This drawing and these words were made after improvising in silence to a simple movement score: to move with eyes closed for 7 minutes, as a partner observes. Within this simple rule of play, I moved into an imagined Antarctic landscape. The drawing is mine. The words are my partner’s response to my moves.
Al Wunder first introduced me to the concept of scores in 1984, when I went to classes at his Carlton studio inVictoria. An example of a score is ‘facings and spacings’, which he set for trios during a workshop I attended in January 2003. Three people would move in relation to each other in any way, as long as they facing, and shaping the space shapes between each other. Working within a structure allows for further structuring of movement to occur. Patterns of movement happen in time and space. To maintain interest, the use of time, space and energy are often tested to their limits. How slow can you go? How fast? Transitions and stillness become as important as the gesture.