Personal No-Form
access to the potential state of void and the essential starting and ending point for each ritual; the deeper the No-Form experience, the deeper the experience of the energy that follows; personal approach to and comfort with being nothing; internal receptivity necessary for effective work in this medium. Click this for more on no-form.
Contact Point
The contact point refers to wherever direct intutive contact with the energy of a given source exists -- not to be imagined or visualized but detected as an existing condition. The contact point can be discovered within the physical body and/or the energetic body. Detection depends on the depth of no-form preceeding the contact point.
Impersonal No-Form
beyond the personal no-form process, impersonal no-form refers to the potential state beyond one's personal efforts; the no-form beyond your personal no-form.
Sourcing
From the internal receptivity of no-form, sourcing refers to the inner action of accessing and engaging sources of energy in the body/psyche, allowing for full immersion into that source.
Projection
The inner action of consciously projecting energy outside of the body for the purpose of physically stepping into that area and subjecting onself to the force of one's own projections. Tapping into the otherwise unconscious reflex of projection of psychic energy (outside of oneself and onto others, the world) and doing it on purpose as a ritual technique for charging an area with a specific energy
Foundation Source
Executed before the physical warm-up cycle, the foundation source refers to a single source projected into the entire workspace while standing in no-form at the periphery of the workspace. Foundation source work has the three-fold purpose of: 1) igniting the energetic body 2) setting a tone for the following Physical Warm-Up and 3) acreating an underlying support for the entire Lab session.
Polarizations
This inner and outer action begins with selecting a polarity of opposing sources and designating two areas on the floor to each source. From No-Form, you enter one area and subject yourself to that source and then, enter the other source area and then, return to the first source. Begin physically traversing between both areas, sourcing each force as you go.
Body as Unit
When the body moves as one unit, as in one piece; the body moving in unity with itself. Much like the way a cat walks across the surface of the ground or floor, no part of the body is disengaged or "left behind". Body as Unit incorporates the whole body in motion; like the cat, the movements do not need to be large or dramatic to express unity of motion.
Sustaining Care
From any immersion of sourcing, sustaining care refers to the empathy developed by discovering what we care most about that source and allowing this emotion to dictate a resonating sound and movement organic to that sustaining care. Sustaining care is not dictated by the mind but by the heart for what we care most about to emotionally invest in. A sustaining care sustains a motivated action and sound.
Somatic Questions
The following three questions are asked of oneself, one at a time for a few minutes each -- outloud or in silence: 1) Why am I here ? 2) Where am I going ? 3) Who am I now? These questions are asked to invoke somatic response, not any mental conclusions or answers. Somatic questions can help liberate the body's stream of impulses at the start of a lab session.
Service
When immersed in full identification with any given source, one 'becomes' the energy. This leads to full identification and a state of surrender to that source. The technique of service involves a shift from being the energy to serving its expression through the physical/vocal instrument. This internal shift sets into motion a greater circulation of force and a more economical expression of overall tone, movement, and action.
Space Forming
Moving throughout the space of the setting invested with a value, such as space "sacred" or "intelligence" or "love". Communicating one's relationship with the space itself by the moment to moment way one moves through that space. A device for increasing spatial awareness at the start of a lab session.
Movement Cliches
Time set apart for allowing the expression of redundant movement habits and predictable kinetic patterns towards their full exposure and acceptance. To expose and identify one's movement habits and cliches as the 'default setting' we fall back on whenever new movements cease to be discovered.
Presence Actions
Any action, movement, sound, song or physical adjustment that increases the felt, palpable sense of one's own energetic presence. A device for generating a self-reflexive experience of one's own energy, "aura or field", of presence. This device can be applied to amplify personal presence at the start of a lab session.
Movement Vocabulary Work
1) Vertical; any movement limited to up and down directions. 2) Lateral; limited to any sideways movement. 3) Frontal/dorsal; any movement limited to forward and backward motions, tied together as one movement.
Human Systems: Movement Vocabulary Work, cont.
By sourcing a series of existing biological systems -- Skeletal, Muscular, Nervous, Respitory, Circulatory, Glandular, etc. -- opportunities present themselves for expanding the movement vocabulary beyond existing cliches and redundancies.
Idiosyncratic Motion: Movement Vocabulary Work, cont.
allowing whatever state you're in to dictate the expression of movements innate to that state; moving in ways innate to your own energy that cannot be duplicated or copied
The Movement Stretch
A technique for expanding range of motion by stretching the muscles while remaining in constant movement across the floor. The movement stretch reaches muscles often missed in a stationary stretching process. To expand range of motion, slow down and deepen moment-to-moment awareness while moving across the floor.
The Rises
Lying down on the floor and rising to a vertical stance using minimal effort, tension and resistance. The point of the rises is to expose any tendency to force or push a movement. The rises can encourage receptivity to the shift of gravity as a propellent for motion and achieving physical verticality with minimal effort. After reaching a vertical stance, we fall back to the floor and repeat the process. Rises should be performed at least five times from a different horizontal floor position each time we fall to discover new rising pathways to the vertical stance.
Jogging Forms
Various jogging forms are utilized as mediums through which to find or create specific devices, like a transition jog to "break trance" or a "heat jog" to raise body energy or "maintenance jog" to sustain the heat and presence previously accumulated. Some of the other jogging forms include"the No-Form jog", "the vertical jog" and "the non-directional and directional jogs".
Follow-through
The result of allowing any movement, sound, solo or group ritual process to fulfill its natural course to its end (without controlling or predetermining that outcome); to fully extend any direction to its natural outcome
Ritual Actions
Advanced level work ~ where a given source is expressed through actions and gestures articulating the innate purpose or function of that source. click this for more details
ADDITIONAL PARATHEATRE TECHNIQUES
USING SOUND AND SONG (from the Spring 2004 'Song As Vehicle' lab)
-- compiled by ANTERO ALLI
PREVIOUS LAB REPORTS
(1999-present)