The title of the second section in the book Free Play appropriately called The
Work. The word work has several meanings, for most it is some act of labor or
some skill they perform for money. To others work could be an artistic term, a
final product of creativity. Not only could a work be a painting or a sketch but
it could also be a score or in this case a dance, choreographed or not. In
everyday life one always hears “practice makes perfect.” Lately in
Improvisational Structures class we have been “practicing” improves for
Winterdance. However in this case we are just getting used to structures and we
are also still growing closer as a group. According to Free Play, ”Competence
that loses a sense of its roots in the playful spirit becomes ensconced in rigid
forms of professionalism.” There have been several improves when the group
became too serious or too focused on making the improve look good. Usually as a
group we feel different after those improves and realize that we need to let our
playful side show through again. Even though there are structures for the improves,
the structures changes every time and are not dead set. That is the beauty of
improvisations there is no dead set path that one must follow. “Structures
ignites spontaneity.” If someone is feeling flowing and soft, not everyone has
to feel that way. The next chapter of the book ” The Power of Limits”
explains how there are different types of limits, personal limits, limits from
your body, limits from the group. “As in the case of the body, many rules and
limits are God-given in that they are inherent not in styles or social
conventions but in the art medium itself: the physics of sound, of color, of
gravity and movement.” Limits can grow and expand as one pushes them. For
instance my body’s limit has increased tremendously from the beginning of the
semester. Another way my limit has grown is at the beginning of the semester I
would have never felt comfortable doing a duet, let alone a solo. Now I enjoy
duets and am even starting to think maybe about attempting a solo. In this class
there has been a lot of risk taking and pushing limits. We engage in improves
several times throughout the class period. It always seems that we are
“playing together” and not dancing for others. I think that is an important
part of improve, you have please yourself, not do what you think others want to
see. You also have to commit to what you are doing. Eventually others will
notice, just because you are the only one doing that type of movement doesn’t
mean you are wrong, it is just your way of expressing through movement.
Improvisation is a part of our everyday lives, it is a beautiful art form that
expresses what one feels without that person even knowing that is how they felt.