action. The dot, extended into a graphic curve, cannot come to rest on the last page of the Sketchbook. It urges on to further explorations, both in space and spirit …" (Sibyl Moholy-Nagy in her concluding remarks to the English edition of the Pedagogical Sketchbook)
2. The Rolling Point of Contact
2.1. Between a Person and the Floor
The second exercise begins with the dancers sitting on the floor. They feel the points of contact between their buttocks and the floor, decide and focus on one point and then shift the weight within the body until the point begins to change position. In this way, each person creates a line between the body and the ground, consciously moving from one point to the next. A variation of this exercise involves having the dancers put into words how the point of contact with the ground shifts. These verbalizations should take the form of observations or descriptions of what the dancer is currently experiencing rather than "instructions" directing how and where these movements should take place next.
2.2 Between Two People
As a preliminary exercise, two dancers spread their arms out to the side, forming a wide circle – as if trying to hold a gigantic ball. With the tip of his right middle finger, one dancer touches the tip of his partner's left middle finger. Together, the two trace a line along the back of their fingers and hands and the upper surface of the arms, continuing across the back, other shoulder, arms, hands, and fingers. Finally, they separate and repeat the exercise with different partners. The next step begins as in 2.2; together, the dancers trace a line, following the same steps as above. When they reach the back, they allow the line to proceed to other areas of the body. It is important to keep the movement linear – rather than allowing it to spread out. It is equally crucial to devote attention to each single point along the line, taking care not to skip any of them.
3. Following Points/"Painting" in Space
Imagine that a pencil or paintbrush is attached to the tip of your nose, enabling you to "paint" in space. Initiate the movement from there and let the rest of your body follow. Then imagine the pencil/paintbrush attached to other parts of your body, such as your right elbow, the little toe of your left foot, or any other point on your body. In order to achieve maximum lengthening of the spine, it helps to imagine a paintbrush attached to the top of the skull and another to the base of the spinal cord at the coccyx. "Paint" on the ceiling, the walls, upside-down or right-side-up, with sweeping movements or with delicate ones.
4. Lines on an Imaginary Stave
Subchapter I.6 of the Pedagogical Sketchbook is devoted to the topic of structure. " The most primitive structural rhythm based on a repetition of the same unit from left to right, or top to bottom."
Illustration by Dieter Heitkamp
This exercise is structured in the following way: Imagine a stage on which the dancers move in straight lines from left to right, almost two-dimensionally, as if in a narrow corridor. Imagine them performing a sequence of movements on an imaginary stave, consisting of five vertical lines on top of each other from the ground to about 2 meters high. The sequence is composed of both high and low notes (top-bottom). Depending on the length of the space and the composition (e.g., 10 meters), one can specify tempi ranging from adagio (2 min.) to presto (30 sec.). When additional dancers move along parallel lines (in 2 to 3 meters distance), forms can result in which three to five dancers create compositions of movement, corresponding to chamber music. Ideally, each individual dancer will remain aware of the entire group, perhaps even attempting to pick up themes from the other dancers and incorporate them into his or her own dancing.
5. Line with Accompaniment
The previous exercise can be modified to create duos or trios, in which one person performs the main theme (MT) on the lines of the "stave" (top-bottom); one or two others function as the accompaniment (B), moving chiefly from back to front, left to right in relation to the main line.
Illustration by Dieter Heitkamp
This exercise can be performed without any physical contact between the dancers. As a variation, the dancers can engage in physical contact and also draw away from each other.
(P. Klee, Pedagogical Sketchbook, Chapter I.1, p. 6, Ill. 2 and 3)
6. Internal Space
Our main focus so far has been on the body in space. By shifting our attention to the space within the body, we will obtain different results in regard to the body's plasticity and in how we express content. To help us gain a better sense of the body's internal space, I'd like to describe an exercise devised by Howard Sonnenklar.
