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Old 10-14-2003, 10:46 AM   #7
opherdonchin
Dojo: Baltimore Aikido
Location: Baltimore
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 586
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Thanks for the replies so far, they've been thought provoking. Definitely keep them coming.
Quote:
Christian wrote:
Is this danceform the one that is called Buto ?
No. I hadn't heard of Buto before you asked the question so I looked it up. It seems to be 'about' finding movement that is simultaneously authentically Japanese and, at the same time, ultra-modern or post-modern in the sense of rejecting the aesthetics of beauty that govern either traditional Japanese dance or Western dance. Here is a link to what I was reading: Butoh

Contact Improv is a dance form that was 'invented' in the 1970s by Steve Paxton at Oberlin and in New York city. It is usually danced in pairs, although not necessarily the heterosexual pairing of most social dance forms, and involves an interest in how one partner transfers weight into the other and how the other partner receives and supports the weight. Pictures and descriptions can be found on this site contact improv.net. It involves a lot of leading and rolling and falling, like Aikido does.
Quote:
Jo wrote:
Tenkan & irimi for sure.
You mean just having them do some tenkan and irimi? On their own or with a partner? I wondered about this and actually rejected it as fairly 'abstract.'
Quote:
Jo wrote:
The "blending dance" from Richard Moon's video-go through techniques slowly & gently as a stretch & partnering exercise.
Which video is this? Is the blending dance where you go through the techniques slowly and gently or are those two different things?
Quote:
Jo wrote:
I wish i could describe the exercises in Wendy Palmer's Concious Embodiment work
Do you know where I could get hold of a video or a book?
Quote:
Ted wrote:
Look at the AikiNews footage of aikido practice in occupied Japan,
Do you know where I can find this? I'll definitely look up those books you mentioned.

Ian, thanks for the involved description. It's actually similar, I think, to the blending dance that Jo was talking about, if I understand both correctly. What I like about your description (if I understood it) is the idea of starting with the two hands together in front of center. This could really help get across the idea of centeredness, which is very different in Aikido and in Contact.

Mark, I think I know Nick, but I'm not sure. Do you have an e-mail? I'd just go down for practice, but I'm not sure if I'd catch him.

Again thanks all and keep it coming.

Yours in Aiki
Opher
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