Unfortunately I was quite ill for our practical sessions so did not attend. So, this blog entry will be based off the readings that were set for the classes.
Centre of gravity –
This reading was very interesting, It used imagery as a way of explaining how centre of gravity worked and used and idea of cardboard cut outs to explain this, I felt like this idea was good as a starting point but then when I tried to consider this I began asking myself, how was this able to relate to the body. In regards to what the topic of this week, which was ‘going up’, this reading had a lot of importance because it brought to our attention something that must be thought about while lifting people from the floor which is the point of support that we must constantly be aware of, otherwise the people we are lifting could be in danger of getting injured.
One quote which has stuck with me is “whenever the center of gravity is not over the point of contact, the body tends to turn and fall on the side where the center of gravity is.” (Woodhull, p2, 1978) I thought this quote was important to remember because It gives an exact example of what is going to happen if we are not aware of where our centres of gravity are located within a contact jam.
However, at one point where this reading completely lost me was was when Woodhull began using maths to explain the centre of gravity, this was especially confusing to me because I didnt quite understand why the mass of a body part was able to alter a persons centre of gravity. I couldnt grasp this idea so have chosen to avoid using it in my practical work in case I begin to over complicate.
A certain kind of knowing –
I struggled to finish this reading this week and have a very small amount to say about it, I think the reading it self was informative but I couldnt quite understand what about. At points it seemed to click but then their were other moments which I felt were inconceivable.
From what I understood, this reading seemed to relay some of the points already made in previous lessons and readings. It mentioned briefly the idea that dancers need to have a willingness to approach questions with an answer rather than wait for the answers to be handed to them. Also it discussed how we as dancers seem to let what we perceive and think get in the way of actually moving. I agree with this statement quite a lot, an example of this was earlier this week when myself and Jessica Pearson were attempting some of the lifts from the class we had missed and Jess was afraid of being lifted and it took us a few minutes until she stopped psyching herself out and was able to throw herself into the movement and we succeeded. its this idea that we psych ourselves out that really supports that statement.
Bibliography
Cohen, B.B. (2017) A Certain Kind of Knowing. Contact Quarterly, Vol 42: 1, 30-33.
Woodhull, A. (1978-79) Center of Gravity. Contact Quarterly/ Contact Improvisation Sourcebook I Vol 4, 43-48.