Lie with the back of your body flat on the ground. Allow your weight to sink into the floor and feel how the earth is supporting you. If you like, you can lay your hands on different parts of your body in order to feel the space in between them more clearly. Feel the space between the back and front of your skull (i.e., your face), and the space contained by the back and front of your neck and throat. Feel the volume of your ribcage from your back to your sternum and the front-back dimension of your pelvis. Do the same with your thighs, knees, and your feet, from heel to toes. Roll onto one side (turn 90° along your longitudinal axis) and focus on the space inside your skull, between your ears. Feel the space extending from one side of your neck to the other. Visualize the space between your left and right shoulder, the lateral extension of the ribcage and pelvis, from the left to the right greater trochanter, in your thighs, knees, and feet. Again turn 90° along your longitudinal axis until you are lying on your stomach. Place the palms of your hands on the ground next to your shoulders and touch the ground with your toes. Feel your body's internal space from the soles of your feet to the top of your skull. For this it can be helpful to press your hands to the ground, push, and allow the movement to travel down to your feet. Then push and press with your feet and allow the movement to pass in the opposite direction, from your feet to your skull.
7. Amoeba
To feel the body's internal space, it can be helpful to work through the skin and imagine that you are a giant amoeba – a single-celled organism enclosed by a cell membrane and filled with cellular fluid. Allow movement to arise from within as the liquid flows within the cell membrane. Try to consciously feel where your body makes contact with the ground, how the liquid ebbs slowly through your body, thus gradually setting it in motion. Feel how other parts of the membrane make contact with the floor. By heightening my awareness of the membrane, the skin surrounding my body, I can gain a clearer sense of the volume contained by this outer shell, this "container," and thus a heightened sense of self – of what is me and what is my environment, or "not-me."
8. The Interaction of Internal and External Space
The following exercise for two participants deals with how "body-space" and "movement-space" interact. Person A performs very slow movements. Person B places both hands on different points on A's body, allowing them to remain there for some time. Person A attempts to feel the space between his partner's hands, at the same time observing how it affects the movement as a whole. Person B does not attempt to manipulate his partner's movements; he merely accompanies them, "listens" to them, observing what is happening beneath and between his hands. After a while, Person A expands his focus to include his surroundings and other people, and attempts to determine how these impressions affect his sense of internal space and the outward expression of inner thought processes and emotions. After six to ten minutes, the partners exchange roles. Most dancers will find the flowing transition between this more inward-directed "sensing" and outward-directed "action" and simultaneously experiencing two worlds – or rather, the interaction between internal and external space – quite a challenging exercise.
"From the very moment we are born, our sense of space is largely founded on the rotation of our body, in the turning and stretching and bending of our torso and limbs. Experiential space is primarily body space, and body space is primarily movement space. Both before birth and after, all human beings create an "internal image" of the spatial world that is based mainly on the body's movements. The effects of small gestures and movements adjust this image from minute to minute, as long as we live. Thus our bodies are constantly shifting in space; conversely, the space within our bodies is constantly shifting as well. The body and its space constitute an integrated system that could be likened to a "scenic mollusk," i.e., it is an articulated being and a spatial object engaged in constant self-representation. (W. Meisenheimer 1999, Choreographie des architektonischen Raumes)
9. Body Imprints
9.1 The concept for the following exercise dealing with body surface and body image is borrowed from Yves Klein and his body imprints, or "Anthropometries." Imagine that the ground is completely covered with paint, like a giant ink pad. By writhing on the ground, the dancers gradually coat their entire bodies with paint. In order to spread the paint on hard-to-reach spots such as behind the ears, between the legs, or armpits, it is permissible to enlist the help of parts of the body that are already covered in paint.
9.2 Once the dancers have evenly coated their bodies with paint, the collected impressions are expressed in the form of body imprints. For this step, we work from the idea that the entire ground is a huge canvas. Moving along the ground in direction of the body's longitudinal axis will leave a linear imprint, while moving sideways will produce a more expansive imprint. Circular imprints can be created by rotating the body on the ground. Referring to the illustrations of line, plane, and circle in Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook can be helpful.
See Chapter 1.4, Ill. 8 – Passive lines which are the result of an activation of planes (line progression). Passive angular lines and passive circular lines become active as planar constituents. It is possible to produce imprints reminiscent of Pointillism by using only individual body parts such as fingers, hands, feet, etc. Many participants will probably remember printing with home-made potato stamps as children.
