2. Alone and Together

Movement Minyan comes to Burning Man

Examining Assumptions
My brainstorm about this session grew out of my thinking about the previous session, Alone and Together I - since they were both happening in the particular context of the Burning Man festival, and would happen over the course of two consecutive days.  In gathering and reformulating material from the final session of the Movement Minyan, I had to continue to reflect on what it would mean to bring this practice to a context and group of people who I didn't know, and whose familiarity with Judaism, liturgy, and movement I had no way of being able to predict.


Making it Cosmic
This session, in many ways, was easier to introduce than the first since so many people are familiar
with Judaism's central prayer, the Shema - and its cosmic and universal connotations (the unity of the Divine) would align neatly with the worldview of many of the spiritual seekers at this festival (this is, of course, an assumption I'm willing to examine, though!).  Because of these factors, and the brevity of this prayer, I decided to invite people to sing it together at the end of the movement flow.  As in the first session, I had the Shema playing in the background as the final musical piece in the movement soundtrack so that it became a part of the environment in which people were dancing, and they gained some comfort with it, before reciting the Shema.


Articulating the Minyan to the World
Since the Movement Minyan was going to be listed alongside all the other hundreds of workshops and events at a huge festival (with 51,454 attendees) in the "What Where When" event guide, I had to think about a short description for it, and certainly could have come up with something more gripping than "An opportunity to physically experience specific themes within the dynamics of Jewish prayer, exploring different approaches through movement arts."  But that's all I could muster before the rapidly approaching description deadline.


Outline
I. Introductions (5 min)
Go around in a circle, starting with the facilitator (to model sharing).

a) Each person shares 1 word while enacting a movement based on that word ("how you're feeling"/"where you're at", or "your name" depending on what facilitator feels is most appropriate - I choose to have people share feelings).
b) Everyone in the circle repeats the pairing of word and movement.
c) Everyone takes a moment to breath to create space to "re-ground" between each sharing, and then the next person shares.

II. Kavanah (2 min)
Way of exploring "everyone together" as embodied in the Shema, through movement.  Invite people to bring consciousness of "togetherness" into their dance.  Will begin with mode of "call and response" (introduced in yesterday's session) to mode of "everyone together", end with recitation of Shema on my cue, and finally gather back in circle for reflection. 

Dancing in the desert

III. Physical Practice (30 min)
Kavanah: Explore the role of caller and the responder (as a way into "everyone together"): How do you feel when you're calling versus when you are responding?

Movement:
1. One person is "caller" - holds different positions and other person is "responder" (short demo): can explore from a distance, or with contact as each pair is comfortable: above, under, behind, through, around, etc.
2. Indicate when the "caller" should change positions
3. People prompted to switch roles after they are comfortable in these roles (10 minutes total - 5 min each partner)
4. Two partners switch roles over smaller intervals until there is improvisational flow/no "roles" (10 min total- 2-3 minutes, then 1 minute)
5. Pairs join into groups of 4 and then groups of 4 join into group of 8, until everyone "together"; within group movement can find you own dance, or explore group's dance (10 minutes)

Guiding Questions:
1. How does it feel to move together? Is it freeing? Limiting?
2. As we begin to move as group, is there a way to find individual movement in group?
3. Is there a way to totally become part of group?

V. Tefilah (2 min)
After music, invite participants to find stillness in their dance, and recite the Shema together, one word on each breath.  Allow a moment of silence after this (both times I've done this in the Minyan, it's been incredibly powerful, and it's good to give people space to absorb the experience).  Invite people into circle, as they are ready.  Have people take a breath together to bring everyone back into awareness of the room and one another.

VI. Closing Reflection (10 min)

Any reflections, insights, feelings?

VII. Hand Closing (1 min)

Another picture of the Movement Minyan at Sukkat Shalom, in Black Rock City, Nevada

Reflections
There were about 15 people present for this session, and several people from my camp (Sukkat Shalom), where the event was held (though open to the public) wanted to make sure they didn't miss the final offering of the Movement Minyan for the week.  The point at which I invited people to explore and "wake up" the space created much more interactivity with our camp's geodesic dome in which the Movement Minyan took place: people used the structure, climbed it, went under furniture.  Overall participants seemed to have a powerful experience.  One articulated that she felt her voice become an extension of her dancing body as she harmonized with the slow, breathful singing of the Shema at the end of the session and moved with and responded to other people's song.  Another reported that one of the more powerful moments he had over the course of the week was when he tried something new in his dance with his partner, and he and his partner wordlessly put their hands on one  another's chests and felt each other's heart beats.