03/30/11: Intertext - Spring Training Plan

For the Spring, I plan to continue several elements of my Winter training practice that were working well:

• Weekly sessions (video-recorded and blogged)
• Overall structure (Contemplative Practice, Warm-up and Open Training)
• Working with a physical point of focus
• Working with songs

In addition, I’m adding several new elements to the work:

1) Warm-up Sequence Formalization: In hopes of an increased sense of regularity and rigor, my warm-up will now be a specific series of actions (or modes of action) accompanied by a music playlist. This is the order of actions and their approximate length:
---> Free movement (9 minutes)
---> Balanced stillness in tree pose (7 minutes)
---> 50 Jumping Jacks (3 minutes)
---> Body Scan (1 minute)
---> Slow motion Cross of Space (6 minutes)

2) Material Development Time: Rather than writing a “Tiny Imaginary Play” at the end of each session, I’m adding another segment in which I’ll work on specific material for a performance piece. Unlike the free-form, non-goal-oriented space of Open Training, I'll have a provisional plan for how to use this time each week, but also remain open to what arises in the studio.

3) Additional Training: I plan to seek out group training opportunities over the course of the spring. In the interest of consolidation, I’ll record some details of those sessions in this blog as well.

03/04/11: Solo Training Session #8

Horrible awful no-good mood. Don't want to do this or anything else. Don't want to be vulnerable to anyone, including myself. And also secretly I know I want to do this.








Contemplative Practice (10 minutes):

Meditated in half lotus in the one shaft of sunlight in the room.


Warm-up (15 minutes):

Did cat/cow stretch and child's pose.

Decided to work with intercostal muscles today

Rolled around on floor as felt pleasurable.

Spoke stream of thoughts: "I'm never a good enough..."

Sang stream of thoughts: "I'm never a good enough..."


Training (35 minutes):

Did pseudo-tai-chi while singing "When the river meets the sea."

Stretched and stroked intercostals while singing "When the river meets the sea."

Did 100 jumping jacks then did body scan, focusing on intercostal muscles

Worked in silence and slow motion, trying to breathe from stomach without using shoulders, playing with hard and soft edges, fluid and angular motion.

Created hand/arm choreography with fists and clasped hands.

Sang Dona Nobis Pacem

Sang Dona Nobis Pacem with hand/arm choreography.

Note-taking (5 minutes):

Sat in studio, drank cold coffee, wrote Tiny Imaginary Play #8

02/25/11: Solo Training Session #7

Embarrassed about the amount of procrastination involved in actually getting to the studio today. Relieved the room is available. Looking forward to exploring some of my new internal sensations of what this training is about. Pleased to be here. Pleased to be documenting myself being here. Feeling confident and happy.


CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (7 minutes):

Meditated in half-lotus against the wall, room dark, eyes open, facing the mirror.

WARM-UP (20 minutes):

Long-form sun salutations, breathing deeply.

Sang "When the River Meets the Sea" a capella in front of the mirror while doing "infinity arm circles."

100 jumping jacks followed by body scan to find body part to work with today. Found my xiphoid process (aka metasternum, the cartilaginous end of the sternum which attaches to the diaphragm muscles and is related to breathing).

TRAINING (35 minutes):

Almost no speaking for the entire time.

Yoga poses to stretch region around xiphoid process.

Extensive work with mirror.

Explored shoulder and arm choreography. Right angles.

Drew blue dot on xiphoid process to isolate it more clearly.

Worked shirtless for a time in order to have access to xiphoid process, was slightly uncomfortable and switched to a small scarf around my breasts.

Mime-type exercises including pulling an invisible rope through my body.

Explored grotesque faces and body positions, particularly invoking archetypes of old men and women (like Pantalone character in commedia)

Explored soft and hard facial gestures, which led to a few words about gender and embodiment.

Camera ran out of memory, last 5 minutes unrecorded.

Short, extreme emotional experiences characterized the (unrecoreded) end of the session - confusion and anger. They subsided as soon as the alarm sounded for the training's end.

NOTE-TAKING (5 minutes):

Sat in studio. Took brief notes about session and found I could not remember very precisely what had transpired. Decided to watch session video to recreate notes (this plan was later foiled as an error occurred and the footage was lost). Wrote Tiny Imaginary Play #7.

02/16/11: Solo Training Session #5

Embarrassed because I missed last week (again), embarrassed that I was late again today, embarrassed because I'm choosing this practice over reading for class, grateful for a body that still feels awake from Contact Improv last night and still feels ripples of love from other bodies moving through it.


Contemplative Practice (7 minutes):
Meditated in half lotus with eyes open. Noticed the changing light in the room.

Warm up (15 minutes):
Stretched while singing "When the River Meets the Sea."

"Polished" body with hands, then with other-than-hands. Really trying to sense deeply the points of contact between self and self.

While polishing, spoke stream-of-consciousness about what I was feeling. Thought about terms we have for this: "verbal diarrhea," and "discharging." Why are all the terms to describe speaking freely about inside experiences so gross?

Thought about feelings as skin. Polishing skin, polishing emotional surfaces.

Training (35 minutes):
Did 100 jumping jacks followed by body scan.

Chose part of body to focus on for the day. Avoided places that called out for focus due to pain (shoulders, neck, foot) and instead chose body part that felt good: skin.

Moved as if skin was a bubble

Worked with negative space around skin a la Contact Improv. Moved with almost-touch.

Worked with vulnerability of wrist skin.

Tried to avoid being too hand-focused. Worked with legs and leg skin, both touch and almost-touch.

Moved with "thick skin" (where are the thin places?)

Moved with "thin skin" (where are the thick places?)

Did 100 more jumping jacks. Did second body scan. Compared difference

Video card ran out of memory.

Sang (no words) and moved around space for 5 unrecorded minutes. Acoustics exquisite and strange.

Note taking (5 minutes):
Took notes in space then moved to the dance lounge to write Tiny Imaginary Play #5 next to some fragrant eucalyptus stems in a vase. The weather is dramatic.