On this rather cold overcast Thursday, we went outside to attend to our senses in a natural environment. Working in pairs, each person had the opportunity to move through space attending to sounds, touch, taste, smell and movement. With our eyes closed, we moved without the sensation of sight. What changes with eyes closed?
Each partner had fifteen minutes to move and fifteen minutes as a witness. Write a little about both experiences. What do you learn or notice as a mover? What did you experience as a witness?
On this rather cold overcast Thursday, we went outside to attend to our senses in a natural environment. Working in pairs, each person had the opportunity to move through space attending to sounds, touch, taste, smell and movement. With our eyes closed, we moved without the sensation of sight. What changes with eyes closed?
Each partner had fifteen minutes to move and fifteen minutes as a witness. Write a little about both experiences. What do you learn or notice as a mover? What did you experience as a witness?
25 comments:
I felt like when my eyes where closed, my other senses, like smell,touch, hearing and etc. where much stronger. I could hear poeple's footsteps from far walking around me and that got me a bit cautious about where I am going because I felt like I could bump into them any minute. I first smelled cake being baked somewhere and then it was the smell of fresh air, especially when it started raining slowly. I felt the softness of the grass under my feet and the bumpiness that it had at times. As soon as I stepped on the tiles I felt the hardness and sometimes even bumpiness of tiles. It was quite an interesting project. At first I thought I was going to be very uncomfortable and won't be moving alot and feel dizzy, but everything went fine and it was really fun. As a witness I could feel that even though my partner knew I was watching her and would not let her bump into stuff, she was walking with cautious and taking very small steps and not going far from the starting point. She seemed very peacful and calm and I was mostly watching her and smiling at people who passed by and looked at us weired! :)
~Afsoon Fazeli
As the mover:
First I find myself a little exposed. Starting off knowing that I am outside, knowing that the space around me is not the studio that I am used to...but after a moment of inner calming I begin to feel the wind. It starts off as a ligth breeze that I feel pass by. My arms move effortlessly as I get a sense for direction, intensity, and temperature in the wind. It isn't cold, more comforting. I move in shapes mostly, creating a box formation with my feet or spinning in circles. Now the sensation of sensitivity moves down and now is centered in my stomach. I spin around until I can't possibly trun anymore for fear of falling abruptly and when I stop I feel a sense of imbalance primarily in my center as I slowly regain a comfortable equilibrium. Now the sensation is moving down once more, this time my feet have a heightened connection to the ground beneath me. Unlevel, rocky, imperfect, squishy where recent rain has fallen and collected. I explore the impressions of the soil with my feet as I move across the ground in a box shape, grape vine movements, it is inconsistent and unpredictable. Once again the sensation travels, this time upward and I feel the wind again. This time more intently. It has gained strength. My arms begin to swing and swirl, I feel free and lost in this moment of connection with the world around me. It seems at this moment I have lost a sense of any other presence but my own within this realm. I end sensing the ground once more beneath my feet, landing from moment of unique solidarity, and ground myself into the world once more through deep plies with GROUNDED intention.
As the witness:
It was very interesting to watch another directly after my personal experience. I had a certain limit of space, staying within certain boundaries that I unconciously set for myself. However, my partner had no boundaries, the entire space was an open playground to explore. She runs back and forth and had an exceptional amoutn of more movement compared to myself. I still was able to gain a small sense of connection she made with the earth. This occured particularly when it started to rain, when her feet made contact with the concrete sidewalk, and her return back to the soft, wet soil. A mixture of emotions appeared on her face transitioning in respect to changing physical encounters (i.e. rain, ground).
Other comments:
I LOVED this exercise. It was really interesting to me how our sense cause us to react differently to our surrounding environment. It manipulated me physically, where my connection stayed "only skin deep" because overall my emotional state wasn't effected. However my partner went through quite a few contrasting emotions as I have previously stated and this translated into a lot of her movement.
I wish it could have rained a little harder when it was my turn to be the mover, it seemed like it was a force that couldn't be reckoned with, something you have no choice but to give into. When we let ourselves just live in the world without noticing these things we take for granted the significance of something so bountiful as rain (especially in this geographical location). I think I might do this exercise again on other days in other places because ti seems very evident that different areas and weather can result into different connections/reactions.
