distantmovements

[distantmovements]

Daniel isn't with us any more

Tribute to Daniel Pinheiro this Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 3:30 pm. by Muriel Piqué.

Annie proposed a long-distance meeting to Daniel's colleagues and close friends, those who were far from Porto and unable to attend today's commemoration ceremony on site at 2:00 pm...

We met at 15h25 15h23 following this zoom link: Meeting ID: 848 9925 5025 Secret code: love

Here, in Montpellier, France, outside it's raining, it's pouring rain, it's rare, through the window I can't see any further than the building opposite, the air contains all the greys, from the lightest to the darkest, the colours have gone.

Here, on the screen in front of me, more than twenty faces, maybe thirty, are looking at each other, looking at the camera or the screen from the front, looking at the faces of all these people connected to pay their last respects from a distance.

I'm caught up in all these looks, all these faces. I'm waiting for, “J’attends”… I'm waiting for the moment to close my eyes (I logged on in advance...), I'm hoping we'll close our eyes, like we did with Daniel, I'm hoping we'll feel and hear all those multiple other places that Daniel and I used to dream about...

I feel like crying. This tribute means a lot to me. A host of memories come flooding back... First, touching the eye of the camera… I dream of bringing Daniel's hand into the frame, into my life, into my space. I want to touch and be touched, but Daniel is gone.

We close our eyes, Annie's trembling voice beckons, and my breathing stops, a dull vibration inside! I'm THERE. I'm trying to bring my mind back HERE, to all these people together. It's a chance to be connected to the world, such a chance to be alive. Daniel is gone. THERE. I will no longer read those e-mails, in an English I didn't fully understand, he raised so many questions, I tried so hard to understand all his words, I cherish so much this difference in thinking, this difference in being, that brought us so deeply together.

It was Annie who brought us together, and we certainly wouldn't have met without Annie. For me, Daniel was the one far away, the one I never had the chance to touch in real life; and yet he touched me and even transformed me inside. He was living proof that deep, sincere, genuine bonds can be forged from a distance. Now that I'm mourning him, mourning his passing, I hope I'll never wonder if it was “real”.

It was a wind of madness that blew into my life every time we did a Distant Movements session: an ever-renewed fantasy, a fantasy without limits. I was always afraid of living a bland, insensitive life. Daniel, your fantasy, your presence, your elsewhere...

I open my eyes, find all those faces, those eyes searching the screen, the space, crossing the machine and the distance to get to my home, to me, to my very intimacy. I do the same. I tell myself the world is out there! The world isn't the cold, distant, incomprehensible abstraction we're led to believe it is, no! The world is made up of all these men and women, all these hearts and friendships. Living humans and human memories, present memories of distant humans... If I think back to all the humans I've met, perfectible, foolish, loving, sometimes lost, often worried, curious for the most part, I say to myself that distance makes no sense. It's the shared present that's true.

Here we are, all of us, on Thursday January 30th, at 3:51 pm. We could leave each other, Annie suggests, but we stay, together, until the end of the session programmed by the machine: another 9 min. 9 min pass... We look at each other again, a few fingers reach for the camera's eye as if for a caress, someone says how he'd like to take us in his arms, a few sniff, a few tears flow, we don't want to leave each other. Yet we're all so far apart. We don't want to leave our common present. We don't want to lose sight of this shared present.

It's time! All our hands are waving at the camera, the screen is filled with faces and hands, our eyes pierce the distance: goodbye Daniel, I miss you already...

Muriel Piqué Jan 30th 2025

Lire le texte original en français.

Love to Daniel!, your spirit won't leave us.

[distantmovements]

Interview / Entretien

In 2020 we (Daniel Pinheiro, Muriel Piqué and Annie Abrahams) were interviewed by Alix De Morant (researcher at the University Paul Valéry in Montpellier) and Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau (artist, researcher at the Chapman University, Orange, California) on the subject of Distant Movements.

Finally our exchange got published : Interview about Distant Movements (English version) Entretien au sujet de Distant Movements (version française) Abrahams A., Magrin-Chagnolleau I., de Morant A., Pinheiro D., Piqué M. p-e-r-f-o-r-m-a-n-c-e, Vol 6 2022 (Creation Research)

ENG Of course, since then, thoughts, relations and lives changed. However this exchange clearly highlights our different thoughts on what was/is important in this coming together of different universes through our blind online dance practice and research.

