Clowndance for Clowns 2024
WEDNESDAY: Duets
Today’s focus was on playing in pairs and creating duets. I followed the same structure as yesterday in moving from improvised to choreographed movement material, again with the aim of empowering people’s individual ways of making movement and using their bodies playfully.
We began with a check-in chat, this took some time but I was happy to give it the space it needed. People had processed experiences and thoughts from yesterday and had come back with questions and reflections. I reiterated more specifically all the permissions that I had given people on day one, including:
I also reaffirmed that all the material we were playing with was on a volunteer basis; that I would not choose people to get up and perform. I didn’t want anyone to be waiting to be picked, either with dread or hope.
We began with a check-in chat, this took some time but I was happy to give it the space it needed. People had processed experiences and thoughts from yesterday and had come back with questions and reflections. I reiterated more specifically all the permissions that I had given people on day one, including:
- to step out and back in if and when they wanted
- to make their bodies comfortable (resting, snacks, drinks, toilet breaks etc)
- to take care of their own bodies and not feel the pressure to push anything further than they wanted to
- to ask for more information or for something to be repeated
- to give feedback, or not
I also reaffirmed that all the material we were playing with was on a volunteer basis; that I would not choose people to get up and perform. I didn’t want anyone to be waiting to be picked, either with dread or hope.
Material Covered:
Walking, with a focus on Laban’s planes of motion, leading into Jumping, adapted from (Wright, 2006)
Dancing, adapted from (Davison, 2015)
The Conversation, adapted from (Blom and Chaplin, 1989), with I statements to lead from one dance to the next
Multi-Legged Monsters – this is an older game of mine which I brought in here as a way of introducing touch in partnerwork
Body Part Duets – I have delivered this before as a solo game, but adapted it here for pairs.
Walking, with a focus on Laban’s planes of motion, leading into Jumping, adapted from (Wright, 2006)
Dancing, adapted from (Davison, 2015)
The Conversation, adapted from (Blom and Chaplin, 1989), with I statements to lead from one dance to the next
Multi-Legged Monsters – this is an older game of mine which I brought in here as a way of introducing touch in partnerwork
Body Part Duets – I have delivered this before as a solo game, but adapted it here for pairs.
Moment 1:
The idea of consent in clowning cropped up briefly yesterday, but came strongly to the foreground during The Conversation.
Carolyn and Scarlet were dancing the game to a sweetly funky Liane le Havras track and a playfully flirtatious narrative was emerging. There was an escalation of mouth-related actions: lip-licking, Carolyn sucking her own finger, Scarlet sucking Carolyn’s finger and not letting go, until finally Scarlet spat into their own hand. At this point there was a sense of genuine disgust in the room, as we all, including Scarlet, wondered if they were going to wipe their spit on the unsuspecting Carolyn. Scarlet chose in the end to lick it off provocatively, while a grossed-out looking Carolyn attempted to distract the audience with some vague dancing and a rictus grin.
The disgustingness of the bodily fluid, and the risk of something genuinely taboo happening raised squeals from the audience. The laughter came a moment later when Carolyn saw and reacted to the spit, and the audience felt reassured that:
The idea of consent in clowning cropped up briefly yesterday, but came strongly to the foreground during The Conversation.
Carolyn and Scarlet were dancing the game to a sweetly funky Liane le Havras track and a playfully flirtatious narrative was emerging. There was an escalation of mouth-related actions: lip-licking, Carolyn sucking her own finger, Scarlet sucking Carolyn’s finger and not letting go, until finally Scarlet spat into their own hand. At this point there was a sense of genuine disgust in the room, as we all, including Scarlet, wondered if they were going to wipe their spit on the unsuspecting Carolyn. Scarlet chose in the end to lick it off provocatively, while a grossed-out looking Carolyn attempted to distract the audience with some vague dancing and a rictus grin.
The disgustingness of the bodily fluid, and the risk of something genuinely taboo happening raised squeals from the audience. The laughter came a moment later when Carolyn saw and reacted to the spit, and the audience felt reassured that:
- she, in game, was going to avoid having spit wiped on her
- she, the performer, was still happy to play
VIDEO: Carolyn Murray and Scarlet Sumagr play The Conversation
Moment 2:
Following immediately on from Scarlet and Carolyn, Nuala and Carla took up the question of consent and made it part of the play of their dance.
After a series of mimed body-part grabs, complete with honk honk noises, Carla explicitly gave Nuala verbal consent to grab her bottom. Nuala agreed, but then found several very enjoyable ways to subvert this permission- by not grabbing, by seeming about to grab after a very long run up but then stealing the focus to dance by herself, and by threatening to poke a finger up Carla’s bottom, rather than squeezing it. When the grab eventually came, there was no laugh, because it signalled the end of that game.
