all carpet session posts

Everything is looking

| kenzokusuda
photo: Alaina Abplanalp photography
photo: Alaina Abplanalp photography

Happy New Year!  😀

In the first research session of 2015, Kenzo Kusuda and Thomas Johannsen will take a closer look at the central matter of live performance: that you are involved in a moment with somebody else who is looking/listening. In fact, there is no reason to perform if it is not for someone – or something – that is looking. Especially this second notion, that ‘things’ just as people are looking at you, gives a twist to researching the audience-performer relationship that we are curious to follow on this afternoon.

15 January 2015, 13:00-17:00

If you are an experienced improviser (of any discipline), you are very welcome to join us. As we would like to know who is coming, please announce yourself by writing a comment to this post.

Let us know your discipline if we don’t know you, so we get an impression of the group that will gather. See you there!

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

 

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)

Continuing Improvisation Research for 2014/2015

| Thomas Johannsen

Dear all,

we are looking back at another year of intriguing little projects and great investigations in interdisciplinary improvisation.

As always towards the summer I am asking what your ideas and wishes would be for next season, projecting forward your intentions to open new area’s of improvisation or revisit and deepen some of the existing lines of research.

So please let me know about your intentions to stay connected to this platform also in the coming year.
(read the three questions below)

Just to first give you an overview of the things that came by and got re-worked in the last two seasons by you and others:

Interlocking Principles (Balinese kecak rhythms as common ground for improvising interdisciplinary)

Objects and Stuff (object theatre, props and puppetry in improvisation)

Shadow Carpet (using shadow theatre in improvisation)

Structured Improvisation (improvisation scores, plots and structures and what they conjure up)

The dreamer and the observer (two aspects/attitudes/archetypes of the interdisciplinary improviser)

Time and Duration (taking time, losing time, using time in improvisation performance)

Games of Interaction (the world of rule-creating and rule-following in improvisation games)

What’s whispering (listening to the more subtle layers of reality while improvising)

The secret Life of Phrases (phrasing in improvised music, phrasing in improvised dance)

(Dis)connecting the dots (actors/dancers/musicians and the question of ‘readability’ and ‘meaning’)

       

So what are we picking up for next season? What will be new land to explore?

Continue reading →

(Dis)connecting the dots

| Thomas Johannsen

An improvisation meeting of theatre, dance, music and more

At the end of the Carpet Sessions season, you are invited to join the exploration of an issue that is probably the biggest source of discussion in interdisciplinary art making:
How concrete and readable should our work be? What should be left unexplained – how opaque, many-layered, confusing or abstract do we like it?
Connecting_Dots_PusteblumenThe problem is often that we don’t even know from each other what we exactly mean with all these words, while the issue itself is not so complicated, and applicable to all art disciplines:
Any artist wants his work to be readable to a certain extend, in the sense that it somehow ’speaks’ to the audience. And at the same time, any piece needs a certain obscurity, leaving something for the audience to wonder about. Only in how to concretely create this mix is where genres and artists differ.
As interdisciplinary instant composition wants to be inclusive to all genres and differing perceptions of art, our question is: How can we improvise, talk and play around this topic effectively?
          
On 29 May (Hemelvaartsdag), we would like to do a research session with this question in mind.
     
As especially the perceived difference between improvisation theater and improvisation dance/music is big on this issue, Anja Boorsma is inviting a group of improv actors, while Thomas Johannsen is inviting dance improvisers. We are also inviting musicians with experience from both the ‘concrete’ theatre genre and the more ‘modern/abstract’ performance genre.
Any other disciplines/improvisers who would like to participate are absolutely welcome. Just write us a comment below this post if you are interested (if the group becomes too big to be workable, we keep the option of selection).
Let’s see if we can create both crystal-clear and many-layered pieces of performance, and survive the clash to tell about it.  😀
          
UPDATE:
There has been so many reactions that we had to make a selection. Otherwise the studio would be too crowded for what we want to do.
So the session is not open anymore, and this is the research group for the 29th of May:
         
Anja Boorsma
Esmeralda Detmers
Jurriaan Kamp
Wouter Snoei
Hans Kuykens
Ralph de Rijke
Thomas Johannsen
Annabel Garriga
Johnny Schoofs
Tanaquil Schuttel
              
We will keep you posted on our findings!
      

