This post is a reaction from Weijke Koopmans to the announcement of the upcoming session “Postponing the end”. We have worked together previously around this theme. The letter below is her personal attempt (and she is managing well) to describe even more precisely what the core interest is in working with “endings” in Instant Composition.
All who are interested to join the session this Thursday are welcome.
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Dear Johnny
i write my thoughts in the form of a letter to you. i will try to become more clear as i write. your comments and thoughts are very welcome.
‘postpone an ending’, those words immediately scratched a lot of stuff.
ending is anyway a very fascinating business. when, how, who. does everybody get it, is it the right moment, too soon, late, clumsy, obvious, smooth, necessary.
the best ends for me are where ‘it’ decides. what is ‘it’? this so hard to name, but so necessary thing you need in improvisation. the shared mind. being with and in that sense that all of us try to develop. that state where you are totally present and alert, yet not on a deciding track. where you ‘are’, movement ‘is’.
so then the end presents itself.
haah, there it is, an end! and do you take it, or not.
you are sitting at a table, there is a sandwich on your plate, you notice it being placed in front of you. are you hungry? can you sit and watch? do you eventually bite, do you walk away, or do you pass it on to your neighbour. it is an interesting improv exercise: just watch the sandwich on your plate, being still and alert. just watch for a bit. it’s like a little gap in time. can you stay there, still alert, and do nothing.
next could be: what are your options: eat, put some music on first, make tea, do a phone call.
so in the mean time i am also talking about postponing. for me, it has a lot to do with noticing. so i do not think so much of postponing. more like noticing a possible end. and decide: is it shared, necessary, good timing? it is just a possibility. you can do with it what is needed, what is wished for, what….? maybe you don’t know, you don’t decide. now it gets really complicated. and you are not the only one in the space! there is you, other dancers, the dance, music.
noticing an end: it can pass in a millisecond. you stay behind, a little bewildered sometimes, omg, i missed it! or it can linger on for a while. the interesting bit, is what i think you refer to johnny, is that bit of time. end-ing.
an ending is also a fun place to be, to wait, to live in, move through, be still.
could be an interesting thing to do: can we make a piece that consists of only endings? as sometimes i consider my movement as only beginnings, a continuous stream of beginnings (that is a hard one to end, by the way).
then to finish my letter, some possible ends:
still
obvious
in the air
superb
boring
moving
expected
together
amazing
tired
happy
fullfilling
slow
could be a long list, this one. so, could we name the endings this thursday? what kind of ending is this ?
fun and horrible too. label something that can also just exist, needs no words what so ever.
so, a little food for thursday. sitting here in my lovely backyard, catching the last sun…
and you dancing away in rotterdam…
love,
weijke
Interdisciplinary Instant Composition 
It was an honour to dance with you all last week.
It felt like coming home.
Thank you for the high vibration and quality of work brought by your knowledge, experience and wisdom.
Here I share my insights from last week:
THE END
IF THE END WAS A ROOM … would you stand at the door or step in, retreat or stay?
IS THE END OUT THERE beyond the window COMING TO GET YOU?
If you throw your end away I may catch it, run into it, trip over it, swollow it, throw it out the window, embrace it, wear it with pride, hide it in my beginning
Why should I go looking, I’m dam well gonna sit here till that end finds me
There is a crack in my end where the beginning shines through
What is your desired end Lilly?
cheeky END
fake END
transforming END
I embrace my/your/our embarassing END
Dear friends and colleagues,
The last period of time I´ve been searching for opportunities to share and show my work to different groups of people on the places where they actually live or spend their time.
Like as: zorgcentra/care centers, elderly houses, and community centers/buurthuizen.
Questions I would like to explore: what” it is” to perform in relation to people instead of creating a relationship with them. How to initiate a dialogue through the body and the senses and being seduced by the ephemeral and unexpected. How to give up expectations that usually arise with performing. How to forget about performing while performing. How to practice openess within an unfamiliar context.
If you are interested in exploring performing in this context and researching the questions that arise , there is an opportunity to do so in a Buurthuis on 14 December. I asked the coordinator whether they would be interested in a performance by diverse voices and bodies and they responded with enthousiasm.
14th December is the date they proposed..Since almost everybody in Buurthuizen are working on a voluntary basis, there is little or no money involved. They offer us lunch.
It is important to clarify that I’m taking the initiative but I”m not directing the project. Instead, I”m calling on you to build up something together. To join forces, ideas, inspirations, availability. The list is long….
If you know fellow improvisers who might be interested as well, please, spread the word.
I hope I hear from you soon,
Warm greetings,
M.