9.3. To help avoid individual, purely self-absorbed actionism and help participants achieve greater awareness of the entire space and group as a whole, directing their attention to the four following concepts at this point can encourage more focused movement. Useful in any kind of group improvisation, they are drawn from the vocabulary of Nancy Stark Smith, who played a pioneering role in the development of Contact Improvisation and is one of its most influential personalities.
CONFLUENCE: People/things moving in the same direction. These can be close together or on opposite sides of the space. ATTRACTION: People/things moving toward each other. AVERSION: People/things moving away from each other. COINCIDENCE: Things happening at the same time.
9.4 BODY IMPRINTS can be executed in a performance situation with small groups of four to six dancers, using a clearly defined area outlined by taped marks on the ground. Imagine a canvas or sheet of paper. The other participants act as an audience, or rather, as WITNESSES. Their role is to support the action by focusing their attention on what is happening and attempting to understand the decisions made by the active participants. By observing them closely, they can get a sense of how the actors deal with things such as ENTRANCES AND EXITS and how they fill and empty the space.
Focusing Perception on the Action: • Do the actors move in the center of the space or do they tend to stick to the periphery? • Do they stay neatly within the format or do they paint over the boundaries, leaving imprints corresponding to cropped human figures in photography? • Do they take up themes or directions of movement from other participants? Do they develop patterns by repetition? • Are patterns continued long enough for others to recognize them and possibly adopt them? • Are patterns continued for so long that they become boring and the onlookers lose interest? • How do the participants behave within the field and how do they behave in the space surrounding it?
9.5 Another basic element of Improvisation is known as DRAGGING – i.e., one person drags another along the ground/over the surface of the canvas. This can be performed in a linear fashion, by holding on to both hands or both feet; or by simultaneously pulling on an arm and a leg, thus involving more of the body surface.
10. Gridwork – Fields – Spatial Bodies
BODY IMPRINTS are primarily about the experience of two-dimensional space; the third dimension is of only minor importance. A simple means of introducing the third dimension is known as GRIDWORK. For this we create individual fields on the ground with masking tape, thus defining smaller spatial units that can be very helpful in developing a better SENSE OF SPACE. Providing narrower boundaries for the dancers helps them achieve increased clarity of movement, to experience their body in relation to the space, take possession of the space, inhabit it, fill it with life. Depending on the number of participants, a grid consisting of 3x3, 4x4, or 6x6 squares (with sides measuring between 1. 80 and 2 meters) is created on the ground, using masking tape. There are a number of possible variations. For example, it is possible for all participants to act simultaneously, each remaining within his/her own separate square. The action can also easily be "divided" or structured with the help of the grid structure – for example, one might split the space in half, with the actors on the left performing a particular task, while those on the right watch. Or one can follow a chessboard model, with only those on the black squares, or those on the white squares, acting at a given moment.
11. Points in Space
11.1 If we assume that these fields of two by two meters are also two meters high, we obtain a cube measuring 2x2x2 meters. If we then divide this cube into three planes (high, middle, and low), each of which is defined by nine points, we obtain a three-dimensional body with 27 points.
Illustration by Dieter Heitkamp
One exercise consists of pointing to – or actually reaching – various of these points with different parts of the body (left elbow, right foot, right ear, etc.). In the next step the dancers try to become aware of how they connect these points and what kind of "routes through space" they choose, such as direct, indirect, over-curve, under-curve, central, transverse, and peripheral – or if they explore still other possibilities.
11.2 The exercise can be made more complex by assuming an infinite number of points in space rather than limiting the number to 27, by imagining an infinite number of planes rather than only three. This creates a new kind of SPATIAL COORDINATION, new "lines" through the body connecting points with particular coordinates. As a further variation when performing/observing this exercise, you can decide whether there is a "front," corresponding to the situation presented by a conventional stage, or whether the "witnesses" will sit or stand on all four sides of the field of action, or perhaps even move around it, thus creating a spatial stage.