Following immediately on from Scarlet and Carolyn, Nuala and Carla took up the question of consent and made it part of the play of their dance.
After a series of mimed body-part grabs, complete with honk honk noises, Carla explicitly gave Nuala verbal consent to grab her bottom. Nuala agreed, but then found several very enjoyable ways to subvert this permission- by not grabbing, by seeming about to grab after a very long run up but then stealing the focus to dance by herself, and by threatening to poke a finger up Carla’s bottom, rather than squeezing it. When the grab eventually came, there was no laugh, because it signalled the end of that game.
VIDEO: Carla Keen and Nuala Ryan play The Conversation
Moment 3
We made the Body Part Duets by first creating individual body part solos (you can see that version played by East Lab Dance), teaching them to a partner, then deciding as a pair how to integrate the two into a short performance. The stages to the game were entirely choreographic but the playful starting point, taken though this systematic process, led to some satisfying and very clownlike illogical logic.
We made the Body Part Duets by first creating individual body part solos (you can see that version played by East Lab Dance), teaching them to a partner, then deciding as a pair how to integrate the two into a short performance. The stages to the game were entirely choreographic but the playful starting point, taken though this systematic process, led to some satisfying and very clownlike illogical logic.
VIDEO: Body Part Duets Compilation
In discussion afterwards, Carla, an experienced clown practitioner, noted how quick the process had been, and how polished the little performances were. Dance has many strategies and processes for organising the abstract into something satisfying; choreographic structure offers an alternative to narrative. These ways of working aren’t perhaps widely shared or known outside of dance, and have a lot to offer clown. This thought was captured on the reflective roll:
it seems we can get to physical comedy with more ease & faster in this space -that takes a lot longer in more traditional spaces
Reflective Roll note, 03/07/24
Reflective Roll note, 03/07/24
Consent was at the heart of our reflective conversation today, as we thought about the playing with someone else and the audience. We wondered whether the act of asking consent in clowning and improvisation kills the play, but also whether people might feel pressured into consenting to acts they are not comfortable with during the heat of performance.
We sought parallels from consent in sexual contexts; that we should not just be looking for a not-no from the person we are playing with, but always for an enthusiastic yes. And, as in sexual contexts, that we must be aware that boundaries are not fixed, and consent can be granted and then withdrawn. So rather than setting up a list of rules before starting to work with someone, which might indeed kill the play, we thought about how we can look for the enthusiastic yes in the moment from someone we are playing with, and make space for feedback and ‘clown aftercare’ if a game has got out of hand.
Notes on the reflective roll also grouped around the pleasure of playing and moving with someone else, and finding a spark of something between you:
We sought parallels from consent in sexual contexts; that we should not just be looking for a not-no from the person we are playing with, but always for an enthusiastic yes. And, as in sexual contexts, that we must be aware that boundaries are not fixed, and consent can be granted and then withdrawn. So rather than setting up a list of rules before starting to work with someone, which might indeed kill the play, we thought about how we can look for the enthusiastic yes in the moment from someone we are playing with, and make space for feedback and ‘clown aftercare’ if a game has got out of hand.
Notes on the reflective roll also grouped around the pleasure of playing and moving with someone else, and finding a spark of something between you:
Find the game, trust the game
It doesn’t have to be good to be good
Shit can be bloody darn good actually
Getting it very wrong but being so together that it was quite seamless
Reflective Roll notes, 03/07/24
It doesn’t have to be good to be good
Shit can be bloody darn good actually
Getting it very wrong but being so together that it was quite seamless
Reflective Roll notes, 03/07/24
We were joined in the studio today by my external examiner, Jessica Hartley of Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and my supervisor Sally Doughty. Following the session, we had an excellent conversation about what I am doing, and where the practice of this research project really sits. We also interrogated some dance terminology that is extremely familiar to Sally and myself, but not to Jessica, which was a helpful reminder to me that none of the language I have been trained to use is neutral or naturally occurring.
I came away from this conversation feeling invigorated and supported in what I am attempting to achieve with this work within dance pedagogy, noting to myself that:
I came away from this conversation feeling invigorated and supported in what I am attempting to achieve with this work within dance pedagogy, noting to myself that:
This is an intervention, and it’s political
Journal note, 03/07/24
Journal note, 03/07/24
Bibliography
Blom, L.A. and Chaplin, L.T. (1989) The intimate act of choreography. Cecil Court, London: Dance Books.
Davison, J. (2015) Clown training: a practical guide. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wright, J. (2006) Why is that so funny? a practical exploration of physical comedy. London: Nick Hern Books.
Blom, L.A. and Chaplin, L.T. (1989) The intimate act of choreography. Cecil Court, London: Dance Books.
Davison, J. (2015) Clown training: a practical guide. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wright, J. (2006) Why is that so funny? a practical exploration of physical comedy. London: Nick Hern Books.
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