We talked about: origins – “being with” – guidance being an approach of movement by calling it out, not just naming it, but almost hailing it – a practice that allows people to move together at a distance, while trying to interrogate the relationships between what’s happening in their bodies – the process not only depending on what we want and what we think, but also on what we discover in the others and how we can go on with that – using protocols as a way to stability or as a process to change relations, to escape habits – the question of presence inside the rigid frame of videoconferencing – the role of an audience and the influence on dance from the webcam – the incongruity of the dancing body in the private space creating performativity in a place of life – the intermediary / intermedial space, constructed from all the environments in which the participants find themselves – how to experience a certain quality of movement, with the eyes closed, while trying to perceive the other bodies elsewhere moving – the common work is created in the conjunction of all the in situ dances – resonance, enaction, intra-action – ….

“virtual presence can be experienced as more intimate than a physical encounter” Martina Ruhsam interviewed by Beatrix Joyce in “A podcast on the future of dance and performance”, dis[ ]tanz, artconnect.com.

FR Cependant, cet échange met clairement en évidence nos pensées différentes sur ce qui était/est important dans cette rencontre de différents univers à travers notre pratique et notre recherche de la danse en ligne à l’aveugle.

Nous avons parlé de : les origines – “être avec” – la guidance étant une approche du mouvement en l’appelant, pas seulement en le nommant, mais presque en le hélant – une pratique qui permet aux gens de bouger ensemble à distance, tout en essayant d’interroger les relations entre ce qui se passe dans leurs corps – le processus ne dépend pas seulement de ce que nous voulons et de ce que nous pensons, mais aussi de ce que nous découvrons chez les autres et de la manière dont nous pouvons continuer avec cela – l’utilisation de protocoles comme moyen de stabilité ou comme processus pour changer les relations, pour échapper aux habitudes – la question de la présence dans le cadre rigide de la vidéoconférence – le rôle d’un public et l’influence de la webcam sur la danse – l’incongruité du corps dansant dans l’espace privé créant une performativité dans un lieu de vie – l’espace intermédiaire / intermédial, construite à partir de tous les environnements dans lesquels se trouvent les participants – comment faire l’expérience d’une certaine qualité de mouvement, les yeux fermés, tout en essayant de percevoir les autres corps ailleurs en mouvement – l’œuvre commune est créée dans la conjonction de toutes ces danses in situ – résonance, énaction, intra-action – . …

[distantmovements]

DM#24 - une danse de l’écoute.

Le surgissement d’un danser ensemble à distance, à l’épreuve du virtuel.  Communcation de Muriel Piqué. 23/03/22 11h, Journée d’étude et de pratiques artistiques, CNSAD, Paris. Annonce.

Communication à télécharger.

Expérience Distant Movements avec les étudiants de cycle 3 du CRR de Montpellier : Adrien, Alexandre, Baptiste, Chloé, Flavie, Maéla, Marie, Noah et Pauline.

Nous cherchons à approfondir le regard intérieur jusqu'à ce que la danse apparaisse d'elle-même. Nous aspirons à développer une écoute résonnante, une écoute de soi et de l'autre en même temps. Nous apprenons ensemble à nourrir la confiance et l’écoute qui nous permettent d’entrer en mouvement ensemble.Si vous ne comprenez pas une indication, gardez confiance dans vos propres sensations, ne rompez pas votre flux intérieur, vous retrouverez le fil à un moment ou à un autre… Texte issue de l'invitation à participer aux étudiants en amont.

[distantmovements]

Distant Movements : Le surgissement d’un danser ensemble à distance, à l’épreuve du virtuel.

23/03/22 11h, CNSAD - salle Stratz, 2 bis rue du Conservatoire, Paris.

Expérience avec introduction de Muriel Piqué sur place à Paris. En ligne Daniel Pinheiro et Annie Abrahams et neuf étudiants de cycle 3 du CRR de Montpellier.

Annonce : Distant Movements est le nom d’une recherche artistique commune à 3 artistes, activée à distance à partir d’un environnement numérique habituel : un ordinateur, une webcam, une connexion internet, une application de visio-conférence. Nos pratiques multiples se sont rassemblées pour interroger la survenue de la danse. Nous partageons le désir d’une danse qui serait le lieu d’une rencontre incorporée, une conversation en mouvement à distance qui viendrait subtilement nourrir notre mise à l’écoute, de soi, de l’autre, du monde, au-delà de la machine… Nous partagerons les réflexions et références qui nourrissent cette recherche expérimentale. Puis l’expérience sera réactivée ce jour. Les participant.e.s seront tout.e.s connecté.e.s à distance : il s’agira de traverser les frontières du virtuel, de donner lieu ici à une danse aux multiples regards intérieurs et aux sensations partagées, s’écartant de toute forme convenue. Et la salle en sera physiquement témoin.

