MemoryDance

MemoryDance is a practice that connects the mover’s attention and senses to a memory of a specific, chosen location, usually one with special, personal memories. Born out of a curiosity as to whether past immersion in landscapes can have a lasting influence on physicality it has become a peaceful, joyful improvisation practice. During Melbourne's extended lockdown myself, Alexandra Dobson, Jazmyn Carter, Rachel Mackie and Erin O'Rourke developed a weekly MemoryDance practice over zoom. It allowed us to experience momentary escapes to other places and, in that capacity, it was a wonderful practice for our wellbeing.

 

MemoryDance does not generate large, virtuosic movement but rather - in the stillness of the body - the mind actively re-examines  sensations experienced in past landscapes. The smallest, subtlest gestures of an eyebrow or fingertip are full of honesty, conviction and experience. It is a wonderful attention-training practice that filters into daily life.