Trip to Philadelphia's Group Motion Improvisation Workshop

On Friday, March 19, Amanda, Alex, and I took a trip up to Group Motion in Philadelphia. They hold lush dance improvisation workshops every Friday night.

Well, to start, we didn't leave enough time for Friday evening traffic. We were late and missed the meditation that starts the workshop. We warmed up in the hall outside. I had driven and had a stiff neck and shoulders.

We entered a generous space lit by Christmas lights. At one end, musicians and the workshop leader were ranged. The music included saxophone, keyboards, and drums. The workshop was led by Brigitta Hermann, one of Group Motion's founding directors. It was organized somewhat like a square dance, but, instead of instructing us to, "Swing your partner," or "Promenade left," Brigitta gave instructions such as, "Shut your eyes and dance with your partner in your mind," or "Become the shadow of someone else in the room." 

It was a rich, sprawling dance session. We were a mixed group with the shared purpose to dance and connect with each other. There were many opportunities to dance with partners and to change partners. There were group exercises and solo exercises. We ran, rolled, made statues, touched, and parted. We were well supported by the music.

I nursed my sore neck a bit, but enjoyed sampling the many movement structures offered. A few times, I missed the full-body weight-sharing of a contact improv jam, but the session was delightful. Toward the end, I let go of the prompts for awhile and just danced to the music, to my body's impulses, to my nagging neck. Then I joined a wave of dancers running through the space.

We have taken occasional trips to Philly in order to get a taste of the dance scene before our show there. So far, I have been struck by the variety of dance available and the number of people who participate. Philly is a big dance town: lots of companies and lots of movers who may not perform. It needs a theater dedicated to dance. I think there would be enough audience for one.

Human Landscape Dance will perform in Philadelphia with Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Co on the Painted Bride stage on May 29, 2010 at 7:30pm and May 30 at 3pm in the Philadelphia/Washington DC Exchange. We will premiere "January Night" and "Closet Dances."