Chie Mukai leads an improvisation workshop, sharing experiences from thirty years of site-specific performance and improvisation. This workshop continues a teaching practice begun in 2001, it is free and open to 25 practitioners of sound and movement— bring your own instrument, no amps or cables are provided. RSVP is necessary to participate, observers are welcome with no ticket required.
Our challenge through Improvisation — Why we choose Improvisation
I'd like to describe here what I have discovered through site-specific performance and improvisation for thirty years, and through the Workshop I have organized since 2001. I am honored if you feel something amused by this article, because I would like to share my wonderful experiences with those who has no previous improvisational experiences.
The fact that improvisational performance is the art of unpredictable makes it interesting, that is to say, the boundaries of traditional art could be pushed out at any moment.
We start off this event with dividing practitioners into some groups by lots drawing; we cannot choose our partners. This process is also sort of improvisation, because we cannot decide our partners including their genres with intention. We are forced to create something new with those who we don't know well each other.
Even this process is also improvisation, because we cannot choose our group members.
But inventive curiosity makes everything possible, besides something new can be popped out.
If we make improvisation with those whom we know each other beforehand, we tend to perform with intentions of mind.
For example, if a dancer makes improvisation performance with a musician, her/his choice, in most cases, derives from her/his preferences. As I have told above, what makes this event unique is that we choose our partner with improvisation.
Beginners, therefore, can be fine artist here as far as they have will and inventive sensitivity to feel the energy on the spot.
Improvisation is direct art in that it cut out time and space on the spot.
Everybody who shares the time and space plays the important role in this activity.
It happened to be a sort of plot or scenario, but it comes suddenly by chance. We present the fabulous world that was unknown, and it belongs to the different dimension that was created by the directors. Energy of players, that of audiences and place, all becomes part of creation, we express ourselves, develop ourselves, and then release ourselves. We can be fine artists without special technique; all we need to do is trust our surroundings, and release ourselves.
It is only “Perspective Emotion” that challenges the boundary of performance with such strength.
—Chie Mukai
