After the warming-up, we sit down in a circle. I explain my project, that I am interested in finding commonalities but also differences between the physical play of children and dance improvisation.
Then, I talk about re-enactments, what it is, and more specifically what I believe it is. I discuss the R&T Play of the four boys and provide them with a set of images. The group is divided into three subgroups (they make their own groups). I give them the following assignment: "Look at the images, choose a few images (between 3 to 5) that appeal to you, and take them as a starting point for your improvisation.
The students start from an image, or so you will a pose, and then they imagine the past and future of this pose. The assignment is thus to make short movement phrases using an image as well as their own imagination. I invite the students to work in an open and spontaneous way, with as much responsibility and initiative from the students as possible. When they are stuck, I advise them to return to the images.
Below, you find a photo diary of one specific group: Björn Bakker, Alberto Quirico, and Lian Frank. The diary is not complete, it just gives an impression of the artistic process.
See also:
Hermans, C. (2018). Joint Action and Joint Attention: Dance Improvisation and Children’s Physical Play as Participatory Sense- making Activities. Choreographic Practices, 9(2), 311 - 332. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/chor.9.2.311_1
Photo Diary of Re-Enactment of R&T Play by first-year students MTD
This is a photo diary of the workshop for first-year students of the MTD department. Amsterdam University of the Arts that took place 15th of March 2018. In this diary explain how we worked and what kind of framework I provided.
We start with a warming up. Every student does his or her own waking up rituals.. At a certain point, one dancer puts on some music, and gradually the warming up turns into a group warming up.
This group chooses photographs with only two boys. They, therefore, have to invent how a third person would fit in. I notice that in most cases Björn and Lian start and Alberto has the task to fit in. This is by the way not a rule that they explicate: it is more an implicit rule.
At first, the group stays quite close to the images but the group also makes variations. Look for an example to the two images below. While the boy lies on his back, Lian looks to Björn. Even more, Björn and Lian discuss how safe the pulling is. This is also the reason why Lian holds her hands unto the wrists of Björn. Already here, there are small variations and differences between the poses of the boys and the poses of the three dancers.
In the images below, you can see how the group slowly moves into their own process. They invent their own challenge. First, Lian and Alberto are not allowed to touch the floor. Björn forms their pillar. Lian and Björn go even a step further: they are not allowed to use their hands.
This becomes a game. Björn is in the middle: Alberto and Lian try to touch each other, and Björn tries to block them.
From this point on, the group not only explores the different poses but also how they now together explore how to move in and out of a pose.
The action transforms into a running and tag game: something that is also informed by the photographs play of the four boys.
See below for more variations on 'no hands' and balancing on top of each other. Notice also that in this phase of the process, Lian and Björn are mainly exploring with each other, Alberto is more witnessing, and when possible, he joins in.
The group takes a small break. It seems that they are a bit stuck (or out of inspiration). They return to the pictures and pick a few new ones out: the pictures are all about jumping, staying close to the original but also inventing variations.
