Falling Queer—a movement practice
March 8, 2023, La Rambles, Barcelona, photo by Daria Morgendorffer
Why Queer?
The practice of Falling Queer began in a series of movement classes Miki created for Queer people in 2022. KSAMB embraced the practice, workshopping it over the winter. Kyle and Miki took it to Barcelona, co-led a workshop for queer people, and performed the material in three different public locations. We realized that, like much of our work, it transgresses gender and social norms, and even though most of the people who dance with us do not identify as queer, what we do can be read as queer.
The work, both performed and witnessed, has many resonances. For Miki, the simplicity and therefore accessibility of the action of getting down and then getting up again is key. It is an embodiment and metaphor for resilience, an essential quality for life in the face of oppression, prejudice, and alienation.
It is a safe way to experiment with the physicality of falling: controlled falling, adaptable to different abilities, perhaps deconstructing the fear of falling. The whole body does not have to be lowered and raised; one does not need to go all the way down to the ground to experience a fall and rising up again. Even at its simplest and slowest, the physical practice is surprisingly rich, a meditation and a workout. For skilled dancers such as Contact Improvisation practitioners, it becomes a continuous flow of release, redirecting, rising, and recycling of energy.
Artistically, we continue to discover the metaphoric potential of the practice, as performance/social intervention. Performed at a relaxed pace, it has a resigned, sometimes forlorn, exhausted look. When performed with joy, it becomes inviting and nourishing. Lying on the earth becomes a pleasurable release, getting up another small accomplishment. The practise can be a luxuriating in sensation but it also has resonances of refugees, migrations, and houselessness. The encounters with actual unhoused people in the streets have been unsettling — a stimulus to action or at least pause. Other images…falling trees, the landing and takeoff of birds, sudden death or injury add more and more layers.
In Kimerer LaMothe’s seminal work, Why We Dance, she explores the primacy of movement, and therefore dance — a reversal of the foundations of philosophy and Western thought, with the conceptual trick of denying the dominion, and even the reality, of matter. A revolutionary stance against materialism — the underpinning of patriarchal colonialism’s Cartesian exploitation of the world — her reasoning implies a feminist, anti-capitalist, Queer reading of dance, especially dance which survives outside the confines of competitive capitalism.
KSAMB, by performing falling and getting up again in the street, embodies “Post capitalist joy”, imagining the beautiful possibilities of life after capitalism. The discomfort of the Riversdale Street Fair, a celebration of capitalism in the context of gentrification and homelessness, demands action. We choose to bring a paradigm-breaking dance performance which aims to connect with our community. We hope surprise, discomfort and humour can inspire us to see alternatives to apathy. We bring our dedication to improvisation as a high-functioning skill available to all, and endeavour to create permeable performance situations where performers and audience interact, and empathy blossoms.
The practice of Falling Queer began in a series of movement classes Miki created for Queer people in 2022. KSAMB embraced the practice, workshopping it over the winter. Kyle and Miki took it to Barcelona, co-led a workshop for queer people, and performed the material in three different public locations. We realized that, like much of our work, it transgresses gender and social norms, and even though most of the people who dance with us do not identify as queer, what we do can be read as queer.
The work, both performed and witnessed, has many resonances. For Miki, the simplicity and therefore accessibility of the action of getting down and then getting up again is key. It is an embodiment and metaphor for resilience, an essential quality for life in the face of oppression, prejudice, and alienation.
It is a safe way to experiment with the physicality of falling: controlled falling, adaptable to different abilities, perhaps deconstructing the fear of falling. The whole body does not have to be lowered and raised; one does not need to go all the way down to the ground to experience a fall and rising up again. Even at its simplest and slowest, the physical practice is surprisingly rich, a meditation and a workout. For skilled dancers such as Contact Improvisation practitioners, it becomes a continuous flow of release, redirecting, rising, and recycling of energy.
Artistically, we continue to discover the metaphoric potential of the practice, as performance/social intervention. Performed at a relaxed pace, it has a resigned, sometimes forlorn, exhausted look. When performed with joy, it becomes inviting and nourishing. Lying on the earth becomes a pleasurable release, getting up another small accomplishment. The practise can be a luxuriating in sensation but it also has resonances of refugees, migrations, and houselessness. The encounters with actual unhoused people in the streets have been unsettling — a stimulus to action or at least pause. Other images…falling trees, the landing and takeoff of birds, sudden death or injury add more and more layers.
