June Asides
Why Play?
I am realizing, once again, that the aspect of contact improvisation that is engaged play – art play – is an extremely important feature of our relational engagements as well as our ability to further expand what this dance form can do. Can be.
It awakens each of us not only individually but collectively by continually putting our relational potentials onto a playground with open rules defined mostly by moving on the earth, challenging our possible modes and ways of meeting, speaking though motion and physical attention. It offers us an edge to ride, one we can fall off, and draws out what we think being in communication can be, allowing us to discover ways to engage across differences of strength, shape, timing, capacity, and care. It allows us to get it wrong, and sometimes suffer the consequences, but not always – mostly not always. We learn better when we play, we allow challenges to be fun, we stop expecting perfection and just mess around, finding spirited moments of exploration.
And, when play is also an art, then reaching into a felt “note,” to meet harmonies only the dancers might hear, or finding cascades of liquid weight bring out a fresh grace present only when two become momentarily one … now that is awesome joy. To allow the serious practice of researching somatic communication through dancers at (art)play together, that seems an exquisite way to engage one’s very precious living.
Politically speaking, play’s agenda is more play. Play that is competitive misses the point and reproduces structures of hierarchy, me over you. “Fun overall”, is not an essential element, and thus mutual exploration and shared inquiry devolve into “sides” that emphasize who “gets it or get’s there” first. One side has fun, the other side often works.
Since “all intelligence is collective intelligence” (Michael Levin), relational actions that invite the collective to inquire together seem critical. Plus, its fun. And, art making is enlivening. (Art)Play, what a value!
Check out James P. Carse's "Finite and Infinite Games" (1987). Nancy Stark Smith suggested this book to me years back... maybe in the 90s. Love Nancy.
