After a mammoth 30 plus hours of travel, I'm home in sunny Perth and it's time to reflect on the amazing journey I have had in New York City over the last two weeks.
For those of you who are unfamiliar as to why I travelled to the states, it was to work with the dancer and choreographer, Tamar Rogoff, in her techniques of shaking and body scripting, in an attempt to unlock the powers of neuroplasticity. Motivated by the increasing wear and tear of moving through the world with Cerebral Palsy on my body as I get older, and with no better time than the present to do something about it, I knew that Tamar's knowledge of alignment and the body could be a huge benefit not only in my own quest for a more efficient way of moving but also to others in similar positions.
So I set off with my partner Nathan, to the other side of the world to undertake and document a 10 day intensive exploration of my body, consisting of almost 30 hours of working one-on-one with Tamar . This was thanks to her incredible generosity and the generosity of La Mama Theatre Club in the form of a 10 day residency that meant that we had access to a studio for three hours a day. The studio meant that we were really free to spend our time exploring many different ways of moving in a nice open space.
The great thing about this work with Tamar was that we had no expectations. Shaking, a tension release technique that Tamar learnt many years ago, to our knowledge, has never been done this intensively before (30 hours over 10 days) , so neither of us had any idea of how significant the outcome of practising in this way would be. This definitely gave us a certain freedom; we didn't have any goals to meet, only a curiosity as to how these different techniques could be applied and a desire to learn what more was possible of my body. As a disabled individual I've never really felt as though I've been given the opportunity to explore the possibilities of my body without feeling as though I was working to achieve certain expectations or milestones, so the freedom of this time to just be in my body and enjoying it was wonderful.
On average our daily sessions consisted of 3 or 4 blocks of shaking in different positions (to achieve length, space, and relaxation through out the body), which typically lasted around 20-30 minutes, as well as time to feed my plastic brain new patterns and to script new ways of walking. Whilst shaking works to relieve tension from the body that is accrued from daily life with CP, such as that caused by spasticity and the 'startle reflex', body scripting works to create new patterns of movement by creating a language my nervous system can understand. CP means that it's hard for me to connect with or engage certain muscles, it's as if there just isn't a pathway from my brain to that area of my body, but I do have a basic understanding of human anatomy, which means I have an understanding of where most of the bones and organs are located. Capitalising upon this knowledge, Tamar created a language in which we imagine movement originating in places and spaces with in the body, rather than the muscles themselves. For example, to combat the damaging seesaw motion of my gait from side to side, she told me to imagine I had feet in my clavicles and to walk with those. This created more of a contralateral movement pattern in which I rotated through the trunk and the hips as opposed to collapsing downwards.
One of the things I appreciated most about this experience, was that we were both very aware that the new patterns we were creating, and the new walk we were scripting, had to be mine, with my personal flare and style. The way you move through the world says a lot about you, so whilst I was aiming for a less damaging gait, it still had to have me in it, a little of my swagger. So we crafted in play, with music, and experimentation, whilst focusing on bettering alignment and imbalances. This made the whole experience feel less like a regimented 'therapy', despite working in the studio for so long, and more like an art form. This is why Tamar's methods spoke to me so much when I first came across Enter the Faun, because it's not about removing myself from anything, it's about growing and adapting, to help the body do what it's designed to do.
Here's a clip of me fully enjoying that experience :) -
We didn't stop the fun at just curating a walk though, we also harnessed dance as a way to tap into other areas of the brain and incite new kinds of movement. My gait is noticeably different when I dance, or when walk to my favourite song, and that is something I am keen to continue to explore, as I did in my sessions with Tamar and in participating in her movement class twice a week whilst I was in NYC.
Here's another video, mostly for your entertainment haha -
Tamar's movement class was amazing. I'm quite self conscious when it comes to moving outside my habitual or when it doesn't involved acting as a character in someway. I guess it's just because that when I'm most aware of my disability and my differences. So I'm not going to lie, dancing, especially in a class, is something that fills me with anxiety, but Tamar and her wonderful class really helped me to move past that, to find enjoyment in all kinds of movement. To loose myself in the experience. Don't get me wrong this isn't your typical dance class either, the participants are all amazing characters and it's not at all about what you look like; it's really just about being present in your body and enjoying it. It was a liberating experience, and something I hope to be able to draw on in the future.
Now back to moving, shaking, and walking...
One of the most interesting parts of this experience for me was how the process of shaking developed over the course of the ten day. It started off almost violently, taking two people to keep me in position as my body revelled in expelling huge amounts of tension and energy. It was rapid and messy but as the day went it quietened, developing patterns, release certain areas in order and priority. Starting in limbs and moving towards my spine, my pelvis, and finally my core. It was as though each day another part of my body was free to be scripted, to join in on my new ways of moving. By tenth day my body was almost still, as if the process had come to a natural conclusion, at least for now. Tamar believes the first 80 or so percent of the work comes easily and fast, and that the remaining 20 percent takes a long time understand and develop. So I'm looking forward to that challenge and to documenting my progression. Below are two videos that show the progression of the shaking and subsequently in my gait as the week progressed -
As you can see shaking removes tension from the body, allowing for greater length, engagement, and flow in movement. It's as if it gives the brain a chance to organise that it doesn't normally have, I definitely felt a strong sense of clarity with in my body after the sessions, with greater access to my muscles. It also lessened my startle reflex, so I felt the greatest relaxation I can ever remember experiencing, giving me the ability to take in my surroundings without feeling on edge. For the first time I felt as though I was really experiencing the world in my body rather than trying to detach from it. New York was a great place to experience in all of its chaos and bustle, so I am beyond grateful that I got to go on this journey. But what now...
Well I hope that I'm going to be able to take everything I learnt and experienced on this trip, to continue to explore the possibilities of my body. I really feel as though I am just at the beginning of this adventure and I'm excited to see what else comes of it. I know that these practices could be of great benefit to others with neurological conditions, and even those without, so I'm hoping in the near future I'll be able to share it all with you in some way. For now I'm just pumped to continue shaking, dancing, and moving!