COMPOSURE - article in The Dancer-Citizen

"Composure is an improvised dance practice which challenges common modes of choreography and performance. ..."

Please visit online, open-access journal The Dancer-Citizen for a reflection on our Auckland 12-hour improvisation!

Photo: Rawyn Whyte

COMPOSURE - Sun 21 May

Please join us again for an afternoon of improvising!

COMPOSURE - Fri 17 March: Photos

Our time in Dunedin was so rich!

we meet kind / generous / engaging people

we created thoughtful / wild / interactive movement material

we discussed / questioned / challenged our practice

we explored / shared / developed our methods of working

below are photos from Justin Spiers

COMPOSURE - Fri 17 March DUNEDIN

We will be sharing our practice in Dunedin next week!
Please come anytime and join in any way you like! XX

COMPOSURE - Sat 25 Feb: Review

Here is a review of Composureoriginally published on Theatreview

COMPOSURE: OCCASIONALLY, AND SOMETIMES UNSETTLED

COMPOSURE Leah Carrell and Ben Mitchell at Samoa House TAP Studio, Auckland 25 Feb 2017 [12 hours] Reviewed by Sarah Knox, 25 Feb 2017

Facilitated by Leah Carrell and Ben Mitchell, Composure engages recent Unitec graduates Jasmine Donald, Reece Adams, Omea Geary, Elle Farrar and Sione Fatua in an ongoing, improvised, community movement practice.
The context of Samoa House seems stimulating and suitable for a movement practice rather than a dance rehearsal. I feel at ease and my expectations of what I might observe are less dictated by the space than they might be in a dance studio. I arrive one hour into the 12 hour improvisation. It is not a performance, but rather, an exploration of movement provocations that is open to observers to witness the initial stages of how dances are made, and to observe how movement collaborators work together. We are also invited to influence what we experience either by selecting pre-set ideas for exploration, proposing new ones, or by joining in ourselves by way of movement or discussion.
The ‘shifters’ (dancers) give each other verbal directions, instructions and provocations to begin, develop, change or end improvised choreographic tasks. At times requests are to shift tone or dynamics, change spatial formations, to swap members of the group in or out, or to switch to a new task. Some ideas are theatrical, whimsical or childlike, others are more sophisticated, robust and heavy. Ideas flow and morph and are occasionally scrapped by a “reset”. Moments of solo, duet, trio, and group work last from a few seconds to longer portions of an hour. The shifters give and receive direction simultaneously. Nothing goes on too long, each idea is allowed to reach its depth or end before new ideas are presented.

The agency of the dancers is clear, with no ‘choreographer’, they all fill the roles of dancer, leader, follower, facilitator, collaborator. The decision-making is at times observable, the uncertainty clear as each shifter works hard to receive, listen, understand and influence the direction of the improvisations. At other moments, they seamlessly move together, attuned to each others’ impulses. There is also a compliance to the job present, in that the shifters are obviously committed to exploring each idea presented without judgment or preconceived engagement. Further there exists no attachment to ideas, they simply are explored and then allowed to pass.

The beauty of Composure really is in the humanness and authenticity of the practice in its broadest encounter. On arrival, I am greeted personally by the dancers who are either watching their peers or as they exit sections of the improvisation. There is a warm and welcoming energy, that is also secure and confident.

It is important work these practitioners are doing to develop their practice and hence develop career pathways; but I am also prompted to ponder how this practice serves to provide an alternative perspective about the relationship between the creation of choreography and time limitations to others within our professional dance community. The depth of attention and exploration within an ongoing durational practice, such as this, might positively inform the speed and ease with which we can work to create set choreographic works in shorter time frames in other contexts. There is a strong subtext of creating community also, and a serious lack of ego.

You have until 11pm this evening (Saturday 25 February) to pop in to experience Composure. Otherwise, follow on Facebook and their blog for information about how their work progresses.
https://www.facebook.com/composureproject/?hc_ref=SEARCH
http://composureproject.blogspot.co.nz/

COMPOSURE - Sat 25 Feb: Photos

our 12-hour improvisation was:

crazy / wild / creative / immersive / fun / tiring / interesting / collaborative / directional / directionless

 learning / making / doing / dancing / talking /
endurance / commitment / fight / challenge / drive / strive
community

below are a few images from our day
taken by Raewyn Whyte

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 26

ADMIN:
This is our last session before our 12-hour improvisation event so we
-worked out some logistics
-set up the space
-planned our food
-organised clothing colours
-practiced a live-feed video [check in to our Composure Facebook page from 3pm on Saturday to engage with our improvisation practice!]
-wrote notes on how our audience can engage tomorrow:

We want you to;

-offer an idea for us to create movement with
-join us as a shifter (dancer) in creating the improvisation

-take on the role of shaper and direct/lead an improvisation
-investigate, with us, our methods of working and creating

-play an instrument and we can improvise together
-change the music!