[distantmovements]

DM#23 flux & flux & being present

24/02/22  protocol:

3.25pm - prepare start - write a word in a paper, a word that you feel that is connected with the project. 3.30pm - don't connect to zoom - leave computer as it is supposed to be for when the connection happens. connect with your body and start moving for 15 minutes. free, conscious, being aware of what the body needs to do to be "ready". 3.45pm - connect to zoom - make it part of the movement if possible (how?) - showing the word in the paper. Annie, Muriel and Daniel, move with eyes open together for the next 15 minutes. Possible questions: what does it change?how do we adapt?where were "WE" before and where do "WE" go? 4.00pm - (alarm) 5minutes to slowly reduce movement until finding stillness while looking at the others.

Lots of joy and play. We want to use this protocol again, deepening and testing it’s possibilities. (It seems we are finally ready to be together with our eyes open, not controlling ourselves anymore - can we describe what is necessary to get there?)

Daniel answers his questions: experiencing it I feel that what changes is that by opening up the space through the computer my own space ceases to exist - an abstraction of both physical space surrounding me and the space of the screen results in the space of where I move. the adaptation to this environment composed by the different configurations (above) is perceptual and possible through empathy that we share as a group. the transformation of the movement derives from the connection made and the different inputs (words, quality of the image/frame, propositions made that come from before(?)) we're always in the same space, at least for me, it changes, it transforms, it evolves but we remain - we predispose ourselves to be an active part of the experimentation.

[distantmovements]

performance - practice - dance - flux

18 01 2022 Discussion. 45 min. https://bram.org/sound/DM/DMaudio1529045576.mp3

We enjoyed very much this discussion. Here are some phrases through which you can have a taste of how it evolved:

Performance is the act of showing something to an audience. There is an intention towards and a concern for this audience.

Our ongoing practical research project can sometimes be shown in a performance. Each time we test some of its possibilities.

Each presentation in a public context is a performance. Calling it for instance “expérience participative” defines what kind of performance it will be.

The difference with the normal practice lies in the different preparation (defining set-up, constraints, role of the audience; each time all adapted to the occasion).

Donc c’est une action qui se montre et qui se regarde. Justement dans DM la danse est regardable, visible, mais ne pas montrée. C’est ça qui fait sa jouissance et ce qui est libérateur, surtout pour une danseuse professionnelle.

La danse surgit quand le corps respecte le flux du mouvement. L’’arrêt dans la session #22 pose problème pour la danse (Muriel). Combien de temps peut durer l’arrêt pour que le flux ne s’arrête pas ? Mon flux n’est pas ton flux! (Annie) Ceci n’est pas une question que DM se pose. (Daniel)

We have three different visions of dance and this specific question of flux and dance comes to us through Muriel’s presence in the project. Daniel always proposes something related to his question: How, at a distance, I can influence your movements and how am I influenced by yours? Annie is more concerned with performative structures and the authenticity of presence.

We all three bring in different questions in the project, we intersect these and work on them.

Nous avons appris à respecter les questions des autres.

En dehors de l’écoute, le cadre, le flux est un paramètre important dans notre recherche.

La performance dans DM, c’est rendre visible, dans des circonstances conscrites, ce que questionne notre recherche à chaque fois.

[distantmovements]

DM #22 - posture interruption

J'adore les arrêts. Utiliser un trigger pour nous faire arrêter et re-commencer/ nous mettre en suspense est un bon truc qui peut aider à construire une performance. I love the "stops". Using a trigger to make us stop and start again / put us in suspense is a good trick that can help build a performance.

We tested recording in gallery view and in speaker view and compared the recordings afterwards. Speaker view can be beautiful for big groups, when the zoom grid becomes so full you can’t see the performers in the individual frames. When we are three gallery view is better; the connection and the individualities become more evident. (Attention: Zoom is continually changing the way they treat sound and so the way they manage speaker view)

Dec. 7th 2021 3h30 Instructions before:

ENG: 30 min. never open your eyes Start with seeking stillness the point zero of movement incipience. when you are there you say "I am here" and  continue however you want. "I am here" is the phrase that obliges us all to stop our movement suddenly. We stay with our posture and when we feel like, we continue from there. FR : 30 min. sans ouvrir les yeux Commencez par chercher l'immobilité, le point zéro de l'incipit du mouvement. quand vous y êtes, vous dites "je suis là" et continuez comme vous voulez. "Je suis là" est la phrase qui nous oblige à tous d'arrêter soudainement notre mouvement. On reste dans notre posture et quand on en a envie on continue à partir de là.