Even though I was a witness for the first fifteen minutes, I was still caught off guard by my experience as a mover. As I observed for the first period, I was shocked as how slowly and timidly my partner seemed to move. The grassy, unpopulated landscape seemed easy to navigate and relatively clear of trees and other potential hazards. However, once I closed my eyes, I immediately understood why my partner was moving the so cautiously. First standing in place, I breathed in the fresh morning air. It felt cool and refreshing running through my lungs. I could hear the sounds off traffic and various noises emerging from near by construction, yet I still felt a peaceful sensation as I shut out the visual chaos ceaselessly bombards me. Taking my first step solidified how much I normally depend on my eyes for balance. Even the slightest dips in the grass felt more like craters as I inched my way around the environment. My partner told me that at one point, when I stepped on a tiny twig, my foot retraced my step in order to feel out the potential "dangers" of it. It must have been a subconscious movement, as I have no recollection of doing so. However, in retrospect, any of my cautious movements probably looked absurd to any outsiders, as the space we moved in was hilly, yet gradual and sparse with trees. Although I tuned into my auditory senses most (I didn’t pick up any particularly evident smells), I still became completely disoriented. When I opened my eyes, I was no where close to my predicted location.
I spent most of the exercize feeling my way around on varying surfaces.
On grass I found it was difficult to balance as the soft soil gave under
my feet. pavement was easier to balance on, but had little character to
it. gravel was easy to balance on and had more feel to it.
Thanks,
Jessica (Mairi) Holtzner
I had the most wonderful time on Thursday. I went first, and so I closed my eyes. I started walking around just experiencing the outside without my sight and I felt a huge urge to run but I refrained out of fear of falling or hurting myself. It was nice walking but then I started running and spinning and jumping. And then I started jumping and moving like we moved during “evolving” when we were acting like monkeys, with my knees bent. It’s hard to describe what I was doing, but it was great. I felt like I was a child, having fun experiencing the energy that my body had and using it without any sort of goal to where I was heading, which I contribute to not being able to see anything. I find that I often get deterred from what I want to do because I have goals that I am trying to meet. This experience freed me of that constant feeling. There was one part where I was running and I slipped in the mud and started laughing uncontrollably. The whole experience reminded me of how children act. They just run around, do somersaults, play on swings, etc. and they can do this for hours on end without even thinking or considering getting bored.
One thing that has bothered me about authentic movement is having a witness. Louis said that witnesses exist so that the mover knows that someone is watching, but I feel like if that is the reason you are doing authentic movement is for attention then you are not moving for yourself. It is kind of like the idea of writing on someone’s facebook wall so that other people see it on the mini-feed post. In contrast, having a witness on Thursday was completely different. One, it made me feel safe knowing that someone was watching out for me so I didn’t have to. Also, it was a great shared experience because Laura was running around to keep up with me. It was like a mother daughter relationship where the child is oblivious to the parents attentiveness but the mom doesn’t care because she is having as much fun as the child losing herself.
This exercise, despite the rainy weather was quite fun. This was my experience .. . . .
After reading the instructions for Thursday’s outdoor exercise, I looked around the room and found a partner. We decided to go to a grassy area near Parrington Hall. As we walked towards that area, we reviewed the exercise to make sure we were on the same page. We also learned a little about each other as we walked toward our starting place. We agreed that my partner would be the first mover and I would witness. She began the 15-minute exercise with her eyes closed facing away from me. She spent the first several minutes discovering the feel of the ground with her feet. She moved her feet around in all directions as if she was trying to ground herself and at times, she moved her hands and arms in front of her. She didn’t travel much in the first 10 minutes; rather she appeared to be exploring the environment close to her, such as the sounds, the physical characteristics of the ground and the air around her. At one point, my partner came very close to a tree and this was the first time I spoke to her. I indicated that she was about a foot away from the tree. She then stepped away and traveled in the opposite direction. Another time, she squatted down and explored the ground with her fingers and hands. Shortly after, she encountered some rough terrain so I indicated that she was coming upon rougher ground and to be cautious. She asked me if she could speak and I said yes. She then began chanting softly. This was also when she began traveling and covered more distance. Since she was traveling more and because I was intrigued with her chanting, I believe that I was more engaged with her as a witness. Suddenly, the 15 minutes were up. To me, the last 6 minutes went by very quickly as compared to the previous nine minutes. I tapped her shoulder gently and indicated that the 15 minutes was up. When she opened her eyes, she seemed surprised at where she was located. We talked briefly about her experience before we switched roles.