Meet the friends!

| sansville

Dear carpeteers,

Come and meet our friends Jeroen, Lavina, Emma, Ralph and Jip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ap29xQigc

De Witte Olifant is a visual & performing arts school for adults with learning disabilities. On wednesdays we (actor/clown Efrem Stein and dancer/vocalist Kristien Sonnevijlle = performance collective Sansville & Stein) train a group of 10 artists in theatre, dance, voice, mask work & more. Working with this group demands the same fine listening and a readiness to accept & play with whatever happens as the art of instant composing does. Something that might be different is that we are also listening to what is needed for each of the artists to be comfortable and open enough to play in performance, this is what often shapes the frames for improvisation. The artists carry many surprises, sudden opening up, sharing a whole new colour and sudden disappearance, changing by the day. When there is a good connection, they might take you to many unknown places, shameless, fearless and with a lot of joy and care.

During the 2 sessions we would like to work with the tension between:

Leading – Following
Repetition – Release of new material
Silent – Loud
Group – solo/duet

A chance for them to escape the carefully framed world they live in and meet you. A chance for you to meet them and be inspired by their otherwise hidden talent. Mutual inspiration, not ‘taking care of’ or ‘helping them to become better performers’. We will take care of them, if needed.

Do you want to come and meet our friends?

When?
17th of april
1st of may

Time
13.00-15.00h

Who can join?
Anyone, any discipline, preferably on both days.
Only joining the 2nd session is not possible.
Let us know your interest by writing a comment on this post.

More info on the carpet sessions: Why, Where, When, Who?

EXTRA!!!

An invitation to come and meet our friends at the place we work in Almere. A chance to work in their environment & see the visual art made by our friends. You are welcome to join us on the following wednesdays: 9, 16, 23, 30 april. We work from 10-12 and 14-15.30. You can join both morning and afternoon or part of the day, the mornings are training, the afternoon improvisations.

Let us know by sending an email to sansvilleprojects@gmail.com (kristien)

We = Sansville & Stein, physical actor/clown Efrem Stein and dancer/vocalist Kristien Sonnevijlle. A performance collective in which instant composition is an important aspect, as well as collaborations with other disciplines and artists.

 

The Secret Life of Phrases – 2 Concert/Performances

| marisagrande

Two Concert/Performances coming up – and another open session for you to join – as a conclusion to our short research into voice and movement improvisation 

A musical phrase, just as a movement phrase are the DNA of any music/dance improvisation performance. They are building blocks, that combined create more complex structures of dance, composition, story…And what are phrases themselves made of? Sounds, tones, rhythmical relationships in music, and for physical performers: smaller pieces of movements and the way they are pieced together in tension and timing.

Dance & Voice: Sarah Kate Gardiner, Maria Michailidou, Johnny Schoofs, Marc Alexander Nukoop, Virag Dezso, Moira Mirck, Petra Pieck, Marjolijn Roeleveld, Yinske Silva, Marisa Grande, Thomas Johannsen

Saturday 29 March at 19.00-19:45 in Amsterdam 

DANSMAKERS, Eerste Helmerstraat 102 ½ (opposite 147) – free admission to the performance

In the afternoon, dancers and singers can join an open practice session (IC practice) where we will share results of our research (16:00 doors open, session 16:30-18:45, contribution: 15 euro) Please announce if you would like to join the session via writing a comment to this post (click here).

Sunday 30 March at 16:00 – 17:30 (with pause) in Utrecht a performance in the BOILER ROOM series @

HET HUIS Utrecht, Boorstraat 107

Admission: 6 Euro

The BOILER ROOM is the new monthly music&dance improvisation event in Utrecht, inviting dance & music professionals to perform in instant composition settings.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the performances and sharing this work with you!

“The Secret Life of Phrases” has been a project by Marisa Grande & Thomas Johannsen, in collaboration with the Genetic Choir, the IC Practice of Dansimprovisatie Utrecht&Amsterdam and the Carpet Improvisation Research.