Question to discuss: When and  why say “I am here”? (an interesting statement to make while being online.) How to use it as a trigger for your own movement?

[distantmovements]

DM #21 - a state of zero

November 4. Proposition by Daniel. Follow up on DM#18:

20 minutes, eyes closed, remain still (feel your body, the weight of your body, to what it might want to do): > start by moving freely - on the spot or in the space - and stopping from time to time saying "I am here" (each one says it in their own native language); > introduce shifts to your position and voice it in your own native language (examples: I am sitting; I am folded; I am small; I am reaching out...) - let what others say influence your shifts of position - use "I am here" to assure yourself and the others - opening of the eyes to reconnect is a possibility.

Our discussion afterwards was very important. To start a session we often refer to Steve Paxton's "small dance", but we don't feel that is what we are exactly doing. We are more looking for a state of "zero" for our bodies, a state from where connection is possible, from where we can start to be “here” and dance together.

What is the way to this state of "zero"? We how to go there, but how to better describe what this state exactly is. It is the state in yourself that makes it possible to connect to others? Can we say more about it?

Muriel pense à Loïc Touzé (danseur et chorégraphe) dont le passe-temps favori semble être de « tenter de percevoir dans le visible ce qui ne l’est pas, dans l’immobile ce qui est en mouvement… ». Je m’interroge également sur « la petite danse » de Steve Paxton, dont nous parlons régulièrement. Certainement fait-elle appel à ce qu’Hubert Godart (chercheur en analyse du mouvement dansé) nomme le « pre-mouvement » : une dimension particulière de la qualité du geste « que seul l’imaginaire permet de toucher. » Selon lui l’expressivité du geste se joue avant même d’entrer en mouvement : « Les muscles gravitaires anticipent chacun de nos mouvements : ils fabriquent un pré-mouvement, invisible, imperceptible qui met en œuvre, dans le même temps le niveau mécanique et le niveau affectif de notre organisation. » C’est donc avant même de danser, dans l’immobilité instable de notre corps aligné selon un axe vertical qui répond simplement à la gravité, que s’exprime notre singularité. De notre conscience de nous-même nait notre capacité d’écoute de l’autre.

Annie found some related thoughts in A Mover’s Guide to Standing Still. Relationscapes, Erin Manning, 2009 : “Moshe Feldenkrais defines posture as “dynamic equilibrium.” He suggests that posture is how we move through. Posture is how we carry our movement stilling. This movement stilling is allied to the movements of experiential  space- time. We move with the  reaching- toward of experience as it moves us.“ ... “Every shift depends on a  moving- through. Posture is the quality of the  moving- through. It is not a position, not something to aim for or to attain: it is a movement with movement reconfiguring.“ ... “Asking you to stand still is like asking you to become aware of your special characteristic.” ... “Posture is the intensive magnitude of a  movement- forming. It is not the incipiency of a movement as much as the  passing- through toward that incipiency. It is the zero- point of absolute movement, the quasi chaos on the cusp of an incipient change in direction.“

Daniel: “To dance/move together at a distance, remotely - maybe it's the same if we shared the same physical space - implies a state of quietness that only then through the seamlessly signals produced by interference of the machine (sounds and looking/image) allows for a different quality of movement. One that is connected to the system in which we are moving. We always move even if we think we are still, so let's try to start by the idea of immobility in front of the computer where our three-dimensionality is put into question. Why do we move here? (Annie: because we can, because we like to practice movement together in front of the mostly body-less screen) What is the state/condition of a distant movement? A subtle ripple in space which we try to grasp and interpret, producing a form out of it... ”

Another take on this comes from Renee Carmichael in her article “Dancing Dead or Alive: Useless Bodies as Resistance within Necropolitical Web Choreographies.”: “The stillness of dancing bodies within the context of a dance is a glitch that endures outside of time, and as such it provides a moment of connection, a moment where virtual bodies are indeed allowed to share their dream with the world.“

We also talked about how connecting through the eyes or through the hearing is different during the dance. For Annie sound has a direct influence on her body (I don't have to change anything to hear and can stay with my own dance), while for looking  she has to open her eyes, to select something on the screen or to decide not to do that. These are all conscious decisions and so interfere with her dance.

[distantmovements]

Distant Movements workshop. ADAF online festival Tactus. Daniel Pinheiro, Muriel Piqué, Annie Abrahams. Oct 24, 2021 at 02:00 PM London, 3pm Paris, 4pm Athens time. Participants: Joumana Mourad, Eunice Gonçalves Duarte, Danielle Imara, Suzon Fuks and Emmanuelle Gibello.

