Final Working Forms – Practising

DAY 1: SUNDAY

Welcome Session (lunch)

Over lunch, in small mixed groups, each table will be given a ‘menu card’ with a set of questions inviting participants to reflect on their 1 hour practice session earlier in the day:

1. What did you do?
2. How does this compare with what you normally do?
3. What made you choose the space?
4. What were your aims and what came out?
5. What did you discover?

Session 1: From One to All - Questions [45 mins]
Facilitated by Dinah Stabb and Tomas Jederlund

The purpose of this session is to establish ourselves as a group for the seminar, to feel that we have met one another, and to experience the shift from being alone practising (the first task of the seminar) to working together.

Speed dating: 4 x 5 mins with a different person each time, someone you don't know, forming a duo. In the 5 mins, divide the time in half and each person of the duo ask their partner the following questions:

• What is your name?
• Where do you come from and what do you do?
• What do you love doing outside of music/theatre/dance?
• What do you hope to find in this seminar?

A big bell (saxophone signal) marks out the time: a long sound at each 5 minutes to show that it is time to find a new duo; and a shorter sound at 2.5mins within each 5 minutes to indicate that within the duo we should change roles.

At the end of the full 20mins, form 5 groups of 8 people (whoever is nearby but each with 2 Creative Directors). Invite a brief conversation (10mins):

• What has surprised/struck/touched you in what you heard?

Session 2: Shining a light on practice: Personal perspectives, dimensions and experiences [1.5 hours, followed by 20 min walk]

Participants have all been asked to bring several objects that capture an important perspective for them on their experiences with practising, as an artist and/or as a teacher.

To begin with participants all put their objects on the floor in piles so that they can all be seen, and it becomes unclear who has brought each object. Set up some chairs, or whatever furniture is to hand, to create a platform for the constellation.

Each participant in turn then chooses an object from the box that they are attracted to (not one that they brought themselves). The ‘owner’ of the item steps forward and tells the story behind this object and how it relates to their experiences of practising and what makes it important. This is followed by open questions from other members of the group to further unpack the object (this may not be needed – keep an eye on the time to ensure that a good number of objects get placed) and to make connections to important aspects of practising for them.

The ‘owner’ then places the item on a table (or near it) to start forming a constellation that will be made from the different objects.

Continue taking an item at a time until several have been placed. As new items are considered, it is also important to think about the relationship between the items in the installation and how they are placed, to ask questions e.g. what has made you put this item there? Or, where do you see the closest connection to another item? It is also possible to invite participants to move objects around to reflect their own experience – it is not a fixed installation, rather a constellation!

If someone in the group has not yet had an object chosen and talked about it, invite them to contribute, eg “I would love to hear your perspectives, which are your objects, can I choose one of them?”

Once everyone has at least one object placed, you can change approach: invite everyone now to add some more of their own objects, saying something briefly about them and how they fit into the constellation. This is likely to speed up the momentum and quickly make changes to the constellation.

Before closing the session, organize who will introduce which object in the artistic responses in session 3. The brief here is to say something short (1min max) about one object and what has struck you/been important for you about its story. To choose our object for this part, a simple order can be that someone starts (can even be the Creative Director), and then whoever’s object is chosen then goes next to identify a different one that they will talk about.

At the end of this session the Creative Directors must explain the process for the walk and talk that follows immediately on, and serves as a way to reflect on what each of us as an individual can take away from the constellation and process of making it:

* Find a partner, someone you don’t yet know well, and from a different core group

* Take a walk together for 20 mins, in which each of you takes half the time to talk about what struck you in this last constellation exercise and what you have learned yourself about this in relation to the topic of practising.

Session 3: Artistic Responses to dimensions of practising [ 1 hour]
The day will conclude with artistic responses to the sources that were brought to the seminar.

Two core groups come together in one double core-group session. There are in total three double-core group sessions working parallel. We work with the fish bowl setting. Core-group one sits in the middle. The other core- group is sitting around as an audience.

Essentially the form creates a set of short pieces. The order is free.

One by one participants in the inner circle show and tell about a source or perspective on practising from a participant in their group that struck them or moved them (as decided at the end of Session 2). So each participant talks about another participant. As soon as the short introduction (1’-2’ max) is over the rest of the inner group responds with a short improvised piece (2’-3’ max). That piece is performed as a gift to the person that is at that moment in the center of the attention – it is not at all a question about how good you are at improvising. So he or she gets a story about his or her sources or perspectives by someone else and an improvised piece added to it. Then follows the next one. The time frame is very strict. The first half hour is the first group in the fish bowl. Than the groups change places and the 5’ rhythm of talking-playing, talking-playing is continued until everybody has had his/her moment of attention.  

Short text to share with the group: Bart will bring this with him.