As I began the exercise as a mover, I was very intent on heading toward a tree and spending time with it. I started walking briskly; with my hands outstretched confident I would find my tree quickly. Surprisingly to me, I didn’t come upon a tree and began walking slowly and more cautiously. I switched directions and eventually found myself on a paved surface instead of the ground. I changed directions, still intent on finding a tree. I eventually found a tree and spent time feeling it above my arms, reaching across it, bending down to feel the trunk and roots. I also felt some of its branches. I was happy to find a tree and was then willing to move on. I began walking in what I perceived to be in the opposite direction. I felt that I was walking fast and it felt really freeing to be able to walk aimlessly with confidence that my partner would take care of me if I encountered any obstacles. I then came upon a pole. That surprised me. I was certain that I was surrounded by trees, when in fact there I was right in front of a pole. My partner tapped me when I was very close to the pole. I spent time exploring the pole and trying to figure out if I was all the way down to the sidewalk on 15th. Then I realized I wasn’t there, because there weren’t many voices. The next journey took me to what I perceived to be a wide-open space. It was at this time that I stretched my arms and legs, did a few turns and tried to take in the smells, sounds feel the rain and the ground beneath me. At some point during this part of the journey, I got cold because of the rain and zipped up my jacket, put my hood up and put my gloves on. Then I walked a little further and discovered another tree. I was thrilled and remember smiling outwardly when I discovered the tree. Once again, I explored its branches, trunk, and roots and tried to get a visual picture of how big the tree was and where it was located. Shortly thereafter, my partner indicated that 15 minutes. I was surprised that 15 minutes went by that quickly. I discovered that I was totally engrossed in this exercise. My partner and I discussed my experiences briefly and then we walked toward Red Square to conclude our interaction.
I’ve done this type of exercise a number of times before. I used to be very uncomfortable with my eyes closed; in fact, I usually cheated and would look occasionally. Also, I wouldn’t cover much ground and was very timid in my movements. This time, I only opened my eyes very briefly just once and felt much more brave about my movements and traveling more distance. While this is a small thing, for me I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in terms of letting go and trusting that all will be o.k. when my eyes are closed.
Despite the horrible weather on Thursday, I woke up with the flu and was unable to go to class. I checked the blog today and decided to do the exercise with my best friend, since I was unable to be in class. Taylor and I had just finished a eight mile run and because of the hail we were forced to do the exercise on our back porch.
I have done many exercises with my eyes closed for my drama class, so I felt very comfortable with this exercise. I went first as the mover, because Taylor has never done any exercises similar to this. I felt very comfortable walking around, but I nothiced the my sense of what was around me was off. I kept running into trees and benches and ended the exercise with may bruses. Despite running into everything, I was able to last the entire 15 minutes without opening my eyes. At the end of my time I thought that I was in a completley different place on the porch then I actually was.
When is was Taylor's turn, she spent most of her time in on place, while standing. I on the other hand walked around ALOT. And when she did move she would slightly open her eyes to see where she was. But the last five minutes, she was moving more freely and I could tell she was able to let go more.
The TasK: Move slowly
Attend to sensations: sound, touch, taste, smell, movement of body, air, energy of place
With eyes closed, the other senses come alive…I like the challenge of uneven ground; the give of the earth, the crunch of the leaves, the unknown…I yield into a tree with my arms open, we embrace – a hug that surprises me. I find a cement path and I feel like I have my eyes again. I find grass, mud and sink into the give below my weight. I listen for water, birds, I hear traffic. I crouch down, close to the earth, squatting, I breathe, listen; I sense the space around me. I open my eyes…I am directly in front of a short path leading to an old cement bench flavored with the mosses of time rooted in a grove of trees.