The workshop protocol pdf in ENG and FR.

“It can be hard to feel safe with eyes closed but I did. I felt confident, and reassured by everyone’s presence. This was helped by the initial ‘eyes-open’ practice where everyone seemed relaxed and open. I think the physical distance between all of us made me more aware of putting out ‘feelers’ to connect with the group; to reach for and connect with their presence. (Perhaps more than if we were in a physical space where we would have body heat, breath, sounds at certain distances etc as clues.) I am interested in the frame of mind that is most conducive to connection in this way. Is it to do with being completely in yourself and your own movement at every moment? Or is it with a blind, ‘body-listening’ to the group, and the room - I don’t mean listening to physical sounds. After the event, I felt we had only just begun, and I would like to go into this more deeply, regularly perhaps with the same (or similar) group to learn better how to be connected in this way. I had the feeling it could be a transferable skill that would develop with practice.“ Danielle Imara after the performance.

Annie afterwards: In DM we want every movement to come from the body (or from the idea of the dance) and it should never be directed, influenced by the webcam and the desire to be with the other via this webcam. I think we should stress that more a next time.

In the workshop, guided in English by all three of of the Distant Movements members, we want to share our experience and knowledge. There will be time to delve into and practice our aesthetics of trust and attention. Conversations and atunement exercises will lead to a situation where every participant is meant to feel comfortable to engage in a bodily connection at a distance, while being watched by an audience.

Conditions for the aesthetics of trust and attention to be are: - Clear constraints that lead to a lot of individual liberty. - Simple easy to understand protocols. - Taking care of familiarity for all with the technical conditions. (sound on) - No rehearsals, only testing and experiments before. - Nothing can go wrong as long as you take responsibility for the event.

What is dance for us?

The dance that we live with Distant Movements is not a formal dance, it is neither virtuoso nor beautiful. The dance of Distant Movements expresses who we are, each of us. It is an inner dance, a dance that arises from our sensations. Trust is all we need: to listen to our body; to let it move, and to follow our movements without restraint. All we need is : to appreciate our movements as they are, as an image of who we are. Our body and our feelings will shape a dance according to who we are. A dance that we will live together, listening. Attentive to each other beyond the limits of distance and the imperfections of internet connections. The dance of Distant Movements is a simple and human dance which connects us while respecting our differences.

In 2022 we learned we won the 3rd  place award in workshop category for the workshop.

[distantmovements]

DM #20

7/6/21 1ère expérience Harmonisation / Attunement : se relier et entrer dans la danse de l'autre, durée 15 min.

- Cacher son propre image et garder les yeux ouverts (à moins qu'il ne soit préférable un moment de les fermer pour mieux sentir...) - Chacun propose un mouvement/action/sensation en tenant compte de son propre environnement : chaise, sol, mur, soleil, etc. - Des mouvements/actions/sensations assez longues pour laisser le temps à chacun de se l'approprier confortablement - Les autres s'approprient chaque mouvement/action/sensation dans le respect de ses différences - Les propositions s'enchaineront de l'un à l'autre avec simplicité - L'idée est d'entrer dans la danse de l'autre, d'éprouver le mouvement de l'autre.

2ème expérience performatif : 15 min - Cacher son image - les yeux fermés - les yeux s'ouvrent si besoin pour se laisser influencer par les autres - Entrer dans le mouvement à partir de son souvenir des mouvements/actions/sensations éprouvées dans la première expérience - Puis se laisser partir là où l'inspiration nous guide...

Reactions just after: “As I opened my eyes repeatedly in order to try and establish some sort of connection to what was happening it was difficult to incorporate what was happening on the screen and bring that into my own movements and flow. Only fragments of movements were incorporated. I felt like turning away from the camera but didn't find the space to do it because I felt if I did, I would "switch off" - maybe I wasn't open enough?!”

"Aujourd'hui l'harmonisation m'a permis d'entrer dans la matière mouvement en passant par des chemins inhabituels, inusuels dans mon corps. J'aimerais bien trouver comment intégrer l'environnement, l'espace, les objets, la lumière, etc. Cela m'interpelle : comment prendre en compte le lieu de la danse qui prend forme à distance, les lieux se multiplient, s'ajoutent les uns aux autres et montrent une diversité de lieux de corps ; pourquoi ne se partagent-ils pas, alors que l'image zoom les associe ?”

