Title of the activity
Space – Time – Presence
Duration
At least 20 minutes, up to 1,5 hours with further development
Participants
Number of participants does not matter
Activity proposed by
Vimmart – Inclusive Art School
Aims
The exercise develops the participant’s sense of space, time and presence. The aim is to be aware of what you are doing. There are also six different areas which can be explored by the dancer: Space, Shape, Time, Emotion, Movement, and Story (SSTEMS)
Material
No special materials are needed. The space should be as accessible as possible to make the exercise easy to move around.
Preparation
No special preparation is required.
Steps/Instructions
- The facilitator invites the participants to move around the room. Depending on the group, participants may be asked to walk in a straight line and, if an obstacle is in front of them, to turn 90 degrees. If necessary, the group can be instructed to move on an invisible grid.
- Participants are also given the opportunity to stop. It is important to ask the participants to pay attention to the moment of stopping and starting to move. You can also think about the time. You can move at your own pace or even run.
- The facilitator can give the participants more opportunities, for example to sit, lie down, adapt to the shape of the space or make a movement.
- Listening to the group, you can give them the opportunity to imitate another’s movement or do something unexpected.
- Ask participants to move nicely or do something that makes them feel good. The instructions and tasks can also be further developed according to the situation.
- The facilitator may consider giving the group members the opportunity to do something that is forbidden.
- At the end of the exercise, it is extremely important to go over with the group what they experienced and what the different parts of the exercise did for them. Especially if the instructions have asked the group to do something forbidden.
Evaluation method
Observing the group is important. Finally, it is worth sitting down and discussing the feelings and thoughts that the exercise evoked.
Hints/tips for facilitators
During the exercise, you should allow enough time for sensing. Participants can be reminded that the aim is not to be inventive or to do anything special.
Variations
It is interesting to watch the exercise, so as a further development you can split the group so that others can watch from time to time.
The facilitator can also choose to reduce the size of the performance space or bring objects on stage for the dancers to use (chairs, tables, mattresses, etc.)
The exercise can also be developed into a performance.
Method
The exercise is from the Finnish method Tanssi-innostaminen® (transl. Dance animateuring) and it is an adaptation from Viewpoints dance composition technique by Mary Overlie .
Tanssi-innostaminen is an artistic-pedagogical method developed by Raisa Foster, PhD. It aims to animate individuals and communities through a variety of exercises.
