bringing william forsythe’s “improvisation … release/dancer magazine...bringing william...

M a s t e r c l a s s M a s t e r c l a s s68 ~ ~ December 2009 December 2009 ~ ~ 69

Bringing William Forsythe’s “Improvisation Technologies”

to a New Generation

By Carrie Stern

Courtesy of Dance-wave, Photos by Tom Rawe

Seven teens, all novice improvisers, were recently introduced to the work of

influential choreographer William Forsythe in a workshop at Dance-wave, a Brooklyn-based dance organization. According to the workshop leader, dancer Natalie Thomas, the children “investi-gate personal relationships” to: space, the journey between two body points (distance, direction, motion), one another, and “to imaginary circumstances.” They begin with simple movements—knee-to-elbow, développés and twisting motions. Later, they begin experimenting with tork and extension, moving two points of the body towards and away from each other. Slowly, the children explore other options—what changes if they lay on the floor? “Try a little finger and a big toe,” Thomas calls out. One discovers falling and rolling, others explore odd locomotion— pulling their body with one hand and walking like a crab.

“Pretend one part of your body is a hook attached to a truck. If the driver puts on the gas, what hap-pens?” A sudden flurry of bod-ies leaning and stumbling fills the stage. Thomas builds the idea, asking the students to speed up at their discretion. New sugges-tions fly out: “Look for extremes in your movement,” says Thomas. “Switch to an usual point—inside thigh and collar bone,” she con-tinues. “Remember the space behind you!” She demonstrates one of the Forsythe technique’s necessities: “loose hips.” Gently pushing each dancer, they fall, releasing their backs, hips and heads; they begin to work deeply in their bodies, finding back spins and big sweeping movements fol-

lowed by tiny finger circles.The final exploration desig-

nates a “puppeteer” who conducts his or her partner’s movement by performing movements of their own. Some puppeteers are shy waving only a single arm. Others direct with spins and jumps. The partners interpret the gestures and respond. At times, the impromptu duet comes powerfully close to choreography. In the final itera-tion, together, the dancers create “a synchronicity” that Thomas finds “quite magical.”

The Lesson: The space between the two pointsInitiate movement between two specific points of the body. How far apart can you move them? How close together can you bring them? In how many different directions? How many ways can you travel the distance between the two points?

• Try two far away points.• Insert “truck.” (above)• Switch to two unusual points. (Additional suggestions in text.)• Awareness of relationship with others:o Duets—puppeteer and dancer.o Invisible puppeteer.

This is Natalie Thomas’ Choreo-lab III: Improvisational Movement, part of Brooklyn’s Dancewave’s teen program. A certified teacher of “William Forsythe Improvisation Technologies,” Thomas’ hopes, above all, to help the budding dancers “surprise themselves.”

Forsythe, a classically trained dancer often described as “reori-enting the practice of ballet,” developed a choreographic physi-cal language and process Thomas describes as “modalities of physi-cal translation.” It encourages

discovering one’s own physical metaphors and ways of mov-ing. Thomas, a former member of Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt and a choreographer, explains: “The work promotes openness and receptivity. Students discover their ability to be non-judgmental catalogers, moving away from, and beyond, constructed per-formance—dancing in ways never imagined.” Thomas has adapted Forsythe’s approach to her own “Improvisational Movement” for actors and dancers.

Q: Describe William Forsythe’s “innovative dance technologies.” A: It’s based on systems rather than form and technique. That’s why it’s called technologies, not technique. It uses geometry, spatial orientation—concepts in which, when you dance, you live through them and invent them in real time. For example, instead of saying “passé,” one might say “investigate the space between your knee and your ankle.” Or, “draw a diagonal line with your knee towards the upstage corner.” It’s the task rather than the result.

Q: What are “modalities of physical translation?”A: A modality is a way of moving. Modality of physical translation is a system for taking the infor-mation that’s given by one body and translating it into your own (physical) language, and how you bridge the gap (in-between).

Q: How do you impart Forsythe’s style?A: The systems of Forsythe’s “Tech-nologies” creates new systems, which is the point. So I’ve invented my own way of teaching, my version of what I learned with Bill [Forsythe] and my experience since I left.

Every group has limitations that can be great to work around, or work through. I start with what’s available in the room—the individ-uals, their experience, their energy.

A lot of my techniques— tools and structures—developed when I trans-lated Forsythe for the actors in the Wooster Group’s “Hamlet.”* Bill’s work uses a lot of acting and text, voice work. I incorporate that to free-up participants as people and artists, to connect breath to body, to make them more receptive. I cre-ated exercises dealing with range of motion, things that for dancers are no problem.

With these kids, I’m developing warm-ups to get them playful, fear-less. It’s important to get them in a zone where they are willing to inves-tigate. I tell them not to think you have to look like something. But it’s been ingrained in us—in me as a ballet dancer. You look at yourself in a mirror eight hours a day.

Q: How do you translate the complexity and layering of Forsythe’s work into something children can grasp and perform?A: Due to time, I rarely get to as many layers as Bill commonly works with. I have this group until June, but I won’t rush them. When too many ideas are given, and you’re not ready to receive them, it gets diluted. I’d rather see one or two specific ideas developed. The layers come from the history you have in your body, a history with movement, and with a group.

Q: What are some of the challenges of doing this?A: This was only the fifth class. At a simple level, they’re going to need to learn to move in a differ-ent way, to build new coordina-tions. To isolate a pinky toe and a collarbone—to be that specific, it

Right: Natalie Thomas supervising class