Today I came up with four gestures that were the impetus for my improvisation.  

I have been slacking on studio time lately.  I got to rehearsal this evening an hour early and spent time doing some strengthening (yay Pilates and Yoga!), some modern technique phrase work for the feet, and finally some improvisation.  This has to be one of my most habitual improvisations.  I am so sick of seeing myself do the same things!  I have to go into my improvisations with a plan from now on.   My arms can circle, bend, and reach. My spine can undulate.  Yes, I know, so why on earth do I keep repeating myself?  The worst part is that repetition feels so good.  The patterns are so easy and satisfying, like visiting with an old friend.   The autopilot doesn't stretch my brain or push me outside of my comfort zone.  Next time....why is it always next time....but I will,  I will make new movement friends.  

I am late getting this posted.  This was a very short video taken before my rehearsal last Sunday, October 20.  It was interrupted by my lovely dancers showing up early to warm-up.  Sure can't complain about that!  The best part about last Sunday though was performing in Ashley Horn's The Persistence of Vision.  This was an hour long installation at Frenetic Theater, and was a mixture of phrases and improvisation.  I had the best time playing with my fellow dancers and the set/props.  My favorite moment was

No restrictions- just enjoying moving!

I am so excited that I made it to Day 100.  I feel that I am in a place of transition in my improvisational work.  The first 100 days were about discovering my voice and movement language. Often, the act of improvisation was the act of letting go of learned movement habits, classroom gestures and phrases, and finding my own flow.  Now I am ready to identify my habits and patterns and am interested in expanding my consciousness in movement choices.  It is very difficult to process everything that is happening in the body as it is happening, and I am working towards making choices faster.   There is a solo score that Leslie Scates taught me called the "perfect solo."  After 45 seconds of improvisation flow, a viewer shares three patterns that appeared in the movement.  We did this exercise in class last week, and the fabulous Michele Kitchen very accurately pointed out that I love to use repetition.  Today, my goal was to simply not use repetition.  It was real hard.  

This week I took improvisation from Leslie Scates at Hope Stone.  In class we worked on a solo score that interrupted your flow of movement.  The exercise was about being conscious of your choices and moving against your normal movement habits and responses.  I had a lot of difficulty with this and want to spend more time with this concept.  In order to interrupt my flow of movement, I often have to stop and pause and think about the choice I would normally make, and then choose something different.  Here is today's practice: