Stills aus einer Bewegungsrecherche mit Gestalta. Mit Seilen, Steinen und Semi-suspension.
Gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR,
Hilfsprogramm DIS-TANZEN des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.
#distanzsolo
Early spring my practice went outdoors. Developing choreographic material at Humboldthain and on the Uferhallen compound. Part of it is to apply authentic movement principles to classical vocabulary. Reducing perfection to marking level (15%) and strip tension plus the classical attitude. Searching a quotidian mode as if walking in the streets.
Unlike often in ballet this quality allows my breathing to switch to an aerobic use of oxygen. The low-fy approach leaves also capacity to watch, hear and react with the environment. In the park when dogs and families walk by there are split second eye contacts which are actually interpersonal.
All in all I am currently searching for a mind state while dancing which can stick to a routine, yet perceives what is going on around and is less busy with ‘showing’.
Later I taught the sequence to Yui and here we are just spacing it together in her backyard. Feels familiar dancing with her since we often trained together in class. There is an underlying beat to the material but it’s intuitive. We need to see each other in the periphery and there is an attempt for synchronicity though I like the slight off-ness between us.
Thanks to Yui Kawaguchi for the video.
The dance support program is part of Neustart Kultur, an initiative of the federal government comissioner for culture and the medea. A special focus here is on the development and testing of new forms of artistic and dance education or dance-transfer work. #distanzsolo #slowballet #coronacoronacorona
Im Rahmen von GLUTAMAT research stellt die Berliner Choreographin und Tänzerin Dasniya Sommer die Normierung von Körperbildern, Exotismen und Fast Food Konsum in einen irritierenden Zusammenhang. Als Analysetools dienen ihr dabei ein dekonstruierndes Verständnis von klassischem Ballett, die japanische Bondage Variante Shibari und eine originäre Pop Art Adaption.
Konzept, Choreografie, Set design, Kostüme, Tanz: Dasniya Sommer
Tanz und Co-Choreografie: Tara Jade Samaya und Yui Kawaguchi
Critical companion: Ursina Tossi
Kamera und Schnitt: Pippa Samaya
1000 Dank an Tina Pfurr und Anne Brammen für die zweimonatige Residenz! Sie ist Teil des Take Care Residenzen Programms, gefördert vom Ballhaus Ost, Flausen Netzwerk und Fonds Darstellende Künste.
First try outs with Tara and Yui. Thanks to Pippa for the beautiful documentation!
This research is part of Take Care Residenzen, supported by Ballhaus Ost, Flausen Netzwerk and Fonds Darstellende Künste.
Tomorrow Friday on Instagram at Dasniya_Sommer – February 26, 4pm
Rope Barre‘ starts with a shoulder blade warm up. With ‚Musculus Subscapularis‘, one of the deep shoulder and breast muscles. Running between the front part of the blade to the upper arm where it inserts on the very inside. When the arm is turned in or pushed against the torso, like when it is freezing or the soul is tensing up, it‘s this M. Subscapularis which get’s active.
Personally both of mine have been injured for a few years. With the arm positions in ballet, with pulling up weights in bondage, or with the arms cross tied behind the back it’s the tendons of this muscle which can get inflamed. (Like to say here that this is not necessarily the ‚fault‘ of the practices, but rather how it’s done and taught.) Nevertheless both ballet and bondage are radical in terms of anatomical intensity (and perhaps from other perspectives). Doing both extensively I see it as the collateral damage of professional ‚use‘ of my body. Nevertheless the price is high. DisTanzenSolo currently supports me to take care of many old dance injuries and at the same time develop a gentle choreographic training routine without production pressure.
This month focus is on developing a somatic strength training for the scapula and it‘s surrounding structures, a not so tiny part of the arm. And because it‘s invisible for our forward looking species I am rediscovering it’s minor movement by sensing it’s location to start with. Inspired by the manual therapeutic practice ‚PNF‘, which I learned about in my physio therapie training more than 15 years ago. I had forgotten about it, but my shoulder misery led me to integrate it in my current daily training and movement research. ‚PNF‘ means proprioceptive-neuro-fascilitation. Kind of an anatomical self-sensing skill, which most people on the planet use navigating through space. If functioning, this sense tells the mover in which position their joints are. So that also in the dark we know our physical positioning in time and space. That’s the neuro-wiring between the joint capsule- and skin tension, and the brainy part – that‘s how I roughly remember. A pretty awesome and complex sense, which is used mostly without thinking.
For the shoulder blade warm up it‘s necessary to relay on this tactile sense. It’s especially trained in dance and other high coordination sports. But I find the scapula gets often neglected (especially in more conventional classical training), cause it‘s not an obvious articulation like hip or shoulder, and from the old days it‘s all about ‚Isolation‘.
After warming the blade up the routine of a ballet barre follows. The barre is almost an institution by itself I find. A ritual, a codified and useful object, and therefor it’s replaced by ropes. An experimental ‚barre‘ with impromptus steps. Requiring the shoulder girdle to stabilise the arms. For the moment there are no fixed sequences, the guts pour out steps by heart.