11.3 For this variation, the movements can remain improvised, as in 11.2, but we can also allow a process of choreographic consolidation, an ACCUMULATION of movement, to take place. Choose a starting point, A, and a route through space towards B. Repeating this several times will help achieve greater clarity of movement. Next the dancer chooses a route through space to get to Point C, and then goes through several repetitions of A-B-C and continues on to A-B-C-D, A-B-C-D-E, A-B-C-D-E-F, etc. – until a given number of points, say ten, and the corresponding routes through space have been defined. With longer sequences it is possible to initiate the repetition at any point and thus LOOP the material (ABCDECDECDEFGHGHIGHIJK …) I can also attempt to dance the material in REVERSE – which can often be quite a challenge. Or Person A can dance the original material, while Person B moves around him. Or Person B can "partner" Person A.
12. Room – House – City
12.1 CREATING A ROOM The following exercise also makes use of the imaginary cube described above. Each actor chooses a space (2x2x2 meter), a "room," and fills it with imaginary things such as objects, sounds, and images, or assigns a function to it (or several at once – a kitchen/bath/bed/living room, so to speak). One might decide to have all dancers explore their individual room at the same time, or to have one half watch while the other half explores.
12.2 ALTER EGO This exercise was inspired by the Moltitudini-Solitudini exhibition at the Museion in Bolzano, Italy, featuring a series of photographs by Italian visual artist Letizia Cariello. She conceived the series in response to the bilingual (German and Italian) city of Bolzano and its dual nature, as expressed in bilingual street signs, for example. The photographs depict the artist in "double" costumes. Thus a hat has another hat sewn onto it, there is a coat hanging on the back of another coat, a dress has double sleeves – as if the person in the picture had an invisible alter ego. The idea in this exercise is to dance a duo with one's invisible alter ego. The room consists of a black field and a white field; it is twice as large as in 12.1 and thus rectangular instead of square.
12.3 VISITING A ROOMMATE/NEIGHBOR In the next round the rooms are no longer self-contained: Now there are openings or doors allowing us to enter other rooms in the apartment/house we share with others and visit our roommates/neighbors. There is no limit to the forms these encounters can take, as this depends largely on the images/fantasies/functions the rooms have been filled with by their inhabitants, or whether the dancers decide what direction the duo will take in the encounter situation itself.
12.4 CITY MAP The last exercise takes these ideas one step further. The dancers imagine that the grid represents the lines on a city map. The city might be divided into two distinct halves (such as West and East Berlin), or a river might separate two parts of the city. There might be a system beyond the grid that structures the city into certain boroughs, districts, or neighborhoods with amorphous outlines. Life in the various districts might be very different. What nature do the encounters between people have? Do encounters differ depending on whether they take place in private or public space? This variant can result in all sorts of lively group activities.
13. Bridges – Water – People
This exercise works with or without grid structures, but again, clearly defining the field of action helps achieve greater clarity of movement.
Ancient View of Yatsuhashi in Mikawa Province by Hokusai
As an introduction, I like to show a series of woodcuts by the Japanese artist Hokusai. These landscapes feature a wide variety of bridges – some big, others small, some crooked, some zigzagging, some made of stone, others made of wood or bamboo. Groups of five to seven dancers pick a field of action, e.g., an area comprised of 3x3 squares (each measuring 2x2 meters). Each dancer chooses a spot within this field where he or she feels comfortable and lies down on the ground. First the dancers try to get a sense of the "bridges" in their own bodies – depending on their position, these can be between skull and shoulders, heel and calf, behind the knees, in the lower back, under the armpits, etc. Then, very slowly, they begin to move, perhaps only parts of their body, until new "bridge constructions" appear. These constructions can be very complex, or they can be simple; they might be plain, or lavishly ornate. A dancer can lift his pelvis from the ground, creating an arch that allows a breeze to pass underneath. A construction can be supported at four or more points, or there might be only two. Bridges can even be formed while standing. As a next step, the dancers direct their attention to the space around them and, like good urban planners, try to relate the individual constructions to one another. There might be bridges stacked on top of one another, as in some big cities, layers of bridge upon bridge, ramps leading up to bridges, rotating bridges, suspension bridges, bridges made up of several people. Perhaps the arches of the various bridges create a rhythm? The next step introduces an additional element of movement: Dancers can move under the bridges, like flowing water. What direction does the river flow in? Do several people "flow" in one direction? Is the current sluggish or fast? Then people appear above, next to, under, and on the bridges. What specific qualities of movement do bridges, streams, and different people possess? Participants can switch back and forth between these three states as they like, always remaining aware of which state they are inhabiting at any given moment. With larger groups one might want to point out that it is not necessary that all dancers move all the time. It is difficult for those observing the action from outside to focus on five or seven people at once, and occasional moments of calm and rest are often welcome.
