THE PILLOW BLOG

 

Dealing with the Unexpected: Reflections After a Workshop
Beate Absalon Beate Absalon

Dealing with the Unexpected: Reflections After a Workshop

“Feeling good isn’t a special quality,” my Butoh dance teacher Anna Barth explained many years ago. One might have thought her cynical, but instead, my heart opened up. Like a wise enticement, the sentence expressed what one senses but searches for in vain when Instagram images routinely elevate comfort to a desirable standard. With this sentence, a space opened up that hospitably granted access to a variety of moods and feelings. The goal was no longer to lead a happy life, but a rich one. When dancing, this manifested itself in such a way that I shamelessly no longer…

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Some Thoughts on the Empowering Sensual Objectifications in Contact Improvisation
Beate Absalon Beate Absalon

Some Thoughts on the Empowering Sensual Objectifications in Contact Improvisation

What struck me during my first CI class was the surprisingly pleasant experience of not actually being encountered or perceived as a human, as a person, as an individual, as Beata, but simply being used as a kind of material, as a supporting object used by others to carry out various motions and movements. It wasn’t offensive, but refreshing and relaxing, because the touch and the interactions didn’t demand anything from me directly. The touch was driven by other intentions, and I was merely a medium for discovering goals that were not my own. This feeling was not entirely new. I actually enjoy being screened for dangerous goods by airport security, for example. And in a more deliberate and direct way, I am also familiar with objectification games in BDSM contexts, e.g., when people are…

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