Morning 

- Participants Introduced themselves and their interest in attending the MTD lab. (You can find the Audio Recording of this sharing attached.)

- Defne Erdur and Tatiana Galleau made an introduction to the internet platform idocde.net. Explaining how the website was developed and how the project continued with further sister projects called LEAP and REFLEX Europe. (You can find the Audio Recording of this sharing attached.) 

- Defne Erdur and Nicolas Hubert presented the MINDTHEDANCE.com digital publication, going into chapters and content of the articles.

- Nicolas Hubert lead a warm up with his "Sketching Score" (You can find the initial version of this practice realized in  MTD Lab- İstanbul in this file.)  

Afternoon 

Defne Erdur lead a session based on her MINDTHEDANCE.com article "Hunting Gathering Cultivating - Practical Scores".

Arriving - Finding a place on the ground and laying down. Letting go and feeling the support of the earth, self check in (how am I today - physically, emotionally, mentally? what do I need?) Slowly taking the time to transition into sitting.

Warm up : Sketching a self portrait : Draw a portrait of yourself using the hand you do not normally use. 

Practice : 

Moving -  As moving to the music @ Salento by Rene Aubrey, slowly reflection on the question "what is dance for me?

Drawing the answer - Taking a big piece of paper and drawing your answer (of today, of this very moment) to that question (you don't have to know what you are drawing). This paper will be used for each transmission you will realize in this exercise and will turn into an accumulation of images and words which will be your "self-portrait" at the end. In every step of the practice you will be invited to visit this paper and add to it via drawing, writing, shaping the paper into 3D... as you feel, as it comes.

Writing down all the words that come to your mind that signify feelings/ emotions, on a separate piece of paper. Write whatever you think of as emotions, any that you can name.

Circling the feeling you know best.

Allowing it to put you in a posture or to trigger a movement for you to express. (How do you know you feel that feeling? What happens in your body when you do? What kind of sensations does it cause? What kind of behaviours does it engender?)

Transfer that emotion, movement, posture, whatever came out of this moment (memories, ideas) into your self-portrait paper.

Walk in space. Think of your dance training: teachers, classes, techniques, styles, people you encountered. How would you describe this journey? What did all that bring to you, your body, your dance and your life? Transfer this into your self-portrait.

Stop for a moment. Think of a teacher or some other person who had a significant influence on you. Someone who believed in you, supported you, and was there for you when you needed. What did they bring to you? How did they make you feel? What do they mean to you? Add more to your self-portrait to represent them. 

Find a place that you feel like home in the studio.Think of a moment you mastered or achieved something; when you felt successful and at your best. Find a partner. Take her to a place you feel comfortable in the room and share how it felt when you achived that thing. After this verbal exchange go and transmit that into your self-portrait.

Think of your inspirations, resources, and means for creativity. How do you nurture your imagination? Use your notebook to make a free-flowing list of things, people, images, sensations etc. Write down your reflections too, if you feel like it. Now add what ever resonates after making these lists to your self-portrait.

Take a partner. One goes into a movement other “supports” her in whatever way she thinks supporting means. Sometimes the mover pauses and hangs in the air and the supporter finds more elaborate ways to support. How can you trust and relax into the support? Who, what do you consider as part of your support system in life? How do they give you support? How do you give and receive support yourself? Take a moment to reflect and draw/write/shape to signify them on your self-portrait.

Keep shaking and moving all body parts to mobilize all your fascia. Moving at the speed and rhythm of with Tunak Tunak Tun - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTIIMJ9tUc8

Revisiting the self-portrait : Take a look at the whole picture. See the whole composition you have created. What does your self-portrait tell you about yourself, your life, and your dance? Anything else you wish to add?

In partners, sharing and narrating the picture – explaining the process and details and allowing connotations, understandings arise as you tell. (Some of the excerpts from the sharings of the participants can be found in the attached files.)

Taking a moment to look at all the self-portraits in the space. Witnessing the process of appearing and disappearing documentation of ideas, images, memories, movements, sensations…

Taking your self-portrait and finding ways to embody that image. Taking 5-10 minutes to go back to your self-portrait and creating a max 3 minute performance (dance, instellation, poetry, text ???) to share with the group. 

Watching all the "performances". (The video of some of the performances can be found in the attached files).

Reflection and Discussion Circle

Sharing reflections about the lab and ideas that came up during the day. (You can find the Audio Recording of the final sharings from each day in the attached files.)