“I watched the recordings of our last session. I didn't really enjoy watching the second performative part. Our backgrounds were too busy/distracting - the bodies often too far away and I felt and saw very little connexion ... The attunement, on the contrary, was delicious to watch, it was beautifull to see everything echoing, rippling through, how tension and relax waved through ... It would be good to use this technique in workshops.”

If we want to have people watching us, we should take more care of the visual side of our practice. We need to spend some time experimenting, finding the right conditions.

[distantmovements]

DM #19

31/05/21 We continued in the vein of DM #18. Two short experiments - in both opening eyes now and then to connect to the other two, and to let your dance be guided by what the others do. First one with opening eyes as a clear interruption of 5 sec, second one trying to open the eyes unnoticable. 11.15 Re/connect (10min) 11.25 Discuss what we will pay attention when opening our eyes - ........ 11h30 First experiment 15min, start with eyes closed - feel your body, the weight of your body, connect to your sound surroundings, shake your body before starting to dance. 11h45 Short discussion 12h Second experiment. Similar but we open the eyes stealthily.

Notes: 15 min. is too short. Daniel wants to be more quiet next time. The presence of the self on the screen is distracting (Daniel), even difficult (Muriel). Annie thinks Mu and Dan could get used to it. Dan remarks it might be also a question of the images on the screen being too small when three images present. Agreed. Experiment 1: Mu: It is hard to begin again every time. The flow is interrupted. That leads to making a consious choice about what to follow of what you see. In experiment 2 you follow whatever you manage to see.

We talked about the “real stage”. There you see yourself through the others. Daniel is interested to set up an equivalent of what we did/do in a hybrid, real and online space (cf his piece Mesurability https://vimeo.com/553717003). Overall idea is we should continue in this direction - connecting through sound and glancing. Next time Muriel will propose a protocol.

[distantmovements]

we open our eyes, really ?

06/05 Proposition by Daniel: 11.15 connect - check in and select "hide self view" (10min) 11.25 30min, eyes closed, remain still (feel your body, the weight of your body, connect to your sound surroundings) open your eyes every time you want, look at the others on the screen, and embody any position you see on the screen, remain with it - continue

Are we opening your eyes?

Yes, to make contact - to guide the being together (it could function as the wordings worked before)

This turned out to be full of possibilities / potentiality

Not seeing yourself on the screen takes you symbolically out of the group. That made Muriel feel more responsible towards the two others, not Annie, instead; she felt more connected as a “dancing group” and not as individuals dancing. But this may be a first step to feeling more responsible too :).

We need more exercise to become more fluid. Next time we continue in this direction.

Our three images edited together - remember we only saw the others, not ourselves during the session.

This video has been presented in The Unmoving Show at The Wrong Biennale from november 1st 2o21 to march 1st 2o22

[distantmovements]

Affleurer le sensible.

Pourtant, au-delà de l’effet mosaïque, le format d’une rencontre à distance peut s’avérer riche de potentialités, dès lors qu’on l’utilise pour qu’affleure le sensible. Annie Abrahams, performeuse et spécialiste de vidéo installations, Daniel Pinheiro, acteur, et Muriel Piqué, chorégraphe, ont ainsi, avec Distant Movements 4, conduit sur Zoom une guidance subtile à la rencontre de cette danse secrète que chacun porte en soi et que les participants pouvaient exécuter les yeux fermés.

Par Alix de Morant dans NDD # 80 - Quels espaces (autres) pour la danse ?

[distantmovements]

DM #16 poem dance

In the second part of  our 17/02/2021 session we used poetry to attune and to “poemdance”. -10 min to read some poetry from a website or book -15 min to “dance” with the poem in our mind, during which we cite a phrase, some words every now and then, we improvise, often it is silent (small poetry :))