The wrist rope make sensible (fühlbar) how the upper limb connects to the blade in the back. From there letting your creative part of the brain take over. Playing with partial restriction. Going back to floor level. Don‘t pull strongly, rather use ropes holding your wrists to push (thrust) down and move rather slow than fast.
There are lot‘s of bridges between, ballet inspired impulses and bondage somatics. Let‘s not hunt shapes! But rather going through them and staying on a sensing level while breathing. And than, once in a while letting go of the concentration part and the muscle support, so that weight is actually falling into ropes or towards the floor. Integrating inner imagery and emo moments can be fun. If you hover over them for a while they might transform, intensify or go away. Think it‘s all valid on an experience level (without forceful phantasies for this round.)
Undoing the ropes can be a moment by itself. Same here, taking the inner drive into the action. Gently, exhausted or wild are colours of mind sets which inform the action/movement quality.
This is my current ‚freeing the shoulder blade and connecting back to my upper limb spirits!‘ tutorial.
Tomorrow Friday on Instagram at Dasniya_Sommer – February 26, 4pm
Trailer: Rope Barre – DisTanzenSolo
Gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR,
Hilfsprogramm DIS-TANZEN des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.
#distanzsolo #slowballet #coronacoronacorona
Two weeks into ‘Glutamat’. Researching by myself. Once in a while different dancers are joining on the forth floor of Ballhaus Ost. Collecting material about fast- and slow food behaviour. Climbing up and down the small ladder to fit the set into the space. Eating Ramen. Reading on ballet by ‘Mishima’ (Thx to Gestalta! And yes, he is problematic.) Learning sequences to the dancers, in- and outdoors. Eating Ramen. Checking out Codemiko (Thx to Frances!), this awesome fem streamer and former gaming programer, who drives people crazy on snitch these days. I much enjoy her edgy, over the top style! Here are some in between steps. ..
This research is part of Take Care Residenzen, supported by Ballhaus Ost, Flausen Netzwerk and Fonds Darstellende Künste. Very glad to continue this work in progress which started last year for ‘An unboxing Ballet Beat’. Choreographic documentation on video will be up on this blog from mid April.
Tonight at 6-7pm on Instagram @Dasniya_Sommer
Trying sth new.. A sort of ballet podcast on Instagram. It’s an open atelier, raw researching/redefining my daily ballet barre, loosely shibari inspired, and with music!
You can watch, stretch or move with me. Or looking at the ceiling listening to sound. Towards the end we can chat, I am happy to exchange thoughts on this.
Gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR,
Hilfsprogramm DIS-TANZEN des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.
#distanzsolo #slowballet #coronacoronacorona
Hi Shibari people and friends,
there are still no group classes taking place in January. If you like to organize a private tuition please drop me an email.
Hoping to touch base again soon and warm vibes and wishes for 2021!
In ropes: Tiana Hemlock-Yensen💚
A project by Liz Rosenfeld and Rodrigo Garcia Alves. I was very happy and touched working with them for a few days.
There will be a livestream:
Thursday, December 17th, 20h
Sophiensaele Link: https://sophiensaele.com/en/stueck/rodrigo-garcia-alves-liz-rosenfeld-residency-showing-new-techniques-i
Im Rahmen des Sophiensæle-Residenzprogramms New Techniques laden wir zu einem ersten Online-Showing ein: Am 17. Dezember werden Rodrigo Garcia Alves und Liz Rosenfeld Einblick in ihre fortlaufende künstlerische Forschung zum Thema queeres Hospiz in Form von choreografischen Video-Partituren und einem Gespräch mit dem Tanzdramaturgen Mateusz Szymanówka geben.
Wie werden wir als nicht blutsverwandte Familie füreinander sorgen? Was brauchen wir als queere Menschen, um sicherzustellen, dass wir in der Lage sind, am Lebensende für die Pflege zu sorgen, die wir uns vorstellen? Wie kann künstlerische Forschung zu einer lebenslangen Aufgabe werden, die in verschiedenen Formen und Spielarten erforscht wird? Während ihrer Residenz in den Sophiensælen haben Rodrigo Alves Garcia und Liz Rosenfeld Persönlichkeiten getroffen, die sowohl ganz pragmatisch als auch kreativ mit dem Tod arbeiten: darunter ein Palliativmediziner, eine Sterbebegleiterin, ein Chorleiter, eine Bondage-Expertin und ein Tätowierungsheiler. Gemeinsam haben sie ihr Wissen rund um das Sterben und die queere Pflege vertieft. Dabei entstanden choreografische Partituren, Video- und Textarbeiten, die sich mit Fragen der Intimität auseinandersetzen und untersuchen, wie queere Familien politisch, künstlerisch, räumlich und emotional weiterhin Raum füreinander halten können, während sie sich auf ihr Hospiz vorbereiten. Während ihrer Residenz haben sie mit Colin Self, Maja Zimmermann, Fercha Pombo, Andre Neely, Imogen Heath, Christian Küllmei und Dasniya Sommer gearbeitet.