I am home
Magic
Surrender
Let go
Trust
I am clam and buzzing.
-L Goldberg
My partner and I started by picking a location. We walked out onto red square and saw the area down by the theater. There was already a pair down there so we moved on to the parking garage. We found an open space where there were no cars or anything else around.
I was the sensor first. My first sense that took over was hearing. My ears were consumed with the sound of big fans. It was a loud humming noise. Also every few minutes a car would drive by. One was so loud I thought it parked right next to me.
Next I explored my sense of touch. I pulled up my sleeves to really feel the air on my skin. The temperature was very comfortable, warmer than it was out in the open air. Because I heard fans I wanted to feel a breeze, but there wasn’t one. There wasn’t anything around to touch with my hands so I explored the ground with my feet. I found that the pavement had a very rough texture even though it was flat and level.
The last sense I explored was smell. I found the air was thick. It had no true smell, but it wasn’t light or crisp.
After the 15 minutes I noticed that the car I thought parked next to me was actually parked 5 slots away. I also saw that the pavement below my feet was grooved with a lined pattern.
I found being the witness very boring. She was just experiencing everything I just had. I was just watching the clock the whole time.
-Sandi
Everything is different with eyes closed. My partner and I picked a secluded place surrounded by trees and singing birds. This time my partner was the mover first. She started first by just kind of walking around a bit, exploring the earth around her, following the sound of the birds. Not after long, she was walking rapidly around! I almost had to chase her to make sure she didn't collide with anything. She began dancing and jumping and having invisibly fights with little gnomes and crouching through tiny doorways and inching around corners. What a delight to watch her! She had a big smile on her face the whole time, and so did I. She skipped and frolicked so freely.. This time was truly a gift, uninhibited and free!
When it was my time to move, I felt hesitant to really move too far. I had a feeling I would just walk into a tree or something, but I had to keep reminding myself that my partner was keeping an eye out for me. I explored the touch of the grass around my. I raised my arms high and felt gravity pull them down. I felt restrained by the wet, muddy grass--I could not roll around. I enjoyed moving outside, with the breeze and fresh air and birds.
Afterwards my partner and I talked about how this time was unlike anything we were used to. No one ever says, "Here is 15 minutes, you have absolutely nothing to do. and I mean nothing. You can frolick or just stand there or scratch your head. And I am going to watch." It is time literally unrestrained except by the constructs in our own mind. Even when we have free time in daily life we might fill it with conversing with friends, reading a book, exercising. But each of these activities hold a structure of some sort--"norms" that we are socialized to accept. The time in authentic movement is strange at first, even scary, for we are so not used to existing without some kind of structure. But I suppose there is structure, that in the lack of structure...aaanywho this is what I have been thinking about. Good day :)
L.O'Neill
The air was so cold against my face. My hands.
I could feel the wind brace my cheeks.
Eyes shut from the outside world.
The sounds of high heels on cobble stones resonated in my ears.
Rodger’s giggles made me feel calm.
Yet I was scared.
I felt alone and misplaced in a world that used to be so common.
I reached my hands out, but no one was there to return the touch.
Being stripped of one of your senses took away something that was mine.
Something I relied on so much. Gone.
I was aware but inside lost. Cold.
Blind.
