In the Beginning - 26th September 2008

Dear All,

What a great start to the module! Thank you for a focused, committed and creative session with a high level of responsiveness and sense of responsibility for yourselves and each other. The work you created and its maturity allowed Paul and I to build on the session instinctively, leaving plans aside and going with the flow. This is very promising.

Think about the journey you undertook this morning and the learning curve accompanying it. Think also about the introductory talk we gave to prepare you for the whole year's work ahead. Think about the new way in which we introduced you to conceptualising the body and using it for communication. And now try and answer the following questions, reflecting on your own work from this morning and from those around you.

1. How did the session shift your understanding of 'neutrality' in performance? What do you think is meant by the centre and why is it important to ground the body before beginning to work in the genre?

2. More often than not, movement is associated with a certain idea of 'aesthetic' (find out what this means exactly before you answer this question). Dance holds the popular impression that movement must be pretty to look at.

In this morning's session, how did we approach this stereotyped understanding of 'aesthetic' movement? What made movement most interesting to watch? How pretty it looked? Or how honest it was and connected to one's inner impulse? Discuss this with examples.

It is always good to respond to these questions after reading around the subject. This will help locate your own experience in a wider theoretical context. Look up the websites on this blog of other companies and look at their comments on the issues raised above. Use quotes and reference them correctly if you want.

Looking forward to ALL your responses by Wednesday 1st October, 4 pm. Enjoy the weekend!

Royona