Response 11 - Being Seen, Being Heard

In this article, Andrea J. Olsen discusses Authentic Movement, a form of dance experience during which a mover delves into their unconscious seeking inspiration for movement, while a witness views them, and then the two discuss what was experienced.  This process is called “movement in depth” and encourages freedom of expression through the body.  I found this concept interesting, but I was also skeptical.  Initially this form of dance seems voyeuristic, in a way which I think is implicitly more complicated than the article acknowledges.  The witness is meant to view the mover and speak to them about it “without judging”, but I don’t necessarily see how this can function.  The witness can certainly censor their judgments while speaking to the mover, but that does not negate the presence of the judgments.  Furthermore, if the purpose of Authentic Dance is to attain a kind of pure self-reflection, then why should the witness not be able to judge the mover?  It seems to me that it would be beneficial to the exercise to express these judgments and break them down, to understand where they come from.  This would access the witness’s unconscious in addition to the mover’s unconscious.

I was also skeptical as to what extent it can be assured that the unconscious is reached during this process.  Olsen recognizes that there are indeed barriers to be broken down in this effort, but she asserts that with enough effort this can be achieved.  It seems to me that this would be a momentous task, and even once a mover had reached their unconscious it would be easy to revert to fear and doubt.

I think the concept of Authentic Movement as a source of inspiration for choreography is interesting.  I would like to see an example of this kind of work to better understand what this kind of performance would look like.  While, as Olsen acknowledges, pure Authentic Movement may not be entirely suitable to be performed as is on stage, taking certain movements that represent personal struggles, successes, and the full range of emotions from this trip into the unconscious would be very provocative.