Muriel : J'ai aimé cette improvisation : son temps, son écoute, la place de chacun dans ma conscience, la présence ininterrompue de la danse. La danse était là au delà du mouvement même, je l'entendais, je sentais ses flux. Même le silence me paraissait danser. J'ai changé l'angle de mon écran (de mon cam-écran) juste après avoir fermé les yeux, si bien que je ne savais plus ce qui était dans le champs de la caméra. Et le jeu de j'y suis / j'y suis pas, s'est vite imposé à mon esprit. Je dansais intérieurement. Je réagissait à tous les sons que j'entendais d'Annie et de Daniel. Presque une improvisation sonore, en 3 langues (ou plus). J'ai voyagé, dans mon corps, l'espace intérieur, dans mon espace proche, et dans l'espace distant entre Annie et Daniel. Je n'ai pas vu le temps passer. Il aurait pu se passer le double du temps imparti. Cependant je sentais comme une dramaturgie, pas vraiment un récit, mais un temps de vie, avec un début, un milieu, des événements, des rebondissements, une fin et peut-être même un épilogue. J'aurais pu ne rien faire, j'aurais pu faire beaucoup plus, mais mon corps et mon attention au moment ont guidé mes gestes et ma voix vers une sorte d'économie : 1 geste sur 2 ou 3 possibles prenait forme ; idem pour les mots-sons. Après avoir regardé la vidéo : En regardant les images, j'ai découvert que nos corps entraient en dialogue autant que nos voix. J'aime sentir cette présence partagée du poétique. J'aime tout particulièrement cette trace vidéo... Mes doigts qui glissent le mur jusqu'à frôler la main de Daniel... Nos mains qui balancent ensemble... Le ventre d'Annie... Le dos de Daniel... Le sommet de mon crâne... Je vois plus ! Je vois autre chose que ma sensation ! Je découvre bien plus que mon souvenir en regardant ces images-là...

Daniel: Collective poetry through movement. Cummings poetic words are the motto for my movement which slowly becomes larger with Annie’s and Muriel’s fragments of their own poetries. While doing, I let my movement be guided by how words (mine and theirs) resonate in my body. A continuation rather than a constant beginning of something and towards nowhere specific. While watching we ‘connect?’ it becomes indeed a memory of dreaming, not necessarily a future but a constant past. Without perceiving visually, otherness starts to become part of the relation between us three… borrowing from others words and incorporating them into my own words and movement. I like the idea of the poetry. The way we can play with rhythm. And letting the poetry words become part of eachothers movement

Annie: My phrase became a burden :) During the dance I felt very alone, couldn’t find any relation – as if we all were doing our own thing. Afterwards I liked watching the recording. This is something! The lonely connectiveness made it strong. What to do to make it better? We need a residency to spend some quality time on a future performance – we need good equipment en space to work, or, we need to be more aware of the limitations. 

[distantmovements]

DM #16 small dance again

17/02/2021 Session proposed by Annie.

... that possibility of quietness and some sort of silence of the bodies as well - doing another encounter like the former one ...

5 min. just being together, small talk Set alarm on 23 min. We will all sit and have earphones We will watch together the 1:30 sec long video Small Dance where you can see Steve Paxton practicing outside.

Then we listen to an mp3 (6 min long) ENG http://lolm.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/paxton-smalldance-contredanse.mp3 FR http://drive.google.com/file/d/1BqDhiNJq4awkwL8vl8ThjDmkpELyN0iZ/view When the sound stops we close our eyes and stay with the small dance until the alarm rings.

Reactions:

Daniel: Thoughts disconnected. Uneasy to be in the same position. Being alone with others. Spasms of the body. What can be the conditions which are perfect for this? The software adapts to the needs, we adapt to the software.  The environment meets the needs, we adapt to the environment. Need to do it again.

Annie: it was long it was difficult if there hadn't been Muriel's/Daniel’s sound, I don't know what would have happened, the outside sound was my music if there hadn't been the idea of "dance" I would have lost concentration, now I felt the tension in my neck, my neck was dancing I have never been more aware of my diaphragm, it was my "motor" I wanted to walk to you, for a short time I imagined walking to you both almost invited you to do the same

Muriel : Steve Paxton, debout, un film, des images qui s'enchainent et me parlent de durée : un homme immobile les yeux ouverts. Une "guidance orale" de Steve Paxton, traduite et dite en Français par Patricia Kuypers, parle de tous les micros mouvements de la posture debout, du point de vue de l'attraction terrestre, notre organisation gravitaire personnelle. Nous sommes assis en l'écoutant, comme nous étions assis en regardant les images juste avant. Derniers mots entendus "Que se passe-t-il quand vous ne faites rien ?" Nous fermons les yeux. Le temps s'écoule à nouveau. Différemment. Paradoxalement plus connectée à vous qu'à moi. Le voyage intérieur commence : couleurs derrière mes paupières ; colonne vertébrale adossée à mon siège ; parcours sensoriel en surface, la peau, l'air, le flux de la chaleur/vibration véhiculée par l'attention ; le mouvement de la respiration m'entraine à l'intérieur du corps ; des images commencent à se former dans mon imaginaires ; je crois très bien vous entendre, un ronronnement de machine persiste, commun bruit sourd qui me dit que je suis reliée à un ailleurs à travers la machine ; je penses à la sensation, à la sensation que j'aurais si j'étais debout ; en équilibre instable sur mes 2 pieds ; je déploie ma colonne vertébrale, je viens me placer en équilibre sur mon bassin ; j'aligne chaque vertèbre l'une au-dessus de l'autre en appui sur mes ischions... A partir de là, j'entre dans le présent de l'équilibre et de la sensation... Je n'attends plus, je n'imagine plus, je suis là, dans le poids, sans lourdeur.

