After Nate's injury at the end of Movement Minyan last week we began our meeting with Ebn by discussing the role the habits play. In many ways, habits serve to protect us. When we reach out into the unknown and begin to let our habit patterns fall away it is easier for us to get injured. In the long run it may be better to undo a habit, but in the short term this has been a reminder to all of us to be careful and stay present as we let down our defenses.
In thinking about this week's session we became interested in playing with the same exercise we did last session in a new way. Perhaps it was a result of our instructions or perhaps it was simply our collective tendency, but last session we observed that to be "directed" for many of us means one thing: to follow or to mirror one another. Through our process in the Minyan we are excited to explore and unearth a range of interactions and postures between "rag doll" and moving totally on our own; between passively following or being totally independent. Ebn pointed out that this tendency mirrors the relationship that many of us have with the siddur: either we do our own thing apart from the set liturgy, or we allow the siddur to be in total control and we mirror what we see. What are new
possibilities of what it can mean to "be directed?" How do we preserve our canonized text while making our prayer new and interesting? How do we make harmony while honoring a set melody? How am I directed, yet still essentially me?
Last week as the immediacy of contact between partners decreased, many of us began to rely on sight. This coming session we will offer the experience of taking sight away. How will lack of sight affect the relationship between partners? How will we feel our partner's presence without being able to see or feel that person?
Outline
I. Warm Up (10)
People will begin by walking around the room and weaving between one another. They then follow one other person and place their hand on this person's back as they walk with them, using it to begin directing the person with a firm point of contact to walk at different paces together, move toward the floor, rise up toward standing, etc. After a few minutes, the pairs release the point of contact and again walk around the room, weaving between each other, and then choose a new partner - and repeat the exercise, cycling through different partners, and ideally having an opportunity to try both the roles of "director" and "directed" over the course of the exercise.
People will begin by walking around the room and weaving between one another. They then follow one other person and place their hand on this person's back as they walk with them, using it to begin directing the person with a firm point of contact to walk at different paces together, move toward the floor, rise up toward standing, etc. After a few minutes, the pairs release the point of contact and again walk around the room, weaving between each other, and then choose a new partner - and repeat the exercise, cycling through different partners, and ideally having an opportunity to try both the roles of "director" and "directed" over the course of the exercise.
II. Intro (5)
This is the third of five sessions moving through the words Baruch Atah YHVH Eloheinu Melech HaOlam
The paradigm we are working with explores:
Baruch Atah to YHVH
Familiar to Not Familiar
Grounded to Ungrounded
Oriented to Not Oriented
Last week we focused on this transition between paradigms in a body-oriented movement; this week we'll do this using space-oriented movement.
We will begin by finding a partner
B begins by being guided (blindfolded)
At first A will be fully in control of guiding B around the room, offering interesting spaces to dance with and through, guiding the person from walking to crawling to..., offering different orientations and ways of moving through the space around them.
Over time, A will - while remaining close and ready to prevent B from bumping into objects or people - take B from one spot to the next while offering intervals without guidance for B to explore the new spot A has chosen.
To transition roles we will give warning and come into a period of breathing time to end one segment and begin the next
III. Movement (30)
A b (12)
B a (12)
Reprise of 1st Session Warm Up (5)
1. Say words without movement
2. Movement without words
3. Say words with movement
Partnership and Parenting Amy shared that this experience today deeply reflected her experience of parenting. In her partnership with Ora, Amy had to determine how far to let Ora go, how often to let her bump into things and when to let her explore on her own. If there is a Gd, she said, perhaps Gd is this force that is present to us in our mistakes and imperfections. In response Ora articulated that her practice for the past few years has been around cultivating trust. Amy letting her bump into things was actually really helpful for her in accepting things to be "good enough," bumping into things actually wasn't so bad. Rick spoke of the awesome responsibility he felt in guiding and holding the space for Allan and making sure that he didn't hurt himself. Like some people last week, Suzie worried that her partner was bored and wondered what he wanted her to do.
