Author: johnny schoofs

December sessions on ABUNDANCE / CONTAINMENT

| johnny schoofs


W o o o h a a a  !!!   Y e s   Y e s   Y e s !
~ yes? ~
C a n   y o u   f e e l   i t …
~ wait a minute ~
C a n   y o u   f e e l   i t …
~ let me think about it ~
C A N   Y O U   F E E L   I T  ??!!!
~ give me some time to digest.  It feels like… ~


What does it mean to perform ABUNDANCE? How to play with abundance, dance abundant?
Overflowing fullness in movement and sound.
Like children, fully engaged and open to jump from one game into another.
Having and sharing a plentiful supply of… energy, ideas, stories?

What does it mean to perform with a sense of CONTAINMENT?
To be capable of holding. Knowing when to keep things secret, when to share.
To refrain from producing sound or movement. Or rather a slowing down?
A deepening of what is being produced.
Wine in a dark cellar getting more tasty by the year. Or by the minute.

Kristien Sonnevijlle and Johnny Schoofs were asked to dance a duet at the yearly Tedx event in Leiden in November. Inspired by the theme of the event “Abundance”, they decided to continue the research and bring it to the Carpet sessions.

Abundance/Containment, what is their power within the context of an improvised performance?
We are are curious to explore these words in our dancing, playing, performing.
There will be three sessions on this research, each focused on different aspects.
4 december: Abundance
11 december: Containment
18 december: Abundance/Containment, how do they live together?

The sessions are open to:
Performers, dancers, musicians who are familiar and comfortable in practicing and researching instant composition and who are able to bring in their own questions, suggestions and discoveries. Please let us know if you will be there by writing a note under this page. Preferably people who can attend all or at least 2 sessions.

More info: What are the Carpet Sessions? / Where is the studio?  (click here) 

Looking forward to exploring with you!

Further thoughts on “Postponing the end”

| johnny schoofs

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.

***************

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

2nd session “Postponing the end” for dancers/musicians

| johnny schoofs

Mandala1

POSTPONING THE END

Dear dancers/musicians

There are two Carpet sessions coming up for those who are interested in practicing Instantly Composed Performances. In the first sesson (Oct 2) we are focussing the research around movement/dance. In the second session (Oct 9) we want to continue the research and include live musicians to play/perform with us. Please join and spread the word!

What happens when we postpone “the ending” within an improvised composition?
What happens in that awkward spacious moment when we know the ending is near but we don’t allow it to be… nevertheless we allow something new to develop out of it…. How does the scene continue? Does the scene transform or break into a new chapter? How to deal with the moment of “how are we ever going to resolve into movement again?” How to deal with moments of timeless stillness and silence awaiting the new chapter? How does the audience observe this transition moment? Does it heighten or lower the tension on stage?

In this session we make sure to make a lot of “improvised pieces” together and becoming more aware of how “endings” live within a performed composition. We won’t spend a long time “preparing” to get into a flow. We are looking forward to welcome dancers, physical performers and musicians who are familiar and comfortable in practicing and researching instant composition and who are able to bring in their own questions, suggestions and discoveries.

When:
2 October 2014, 13:00 – 17:00 (dancers/movers/performers only)
9 October 2014, 13:00 – 17:00 (movers +++ musicians)

We ask 5€ to cover the rent of the studio.

Interested in joining? Let me know you’re attending this session!!!
johnnyschoofs@gmail.com

More info: What are the Carpet Sessions? / Where is the studio?  (click here)

Postponing the end

| johnny schoofs

Mandala2

What happens when we postpone “the ending” within an improvised composition?
What happens in that awkward spacious moment when we know the ending is near but we don’t allow it to be… nevertheless we allow something new to develop out of it…. How does the scene continue? Does the scene transform or break into a new chapter? How to deal with the moment of “how are we ever going to resolve into movement again?” How to deal with moments of timeless stillness and silence awaiting the new chapter? How does the audience observe this transition moment? Does it heighten or lower the tension on stage?

In this session we make sure to make a lot of “improvised pieces” together and becoming more aware of how “endings” live within a performed composition. We won’t spend a long time “preparing” to get into a flow. For the moment, we are focussing this research around dance/movement. We are looking forward to welcome dancers and physical performers who are familiar and comfortable in practicing and researching instant composition and who are able to bring in their own questions, suggestions and discoveries.

This research question has grown out of a shared session at Cloud The Hague. Ilse van Haastrecht invited Johnny Schoofs, Virag Dezsö and Weijke Koopmans to practice “making (improvised) pieces”. All four performers will be present during this session and guiding the process.

When: 2 October 2014, 13:00 – 17:00

Interested in joining? Let me know you’re attending this session.
johnnyschoofs@gmail.com

More info: What are the Carpet Sessions? / Where is the studio?  (click here)