-observe: sit and watch it all unfold!
-call RESET when you want the improv to end
-engage in our discussion about making dance; what decisions do we make inside an improvisation / how do we make dance work / how do we view dance work / in what ways do we engage in performance as an audience member / how can we explore that audience-performer relationship

-take photos: tag us -  Facebook: ‘Composure’ or Instagram: #composureproject
-write / reflect / ask questions on the paper provided at the end of the room

-connect on our blog composureproject.blogspot.co.nz

Join us for a few minutes or stay for an hour or two or 12. Return later to see our progress!


IMPROVISATION:
We began with a face-off
Led to two duets
OG shaped: EF&SF go with the music, LC&JD go against the music
LC&JD narrated SF&RA duet

RESET: we have developed a new tool

RESET is a word that clears the space.
-anyone of us can use it, if we feel that the improv has come to an end, if we feel that the improv is going nowhere, if we just need to start on a new idea!
-audience can use RESET too
-if we hear RESET, we all stop and physically leave the space. While other directions can be interpreted however we want, reset is one that we all do it! we can then re-gather and start a fresh improv or someone from audience can offer idea.

During the second improv OG, as shaper, gave an offer that didn't work. We reacted. We explained our reaction. We offered SF (who was watching) an opportunity for us to re-do the ending. We re-did the ending.
We are open/honest in our failings. We test an alternative possibility. We learn from our decisions.

We are really excited for our 12-hour improvisation tomorrow! 11am - 11pm at the Samoa House Studio. We would love if you join us -at any time, and in any way! XX

Composure - Part III Session 25

WARM UP 

“Class” 

-consisting of exercises and phrases, original and learned. Danced together, in unison. Synchronised. Pulse. Breathing as one. Research into how the start to our session could affect our improvisation in comparison to the last session.

Today we were tired and loose. Ideas were unfocused and brief, all seeming to have a similar arc and timeline. As opposed to Thursday’s richness of whole group encounters, today was filled with a lot of duets and solos – a very different performance situation, which drove a beautiful use of space by partnerships and individuals. We consider why / how / what makes these changes

LC video called us

-From Wellington

-LC helped shape the improv, giving direction through OG as an agent for delivery of her suggestions.

An unusual and exciting way of utilising technology to stay connected and share our dancing.

We decided what food we will eat on Saturday the 25 February.

Composure - Part III Session 24

WARM UP

 “Class” 

-consisting of exercises and phrases, original and learned. 

Danced together, in unison. Synchronised. Pulse. Breathing as one.

We let the space breathe for a few moments post-warm up. As it settles, we enter individually allowing our intuition to guide us. Hearts still beating fast – as one. Sweating still – dripping. A respectful approach to the Fale and our performance space – an acknowledgement.

IMPROVISATION

An improvisation begins. It is ceremonial in its beginning; derived (we think) from the oneness established during warm up. This continues for the next hour and a half; a phronetic session where ideas seem to be explored to a near perfect end, with shifters slipping from the scene just as the time is right, pushing a smooth transition or progression into a development of the idea, or an alternative option.

Music was also utilised in a particularly satisfying way. There were times where a track was played to drive the scene toward a more concrete focus, adding mood, as well as a few instances where the music was used to support a specific intention; Rihanna’s “Diamonds” was used when EF and JD were in a zealous duet singing about being a star shine bright like a diamond in the sky

We talked about music and its effect on our performance qualities, and the possibility of compiling several playlists for the 12-hour Improvisation which we could use to layer quality/drive sections in a particular way, or to provide a challenge

COMPOSURE - Sat 25 Feb, 11am-11pm, Samoa House Studio

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 23

We welcomed back two of our practitioners who have created in and with Composure since the start of the project at dance school. It was SO great to have the energy and creativity feeding our improvisation.

