Authentic movement︎︎︎
A practice for performers and creators of all disciplines, Authentic Movement is a physical practice of listening for and embodying inner impulses. The basic structure is simple: a mover moves with eyes closed in the presence of a witness, attending to impulses that arise from within and bringing them to from through movement. Setting aside the desire to invent, direct or be creative, the mover learns instead to listen and allow.
By attending to sensory/kinesthetic impulses, we see what our body is asking of us, to what needs to happen next. Giving up controlling, pre-deciding or censoring, we enter a realm that is unplanned and often surprising, one that invites direct experience of personal and creative truth. The body is seen less as an object to be trained or brought under control and more as a source and inspiration, to be attended to with its stories, intelligence and perceptions.
There are many ways in which the role of the mover in AM practice supports and even mirrors the work of the performer/creator. At its most basic level, it teaches one to develop receptivity to one’s authentic impulses. When we discover a true sense of being non-selective, of having no agenda, in terms of what arises, more is allowed and available and the range and palette of expressive possibilities are expanded. Finding a felt sense of the moment, an uninterrupted connection of impulse into action, learning to self-witness, to stay aware of what is happening without prematurely shaping it, are all essential understandings for an artist.
As we then practice being witnessed by another, we learn how to consciously and willingly surrender to the experience of the moment and to be consciously and willingly seen in the midst of doing so. This is the work of the performer as they meet an audience. As we practice witnessing another, we again confront what gets in the way of truly seeing. We notice how patterns of perception and judgment remove us from more fully being present and we come to understand that by opening our awareness beyond our interpretation and analysis, we are able to include and to experience, much more. For an artist, this opportunity to become conscious and work with limits and habits holds great potential for expansion and growth.
By attending to sensory/kinesthetic impulses, we see what our body is asking of us, to what needs to happen next. Giving up controlling, pre-deciding or censoring, we enter a realm that is unplanned and often surprising, one that invites direct experience of personal and creative truth. The body is seen less as an object to be trained or brought under control and more as a source and inspiration, to be attended to with its stories, intelligence and perceptions.
There are many ways in which the role of the mover in AM practice supports and even mirrors the work of the performer/creator. At its most basic level, it teaches one to develop receptivity to one’s authentic impulses. When we discover a true sense of being non-selective, of having no agenda, in terms of what arises, more is allowed and available and the range and palette of expressive possibilities are expanded. Finding a felt sense of the moment, an uninterrupted connection of impulse into action, learning to self-witness, to stay aware of what is happening without prematurely shaping it, are all essential understandings for an artist.
As we then practice being witnessed by another, we learn how to consciously and willingly surrender to the experience of the moment and to be consciously and willingly seen in the midst of doing so. This is the work of the performer as they meet an audience. As we practice witnessing another, we again confront what gets in the way of truly seeing. We notice how patterns of perception and judgment remove us from more fully being present and we come to understand that by opening our awareness beyond our interpretation and analysis, we are able to include and to experience, much more. For an artist, this opportunity to become conscious and work with limits and habits holds great potential for expansion and growth.
︎︎︎ teaches one to tolerate not knowing, to trust and to remain present in the potential chaos of the creative process and not prematurely impose resolution before the excavation of ideas and imagery find their own completion
︎︎︎from Tedi Tafel
︎︎︎from Tedi Tafel
Welcome to mapping collaboration, a toolbox for workshopping and creating across disciplines...
In spite of a long history of interdisciplinary creation, from our earliest recorded arts to our present moment, artistic pedagogy has created divisions between disciplines. This has left artists in a "post-Babel" condition where we don't share the same language and definitions. It’s also encouraged artists to develop practices for devising, creating and composing work that are distinct to their disciplines.
In spite of a long history of interdisciplinary creation, from our earliest recorded arts to our present moment, artistic pedagogy has created divisions between disciplines. This has left artists in a "post-Babel" condition where we don't share the same language and definitions. It’s also encouraged artists to develop practices for devising, creating and composing work that are distinct to their disciplines.
The inspiration for this project came from faculty and students at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts where BFA, MFA and PhD programs in Dance, Theatre Production and Design, Visual Art, Film, and Music and Sound all work together in studio settings and playfully experiment with processes of art-making.
We wanted to create a database of projects, assignments and theory that we collect inside the studio and from research happening in other places. We are curious about how we collaborate and how structures reoccur, translate and deviate from one discipline to another.
Composition is central to these processes and offers a base for our approaches and experiments. We are excited about what our students are doing and inspired by the new languages in contemporary art and performance we continue to see develop.
︎︎︎select a category above to build assignments, learn more about how artists process ideas across disciplines and to create a collaborative process of your own
︎︎︎these tools are collected and used in workshops and classes; some are resources from artists; some are quotes about art-making and how bodies think and listen; others are ideas to expand and disrupt your own training and processes.
︎︎︎Each idea is intentially short- and not meant to be executed as written, but to be adapted to your own practice and specific project/context. Some may be taken in parts or combined with others to spark new ways of training and making together.
︎︎︎submit your own ideas and tools so we can keep building this site!
︎︎︎select a category above to build assignments, learn more about how artists process ideas across disciplines and to create a collaborative process of your own
︎︎︎these tools are collected and used in workshops and classes; some are resources from artists; some are quotes about art-making and how bodies think and listen; others are ideas to expand and disrupt your own training and processes.
︎︎︎Each idea is intentially short- and not meant to be executed as written, but to be adapted to your own practice and specific project/context. Some may be taken in parts or combined with others to spark new ways of training and making together.
︎︎︎submit your own ideas and tools so we can keep building this site!
