Time to Reflect, Research and Write

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging for a while yet.  I've decided not to continue with the workshops for the time being so that I can do plenty of research and write whilst reflecting on my own and other's experiences.

Right now I'm reading a published dissertation and right at Chapter 1 there's a quote that moves me:-

I never thought to trust my body as it moves - i.e. its breathing, posture, movement through space, connection with others.  I always thought my mind was supposed to learn movement and then coerce my body into imitating my teachers.  (Hurt, Personal Journal, 31 March 2008).

The quote is from Melissa Anne Hurt's 'Lessac's Kenisensics as an Embodied Acting Practice Via Merleu-Ponty's Phenominal Body' published by UMI Dissertation Publishing in 2010.  This is also how I feel about learning to sing and creating works.  I'm usually a powerful self-critic.  Some say I'm too hard on myself.  I love one trait of mine, an obstinacy to have an experience first, document it, warts and all, and then read and research it.  I like to ensure that my head and rest of self isn't influenced by reading when I start something new.  Like if I want to walk across a field with fallen snow and leave a print and feel the sensation beneath my feet, I don't want to step where someone else has stepped, or compare my sensations and response to others who stepped on their snow first.

Often reading can seem onerous but there are so many great writings by women who explore performance along the lines of our workshops that I can't wait to read and share what I find.

I have every intention of continuing the workshops but it may be a while yet before I can fit them in.

K
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