WARM UP
Musical movement
-play a variety of different tracks
-move to the music
-do what your body needs to do

CONVEYOR BELT
This is a task to begin an improvisation, an 'in' 

We walk, up and down
We break away, move and come back
The conveyor belt dissolves and movement evolves
-the task requires us to be individuals, within a collective structure (spatial and rhythmical) We must keep our awareness out to how the other(s) are contributing how we can compliment or CONTRAST the worlds that unfold.
-set up, wave, whirlpool, clear

The improvisation developed in to various 2s, 3s, 1s, Then we moved as a group with a single focus/purpose. We divided again and then again and then swapped in and out.

SOME REFLECTIONS
-sometimes we have a great idea, but need to hold on to it until the right moment. We know when that moment arises
-sometimes, we have an impulse which we need to activate straight away. We know when we have missed the moment
The more we improvise, together, the more we can tune in to these type of decision making 

-If we wander, how do we pull back in to the group? (what are our strategies...)

JD - jump in to what someone else is doing / copy
EF - investigate someone / copy
LC - make a spatial decision/connection / copy
RA - build intense focus on someone - eventually drops both into something interesting.

We made a timelapse video....   will upload soon!

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 22

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 21

Warm up: Body work
-muscle: massage, pat, invigorate, activate
-bones: shake
-voice: make noise through physical impulse (where does the voice physically sit, how can voice be a physical reaction rather than a pre-planned thought)

We compose the space again. The space is smaller this week (Dojo rehearsal space) and our compositions are instinctively more connected in the design of lines or clusters. The improvisation develops for a while, each shifter contributing, making, shaping the piece.

Trio: Shaper – EF
L&B moving, J narrating
The narration and the moving is circular: each influences the other
The shaping and the shifting is circular: each influences the other

Duet: Shapers – EF & LC
Shifters - J&B
-journey together, swirls on ground, pause/drop, contact which builds and into massive/crazy/throwing movement, rest & hug, roll
There was a moment (in the pause/drop) in which the shapers thought the duet had come to a close, but the shifters did not hear the instruction – and continued. The following movement was exquisite. This brings up questions: Who is shaping. Whose choreographic interests are we fulfilling. How do know when to end and when to continue. How can we push through the potential ends to find further interesting movement ideas.

We reflected that the shaper is creating with head, their logic, their choreographic experience, their vision and the shifter is creating with their body, their muscle memory, their physical experience. Where do our impulses meet. What is the ground in the middle, when we can access both modes of making.

Awareness vs. innate knowledge vs. intuition vs. judgement vs. impulses

A fantastic thought from another project:
“If there is nothing to do, do nothing.”

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 20

LONG session: 4 hours
We are preparing for our sharing at the Auckland Fringe Festival 

We met and planned our time:

-make a record of all the tasks we’ve ever done
-discuss potential ways in and out of improvisations throughout the afternoon
-warm-up
-move into an improvisation
-talk
-improvisation
-talk

These our the main tasks we’ve created, borrowed, chanced upon. These are our pillars of exploration; we can come back to these throughout an improvisation, to develop and deepen the movement being created.

We began with a task to compose the space:
-we walk, set our body in a place, pause. We continue this pattern as a way to meet the space, to create connection in and with the space.
-we walk, set out body in a place in relation to an other, pause. We build our connection with each other through the space.
-we walk, set our body in a place in relation to an other, move. We listen to impulses of movement - exploring, warming up, creating.

This shifts into an improvisation, we build on these impulses. We continue to explore and eventually someone emerges as a shaper – usually out of the desire to experience something specific, or from finding a lack of something, or for having some genius idea.

Double Duet: Shaper - LC
Shifter - BM&RT: Fluid, 1 body 2 minds, inter-weave/twine, string, knot, slip away but return
Shifter - OG&EF: Mirror each other, spatially they frame BM&RT,
The duets are the same (tension, speed, disposition)
The duets are different (direction, focus, spatial intimacy)

Duet: Shapers - LC & OG
Shifters – EF&BM:
1. BM on back
2. EF join and merge rhythm / pattern
3. Intertwine bodies
4. EF in charge “90/10 relationship, E you are 90”
5. Move around floor
6. Change speeds “each change your speed, differently to eachother”
7. Change focus “change focus”
8. EF make BM look good “B develop a character” “E make B look good”
9. Newly weds dance -> conversation “you are newly weds doing your first dance, talk about it”
10. Argument “continue in that direction, you don’t agree”
11. Resolution “find a way to conclude”

