Through the Wednesday morning Zoom classes we are exploring dance/movement through various themes and have found useful insights by doing this.

The Elements

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We have been exploring how we can embody and find creative expression through the Elements, and have discovered for instance:

Earth is our reality and a good place to begin and come back to

That all the elements are balanced by each other and therefore need each other:
Water is shaped and contained by Earth
Fire is controlled by Water
Air is anchored in Earth
Earth is activated by Fire

We also realised all the elements are multi dynamic, for instance:
A still pond, a flowing river, a tempest
A hearth fire, a bonfire, an inferno
A breeze, a gusty wind, a tornado
Security, instability, an earthquake

Dance and poetry are good companions.

The words of the poems bring simplicity and clarity of purpose to the movements, and also imagination and vision.

The movement can reveal the underlying landscape of the words and energise them through embodiment.

Conversely the movements of dance create a poetry of their own with words arising naturally from the movements.

Working with Co-ordination

We have discovered working with co-ordination over the last few weeks that:
Co-ordination can be mentally and physically challenging
It highlights the balance (or imbalance) between left and right
It brings attention to detail and deepens focus
It enhances awareness, integration and connections through the body
It creates new pathways and better internal communication in the body/mind

The Contrast of Light and Dark

Light and dark define each other, demonstrating the importance of contrast
When one part of the body is in the shadow, another is exposed to the light
We have to go through the darkness of the night to get to a new dawn
The imagination comes into play particularly in the dark
Moving with the eyes closed gives a stronger access to internal awareness and sensation
The transition between dark and light - emergence takes courage and leads to growth
Every Spring needs it’s Winter

During the lockdown SpiralArts has gathered for monthly Zoom sessions and they are always highly creative, generous and inspiring sessions. The participants age from the 70s to the 20s and their talents include dance, music, singing, poetry and fine art. The underlying foundation and common denominator of it all is movement/dance and embodiment, which everyone accepts and enjoys.  

It is fascinating to see how limitation, in this case of space,  often seems to produce such strong and interesting creativity and quality of movement. Also to observe how working on line seems to some extent to give people more creative freedom, perhaps as they are in their own familiar territory and not immediately up against each other. The more mature dancers work with a certain clarity, simplicity and quiet depth, while the younger ones are more exploratory and verbose with their movement. The mix of disciplines helps a vibrant conversation and lively sharing of thoughts, experiences and ideas which are inspiring and invigorating for everyone.

So far in accordance with the lockdown, everyone has produced individual work, now the task is to  work together in smaller groups and finally weave a rich tapestry from the alchemy of work that is being created and produce an online performance.

Our monthly sessions continue to be a source of creative joy felt between like-minded people coming together to share their talents and experience with open-hearted enthusiasm. In the last session we used the Zoom break out groups to come together and work together in random groups and pairs, e.g. A fine artist, three musicians and a writer/artist, A poet, a dancer and a singer, A Tai Chi teacher and a Biospiral dancer/gymnast, Two dancer/choreographers. All have movement in common but the combination produces interesting, original and multi dimensional work.

As we near the end of the lockdown phase of our work, SpiralArts continues to be vibrant and  creative force with many ideas spinning and spiralling amongst the members. We have moved from individual pieces, to working together in Zoom break out rooms, and the next task is to create a final, unified piece, which we will do next time we meet. We are now collating all the material we have and hope to produce a short film of our work so far.   Two of our main discoveries are that creative expression does not stop under lockdown and that there is great joy and inspiration to be had through working with others, even virtually.   There is now a common urge to connect back to nature, to listen to the birds, to watch the waves, to feel the breeze, to stand by the trees and breathe deeply and freely.  So this is where we will head next, out into nature and use nature itself as the touchstone for the next phase of our work.

It seems to me there is a deep need for sensitive and creative artists to have an outlet to express themselves, explore their ideas and share them in a safe and supportive space, and this is what SpiralArts aims to provide.

In support of this work, we are now running a Wednesday morning open class on Zoom, 10.30-11.30, see details on this site.    

During the lockdown members of SpiralArts continue to create and develop pieces of work under the general ‘Environmental’ theme, and hold regular online meetings to share their work and ideas.

Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for all the latest information.

A few videos of some of the music and movement from our “Environment” afternoon, earlier this year.

An afternoon of movement based, shared creativity with an overall theme ‘Environment’.

The next session will be:

Sunday 23rd February, 1.00-4.00 pm

Drama Studio London
Grange Court
1 Grange Road
London W5 5QN

Calling all dancers, artists and those with an interest in dance/movement, who would enjoy triggering their creativity and exploring the art and craft of making dances in a supportive, encouraging and inspiring atmosphere.

We would like to know who would be interested in the above so we can structure a course appropriately.

More information on our choreography proposal page.

Sunday 20th October, 2-4 pm, theme THE TREE (natural world)
Sunday 17th November, 2-4 pm, theme SKYSCRAPER (cityscape)
Sunday 15th December, 2-4 pm, theme HUMAN NATURE

Please note: the December session has been postponed.

Watch this space for new plans in early 2020…

VENUE: The Cockpit, Studio 1, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH

PRICE: to cover cost of studio hire £5-£10, whatever you can afford.

An afternoon of movement based creative exploration, including voice, poetry, music and dance.

Sunday 7th July
2.00-4.00 pm

Studio 1
The Cockpit
Gateforth Street
Marylebone
London 
NW8 8EH

Cost: £5-£10 to cover rental, whatever you can afford.

In these sessions we aim to create a safe space, a crucible for creative exploration between the arts, with movement as the common denominator.

If you are a dancer, teacher, choreographer or actor, musician, singer or artist, with an interest in dance and with some dance experience, this creative workshop will give you the opportunity to refresh and expand your dance skills and vocabulary, inspire new ideas and develop your choreographic voice in a supportive and creative atmosphere.

The workshop will be led by Bryony Williams and Elizabeth Blake, founding directors of SpiralArts, who are both dancers, teachers and choreographers with many years of experience.

The session will begin with a warm/up and end with a close down, and will include some SpiralDance; this is an accessible and organic approach to dance/movement which integrates Eastern and Western principles, explores spiral pathways and uses the elements, earth, air, fire and water, as source points for creativity.

Sunday 9th June
2.00-4.00 pm

Studio 1
The Cockpit
Gateforth Street
Marylebone
London
NW8 8EH

Cost: £5-£10 to cover rental, whatever you can afford.

In these sessions we aim to create a safe space, a crucible for creative exploration between the arts, with movement as the common denominator.

If you are a dancer, teacher, choreographer or actor, musician, singer or artist, with an interest in dance and with some dance experience, this creative workshop will give you the opportunity to refresh and expand your dance skills and vocabulary, inspire new ideas and develop your choreographic voice in a supportive and creative atmosphere.

The workshop will be led by Bryony Williams and Elizabeth Blake, founding directors of SpiralArts, who are both dancers, teachers and choreographers with many years of experience.

The session will begin with a warm/up and end with a close down, and will include some SpiralDance; this is an accessible and organic approach to dance/movement which integrates Eastern and Western principles, explores spiral pathways and uses the elements, earth, air, fire and water, as source points for creativity.