Designing Workshop #3

After an interesting and stimulating experience from Workshop #1 and Workshop #2, I was thinking what direction I should go for my third workshop. While I could have moved on to other ideas that still pertained to DNA, I was intrigued by the “resistant” reaction from the first workshop that I could not let go of in response to an image of DNA. In this vein, I wanted to focus on the idea of questions, questioning science and questioning what we know vs. what we don’t know. Could I gain a perspective into what provokes, inspires, intrigues us, and makes us ask questions? Individually vs. in a group? What can dance/movement do to provide questions and answers? Are we looking for specific answers? How can we layer information? How can we make connections from what we already know?

As a central part of my research, I also wanted to experiment with using dance and movement as a potential way for individuals to get past feelings of “resistance” with regards to science

So I began to design a workshop in which I could take these questions and apply them to an experience, which I had already encountered a sense of resistance – the images from the first workshop. In what ways we can get over a “fear” response, and reflect on how the most unknown is potentially the easiest to play with and use our imagination, while the most recognizable might be the most challenging to work with?

So I made a list of 8 questions, these included:

Given the five images we worked with last week,

1.     Is there an image that you find beautiful? Why?

2.     Is there an image that you find boring? Why?

3.     Is there an image that you find frightening? Why?

4.     Is there an image that you find intriguing? Why?

5.     Is there an image that you have many questions about? Why? What questions?

6.     Is there an image that you find inspiring? Why?

7.     Is there an image that you find challenging? Why?

8.     Is there an image that you find represents “science”? Why?

In giving the dancers time to reflect and vocalize the answers to these questions, I could look at how, as individuals, we look at images and perceive them. These questions would be Part 1 of the workshop. Part 2 would then consist of having the dancers single out an image that they are most resistant to. By “resistance,” this could signify a reaction due to an image’s beauty, boring quality, frightening quality, etc. However, I wanted to reiterate that this resistance should emanate from a place where one finds discomfort rather than comfort. The responses to these questions would be shared, then, as a group.

Part 3 of this workshop would consist of taking the idea of resistance and overcoming it using movement as a means to do so. Thinking back to how we learn and understand what we don’t know based on what we do know, I thought about the concept of a map. The map that everyone, in one way or another, is familiar with, would be the foundation for translating the image into a series of directions as a way of looking at something through a different perspective. When I had initially thought of this idea, I thought of a map in three different ways: in terms of a Google image map, from a bird’s eye view; a GPS directions-like system; or as a grid-like image. By interpreting the image as a map, and translating that idea into movement not only would the dancers be forced to interpret the image in a different way, they also might think of a myriad of ways to think about the benefits and advantages of a map and so create a wonderful variety of movement. Originally, I had also wanted to repeat this exercise by looking at the resistant image in terms of a musical score. However, upon further reflection I thought about those who might have never encountered a musical score or understood the intricacies of its purpose. So, I decided to stick only with the map idea.

Part 4 of this workshop would then consist of showing the movement phrases that everyone came up with and discussing if and how working with the image through movement changed any attitudes about the image itself.