Overheard in the Ladies at half time, “Well, I never thought that I’d actually enjoy it! When I came this morning I was determined that no-one was going to make me do improv.”
Today’s leader, Kirstie Richardson, guided us so gently and skilfully that we were moving and performing before we even realised it.
Kirstie once taught Comtemporary Dance, now teaches the Alexander Technique and has spent her life involved with movement and health in hospitals and hospices. She is also a ”Soul Midwife” which sounds intriguing. She outlined her plans for our January Sessions. Today `focussing on “ Connections in our bodies”. Next Monday, “Body as Form” and the following Saturday, “Scores – sets of tasks” The great thing about the Contemporary Elders Group is that everyone is willing to have a go. We are all old enough to realise that there is no right or wrong way and no need to be self-conscious. And if we feel that we do not want to join in at any point we can quietly drop out. It is so liberating after the pressures and expectations imposed by School/ Parents/ Society. How I HATED “Greek dance” at school. As an extremely self-conscious fourteen year old I gallumped around the room more worried about “looking silly” and “what would the other girls think”than what our teacher was saying. It took me so many years to realise that no-one was even looking at ME! They were too busy trying to follow the instructions themselves.
So this morning Kirstie briefly defined ‘improv’. “Improvisation Is a way of working spontaneously in response to whatever is happening. It is working with attention to the moment by moment emergence of what is coming to form, rather than aiming towards a preconceived outcome; essentially the end point is unknown until it arrives.By abandoning the narrowing focus or fixed aim, improvisation widens our attention to sensation, feeling and impulses in the process of working. It lends itself to an intuitive approach.”
We began by sitting in pairs. Kirstie explained that one of us was to talk and the other to listen. To really listen – NO interruptions!! For one and a half minutes we had to talk about likes and dislikes in terms of movement, performances and experiences. Yes, that was tough. As soon as my partner mentioned “yoga” I had to stop myself leaping in with a comment – focus . . . focus . . . listen . . . listen . . .
Then we had to feedback what we had learnt to the Group.This was interesting. Not just the responses elicited from each pair but their reactions to one another as someone stumbled with recall and the partner jumped in to help.
Likes in terms of movement: yoga – tai chi – roller blading – ballet – Pilates – I don’t recall anyone mentioning “walking’. On reflection, walking in the open air by the sea is the movement I enjoy most.
Dislikes in terms of movement: one Elder echoed my sentiments completely when she talked about ballet lessons as a child. She had no sense of rhythm, so was excluded. But every child has an innate sense of rhythm, it is the adult teacher who fails to harness this.
Performances:Johannes in “Strictly” – K-Pop Korean Dance Group – Marcel Marceau
Experiences: Judson Group of choreographers – Philip Glass
By now we were all more relaxed and ready for some movement, which we first did sitting in our chairs. Breathing – Tapping. Then we stood and strolled around. BE WHO YOU ARE – opening up yourself – developing a sense of curiosity. Kirstie discussed the weight of our heads in relation to how we move our bodies around. Apparently the human head weighs up to 14lbs. No wonder people who fall suffer most from when their heads bounce on the pavement!
Now it was time to work with a partner – mirroring each other with slow, graceful movements. Then we worked in fours, following one leader.
Phew. That felt great, so relaxing and energising.
After a brief break for a cuppa Kirstie guided us to sit in a quiet spot to contemplate our hands. and how they moved. Then we wrote our thoughts and feelings down before sharing if we wished. It is amazing how deep revelations can go and how sensitive we have to be to the emotions and even the melancholy that such exercises can stir up.

Before we went our separate ways Raf set the Group a homework task.I wish that I could decipher my notes! Something to do with an “EGG”.

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