Sensation into Momentum
Almost two years ago we did a focus jam with the theme of “Sensation.” Several people reported that it felt like a different part of the brain was at work when in a sensate mode than when dancing with momentum. Some reported that it felt safer to be in momentum when it had evolved from a sensate place rather than going into momentum directly.
That transition interests me, thus the theme of this jam:
*** Sensation into Momentum ***
Here are the notes of people’s observations:
*** I arrived really wanting to be in sensation. Momentum implied pushing and efforting, which I did not have the energy for. However, sensation took me into “follow through” which was a natural step that effortlessly took me to momentum.
*** I wondered if my partner was dancing from a sensation place if I could dance from a momentum place and vice versa. It was hard. When my partner is in momentum, I love going there so much it’s hard to stay in sensation. And when my partner is in sensation, It it felt like being in momentum was intrusive.
*** The equation: mass times velocity equals momentum.
*** In physics they say that momentum continues in a straight line. That’s not true in contact, it bends and curves.
*** I generally think of dancing in sensation as something static. But what I found was that when I danced following the sensation, momentum showed up. I learned enough in my first dance tonight to give me material to work on for a year.
*** Sensation feels like an interior experience and momentum feels like an exterior one. I played with flipping that. The exterior of sensation feels like expression. And the interior of momentum feels like an upwelling of sensation—like a hunger creating an urgency to eat.
*** My dance with you was like opening drawers and having the silks fall out: tumble, tumble, tumble. Because I was blindfolded, it was all about texture. When another person entered, the texture changed completely.
*** The question: “where is my weight in space,” includes both sensation and momentum.
*** I arrived late and missed the sign that announced the theme for tonight. But when I was dancing I was aware of when sensation comes from pressure, when it’s not a superficial sensation, the depth generates action.
*** The theme of sensation allowed me to be with my wild child-- to have my appetites for touch present in the dance.
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