14. Phenomena of Spatial Perception
When composer Isabel Mundry and I were developing the concept for our seminar for musicians and dancers, KLANG – RAUM – KÖRPER (Sound – Space – Body), we collected a variety of connotations and associations relating to the terms sound, space, body and to the composite terms sound-space, space-sound, spatial-body, body space, (instrument's) body, body of sound, and body sound. Some of the associations we came up with were: interior spaces, exterior spaces, empty spaces, space as movement, private and public space, hollow spaces, cells, a space of time, outer space, and spaceship. In addition, there were a number of German terms that incorporate the German word for space, "Raum," although their English counterparts do not. These included Raumgefühl ("sense of space"), Lebensraum (habitat), Lichtraum ("light space"), Gedächtnisraum ("memory space"), aufräumen (to tidy up) einräumen (to put away; to concede), and raumgreifende Bewegung (extensive movement). At first the participants explore acoustic phenomena of space, musically using instruments and the voice, and also through movement, giving special consideration to the following aspects: NEAR – FAR LOUD – SOFT LARGE – SMALL ECHO / REVERBERATION/ RESONANCE
14.1 SOLO The following questions arise for a solo: • How can a space be made larger or smaller? • How can a small space be represented: • visually • acoustically (e.g., by muted instruments)?
In terms of movement, we can draw on the exercise described above, Reaching the Point of Experience, to help in defining a small space.
14.2 When it comes to expanding a space, the following terms used by Rudolf von Laban can be useful as a guide when attempting to translate the qualities of a space into terms of the body's orientation in space or into different forms of sound:
NEEDLE: Linear description with sound; linear orientation of the body PLANE: Door, expansive sound; two-dimensional orientation of the body; BALL: Full, three-dimensional sound; three-dimensional orientation of the body
When attempting to open a space, it can also help to relate terms such as the following to the kinesphere:
NARROW – MEDIUM – WIDE
14.3 How can a space be made to seem larger than it actually is? One way of achieving this is projecting or radiating energy. How far do I project my energy into the space around me – two meters, or five, ten, or maybe even fifty (which corresponds to the third balcony in an opera house)? Energy projection can, but does not necessarily, involve movement.
14.4 The following four exercises for two can be subsumed under the theme "phenomena of the acoustic perception of space": In the first, Person A is blindfolded and remains seated. Person B produces a series of loud and/or soft noises (e.g., by snapping his fingers) in front of, behind, next to, and above Person A, always staying within A's reach. Person A attempts to localize the sounds and reach directly for the place they emanate from. The second exercise begins with Person A standing. This time, Person B makes sounds from places out of A's reach, so that A must move toward the source. The dancers then exchange roles. In the third variant, a group of people stand at the edge of an open space. Person B's eyes are closed, and Person A throws an object (say, a tennis shoe) into the room. Person B attempts to determine where the shoe has landed and forms a mental image of its distance from him. Then, eyes still closed, Person B goes directly to where he thinks the shoe must be, without "searching" along the way and tries to pick up the shoe. Afterwards he carries it over to A, this time with eyes open. Then A repeats the action, throwing the shoe for Person C, D, E, etc. In the last exercise two people are in a room/space together. Person A proceeds on an acoustic exploration of the space lasting about ten minutes; Person B acts as a witness and simply listens. Subsequently, the two switch roles and then discuss their experiences, their acoustic perceptions and impressions/observations of both "rounds" of the exercise.
15. Internal Space – External Space
15.1 To encourage the use of the voice and noises, this exercise in exploring body-sound is performed in three steps: • Sounds or noises created in the body; sounds directed inward. • Sounds or noises created by the dancers themselves, using only the body itself. • Sounds or noises created using the space surrounding the body.
