States of Tension

States of Tension from ‘Why Is That So Funny’ by John Wright

1. Exhausted

2. Laid back

3. One moment at a time

4. Neutral

5. ‘Is there a bomb in the room?’ (5a. Virgin Mary acting)

6. ‘There is a bomb in the room!’

7. ‘The bomb is about to go off’

8. Rigor Mortis

Today I improvised with the states of tension Jaques Lecoq developed for actors and physical comedians, which John Wright explores and encourages as a tool to use in 'Why Is That So Funny'.

Using this allowed me to broaden my contemporary dance skills, as the states of tension are quite relatable places to which I dance in or have danced in before but applying them to different parts of the solo allowed me to justify, juxtapose and play with certain sections of it. Which will undoubtedly be different every time and something that I will not use every time I perform it (similar to the solo tricks) but at least I can source it if I wish to.