In Kimerer LaMothe’s seminal work, Why We Dance, she explores the primacy of movement, and therefore dance — a reversal of the foundations of philosophy and Western thought, with the conceptual trick of denying the dominion, and even the reality, of matter. A revolutionary stance against materialism — the underpinning of patriarchal colonialism’s Cartesian exploitation of the world — her reasoning implies a feminist, anti-capitalist, Queer reading of dance, especially dance which survives outside the confines of competitive capitalism.
KSAMB, by performing falling and getting up again in the street, embodies “Post capitalist joy”, imagining the beautiful possibilities of life after capitalism. The discomfort of the Riversdale Street Fair, a celebration of capitalism in the context of gentrification and homelessness, demands action. We choose to bring a paradigm-breaking dance performance which aims to connect with our community. We hope surprise, discomfort and humour can inspire us to see alternatives to apathy. We bring our dedication to improvisation as a high-functioning skill available to all, and endeavour to create permeable performance situations where performers and audience interact, and empathy blossoms.
FALLING QUEER was a weekend performance intensive by KSAMB Dance Company with Kunji Ikeda, exploring site-specific improvisation, Contact Improvisation, and dance theatre.
July 22 and 23, 2023, in Saskatoon. Thanks to SK Arts and Dance Saskatchewan.
July 22 and 23, 2023, in Saskatoon. Thanks to SK Arts and Dance Saskatchewan.
Photo by Tim Nguyen
PERFORMANCES
Falling Queer and variations, by KSAMB Dance Company, at Riversdale Street Fair! Saturday, July 22, 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.
Falling Queer directed by Kunji Ikeda, Sunday, 7 pm, River Landing Amphitheatre.
Falling Queer and variations, by KSAMB Dance Company, at Riversdale Street Fair! Saturday, July 22, 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.
Falling Queer directed by Kunji Ikeda, Sunday, 7 pm, River Landing Amphitheatre.
INSTANT CHOREOGRAPHY
—a workshop by Kunji Ikeda.
A welcoming, multi-level movement workshop that encourages tuning and dance theatre skills to find meaning in improvised settings. A rare opportunity for Saskatoon performers.
Saturday, July 22, 3-5 pm. St. George's Anglican Church Hall, 624 Ave I S, Saskatoon.
$45. (Early bird—before July 15, $35)
—a workshop by Kunji Ikeda.
A welcoming, multi-level movement workshop that encourages tuning and dance theatre skills to find meaning in improvised settings. A rare opportunity for Saskatoon performers.
Saturday, July 22, 3-5 pm. St. George's Anglican Church Hall, 624 Ave I S, Saskatoon.
$45. (Early bird—before July 15, $35)
March 8, 2023, La Rambles, Barcelona, photo by Daria Morgendorffer
Falling Queer — Taking post capitalist joy to the streets of Barcelona! March 2-13, 2023.
Kyle and Miki of KSAMB collaborated in a residency with Aurora Valverde's Queering CI program at ENEstudio Barcelona, to coincide with International Women's Day (IWD). With Aurora, we presented a workshop, "Cuerpxs del Postcapitalismo," exploring Contact Improvisation (CI) as a post-capitalist practice. Inspired by experiments and participation in March 7 and 8 rallies and actions, we danced three, one-hour performances: March 7 at L'illa Diagonal, March 8 up the Rambles, and March 13 down the Portal de l'Angel.
Kyle and Miki of KSAMB collaborated in a residency with Aurora Valverde's Queering CI program at ENEstudio Barcelona, to coincide with International Women's Day (IWD). With Aurora, we presented a workshop, "Cuerpxs del Postcapitalismo," exploring Contact Improvisation (CI) as a post-capitalist practice. Inspired by experiments and participation in March 7 and 8 rallies and actions, we danced three, one-hour performances: March 7 at L'illa Diagonal, March 8 up the Rambles, and March 13 down the Portal de l'Angel.
