In the "Thinking physically with ..." series the teachers of the TTP project were asked to reflect upon the projects topic and their experience with the group.
In todays episode you can read what Mareike has to say. She taught Contemporary Dance to the TTP participants.
Mareike Steffens works as a dance & performance artist and dance mediator. She teaches Contemporary Dance and movement research at SOZO visions in motion where she herself graduated in 2010. Over the past 10 years Mareike worked with various choreographers and companies in Europe and abroad.
So Mareike ...
This project is called “TTP – Thinking Together Physically“
What do you understand by “thinking physically“ ?
I had questions like: How does one’s thinking change through movement and how does one’s research change when the body is actively involved? Not only enable new movement possibilities for people but also open up new pathways of thinking, of sensing.
How did you plan to approach this idea in your classes
A major contribution for me during this given time of 4 workshop-slots was the use and practice of improvisation in the first part of each class. The type of improvisation used, which had a strong impact on discovering new movement pathways and confidence in the participants, can be distinguished as movement research where they themselves, through physical exploration, could find new possibilities in their bodies. A body-led discovery.
The professional dance world can be a competitive and hierarchical place.
What do you think a contemporary class has to offer to create a feeling of “togetherness”? Which aspects of this genre/field could challenge this feeling of “togetherness”?
In the parts where we worked with improvisation and presence in general. Then as well while observing each other through all the senses while dancing and moving. Getting the chance to experience a wide range of movement translations.
Responsibility of ones own decision. Starting to develop an artistic voice and furthermore an autonomy in decisions which were expressed from a physical perspective or a sense for this processes.
You gave 4 contemporary classes to the participants of the project.
What was your main focus? What did you want to share with them? What should they experience?
How are movements related to our human identity and emotions?
How can there be a shift from the seen-only body to the perceived body?
You worked together with a dance student from SOZO who assisted you in the classes.
Do you think this contributed to the idea of the project? If so, how?
Yes. Through having Hannah witnessing and partly also facilitating the classes I wanted to offer getting to know individual ways to describe and translate movement material. Establishing an openness and awareness to how different bodies with varied experiences bring with us, can describe similar things through their physical language. And of course in addition to that also through our words supporting the informations we wanted to transmit.
During the 4 times you worked with the participants:
which changes regarding physicality and group dynamic did you witness?
Less shyness, more daring to try out things, to risk making mistakes or „to fail“. Not taking too seriously in consideration how others are reacting.
Do you see a connection between the physical changes and the changes in the group dynamic?
I saw them exploring a width in their awareness of the external and internal space. This fact was influencing enormously how they were dealing with each other and themselves outside the workshop context and also during, through my perception.