Eight times acccelerated our session gave this ...

[distantmovements]

DM #15 Small dance ?

07/01/2021 Durational experiment of Distant Movements - 1 hour. Session proposed by Daniel.

Inspired by Steve Paxton's practice and research on Small Dance (1967):

What happens when my movements are inhibited, the Small Dance asks? What happens when I suspend volitional movement? Which symphonies of adjusting emerge from non-doing?*

The session unfolds, during 60 minutes, after a short attunement (see preparations proposed by Muriel) we close our eyes, sitting on a chair in front of the computer, we let movement happen. We don’t impose an attitude towards the connexion we might create with oneself or the others. There is no specific score or guidance. We count on the recording, the archive, to identify connexion of bodies in connected spaces, or not. Do the bodies communicate through a possible shared sense of energy, rhythm, flow and coherence** ?

* https://cargocollective.com/sharingmovement/the-small-dance

** https://www.periodicos.ufrn.br/artresearchjournal/article/view/10755

It was a nice an interesting experience but somehow we didn’t understand "small dance” the “same way.

Daniel: Watching the archive I realize that in relation to both of you I don't move that much and I would like to investigate more that possibility of quietness and some sort of silence of the bodies as well - perhaps doing another encounter like this one where we explore still ness and look at the archive to see where the

References. Authentic Movement The movement becomes 'authentic' when the individual is able to allow their intuitive impulses to freely express themselves without intellectual directive, as opposed to movement initiated by conscious decision making – a distinction which may appear clear, but practically a challenge. Individuals simply pay attention to what they feel at a sensory level, since "the core of the movement experience is the sensation of moving and being moved." Mouvement authentique Lors d'une pratique de mouvement authentique, les personnes en mouvement commencent dans une position confortable, ferment les yeux, et se mettent à l'écoute de leurs processus internes (sensations, images, mémoires, émotions etc.) Elles suivent les stimuli qui surviennent, permettant aux impulsions de s'exprimer par le mouvement, le repos, le souffle et le son.

[distantmovements]

Preparations for Distant Movements

Proposé par Muriel. (ENG at the bottom) Utilisé pour la première fois le 7 janvier 2021.

Prendre contact avec son environnement :

Regarder le lieu dans lequel je me trouve : survoler la pièce et laisser mon regard être retenu par des détails

Éveiller mon attention depuis l’intérieur de mon corps : prendre le temps de laisser l’image de ce que je vois influer sur mon corp.

Visiter l’espace qui m’entoure :

Ce que je vois m’invite à entrer en action, marcher, toucher, lisser, s'asseoir, repousser, cacher, attraper, regarder, renifler, s’approcher, tourner le dos, tenir, tourner, accélérer, s’arrêter, etc.

Ce que je fais m’invite à sentir mon corps en mouvement, l’air qui me frôle, la lumière ici ou là, cette matière que je touche, cette odeur ou ce son que je perçois, etc.

Entrer dans le temps de la perception :

Percevoir, incorporer, appellera peut-être à ralentir l’action… pour prendre le temps de goûter

Éveiller le senti interne du mouvement invitera certainement à suspendre l’action… pour avoir le temps d’éclairer, de définir plus clairement, la sensation

Prendre place alors devant l’ordinateur (assis ou debout) et se connecter à notre session d’exploration

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ENG

Get in touch with your environment:

Look at the place I am in: my gaze flies over the room and is caught by details

Awaken my attention from inside my body: take the time to leave the image of what I see influence my body

Visit the space around me:

What I see invites me to step into action, walk, touch, smooth, sit, push back, hide, catch, look, sniff, approach, turn my back , hold, turn, accelerate, stop, etc.

What I do invites me to feel my body in motion, the air that brushes against me, the light here and there, this material that I touch, this smell or this sound that I perceive, etc.

Enter the time of perception :

To perceive, to incorporate will perhaps call to slow down the action… to take the time to taste

Awakening the internal feeling of the movement will certainly invite to suspend the action… to have time to clarify, to define more clearly, the sensation

Then take a seat in front of the computer (sitting or standing) and connect to our exploration session