Rodney & Elle

O and L giving instructions: Working together we could run ideas by each other first, to create a shared vision for the improv. Did the other agree on the direction? Did we both think it needed the same thing? How best to word an offer?
PHYSICAL OFFER: When the argument was building it became stagnant and we needed to offer a direction, but a verbal instruction would have interrupted B and E flow. So we gave them a pillow each to hold – a physical offer. Their (automatic/intrinsic) physical response through posturing and gesture deepened their character and strengthened the scene. This relationship to the pillow helped them move past the stagnant territory and heighten then resolve the scene.


NOTICE RE: STUDIO
This studio is stunning!! Look at the lighting!! Great location too (central Auckland) .... if anyone is looking to hire a beautiful dance space please contact Jenny - jennydancer@paradise.net.nz

COMPOSURE Media Release - Fringe Festival

Composure

an interchange / an exchange / an improvisation

Composure is an improvised dance practice which challenges common modes of choreography and performance. Composure will be shared as a 12-hour endurance piece and invites audiences to share in the creation and development of the work.

Auckland Fringe Festival

Saturday 25 February 11am - 11pm  

Samoa House Studio, off Beresford Square

Dunedin Fringe Festival
Friday 17 March 11am-9pm
23 Princes St
The project is supported through Letting Space's Urban Dream Brokerage service with funding from Dunedin City Council

Composure is a creative practice developed by Leah Carrell and Benjamin Mitchell with a group of recent contemporary dance graduates (Unitec, 2015.) The focus is on how we each approach the task of making; what we are interested in seeing bodies do, and how we get them to do it. We use movement, dance and voice to interact with sound, space, and people; performers shift within the space generating an experience that is both created and explored in its moment of inception.

Composure is rich, imaginative, and engaging. In presenting our live-choreographic practice we offer a rich insight into the making of movement work. As a 12-hour endurance piece, Composure pushes the boundaries of traditional expectations around choreography and performance creating an experience that is different for the audience and is challenging, both physically and creatively, for the performers.

We offer an opportunity to see how dance is made; how it evolves and develops. We create a space for inclusivity, involvement, enjoyment and offer audiences an unconventional way of engaging; they are invited to observe our methods of making dance (our processes, explorations, triumphs and failings.) We invite the audience to pop in and out of the space observing, influencing, and contributing to the work.

• Come as a dancer: investigate, with us, our methods of working.
• Come as a maker: bring an idea you would like us to use to make dance (a painting, a poem, a story you think could inspire movement)
• Come and play an instrument and we can improvise together!
• Come as an observer: sit and watch it all unfold!

Join us for a few minutes or stay for an hour. Return to see our progress!

Koha entry

Follow our progress on our blog: composureproject.blogspot.co.nz

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 19

A NEW SPACE

We are working towards an open sharing of our Composure practice as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival and the Dunedin Fringe Festival!! This is very exciting for us all. Following on from our open rehearsal in December, we are interested in sharing our practice -and opening it up for people to join in!

The focus is on how we each approach the task of making; what we are interested in seeing movers do, and how we get them to do it. It pushes the boundaries of traditional expectations around choreography and performance by using movement, dance and voice to interact with sound, space, and people, employing a progressive audience/artist interaction.

In Auckland, we will be sharing this as a 12-hour endurance improvisation piece at the Samoa House Studio, Samoa House Lane off Beresford Square. The studio is beautiful, spacious, and offers much new modes of explorations.

During practice, we investigated the space:

-move
-look -consider / think
-observe / investigate
-question
-involve the body
-contact
-touch
-sound / rhythm

We feel the history, we consider what has been before. We are the first dancers in the space (since The Actor' Program have taken it over) and we use our muscle memory to understand the space. We give, we listen, we talk.

COMPOSURE - Part III Session 18

BACK IN TO IT

We had a month-ish break. To relax, rest, refresh.

Coming back to moving, dancing, composing we needed a long session of getting back in to our bodies.

-pilates
-phrases
-creating
-teaching
-learning
-sweating
-dancing

2017!!

Kia ora,

we have began moving / creating / dancing again!!

A written post to follow, but first, some images!

here are a few captured moments of us in the Samoa House Studio - the venue for our epic 12-hour improvisation event (Saturday 25 February)