• What happens in an internalized space? • From this internalized space, how do I react to a defined external space, or to an undefined external space? • How is space expressed in terms of movement?
First the participants lie on the ground, their hands over their ears to block outside noise, so they can listen to the inside of their body. Then they listen to the sound of the space surrounding them, and attempt to explore the external space (initially remaining in place). Finally, they attempt to shape the space surrounding them by using movement to create sound.
15.2. The following exercise can be given as "homework": Choose a space. Examine its sound properties and try to translate these into movement. The next time the group meets, five participants each describe their spaces and sounds and perform the movement sequences they developed. As a group, they then attempt to create a sequence incorporating all these elements. If we consider the exercise just described, or the following one, we will soon realize how far we have come: Starting out from a simple exercise involving a specific physical sensation, we have reached a point where a great deal of improvisational experience, imagination, and theatricality come into play.
16. The Poetry of Space
The next exercise also draws on a grid structure made up of 3x3 squares (each measuring 3x3 meters). Each of these squares is assigned a certain content or theme. The center square remains empty; in each of the others, a musician and a dancer work together on the quality and content of that particular space. They can choose from the following themes – or, if preferred, the topics can be jotted on scraps of paper which the participants pick from a pile or hat, without looking first:
The space of warmth The space of paralysis The barren space The space of memory The space of shadows The space of ritual The space of the conscious The space of weightlessness The space of chaos The space of nervousness The narrow space The space of melting The space of the unconscious
There is no specified time length given but the participants should be able to sustain the specific actions for a longer period. A certain amount of "internal" movement will appear in this exercise, which might be likened to the tides of the oceans. Who controls whom? Does the music control the dance or does the dance influence the music? Under the aspect "soft – loud," each music/dance couple presents a "maximum" and a "minimum" version towards the end of the exercise, as well as a "macro" (with the space/room at normal size) and "micro" version (with the space/room at reduced size).
Illustration by Dieter Heitkamp
A longer version of this experiment involves having dancer/musician pairs moving quietly and playing music at low volume in all eight squares simultaneously. A wave of resonance moves from square A to squares B and C, and from there to squares D and E, and so on until it reaches square H. From there, the wave returns in the opposite direction, guiding the participants back to their own unique qualities. In the end, a spatial situation is created in which the participants share a palpable sense that the ceiling is slowly being lowered, that the space is contracting. In his installation for the Documenta 11 in Kassel, artist Artur Barrio presented other possibilities for structuring and defining space. His concept included thirty "gestures of space;" attempting to express these in a performance situation can be a fruitful and stimulating exercise:
1. The space of the sonorous 2. The space of the water 3. The space of the shouts 4. The space of the electricity 5. The space of the blackout 6. The space of the movement 7. The space of the salt 8. The space of the freedom 9. The space of the creation 10. The space of the diffuse situations 11. The space of the explored 12. The space of the contestadores (contestants) 13. The space of the mental action 14. The space of the fire 15. The space of the insolence 16. The space of the bread 17. The space of the sweat 18. The space of the society 19. The space of the outdoors 20. The space of the ideas 21. The space oh the physical action 22. The space of the dreams 23. The space of the sexuality 24. The space of the introspeccáo (introspection) 25. The space of the not 26. The space to read in high voice 27. The space of the silence 28. The space of the saying 29. The space of the persistence 30. The space of the interrelationship of the 29 other spaces
In a period of thirty days, Barrio succeeded in creating a multiple space, tearing down walls by exploring the relationship (cultural, geographic, oceanic, economic, political, social, and temporal) between the subjective (internal space) and the objective (external space). Ground coffee strewn on the floor provided visitors' noses with unexpected stimulation. The room's many small niches exerted a magnetic pull on visitors – this was a space of mystery, full of surprises.
17. The Gestures of Places
The inspirations for the previous exercises were for the most part drawn from the visual arts and from music; in the following examples architecture provides the main point of reference. And indeed, in his 1999 book Choreographie des architektonischen Raumes (The Choreography of Architectural Space), Wolfgang Meisenheimer gives the first chapter the title "The Gestures of Places."
