"Lack of fullness in a particular movement, or exaggeration of a movement outside the particular limits of it's own shape and rhythm produces mannerism, I should think. And, equally so, the fullest possible doing of a movement with the minimum necessity of visible energy and the clearest precision in each element of that movement might possibly produce style. But when this is allowed to go out the window for further effect, prolongation of pose or bravura or other such delights of the performer's ego, then the first thing lost is serenity, and in the rush to catch up, the dancer stumbles, expressively if not physically."
Vaughan, D (1997) Merce Cunningham: fifty years New York: Aperture Foundation
An element of of Cunningham technique I tend to encounter trouble in is I have a tendancy to put too much energy into the movement which has a tendancy to the then subside the amount of control I have and can look rushed and chaotic. A lot of Cunningham influenced movement requires a lot of control through the movement with precison of place and time in the body and place. I find I can execute the movement but not perform it, this paragraph has given me a great insight in to what could help with my problem as simply don't try as hard. I know this may sound ridiculous but exerting less energy into the movement and into myself may help give me the sense of style and mannerism written about above, I found the comment on serenity very intruging as I think of dancers I have seen who have appeared serene in their work, honestly I can think of few as to perform on stage requires some sort of ego but it is something I now strive for, I can relate to the stumbling to catch up image and I'm hoping that if I reach this serentity it will bring a calmness to my movement quality and myself.
In class I can have a tendancy to get frustrated with myself, especially when I know that I could have performed better in that moment and I find in Cunningham technique I regularly become disheartened which I know actually makes me perform worse as it creates a mental block towards the sequences as I find them difficult and I can become a bit defeatest about it. For some reason today my head was simply not processing what was asked of it especially when it came to remembering combination and my co ordination was all over the place, I have to remember though that as people and performers everyone has days like today where nothing seems to be fitting in to the right place or working as you want it to, it is how you handle these situations and learn from them that helps you improve. I learnt today that to try and channel the frustration I have into my movement to add a powerfull quality to it and use the energy I was using to be angry on controlling my limbs to go where and do what I want them to, sometimes I just need to relax and not neccesarily take myself too seriously in class and have the attitude that if get it wrong there is always next time. Class is the time to get things wrong, everyone has their weak points and it turns out that Cunningham technique is mine.
Today in class I was particularly paying attention to my feet, really pushing down the foot down through the floor until it has to come to a point in the tondu excercises and trying to echo this onward throughout class into the battemont and jumping sequences. I find during tondu excericises that I have a tendancy to bend my supporting leg to draw it the foot back in so I was conciously making an effort to keep lifted on the supporting side by imagining something pulling me up through the head and trying to disconnect my torso from the lower half of my body. When I really concentrate on doing this action it does happen and feels and looks better, I just have to really focus on this lift throughout every sequence and not relax into the supporting side of the body to ensure that lifting becomes natural habit and therfore no longer an issue.
In this travelling sequence I can see my energy and attack driving me across the floor, I just need to be aware of keeping my control especially in moments such as the pas de chat into the lean with leg extended as this stood out as a weak point to me, next time I aim to take myself more off centre in the lean to add an element of risk to catch myself in the next moment, I look to be playing it very safe in this video. Also softening into my landings more as I keep very high in the legs, softening into the knees is not only a safer way of landing but allows me more access to the power of the legs to take me into the next movement meaning higher jumps taking me further into the space around and presenting myself in class. This is a perfect example of when my energy takes over my movement, as I focused on pointing the feet in earlier excercises, here the feet appear limb and not defining any shape or assiting me in the jumps. As I said before, concentrating on this element in class should help extending through the feet to become natural to me as they become stronger. A few questions arose for me in class today, one of which was who are we trying to impress in class and who is our harshest critic?