DAY 2: MONDAY

Session 4 [1 hr 30 mins]

1. "Thinking in the Body” An exploration of inhabiting both the practise and performance space with a focused intention
2. Practising improvisation

Working form: mixed groups, facilitated by Dinah and Gaby (Thinking in the body) and Bart and Thomas (Practising improvisation)

Session 5: Opening Doors: exploring diverse approaches to practising [3 hours]

All participants will start in the Great Hall and will be given a detailed map to show where the doors to open during this session will be.

Brief for participants:

Make a pair, with someone who is not from your own institution (but may be from your core group).

The purpose of this session is to extend our perspectives on approaches to practising and possible tools to use within practising. Given what we already know and have established as a regular part of practising, this is about opening doors to new possibilities and exploring them to see what might be valuable.

The idea is a bit like a fair ground – there are different attractions, where you can just go for a ride and see what it is like. You won’t know exactly what is in each room, that’s part of the fun. The rooms open at 3pm.

There are 6 rooms – you can make your own choice about where you want to go when, but stay with your partner. We’ll need to be a bit aware of one another, and organize ourselves so that we are not all in the same room at the same time. You can go into any room at any time, except room 2, the Dukes room. This has timed slots, and a new session starts every 20mins, beginning at 3pm. We have 2 hours for this fairground. At 5pm you need to go back to your room with your core group leader. So approximately you have 20mins for each room – you choose whether to make some shorter, some longer.

Take your instruments and something that you are working on in your practising – don’t worry if you don’t have your instrument here, but do take it if you have it.

As you move from room to room, talk a little with your partner – what did you find, what happened, what did it mean for you?

At 5pm, for the last half hour, go back to your core groups – rooms are noted in the programme. This is a chance to talk together about this session:

• What happened?
• What has changed for you?

DAY 3: TUESDAY

Session 6: A holistic look at practising: The Balance Wheel

The Balance Wheel is a useful tool for looking at our satisfaction with different aspects of our lives, and then exploring possibilities for increasing satisfaction in any particular area and how energized we might be to make change.

We will start with a Life Balance Wheel in order to demonstrate how it might be used, and can then move on to look at a Balance Wheel that focuses specifically on aspects of practising.

Life Balance Wheel

Looking at each segment of the wheel, how satisfied are you with each aspect of your life? The centre represents “totally dissatisfied” the outer edge represents “totally satisfied”. Rate each segment on a scale of 0-10, then draw a line connecting each segment. (DEMONSTRATE).

Once the Balance Wheel has been filled in either:

• ask questions for participants to reflect on silently. OR
• find a volunteer who is happy to be coached briefly on what emerges.

Questions which may be useful:

• When you look at the wheel as a whole, what strikes you?
• What links do you see between the way you have scored different segments?
• How much energy do you have for change in the areas where you have given a low score for satisfaction?
• Change in which area would have the biggest impact on the whole?
• Choosing one are where there is low score, what would it take to make that a higher score? What possible steps could to take towards achieving this?
  
  

Practising balance wheel

Have a go at filling in the balance wheel thinking about your own practice.

Discuss in pairs:

• When you look at the wheel as a whole, what strikes you?
• What links do you see between the way you have scored different segments?
• How much energy do you have for change in the areas where you have given a low score for satisfaction?
• Change in which area would have the biggest impact on the whole?
• Where there is low score, what would it take to make that a higher score? What possible steps could to take towards achieving this?
• What have you learnt about your practice from this exercise?
• How might you adapt the practice balance wheel to make it even more relevant (for you, or for your students).

Then, in the whole group, exchange reflections about what you take away from this session.

The Practice Balance Wheel

Session 7: Reviewing video material of practising [1 hour 30 mins]

In core groups, using video to stimulate reflection, and developing constructive feedback in a duo. A key principle is that the person bringing the video has ownership of the conversation ( i.e. the agenda is theirs).

15 mins briefing on the purpose of this exercise: working form that enables someone to review a video of their own work and think constructively about it, supported by a peer, and getting some non-judgemental feedback from the peer. The working form is strict, follow the questions as they are set out, it’s important not to stray off these. They create a quite different approach from what might happen in a regular conversation about the video where you ask “what did you think?” and perhaps the peer offers advice. We are keen to explore this new working form and to see how you find it.

First questions to address (the video owner) before showing the video:

• What is the context for this video clip? (eg this comes from a session when I was at home; I was preparing for…..; I felt a bit rushed, I knew I had to…..)
  
• What in particular made you choose this clip to share? (this clip comes from half way through the practice session, I was feeling really tired and frustrated and was working on a small section that isn’t so difficult technically but I was struggling to find it’s shape….)

Having watched the clip together, each of you in turn should say something about what you found striking, remarkable, touching, … etc. The owner of the video goes first. (This is Critical Response step 1) Make sure that what you say is not critical or negative. You are looking for what is inspiring, interesting, touching, remarkable…..

You can then go through the following questions:

• Seeing this video clip, what in your practising would you like to develop?
• What makes this important now?
• What do you need in order to develop this; what steps could you take? (What might get in the way?)
• Imagine that you have now made progress, what is different?
• What is your first step and when will you take this?