Fears and Inhibitions
A number of people spoke of the immense fear they felt at being blindfolded, not knowing where they were in the room. While for Jordan this sense of disorientation was enjoyable, for others it brought up profound feelings around trust. It seemed that when people were blindfolded they expressed themselves in ways that they don't when they are sighted. A freedom and independence seemed to be opened up for people The role of the sighted person was great in holding the space, protecting their partner, and consciously witnessing their partner's movements. Suzie hasn't been able to be at Movement Minyan this semester, but was a dedicated member last year. She said that even though she came late to this session, she was immediately able to slip into the energy and vibe that everyone had helped to create in the room.
Moving from the Known to the Unknown
The conversation after this session included a lot of theological reflection and new metaphors for understanding our relationship to Gd. In reflecting on the move from be guided to letting go into the unknown, Alana spoke of witnessing her partner Avi move from holding on the a piano that was in the room and holding on to the edge as she moved around it. This reminded Alana of the experience of being in a pool as a kid, holding onto the sides, afraid to let go into the open waters. Gd, she reflected, is like the pool, like the unknown, waiting there with open arms to embrace us.
Gd Was In This Place
Margot reflected on her experience of holding the space for her blindfolded partner, Adina. She said that as she held the space and kept Adina safe, she began to be influenced by Adina's movements and the movements of the other blindfolded people and began to dance in response. She imagined Gd dancing while holding the space and helping to keep us safe, being influenced by our movements through life. Like last week, where Adina had an image of Adam, her partner, playing the roll of Gd, making playful interventions in her life, this week she felt the presence of Gd through her partner, Margot, creating a loving and safe space, protecting her with her body. For Adina, the move from being held by Margot to moving on her own had a few seconds of sadness in separation. Where had the loving hands and direction gone? Soon, however, she was able to feel Gd through Margot's presence, though she could not see it.
From Narrowness to Freedom
Suzie described being blindfolded with Adam as her partner. She encountered rows and rows of chairs that were in the back of the room. As she moved through, sightless, she kept touching chair after chair. Eventually she began to find the narrow places between chairs to move between, and, finally, the wider opening of the aisle. She said that moving from being amidst the chairs into the opening felt like a huge move from mitzrayim to expansiveness.
Hit Me With Music
Reflecting on the role of David's music, Avi shared that she could not possibly have explored the movements she explored blindfolded without the guidance of the music. Without sight and without the touch of her partner, the music became her source for direction. On this point, Ari said when he was giving guidance he noticed that each time David made changes in his music, the movements of all the blindfolded people in the room changed in response.
Questions and Take Aways
We have a number of questions moving forward. The first is around the role of music. While last session many of relied on sight and mirroring our partner's movements, this time music seemed to fill that role. What happens if the music is taken out of the equation? Secondly, in experiences like this where all information is given via touch from one partner to the other do we learn to respond to and communicate with our partner in a more immediate and direct way? What new information can this experience give us about relating to an invisible Gd? What were the effects of using the same structure, but flipping the orientation from being body-oriented to space-oriented? The point at which we move from being completely held and directed by another to moving on our own - whether in the case of people, organizations, or countries - is a vulnerable and scary place. How do we support one another in moving through those periods of transition with grace and joy, while honoring the feelings of loss and sadness that may accompany those times? This experience helped take the inner personal experience of thoughts and feelings and make it outer through dance and movement. Can witnessing this help sensitize us to the complex of intensities that are constantly going on inside each one of us, even when we can't see them? An incredible community of fellow movers and explorers continue to come together to create this open-hearted, vulnerable, playful space. We are excited to see how the connections formed at Movement Minyan can flow out into the rest of our life, both at school when we all are together, and at home.
Partnership and Parenting Amy shared that this experience today deeply reflected her experience of parenting. In her partnership with Ora, Amy had to determine how far to let Ora go, how often to let her bump into things and when to let her explore on her own. If there is a Gd, she said, perhaps Gd is this force that is present to us in our mistakes and imperfections. In response Ora articulated that her practice for the past few years has been around cultivating trust. Amy letting her bump into things was actually really helpful for her in accepting things to be "good enough," bumping into things actually wasn't so bad. Rick spoke of the awesome responsibility he felt in guiding and holding the space for Allan and making sure that he didn't hurt himself. Like some people last week, Suzie worried that her partner was bored and wondered what he wanted her to do.
