The main part of the session was spent walking to music. I wasn't sure how this would go at the start. I took some very different kinds of music: Nora Jones (very beautiful, lyrical, melodic, flowing) and Attack Attack (loud, roaring, beating, thunderous). The group walked around the room in neutral walk, sometimes moving slowly, taking 4 beats to each step, at other times faster, but always neutral. Shoulders relaxed, centred, even paced, back straight, focussing on breathing. I wanted to look at ways to contain our responses to different stimuli, and discover how subtle changes may take place when moving to very different kinds of music. I found it difficult to observe the group, as I didn't want people to feel too self conscious, as I peered at them. I joined in sometimes, so that I would be seen more as "part of the group movement". At the end of the second piece, the group made a sculpt which they joined one by one. The last person to join the sculpt became the protagonist, and decided on the scene and his reason to be there. Afterwards, we talked about how people responded to the different kinds of music and the sort of imagery it conjoured up for them. I'd like to do this session again with different kinds of music.
Happy Birthday Konnektiv
Konnektiv is 1 year old! On the 10th January 2011 we had our first workshop. about 60 workshops, 2 perfomances, 7 committee meetings and 3 changes of venue later, we celebrated our birthday last week with a few biscuits and some juice for all who came to the session.
Christmas, and New Year have passed. Another year has begun. Despite the sharp frost and biting cold spells, the increasing length of the days already brings some returned optimism. Well it does to me. Dunno about everyone else.
A post Christmas acidic stomach prevented me from holding the 1st New Year rehearsal, which meant that not one but two performances have had to be cancelled in January. Lesson to be learned; don't organise performances just after Christmas.
Feeling a bit guilty about letting down the organisers of the event that we were to be performing at, I have roped in some musicians to play there instead. The event is called "Power of the Community". Its run by Transition Town Stone, with input from Transition Town Stafford. Transition Towns all over the UK look at ways locally that use of oil can be reduced - ways that communities can adjust to the ever looming fact of the worlds oil resources eventually running out (and not too far away by all accounts). The arts have a big part to play here. Oil is the basis of materialism - the fuel of consumerism. Currently, our consumerist culture tells us that the best way for us to gain satisfaction out of our lives is to acquire "things". With reduced oil, certain inevitabilities hover, and it seems that our cultural expectations must change with it.
Under this new culture, the post oil, post consumerist, post materialist society that we may hope for, arts, creativity, community endevour, localisation, start to look less like Cinderella activities, and more like the lifestyle that the majority may start to embrace. I certainly hope so. Being divorced from our artistic selves, mainly through being discouraged in arts activities from childhood (e.g., being told we are bad at arts, or that arts are not useful or will not get us a job) means that to some degree we are divorced from our emotional, or spiritual selves. It means that we are divorced from our expressive selves and our creative selves. I certainly hope for future communities that share all of the arts: the drama, the music, the painting and sculpture, the dance ... Another thing about our present culture is that we love to deify artists, actors, musicians. A few of these are given godlike status. Countless others must flounder and fail in their attempts. But in fact, most, if not all people can be artistic, in some way, and creative in some way. Localisation and shared community arts will reduce the deifying effects of our present media led culture, and allow communities to give birth to their own musicians, dancers, actors, clowns, acrobats, singers etc etc.
These are pretty big changes, and will take time. I hope not too much time. I look forward to brighter, warmer, livelier, more generous hearted neighbourhoods that see the beauty and talent in their own streets, and celebrate in their own way, rather than only looking to Hollywood and Radio 1 to tell them who they should be watching and listening to.
Having performances, whether musical or dramatic (or both) at community events such as Power of the Community, brightens up the event, and starts to sow the seeds of these ideas.
The musicians that have agreed to play their music at the event are Mel Ellis, Tony Barron, and our own Chris Dickins of Gurusoul. Thanks to all of them for agreeing to be part of this.
The musicians that have agreed to play their music at the event are Mel Ellis, Tony Barron, and our own Chris Dickins of Gurusoul. Thanks to all of them for agreeing to be part of this.