-jasmine boado
I'm glad we did this exercise. I missed the class on this topic and wanted the chance to try this activity out. As the mover, I was instantly taken by the feel of the earth. It was soft and fantastic to explore with the bottom of my shoe. I paid attention to the twigs, roots, and to the slope of the hill I was on. I also took in the sounds more than ever. My environment seemed extremely loud with birds, construction, passing conversations, cars, etc. The activity overall reminded me of how quick I am to forget about all of the beauty around me when I am rushing around and stressed out over the drama of the day. As for watching, it was nice to be trusted by someone so much. My partner trusted that I would not let her get hurt. Of course I didn't. It was powerful to watch her explore her environment as well. This is an activity that I would like to try during particularly stressful times and in new environments. - Suzanne Wilson
so i loved this class for two reasons. one was that we got to go outside
and enjoy the crisp clean air after a morning rain, which is one of my
favorite smells, and two i had a great partner. because of these to facts
i had quite an adventure exploring my other senses without the sense of
sight and because i really felt i could trust my partner i really
explored without fear. every touch i would try and visualize what i was
touching and i forged an imaginary path in my head that was calm and
relaxing and it really set me up for a great day. mirit
Being able to dance outside with my eyes close was a little intimidating at first, but once I started moving and feeling the cold air on my face, I started to really enjoy it. The one thing that would make me feel less free was hearing people walking by. I would always be a little distracted by wondering what the world was thinking of me. Something that was kind of funny was that my partner and I were trying to find a less busy place, but instead our hidden place actually turned out to be a shortcut many people walk by to get from class to class. We also had chosen to dance on a bit of a slant that seemed very slight when we first stood on it, but when I started dancing on the slant with my eyes closed, it felt super steep and actually scary. Watching my dancer was interesting, because she really likes to move her arms a lot, but I think she was worried about hitting something. She also felt a little timid about dancing outside, and I could tell because her movement was a little shy. Once we were both done with the assignment, we thought it would be fun to dance together again. This was actually really great, because we both felt comfortable and we could have our eyes open so we could feel and see our beautiful campus.
Parking Garage (under red square)
taste: All I could taste was my breakfast from 30 minutes beforehand, still lingering in my breath.
touch: Since we were in an open space, there wasn't much to touch but the ground - and I had shoes on. So initially, I could only feel my clothes I was wearing. However since we were underground, I eventually felt the heat - the temperature in this relatively enclosed area was much warmer than the crisp morning air I experienced on the way to class. I felt a bit stuffy.
sight: Since my eyes were closed, I initially didn't recognize myself as seeing anything. However, when I began to move and I rotated my body to face various directions, I realized this wasn't necessarily true. I could see the lighting differences. When facing the more spacious and well-lit areas of the garage, light flooded through my closed eyelids and then when I would turn to face the wall we were closest to, everything got darker.
sound: There was a loud constant noise in the parking garage - some sort of big fan perhaps. I could hear the cars drive by and could hear them park. I was able to hear from what direction they were coming and to what direction they were going. I also heard the beep of a car being locked or the alarm being set. The sudden, unexpected noise startled me on several occasions and I would give a little jump.
scent: I couldn't really smell much in the garage - or perhaps I either was too used to it to notice or just didn't care for it so subconsciously tried to ignore it. If anything, I believe there was a subtle scent of thick, muggy "car" in the air. It was the slight aroma of car fumes - understandable why I might have attempted to block it out or not even notice it.
-Lauren Cook
I experience the experiment with my partner at the fountain. It was such an interesting observation using my scent of awareness.
I started as a mover first. The scent of sound worked the most while I close my eyes. I hear cars and buses drove right to left and left to right; the sounds of cars’ engine come through my ears as they come and go. People walk back and forth, left and right. The birds were chirping. The smell of fresh air made me awake. I feel my lungs were full of oxygen. I also feel the layer of the floor I step on. However, I was scare of walking around otherwise I think I could have different experiences.
As a witness, my partner started hers with standing on grass. She walked around slowly through most part of the areas; from grass to cement and from cement to grass. It was interesting to see her observe the different level and texture of floor very well. However, there was once the she almost walk in to a garden part of the fountain area, but luckily she was not hurt.
With this experiment, as a conclusion, it was such a fascinating experience. At the first time I thought 15 minute would be too much, but after I started, I relax by the voice of bird chirping I heard and the oxygen in the morning I breathe. I really love to experience more on this exercise, but I bet it would nicer in the summer.
Pitchaya N.
As the mover, I was reluctant to move to much or sit or touch anything because everything was wet and cold, but I soon found my body irrtated by standing still and I was urged to explore my surroundings. I began to wander in various directions and turning toward any little thing.
With my eyes closed, even the furthest voices, birds or buses caught my full attention. I would turn toward them trying to judge there distance but always thinking they must be closer than I knew they were.
