Day 2
10:00-11:30 – Contemporary with Kate Mummery
We did a very similar class to yesterday, building on some of the exercises we did yesterday. We’re slowly adding in more Cunningham specific exercises, today we did pulses which is like sit ups but standing up. I found that really interesting, at first it just feels weird and like it’s not doing much, but once you get the correct range of movement and alignment you can really feel it working the abdominals. We did the phrase we did yesterday and worked it out on the left and then performed it in smaller groups which was nice to be able to use more of the space and to watch everyone else. Oh and I forgot to mention yesterday – we have a musician for this class who plays different rhythms on various instruments, it gives a different feel to the class and it’s refreshing to work in that way rather than with the same set music from an iPod.
11:45-13:15 – Repertoire with Hannah Rudd – The Strange Charm of Mother Nature
We learnt another phrase from this piece which I really liked as well, so once we’d learnt that we recapped the phrases we did yesterday and then got into groups (there’s quite a wide range of ability within the group so the groups we got into were kind of based on how well people were picking it up so we could go at a speed we were most comfortable with) and in those smaller groups we got into formations and went from one phrase to the next, almost like putting together a mini piece. This is what we’ll be performing in the sharing on Friday.
14:15-15:45 – Choreography with Estela Merlos
I have so many bruises from this session! Floor work is the enemy. We started off with a bit of partner work and went into some contact improvisation playing around with counter balances. We then took this on a larger scale and created three big structures including everyone in the group, using each other to balance in a variety of different positions on different levels. We then recapped the phrases we did yesterday and then learnt a new phrase which again included floor work, and it’s quite fast! I’m enjoying it though. I always find this session the hardest as it’s the one after lunch, so I’ve just sat down for an hour, eaten and seized up!
16:00-17:00 – Yoga/Pilates
This was more yoga than yesterday, it was challenging but much more of a steady pace compared to yesterday, and had a lot more stretching which was lovely. We did a section of passive stretching in partners, it’s amazing the difference it makes having someone apply pressure to parts of your body and the effect that has on the stretch you’re doing, it feels wonderful! We finished off with a relaxation session which was much needed. After two days of finishing with a relatively gentle session, I think finishing off the day with ballet tomorrow and Thursday is going to a be a bit of a shock to the system!
So that’s two days down, three to go! I’m covered in bruises and ache a little, I came home today and made friends with the foam roller (if you don’t have one, you need one – I have this one and this one). We’re doing a different piece of repertoire tomorrow so will be nice to mix things up a bit! Here’s hoping I don’t forget everything we’ve learnt from today…
Dreams That Glitter xo 