I took the choreography course in NYUSH last semester, and during the class we were asked to improvise without looking at the mirror to “get into our body”. The instructor would close the curtain before the big front mirror and the windows and turn off the ceiling lights, leaving only clips of natural light outside to peak through. We would split into four groups standing at the four corners of the room and listen to the music she plays. The people standing diagonal from each other were to interact with each other in the improvisation across the room. We could use any space or setting in the room: the floor, the wall, the dancing bars (unfortunately not each other’s body because of COVID).
The feeling of standing in a dark room with dim, soft natural light and dancing through the space being carried by the music with a partner is very unique. Without the diversion of the mirror I was less self-conscious, and feeling myself in a dim, safe environment, were able to tune better into my own body, the movement of each muscles and the natural flow, the innate tendency of the body to move along with the sound. The movements of the other person is both an inspiration and a constraint, both to attract and to distract, to communicate and detach. In the proceeding stage the two people test each other, throw out questions and taunts, teasing and drawing back, switching between the role of leading and receiving. In the convergent point the conversation gets louder and more pronounced, after that the two people sway away and their motions diminish till there is none.