Stamp, not Stomp...I've been taking a choreographic workshop series facilitated by Brooke Stamp, an improvisation based choreographer: http://brookeamitystamp.tumblr.com/.
I just participated in workshop four of the six session series and have enjoyed every minute of it. I'm looking forward to putting her process into practise in my choreographic development.
Workshop One: 26th April 2012
(nb I have given my 'titles' to exercises/tasks give to us in these workshops)
"Moving Blind with Observation"
In pairs, participant a. moves through the space with their eyes closed while participant b. observes. Observer should move participant a. through touch if in danger, however allow them to come into 'safe' contact with another blind mover without interruption. At the end of the 15mins participant a. (mover) and participant b. observer, beginning with the mover, discuss their experience. Stay away from judgement, e.g. "you looked beautiful when you...", "I liked it when you..." Swap Roles.
"This is an Action"
15 - 20 minutes of individual action. Keep the following phrases in mind while moving:
- This is not an exploration.
- This is not an improvisation.
- This is not a creation.
- This IS an action.
- If you find yourself in a rhythm, begin again.
- Begin again, begin again, begin again.
We began by walking. Through out Brooke would call out the above phrases, as a reminder.
"Directing"
1. In groups with one participant as the 'director', the director calls out commands and the rest of the grous spontaneously respond. Can call out anything, such as "blue" or "collapse" or "squabble". Brooke told us when to rotate roles; the time between rotation grew shorter and shorter.
2. This time the 'director' moves, create actions. The rest of the group responds in anyway; no judgement, no right or wrong. Brooke asks us to keep three words in mind: 'Replication', 'Unification', 'Complimentary'. Brooke calls out to rotate, and non-verbally another participant takes on role of 'director'. The time between rotations grew shorter and shorter. There were times when I had no idea who was directing or if in fact I was directing, but this simply added an amusing layer to the exercise.