Fears and Inhibitions
A number of people spoke of the immense fear they felt at being blindfolded, not knowing where they were in the room. While for Jordan this sense of disorientation was enjoyable, for others it brought up profound feelings around trust. It seemed that when people were blindfolded they expressed themselves in ways that they don't when they are sighted. A freedom and independence seemed to be opened up for people The role of the sighted person was great in holding the space, protecting their partner, and consciously witnessing their partner's movements. Suzie hasn't been able to be at Movement Minyan this semester, but was a dedicated member last year. She said that even though she came late to this session, she was immediately able to slip into the energy and vibe that everyone had helped to create in the room.
Moving from the Known to the Unknown
The conversation after this session included a lot of theological reflection and new metaphors for understanding our relationship to Gd. In reflecting on the move from be guided to letting go into the unknown, Alana spoke of witnessing her partner Avi move from holding on the a piano that was in the room and holding on to the edge as she moved around it. This reminded Alana of the experience of being in a pool as a kid, holding onto the sides, afraid to let go into the open waters. Gd, she reflected, is like the pool, like the unknown, waiting there with open arms to embrace us.
Gd Was In This Place
Margot reflected on her experience of holding the space for her blindfolded partner, Adina. She said that as she held the space and kept Adina safe, she began to be influenced by Adina's movements and the movements of the other blindfolded people and began to dance in response. She imagined Gd dancing while holding the space and helping to keep us safe, being influenced by our movements through life. Like last week, where Adina had an image of Adam, her partner, playing the roll of Gd, making playful interventions in her life, this week she felt the presence of Gd through her partner, Margot, creating a loving and safe space, protecting her with her body. For Adina, the move from being held by Margot to moving on her own had a few seconds of sadness in separation. Where had the loving hands and direction gone? Soon, however, she was able to feel Gd through Margot's presence, though she could not see it.
From Narrowness to Freedom
Suzie described being blindfolded with Adam as her partner. She encountered rows and rows of chairs that were in the back of the room. As she moved through, sightless, she kept touching chair after chair. Eventually she began to find the narrow places between chairs to move between, and, finally, the wider opening of the aisle. She said that moving from being amidst the chairs into the opening felt like a huge move from mitzrayim to expansiveness.
Hit Me With Music
Reflecting on the role of David's music, Avi shared that she could not possibly have explored the movements she explored blindfolded without the guidance of the music. Without sight and without the touch of her partner, the music became her source for direction. On this point, Ari said when he was giving guidance he noticed that each time David made changes in his music, the movements of all the blindfolded people in the room changed in response.
Questions and Take Aways
We have a number of questions moving forward. The first is around the role of music. While last session many of relied on sight and mirroring our partner's movements, this time music seemed to fill that role. What happens if the music is taken out of the equation? Secondly, in experiences like this where all information is given via touch from one partner to the other do we learn to respond to and communicate with our partner in a more immediate and direct way? What new information can this experience give us about relating to an invisible Gd? What were the effects of using the same structure, but flipping the orientation from being body-oriented to space-oriented? The point at which we move from being completely held and directed by another to moving on our own - whether in the case of people, organizations, or countries - is a vulnerable and scary place. How do we support one another in moving through those periods of transition with grace and joy, while honoring the feelings of loss and sadness that may accompany those times? This experience helped take the inner personal experience of thoughts and feelings and make it outer through dance and movement. Can witnessing this help sensitize us to the complex of intensities that are constantly going on inside each one of us, even when we can't see them? An incredible community of fellow movers and explorers continue to come together to create this open-hearted, vulnerable, playful space. We are excited to see how the connections formed at Movement Minyan can flow out into the rest of our life, both at school when we all are together, and at home.
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