Sensitive Walking and exploring 

Performance  and experimental writing lab.

Exploring space as a group sharing silence,

To notice what places stand out to us, we don't  always have  to know why, but just notice what stands out more  in this place than other places or something in this place, to proceed from here the observing state, I have two ways to proceede .

 1: is we go in pairs, one of the members is blindfolded or closes their eyes, the other leads them around.

 We explore spaces as we like, as children as dancers or as strollers but we try not to speak unless the most necessary sounds or words come to us, but our communication to our blindfolded partner is non-verbal, while we move they get the chance to experience this place without seeing it. Then keep in mind a few words for the experience,

 listen,smell,feel,touch,breath.

 Words in mind to help us take as much as we can through  our different senses then we might usually. This is a work that can take around half and hour to one hour , depending how the day and course is set up, of course there is a half way point where we trade places with our partner and now the person who was the eyes will be take the blind role

 2: would be that we go as a group and periodically close our eyes and keep the same words in mind about perception and feeling. (if we are a small or un-even group it can work like this.) Ideally I take us on a walk that has a mix of urban landscape and natural or garden like landscape to have a mix of information and observations.

 There is a small step before moving to a different part of the lab, this that we go exploring around the areas we just were and we find the place we are most interested in, find what ever position still or moving if we want or in a posture that allows us to observe the place we choses,  ideally  we are calm here we just keep in mind a few words.

 Look, watch, see, smell , listen. 

Only to observe this part is also optional if we want to keep the sensation of not knowing what a place looks like , we can come back at the end of the day to this step, but the whole group must take this desition as a whole. ( if we work by pairs is can be taken as a choice by each pair.) 

Writing 

The idea here is that each person starts to create a phrase according to what he/she has observed felt and experienced, without thinking about aesthetics, form or style. Just listen to what this new body whats to do what did this observation do if anything at all? Maybe it only changed a velocity or a tension we might normally have. I consider this listing a challange to unlearn our way to see things or experiance a place we already know, but  useful and kind to the body. We can spend some time exploring this new body and coming up with a either a comfortable impro or a collective phrase. The idea by comfortable is a challenge to the habitual movement but comfortable where you are really listening to the body's responce to its recent experiance.  

The fanal part , which also become the first part for continued part of this process if we continue in a series of sensitive walking lab.  I let a moment alone for writing. 

I ask that everyone starts at the top of the page with the same sentance-  "today I was outside and ....." from there every one can fill in as he/she likes . I lead is un a small collective writing exsercise if it seems we get started in a blocked state  of "what to write" but generally this flows nicely. 

after a short ,  period of of few mins to write and refflect on what happed today. 

we go in small groups or pairs:  The idea is to take turns expressing what our paper says. 

here words and sounds are  welcomed. 

the rest of the group or the non acting person - is now an active watcher and listener. 

their job is to add what they witness to their texts,  or sepporate page depending on the day. 

after all the exchanges have been made. 

there is a moment for last reflextion and personal notes before a closing group exercise with movment and breathing,  I like to take this out side. 

Once we come back togather as well in a circle and we can exchange now breaking the silence 

reading eachothers texts some times some want to read out laud to the group other times it is more silent reading and exchange between groups about their experiance. 

this part becomes opend for a different kind of ending with each workshop and each group's feeling. 

But the importance of the closing circle is to be an equally active listener, as an active imput giver. 

- SUMMARY.

Exploring different inputs and senses in a space. 1 Listening/Experiencing different outdoor places,cutting off sight and relying on smell touch and sound, .. working in pairs (one is the eyes for the other) 2 Working with this new body quality ,what can we unlearn for ourselves from the outside world. 3 Writing and working with the perseption of others. Story telling through movment, silent stories, going back to our words and verbal exchange.  I like to see how the two feed eachother.