The area we chose was by the sculptures in front of the studio theater, right next to the chairs. I had a curiosity telling me to got toward them and I did, cautiously. I felt the bars and was delighted and surprised by the cold water that immediatly jumped onto my fingertips. I ren my fingers along the vertical bar until it collided with the horizontal bar above me. I ran my hand along that until I loosened many drops of water which fell on my head and surprised me. There was a crow, it must of been on top of the building but I heard the low noises in its throat and thought that it must be so close.
My explorations allowed me to experience this area so differently that I wondered how it would be to stand in a forest or the middle of a busy street with my eyes closed. Of course that would have to be only if I wasn't in any danger by doing so.
As the witness I couldnt help but wonder what my partner, the mover, was experiencing. She felt the glass window, the cement wall and the cold bricks. I thought the window must be cold, but afterward she told me it was warmer and that made sense because of the heat inside the builing and the thinnness of the glass compared to a wall. It was very interesting and we talked about the intense increase in noise and our sensing of it.
-Jessica Jensen
My partner and I went to a little grass triangle in the quad for our exercise. I was the mover first. Without sight I really keyed into what the ground felt like under my feet and the sounds around me. I also felt the breeze on my face that would come and go.
The ground under my feet was so uneven! I don't think about that when I'm walking through the grass with my eyes open because you can kind of see the indentations and bumps in the ground, so I think my mind compensates for that in my sensation of stepping. But with my eyes closed every bump and crevace felt so huge! It was strange!
And as I was keying into listening to the things around me, I found that the sound of a pressure washer is extremely loud and obnoxious! I hope that the men using it were wearing ear plugs! And the second thing I noticed was how heavy a lot of people walk. And how many people drag their feet! I guess growing up in an old, creaky house with hardwood floors, and with a light sleeping mom that would get cranky if she was woken up by footsteps made me the light walker that I am - but I was still amazed at how many people flop their feet from foot to toe, or even worse, don't pick their feet up when they walk.
As my partner was moving, I found myself wondering what she was keying into. Because although my eyes were open, I did my best to keep a heightened sense of having my ears open too. So when I heard things like a bird chirping or a change in the sound of the pressure washer I wondered if she keyed into that too. Or if she was focusing on something else.
Overall this was a pretty cool exercise! I enjoyed it very much!
~Desirae N. Lexa
Honestly, the biggest thing I noticed was how uncomfortable I was. I felt uneasy and unstable on the uneven ground and constantly felt like I was going to run into things. I felt the cold more than usual, probably because everything I touched was wet. I was more aware of textures than usual as I compared the feel of the trees and bushes – uneven, rough, sharp at times – to that of man-made objects – smooth and almost boring in comparison.
As a witness, I felt like I should be watching out for my mover, making sure she didn’t step in mud, trip on the steps, or fall into the fountain. It kind of felt like a lot of responsibility.
~Marcee Wickline
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Wow, this was the best class ever. Whenever, I think outside, I intuitively think with nature. Nature has been my best friend ever since I know. When she is calm, she is beautiful, majestic, kind, patient, and all the good words. No wonder where I am, where I go, she is always with me, and I know in my heart that she will always be with me. Hence this outside activity, was simply great.
As soon as I had a willing partner, we were out. We found a spot north of Odegaard library. I moved first, and it was pretty challenging moving around with eyes closed. I could clearly hear the squeaking of my partner's shoes and always knew she was following me (and on which side and how far). With the dominant sense (vision) controlled, the other senses were easier to notice. I was surprised how sensitive my feet were, even with about 1 inch sole of the shoes, I could feel the grass and tiny-miny bumps underneath. Feeling the grass and sand via my hands wasn't quite sensitive compared to my feet (although texture was felt better). The other great experiences included hearing the noise of drilling and people talking as they walked by, and the bell of the walk signal (this was a really sweet sound) and feeling the gush of the air around the hands and my face. And walking with eyes closed is pretty hard... As a witness, I was at a distance, though watching her carefully examining the space. It was really surprising how she only managed to get *very close* to the bushes only once (and I had to inform her) although she was close to trees and bushes many times. Moreover, she seemed to be feeling the uneven-ness of the surface as she carefully walked around.
All in all, this was really a great experience and I thank Louis as well as my partner for it.
