If there is something always present in
our life, than it might be this one: the sense of gravity. We walk, we jump, and
we sleep – always connected to the ground. But what happens, if we try to get
rid of our sense of gravity, at least for some seconds? – An intimate
introduction and personal experience into what it could be like – Contact Improvisation.
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| Jam in Cologne Holweide |
“When an apple fell on his head, Isaac Newton was inspired to describe
the three laws of motion. This became the foundation about our idea about physics.
Being essentially objective, Newton ignored what it feels like to be the apple.”
(Fall after Newton//film)
I remember my first time I went to a Contact
Improvisation Jam. My first mental picture includes a girl lifting and throwing
me around – I did not understand what happened to me during this moment. Later, a
woman explained some safety rules and when I left I was mentally exhausted. There was no good and no bad. I had no conclusion concerning this
new experience. Some other times I felt, that all this touching, falling and
not knowing might be way too much for me and reflecting it today: I still do
not know why I continued to dance. Maybe, because I admired some dancers on Youtube.
And most probably, because I enjoyed this freedom on earth, to leave gravity
behind me and escape to the world, still being more connected to it than
before.
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| Jamaikö 2014 |
Today I can cross a floor rolling in total
silence. I can fall and land safely, I can lift and can be lifted. I enjoy
slow moves but also really fast ones! And I feel that I integrate Contact
Improvisation into my life, not just as a dance, but as a sort of life
strategy. I feel gravity more than before or better say: I am more aware of it.
This dance allows me to show my energy, my
power to be strong. It is free from gender and physicality. A girl can lift a
guy, and the only thing that matters is my stability, my physiology, my courage
and the emotion I bring into the dance. I can be the woman I am and the man I
am as well. I can quit earth for a tiny moment; I can play with my senses and
increase my experiences in spatial perception.
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| flying |
CI allows total individual experience, but
also depends on your partner. You do not
follow, I do not guide, we have to try to listen to “it” - our movement. And that
can be different from day to day and from partner to partner. The only rules we
have to listen to are some safety guidelines and our intuition.
I realize, I developed a deeper relationship
to nature and environment, more tolerance and patience for others and for
myself. I love momentum, I enjoy waiting and to continue without knowing the
result. Living from moment to moment, being free from achieving goals.
I relate dance even to science, because dance is like science. You have a question or issue to work on. When you somehow come to an end with it, starting from that point, you will find further things to conntinue This explains to me, why dance and science are connected, and why both can offer new ways of learning and understanding. While dancing I experience a lot about spatial perception and gravity, which influences my work and my studies.
I know I will dance Contact Improvisation
also when I am 120 years old, having troubles with feet or other pains. I will
dance, because I can discover contact everywhere in life and improvisation
states one inborn skill we should use in our daily routine to be creative,
loving and aware.