"Buildings and rooms can have a suggestive, stimulating effect on us, or they can seem boring, challenging, soothing, etc. This is due especially to the fact that they correspond to our sense of the body, i.e., to our image of the body, its shape, and its movement potential. Architecture is spontaneously experienced as both the body's counterpart and its environment. The organization of our body – its rhythms, its figurative form, and especially its repertory of expressive movement – constitute the dynamic background to how we experience architecture. Perceiving and using architectural structures, enjoying them or "suffering" (from) them, measuring, representing, creating and modifying them – all these processes have the character of actions. The structures underlying the body's shape and movements enter into a relationship with those of the architectural structures around them... In this sense, all architecture is theatrical – not only stage architecture. These "constructed objects" impel us to action... our body places itself in relation to these objects, it measures them, distributes them, penetrates them." (W. Meisenheimer, 1999)
This line of thinking is very close to my own approach to make pieces, how I create theatrical work and teach Dance. Meisenheimer takes as his starting point simple gestures, "Being in the here-and-now," perceiving and acting in the moment – precisely what Improvisation is based on. He then goes on to "Defining places" and "Taking possession of a space," further important aspects of a performance situation. He continues with "Places of proclamation," such as pulpits and stages. And indeed, shouldn't the stage be a place for those with something to say? In his next chapter, he deals with "Places in the house," the house/apartment as a stage for living, so to speak. Then he proceeds via "Places in the city" and "The gestures of paths/streets" to concepts such as "beginning" and "end," "acceleration," "deceleration," and "rhythm." His vocabulary is the vocabulary of movement, replete with words like "climb," "fly, and" float"... It evokes body images, impels us to move, and stimulates our curiosity, making us want to explore space.
17.1 DANCING THE RADIATOR The use of space to evoke movement was one of my first experiences with improvisation when I attended a workshop held by choreographer Douglas Dunn in 1980. He asked us to enact objects and structures in space, using the medium of dance. How can I represent a radiator's fins through dance? Do I use my entire body or do I trace a miniature version with my foot? What effect does a vaulted ceiling have on me? How do I convey its arches? Within the body itself, by taking a certain path through space, or with jumps?
17.2 DANCING IN THE STREETS Our perceptions change enormously when we venture out of the dance studio, classroom, or gym we customarily work in. What happens when there is only the infinite expanse of the sky above us, rather than a ceiling? What effect does that have on our body? For one thing, a feeling of dizziness ensues when we look up at the sky and have nothing to "hold on to." We feel the breeze on our skin; our awareness of smells is intensified – the smells of earth, grass, or exhaust fumes. We are exposed to the weather and forces of nature; we have to watch out for traffic; we can dig in the dirt. Interior rooms usually have to be kept clean. But neat, clean environments are not always conducive to the creation of art. Outdoors it is often more difficult to concentrate and remain focused, and our energy can dissipate more quickly. Many find it easier to maintain their level of energy and allow it to circulate when indoors, unless they have learned to absorb energy from the earth or air and transform it. Outdoors and in public buildings, we will encounter all sorts of different people. Some of them are likely to be puzzled or taken aback at our behavior. Being confronted with people rolling around on the ground or looking at the world upside-down has been the cause of considerable consternation in the case of more than one museum guard. The important thing is to treat places and the people in them, to treat nature, with respect. Before we set out to change our environment – to plow or plant the field, in a manner of speaking – we need to concentrate on perceiving what is happening in that place right now, what kind of energy it has, to feel the magic of the place and maybe allow ourselves to fall under its spell. When dancing in a public space, is it possible to include passersby in the action without annoying or affronting them, without simply resorting to crude imitation? Do we include onlookers through our awareness, or do we encourage them to participate actively? Do we amplify the emotions and images a space creates, or do we work against them?
