Observations and reviews from Eva Sifis - Dance Masterclass, Saturday 14 March

Integrated Dance Practise Masterclass, Saturday 14 March.

Held in a building at the VCA, members of the Touch Compass Company worked in a masterclass for dance practitioners and choreographers.
Upon entering the space, I saw series of couples working with each other. They worked with tandem exercises of directional weight bearing. They used the support of one another to progress the movements and with constant connection there was exploration of the possibilities of what conjoined body mass can capable.
The encouragement to forget the rules and to make it up gave free reign to spontaneous initiation. The group worked in silence til the last hour when music was introduced. This was interesting. It was said that the use of music can be deemed too provocative and that it can effect the movement adversely. It was hoped by bringing the music in at that later point would lend a lightness to the product.
The couples varied in ‘ability’, intertwining about each other. Constant rolling about each other meant the leading partner was not obvious with some couples and it was suggested that a focus for next time could be to work in opposition.
Some more improvisation showed how the work could be developed. The physical demand upon a dancer can be huge and finding a place to move together can confront the preconceived idea of what is possible. This can make it unsettling and challenging to watch.
This process was a serious exercise and set up parameters for future works. Indeed, it was felt that some of the pieces could be developed for performance. It was noted there was a lot going on with the relationships between the bodies that could be worked upon with the intention of a legitimate performance.