Session 9: Closing Session [1 hour]

Silent Coaching: Facilitated by Jo Hensel

INTRODUCTION: These questions can be used with a group of any size. The way that happens can differ depending on time available / constitution and purpose of the group.

Today, we will take 20 minutes or so to reflect on these questions as individuals, thinking back on our overall experience of this ICON seminar, and afterwards we will move into institutional groups for planning.

You may well find it helpful to write things down as you reflect. You are not going to be asked to show your notes to anyone, so anything you write down is confidential unless you choose to share it.

I will ask the questions one after the other, and will try to judge when people are ready to move on. If I am moving too quickly, please just signal to me and I can slow down.

There are around twenty questions. Some of these will only take a moment, others will need more thought.

Think of an important issue relating to your own or your students’ practice which has come to the fore in these past few days. Whichever issue you choose, it is important that it matters to you, and that at this point, you are not sure how to proceed with it. It also needs to be an issue where you yourself are central to the action in some way (ie it doesn’t rely on you changing something in someone else).

• What’s the issue?
• What makes it an issue now?
• Who owns this issue (or which part of this issue do you think you have ownership of?)
• How important is it on a scale of 1-10?
• How much energy do you have for this issue on a scale of 1-10?
• If the number is low – what would it take for the number to change to a higher one? If it is high already – what does this tell you about the issue?
• What are the implications of doing nothing? How do you feel about that?
• What have you tried or thought of trying already? What else?
• What have you learned from that?
• Imagine this problem has been solved. What is happening? What do you see? Feel? Hear? Do? (or imagine yourself telling me about the successful outcome in a month’s time – what would you be telling me?)
• What’s standing in the way of that ideal outcome?
• What’s your own responsibility for what is happening?
• What early signs are there that things might be getting better?
• Imagine you’re at your most resourceful – what do you say to yourself?
• (or… what might a trusted friend or colleague suggest?)
• What are the options for action?
• What criteria will you use to decide which of the options to take forward?
• So, what’s the first/next step? And when will you take it?
• Who could help you with this?
• How will you review your progress?

Appendix: Preparation & Core Groups

Assignment Card* on arrival (not in advance):

*Before the start of the seminar at 13:30, find a space at Dartington to practise for one hour. This could be practising that you regularly do, it could also be more experimental. It can be practising your instrument, or for example, practising yoga / tai chi etc. Note, we are taking a broad view of what might constitute practising. Document your choice of place e.g. with a photograph.

NB It is the participant’s responsibility to choose the time and find a space – there is no set time for this. Note if it is not possible for you to access a piano for example, you should consider other approaches to your practice e.g. mental practice.

Participant Preparation

1. Bring 3 or 4 objects, images or metaphors with you to the seminar that for you capture something important about your experience of or perspectives on practising.

1. Please bring a 2-3 minute video clip of your own practising for a session in the seminar in which we will explore a working form for reviewing these clips in pairs. You are welcome to bring a clip that comes from the kind of practising that you regularly do, or from a practice session where you are trying new things. It’s also fine to think of practising from different perspectives: practising your instrument alone is perhaps the most obvious context to choose if this suits you, but the context could also reflect something like practising skills/approaches as a teacher with your students, or practising to support well-being, etc.
   It is recommended that you bring this on a portable device e.g. phone, laptop, tablet, as projection will not be required or available for the session.

1. Bring challenging repertoire with you to the seminar that you are working on at present (as well as your instrument).

1. If you would like to offer a workshop which participants can sign up to attend, please send a description of no more than 150 words and a workshop title.
   

Core Groups

[A] Helena Gaunt (Oboe): Jonne Covers (Dance), Renata Marcinkute-Lesieur (organ), Julius Pranevicius (Horn), Mikhail Zemtsov (Viola), Niklas Pokki (Piano)

[B] Dinah Stabb (Actor), Gerda van Zelm (Voice): Henry Kelder (piano), Felicia Moye (violin), Egbert Jan Louwerse (flute), Erja Joukamo-Ampuja (Horn), Jorgen Berg (Guitar)

[C] Jo Hensel (Horn) and Tine Stolte (Voice): Rik Bastiaens (organ), Helen McVey (cello), Susan Williams (baroque trumpet), Judith Kopecky (piano), Rebecca Cohen (piano), Pooja Sitpura (actor)

[D] Thomas Jaderlund (Saxophone): Gabriela Mayer (piano), Mona Julsrud (voice), Andrea Gajic (violin), Annemarie Maas (voice), Paivi Arjas (cello)

[E] Gaby Allard (Dance), Gemma Carey (Piano): Igo Lange (piano), Vibeke Breian (saxophone), Johan Stern (cello), Jeroen Thijssen (piano)

[F] Bart (Cello): Xavier Barbeta (piano), Philippa Davies (flute), Martinez-Schrijver (saxophone), Carolien Drewes (piano), Rahel Stoellger (recorder)