Summary of the d_Trace research weekend 27-29.11.2015

dTrace - core team: Cornelia Scheurer (MAD), Elisabeth Löffler (lizart), maRia Probst (rollingpoint), Christian Apschner (rollingpoint)

The dTrace core team, consisting of Cornelia Scheuer, Elisabeth Löffler, maRia Probst and Christian Apschner, met up in a broader context on several different occasions, before this primary meeting, in order to work on topics and formats concerning specific questions related to contact improvisation training for advanced dancers in the mixed abled context. The outcome of that was a plan of action for this inspiring weekend, in which 4 wheelchair-users and 8 walkers came together to train in a focused framework – to dance, to verbally engage in considering different questions and to document the results.

At the first evening gathering, we exchanged thoughts about where we stood at the given moment with regards to our own training practice and about what was feeding our curiosity and motivation. What followed was a longer general warm-up score that was used by each participant as an individual warm-up, which was shown in the room. The third chapter of the evening was dedicated to working in trios, in which two members danced CI and the third member acted as a witnessing entity in order to consequently deliver feedback about bodily resonance from a spectator’s position.

The results of our survey, from the beginning of the evening as well as the feedback-round that followed the individual warm-up, already showed how diverse the dancers’ requirements for training and warm-up can actually be.

The second day (Saturday) started with a longer feedback round, where the trios from the day before set out to experiment on a new setting for an extensive joint warm-up. Each of the individual participants was free to guide a part of the warm-up and to integrate it into a common whole. In the final phase of the trio-work, we dealt with the topic of alteration of levels in contact improvisation.

In the afternoon, there was a longer group reflection-round, which once again went over different topics, questions and some agreeing opinions between the participants. In that way, effectively, all the dancers were able to address the different individual limitations that one is confronted with during training; thus each next day we were equipped with a new set of specifications. It was exciting to find out that different “trigger words” do exist. Whereas, on the one hand, the word “training” is negatively loaded for the wheelchair-users because of their negative experiences from therapy, on the other hand, for the walkers the word “training” is negatively connoted precisely because of the experiences they acquired in their dance education.

Following the reflection-round, Christian presented different energetic contact patterns from the Zero Balancing Bodywork (blending versus interface), which can easily be transferred into contact improvisation. The consequent practice/dance phase with physical exercises stemming from those contact patterns was of relatively short duration. Therefore, we were only able to touch upon this exciting theme and think about embodying the principles later on.

The third day (Sunday) started with a longer hands-on warm-up in pairs and led to a contact duet on leading and following. During that, we were asking ourselves the question, what it is in each moment that we “need” for our body and spirit, and how we are able to communicate that (verbally and nonverbally). Elisabeth led a score at the end, in which each of the phases of perceiving and moving concentrated on one of the senses (hearing, smell, sight, taste).

Sunday afternoon warm-up phase focused on the autonomous nervous system (the interplay and balance between relaxation/parasympathetic nervous system and activation/sympathetic nervous system). After this, themes for the final part of the research-weekend were collected in a written form via so-called “paper-scores”, which where structured according to the themes, groups, space and individual needs. This led into the dance-phases of four different dance groups. Their experiences were then discussed and incorporated into the final reflection of the whole group.

Contrary to this content summary, it would not be as easy to make a summary of the various rich insights that were the result of the research-weekend.

In any case, it is possible to say that:

“We have learned a whole lot from each other, through the nonverbal and verbal exchange, which gave us deeper insights into specific tasks, problems and motivation of other participants. In this sense, diversity offers a substantial expansion of learning potential in contact improvisation that can also be transferred to the so-called normal life. The advanced-training in mixed-abled contact improvisation field can therefore be about reflecting on significant questions and triggers already on a personal level and about the readiness to exchange acquired experiences with a wider audience. Getting to know the world of experience of our dance partners allows us to develop competence and experience that cannot be gained in the current field of education about dance or diversity. This experiential knowledge is, however, a fundamental part of professionalism in the mixed-ability context.”

Professionalism is not: “We claim to know what you need”. It is, in fact, our competence and experience that allow us a high chance of being able to offer something adequate, when we talk about an optimal facilitation of a learning process. We are clear about the fact that the perception of what is right and what is wrong is a question of individual interpretation and can therefore be quite differently assessed, also depending on the context.

To round up, here are a few impressions, questions and quotations from our reflection-rounds’ notes and flipcharts:

“The relational level is important. What do I perceive? What kind of signals do I transmit?”

“To see the electric wheelchair as a third dance partner”

“Warm-up: constantly warming up or a concrete objective (warm up for what?)”

“Emphatic resonance while watching versus projection.”

“How to touch legs that cannot take any weight?”

“How can the knowledge about asymmetric body-gaps be passed on?”

“Irreversible movements and thought processes?”

“Contact exactly at the spot where the weight shifting occurs!”

“So many questions, so much work, so much fun!”

“Touched by trust”