31.10.2011 Release and Repetition

Release exercise

As Juliet has had other commitments this semester our technique classes have been split between herself and Mona. Despite practising almost contrasting technique styles it is nice to get the chance to work with both teachers. Mona has been focusing on the release technique with us, it has many aspects of Limon technique yet can be described as “The Release dance technique is associated with therapeutic movement researches that come or make use of medical knowledge.” http://www.contemporary-dance.org/contemporary-dance-techniques.html (accessed on 1/11/2011)

Although I hadn’t really approached this technique much prior to this year, from the way Mona had taught us before I had known what to expect from her class. In this class I feel really encouraged to relax my body and let go of any inner tension I appear to have. It becomes a regular occurrence for me in other classes to have tension in my body and appear every so often wooden; this class however is the exception.  Granting this class becomes relatively repetitive, it is very helpful as it is allowing us to try and expand our movement range and work on our weakness. Despite having to go other phrase or exercises over 5 times, the movement becomes second nature and your body is that released you could even perform the phrases with your eyes closed. This perhaps would be an interesting way to experiment in technique class as you would recognise what it would feel like to just be you and the movement and lose all possible distractions around you.

The small floor phrases that we demonstrate places a vast amount of attention on the use of the back. When curving from the back I believe I have a really solid position. As I contract with a slight spiral I use my head to enhance to the twist. By holding my centre strong I can feel the twist in my abdominal muscle, yet a sense of release when I let go. This is also evident in a phrase we work on in the centre of the studio. This places a lot of emphasis and pressure into the knees. In this class it is a really nice sensation to feel a sense of release through the knees and through the arms. It almost feels as if you’re not as controlled as you should be, yet you’re not incorrect with what you’re applying.

With the end phrase, we worked on many different ways to turn, for me the most complex was the slap turn. The slap turn is primarily a shift in weight through a turn. I find it hard to control the turn without losing balance. However I believe I have a strong leading leg that takes me around, just need to focus on landing the foot without having to alter my position. We have been working on these turns in other technique classes too; therefore my turn will gradually become stronger.

When leaving Mona's class, my body feels tired and lazy. This is perhaps as it is a Monday morning and we haven't worked as much as we would have with Juliet. As there is a huge difference between focusing on the technique of Merce Cunningham to that of Release technique. Monday mornings have started to become an element of surprise to see which teacher we get. As my Cunningham technique is progressively getting better I feel like I am letting my body down when working on release technique. However this isn't the case. It is just a physical shock and challenge to start the week with released movement opposed to the strong leg and arm work that we focus on in Cunningham.