Sometimes those hellish indolent Monday afternoons forebode of little precious breakthroughs — bodily memories we access and tap in order to keep what that dash of inspiration has once did for us — ‘activated’ and alive. And while its easy to slip into the habit of going on autopilot just because you found it once, the challenge of working here in the studio each day, despite the tempting option to instead sleep and enjoy a cold glass of tea or beer somewhere else perhaps by the sea, is to renew the faith in lost causes that is renewing the bodily and neuro-muscular connections that should be able to take us away, if not delay our descent into predictable veteran dictums. And most often than not those little breakthroughs come unannounced so it’s best be ready and present at all times lest one misses out of those rare ‘rewards.’ And sometimes too, those little breakthroughs not only come unannounced but also come in the most inconsequential details such as wearing a looser shirt in class, waking up on the other (wrong) side of the bed, a different brew in the morning, curling the toes, even taking off your socks while dancing. Of the former, some of us teachers will say: this is never inconsequential.

Consequential or inconsequential is perhaps not so important anymore. But Kris Legarda has definitely stumbled and accessed “new” bodily information he didn’t think he had. Thanks to little adjustments, and accommodations such as slowing down and dancing bare feet; channeling Isadora Duncan perhaps? I’m guessing not.

While Jay Cruz and the film team were out on the field interviewing Tanja Baumgarter on Eurythmy, we were left in the studio to continue investigations on torso and leg isolation, battling the near-impossibility of working under such imposing heat but also the impulse to abandon the “inspiration of an initial impetus” in the face of an impasse. Legarda who has been struggling with putting together his torso isolation study learned that a mere slowing down of his ‘moves’ revealed muscular articulations, connections, as well as new awareness of his body’s organization. In doing so, he is able to access potentials and possibilities without having to abandon his initial impetus. Now the next step is to expand this newfound kinesphere into space, whether in the studio or onstage. Echoing Tanja, who dropped by the studio briefly after her interview, shares that according to Eurythmy, one should be able to expand the experience of space either from outside of the body to the inside and from the inside to the outside. She also very briefly talked to us about the subtle differences of experience between moving with the material (physical) body and the etheric body; and how important it is to tap into both and not be stuck working with the material body.

Where this will lead Kris and Nicole into their explorations is yet to surface. As expected they have not only been battling ‘creativity’ and tasks but also the tenuous difference and ambiguous distinction between composing a dance or choreography and an “exercise” forced upon them during the course of this research. Surely there is no easy answer to this, and pursuing the topic may lead us to the uneasy singular reductions that not many artists are wont to do.