17.3 TAKING A WALK For this exercise, groups of five participants set out on a walk of about 90 minutes. They can stay inside and stroll through the rooms of buildings, or they can go outside and seek out various places in the city. In a college, say, a walk could include the lobby, stairwells, bathrooms, classrooms, and hallways, as well as small spaces like alcoves or broom closets. A stroll through the city might stop by arcades, a park bench, a dried-up well, a free parking space, and a monument. Along the way, the group decides on five spaces/places that become impromptu stages for improvisation. These improvisations should last about five minutes each and revolve around the theme of opening up space through movement, making use of prepositions such as "in," "on," "under," "next to," "through," and "over." Four of the participants take on an active role; the fifth can walk around freely and should take notes, putting his impressions in words and assigning "headings" to individual moments. Without looking at a watch, the four actors in the improvisation should attempt to find a clear beginning, define the central part, and come to an ending together. Afterwards, the group discusses the result for about five minutes; the observer then names three "headings"/themes to be dealt with in the next space. When the group has arrived at the next space, another member takes on the role of observer, and the elements described above are repeated – four actors, five minutes, beginning-middle-end, prepositions, and three headings. After about 90 minutes, the groups again convene in the dance studio/classroom. Moving along a straight or diagonal line through the space, each group improvises/dances/performs a "summary" of their walk. The summary is performed without group members discussing in advance what they will do; it should last about five minutes.
Space and Movement In architecture and dance, space and movement are essentially one and the same. Space and movement interpret each other in that architectural spaces suggest sequences of movement, and patterns defined by dance evoke images of space. In both arts, the dimensions of space and time are inextricably linked. In the creation of dance based on the Limón technique, it is this aspect of action, in other words, the development of body tension in space, that the descriptions attempt to convey in words.
SUCCESSION: movement flows smoothly through the different parts of the body; each part of the body acts on the parts preceding and succeeding it OPPOSITION: Producing counter-tension in the body; e.g., the sensation of lengthening = extension FALLING: Using gravity; relaxing; efficient use of strength ISOLATION: of individual body parts from one another; individual parts of the figure are figures in their own right.
According to Meisenheimer, Limón distinguishes between three kinds of body tension: CONFLICT: The space contradicts/conflicts with the action INDIFFERENCE: The space is neutral with regard to the action ACCELERATION: The space supports the action
There are gestural aspects of architecture that can only be understood through imitative body posture. The image with which we mentally structure space is guided by the body's experience of movement. Architectural lines are read as traces, arches as jumps. The expressive quality of a space seems charged with the gestures of our own dancing body, by succession, opposition, falling, swinging back, bouncing, maintaining tension, etc. The constituting elements of architecture are spontaneously (i.e., without physical reflection) recognized as analogies of movements of the body. Compositional concepts (in the case of Borromini, for example) – are in fact choreographic concepts. (Meisenheimer 1999, Choreographie des Architektonischen Raumes: Der szenische Raum)
Jumping into the Void After this excursion into the world of movement, the visual arts, and architecture, I'd like to conclude with a remark on SPACE. One of the most challenging aspects of improvisation, is entering a space "not knowing," without any plan or preconceived goal in mind, acting only out of the moment. This requires accepting the void, emptying ourselves, falling into a gap and training our perception, noticing of what is already there, what already exists.
"‘Where you are when you don't know where you are is one of the most precious spots offered by improvisation. It is a place from which more directions are possible than anywhere else. I call this place the Gap. The more I improvise, the more I'm convinced that it is through the medium of these gaps– this momentary suspension of reference point – that comes the unexpected and much sought after 'original' material. It's 'original' because its origin is the current moment and because it comes from outside our usual frame of reference. (Nancy Stark Smith, Taking No For an Answer, Contact Quarterly, Vol. XII No. 2, Spring/Summer '87, p. 3)
Literature: Documenta 11, Platform 5, exhibition catalogue, Hatje Cantz Verlag
Miranda Tufnell & Chris Crickmay, Body, Space, Image – Notes towards Improvisation and Performance, Dance Books Ltd., 1993
Paul Klee, Pedagogical Sketchbook, Clays Ltd. London St Ives Place, 1968
Neue Bauhausbücher: Paul Klee: Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch Berlin, fourth edition 1997
Wolfgang Meisenheimer, Choreographie des Architektonischen Raumes, "ad 23," published by Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, 1999
Matthi Forrer, Hokusai, Prestel Verlag, Munich, 1991
I would like to thank Gebrüder Mann Verlag and Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft for the permission to include reproductions of several works by Paul Klee.
