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Exercises

Feel/Hear/See/Do

An exercise for two people to be done in or outside. Click here to find out more.

Partners A and B exchange numbers and then individually choose a space. Once there, each person needs to open up to the surrounding environment and begin to note through the six senses the properties of the environment (temperature, light, surface, sounds, colours etc) as well as the opportunities it affords for movement, play, and exploration (elevations to jump from, surfaces to lie down, corners to fit into etc). On the basis of this exploration, Partner A composes a text, which starts with the instruction to 'feel' and captures an aspect of their environment. Partner A sends the text to Partner B. Partner B has to make sense of this instruction in their own environment that might be very different from the one Partner A is. On the basis of their response, Partner B then composes a text that invites Partner A to feel something. Partner A engages with this instruction and out of this engagement composes an text, which this time invites Partner B to 'Hear'. The exercise continues until both partners have sent each other a text that prescribes an action.

Composition from Afar

An exercise to be done in pairs but working as part of a larger group. It can be done both inside and outside. Click here to find out more.

The easiest way to do this is to ask partners A and B to exchange numbers and then once they are in their starting positions, one person can call the other. If there is WiFi connection and the students have Skype on their phones, the exercise can be done in bigger groups.

A space that offers some kind of vista or elevated viewpoint works quite well. Alternatively, an indoor space that has windows to an outside accessible area can also work. The group is divided into two smaller groups and each person has a partner in the other group. One group stays in the 'playing' area and the other group goes to the 'viewing' area. When everyone is in place, the students in the viewing area call their partners and begin to give them instructions. These can include actions, movements, engagements with the surrounding space and should be given in a clear and succinct language.
The instructions may be entirely open-ended or they can structured. For example, the previous structure of Feel/Hear/See/Do may be used. Other forms of instructions can involve choreographic techniques. So the students who give the instructions can only choose from 4-5 techniques, and allowed to instruct their partner, for example, to copy someone else's movement; to copy someone else's movement with a different body part; to repeat their previous movement; to walk in a straight or curved line only etc.
Equally, the students who receive the instructions may be given the rule that all the instructions need to be followed or they may given permission to alter or interpret the instructions as they see fit. More radically, they may be allowed to hide from the person issuing the instructions and thus force their partner to find a way to make them come out in a space where they can be visible.

A Memory for a Place

An exercise to be done in pairs outside. Click here to find out more.

Partners A and B exchange phone numbers, so that each can leave a voice message on the other person's device. Alternatively, a voice recording can be posted on a shared online space and then be downloaded.
Variation 1
Each partner works individually and finds a place, within a designated area,that is suggestive or have a significant memory for them. They write three pieces of text utilising the following three perspectives at time: from a. inside the memory, in the 1st person in present tense; b. outside the memory, in the third person in the past tense; c. from an imaginary frame in the second person in present tense and in imperative mood. Once the text is written, they record a set of instructions directing their partner to the place they want them to go and then the actual text.

Variation 2
The students work in a predetermined space that has a particular history. The students may be asked to do some preliminary research or the session may start with a briefing of the place's significance. Alternatively, once in the selected space the students can play Feel/Hear/See/Do so that they sensitize themselves to the environment. Depending on the place's history, the student can be asked to develop a memory from the point of view of a historical character, or a memory from the point of view of the place itself. They may also specify the exact position and location their partner should assume prior to listening the voice message. The students can be encouraged to make connections between the text their partner will hear and the surrounding space their partner is going to be in.

Exercise for Pair Work with Movement Sonification - Nudges

An exercise to be done in pairs with a movement sonification system

This is a variation of the classic exercise. There are many ways of getting into the exercise and many variations of it. The following is offered as one possibility.

Partners A and B stand one behind the other with their feet hip-width apart and their arms by their side. Only Partner B wears the movement sonification sensor. Prior to starting, they can sway from side to side at the same time. Once they are ready, A gives little nudges to B. B follows the nudge until the movement comes to an end by itself. A waits until the movement finishes before they give the next nudge. A can use any part of their body to nudge B and equally they can explore nudging different parts of B's body. Sometimes, the tendency is that Partner A manipulates Partner B, so attention needs to be paid that the touch remains an invitation and does not begin to shape or direct the partner's body.

Within a movement sonification system, this exercise is useful for a number of reasons. From a logistical point of view, it allows more students to be involved, whilst keeping the number of sounds produced within reason. In terms of movement awareness, the production of sound offers Partner B an enhanced sense of the movement they are doing as a result of the nudge. Accordingly, Partner A has a sense of agency, as they are responsible both for the movement and the sound their partner is making and they can trace the result of the nudge they give both in terms of movement and sound.

Exercise for Pair Work with Movement Sonification - Call and Response

An exercise to be done in pairs with a movement sonification system

This is again a classic exercise adapted for use with movement sonification. Partners A and B both wear a sensor each and start standing opposite each other. The can be fairly close to another or further apart. Partner A does a movement, which produces sound. Partner B waits until both sound and movement are completed and then responds with their own movement, which also generates sound. As the exercise develops, the partners can come closer or move further away from one another and the intermission between call and response can be minimised or lengthened.
Attention needs to be paid that the students respond to both the movement and sound of their partner. Alternatively, the two partners may be working in terms of a relation decided in advance, specifying positive or negative dispositions or power hierarchies.

Exercise for Small Group with Movement Sonification - Soundscape

An exercise to be done in small groups with a movement sonification system

A group of 4 to 5 students decide on an environment or situation. They record sounds, which they either find or make, and the sounds are entered into the movement sonification system. The students may choose to record sounds that relate to a particular environment, situation, or harmony.

The students can wear one or more sensors each and they collectively begin to create the soundscape. Rules of composition can be agreed in advance or the group might be working with a pre-arranged choreographic score. They can be encouraged to approach what they are doing as a both a movement and sound composition so that the whole group becomes a sound instrument.