Quynh My Nguyen
Feeling adventurous but yet impeded by the chilling breeze that carries a
slight sprinkle of rain onto our faces, my partner and I got a rare
chance to explore the dimension of our senses and to our surrounding. We
both discussed about the location that we were going to explore and we
came to a mutual agreement to explore in the front of Bagley Hall by the
bike rack. We did not let the wetness and dampness stop us from touching
anything we can find. I was the first to explore; I bravely closed my
eyes while the cool breeze blew against my face.
The first sense that was utilized was my hearing, being aware of my
surroundings when my eyes are open does not compare anything I felt with
my eyes closed. I never grasp hearing and seeing the wind with my eyes
opened, but while closing my eyes there was a whole new dimension. A
relaxing tingle ran down my spine and out my feet, as I heard the tree
leaves brushing against each other. My mind painted a picture and felt
the enormously open space of emptiness.
It was hard moving with my eyes close and not be insecure at the same
time. I was nervous so my partner places her hand slightly on my back.
What made this task so difficult was the unbalance ground that we walked
on. I walked on cement/grass and found myself skeptical to move on uneven
drastic level changes. My fingers felt on the bark of a damped tree and I
felt this connection where I have never experience with my eyes opened.
While observing my partners explore our environment, she also seem
uncomfortable walking on a uneven level on the surface. She seem less
tensed compared to me. I also walked by her to give a form of security to
explore. She touched everything slowly and gracefully as if she really
saw it in her mind. What we do not realize is we depend on our sight too
much but we actually don’t need it. most likely taken for granted our
senses are one of the most powerful aspects.
Hidden behind the staircase on the ground level of Meany Hall there was a small
corner with metal chairs and structures where me and my partner decided to do
our Authentic Movement exercise. She decided to go first, and the first thing
she did was close her eyes. I noticed her soft movements as she directed her
face, with eyes closed, towards the origin of the first sounds heard. With an
almost earnest effort to open her eyes and see where the sound came from, her
strong will kept them shut as she focused her attention on the task-at-hand.
Eyes closed, she felt the rigidity, and coldness of the metal chair sculptures
and metal overhanging structures. She was truly curious.
When it was my turn to go, I decided to close my eyes immediately as well. I
began sitting on the concrete ground focusing my hand on the temperature of the
ground and the temperature of the glass window against my back. The glass seemed
warmer and softer, but the ground felt cold and jagged. With my eyes closed, I
also noticed sounds had increased by almost 2-fold. The faint chirping of birds
seemed a thousand feet away and a tone so low that I was surprise I could hear
it. It made me realize how easy it is for humans to zone out other sounds
because we are so focused on other things.
-Hanalore Alupay
Janea and I were partners. I misunderstood the assignment. I thought we were supposed to d something like the authentic movement and dance with our eyes closed outside while our partner observed. So we each did that. Janea seemed a little nervous at first but once she got moving it came more natural for her. Her movement became a little more restricted when she heard the voices or footsteps of people walking by. I was extremely nervous about this exercise! The thought of moving with my eyes closed in a public place was terrifying! I did it though and I was anxious the whole time. Being outside made me more cautious of how I was moving because I didn't want to fall down and make a fool of myself in front of other people. We were also dancing on a slope so that made it more difficult too. At the end we decided to dance together and we did the "epic" phrase from Rhonda's modern class because we both knew it. It felt really good to dance outside with my eyes open and with a friend. I saw Louis in the elevator after and we talked and that's when I realized that I misunderstood the assignment. Sorry.
*Kali
I tried this exercise with a good friend. We picked a time of day that Seattle's currently drunken weather decided would be alternately filled with sunshine and stormy rain. Even with my eyes closed, I felt the changes of the outside through my body, my arms quickly got goosebumps, I started shivering and moving more to combat chill in the now colder weather. I even think I saw the differences through my closed lids; the sun was beating down and causing me to see splotches of red, orange and yellow, they quickly disappeared with the onslaught of the rain. my partner, I think, really had a chance to experience the outside rain. She exposed herself to it, seemed to focus on it, got herself wet from laying on the grass and a little dirty when coming across gravel. Taking time out of my day to do something like this felt theraputic, calming, refreshing.
-Eugenia Prezhdo
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