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Manson, developing dance improvisation in a European context

As a member of Magpie, based in the Netherlands, I have been involved in a research project called Manson, developing dance improvisation in a European context through a process of teaching, rehearsals and performances. My research role is primarily as a performer and collaborator. The focus of the research is to look at the presence of the dancer when moving in relation to music, space, the audience and other dancers; working against the notion of the dancer as a 'neutral doer', to find a more socially engaged, grounded dance improvisation practice. The process specifically challenged dancers to explore social behaviors as an aspect of performed movement. An aim was to find a means to create coherent performance where the mind and body are integrated in action, evidenced by the dancer’s use of eye contact.

Manson is a performance written in real-time without any specific materials set in predetermined time structures. When running workshops as part of the research, with professional dancers in dance-music-ensemble-improvised-performance, it was evident that the dancer's presence often locks, or fixes: the eyes glaze over indicating a state of over sensing, where presence may be lost or produces movement that is injurious. The research also demonstrated that to manage the improvised situation with music, other dancers, and the expectation of an audience watching, the body has a tendency to get ahead of the mind thus diminishing choice.

In order to avoid this loss of presence and awareness, an approach to performing was developed that enabled the dancer to experience time passing. Techniques developed through the research project included focusing on seeing rather than staring, as a means to develop movement, rather than focusing primarily on executing material, this is referred to as an ‘Eyeballing' theory of presence, and 'Exit State' theory of presence.