Andrea Olsen's ideas on the use of water elements in choreography

Andrea Olsen: the use of water elements in movement exploration, and drawing on the relevance of water immersion on the research through-line

As I dive deeper into my research I have started to notice a similarity when looking at practitioners who involve nature in their practice. They all mention in their own way that in order to reconnect with nature you need to first become 'in touch with yourself'. As I have written before, Suprapto Suryodarmo speaks about being in awareness in each ever-changing moment (Reeve, n.d), Richard Louv talks about 'being in touch with yourself and your cells' (Ritson, 2021), and now when researching movement practitioner Andrea Olsen, she mentions the same idea.

Andrea Olsen, a performer, writer, and educator, has dedicated some aspects of her practice to movement in nature, our bodily connections to the natural world, and how to enhance awareness of them (Olsen, n.d). In an interview with Olsen where she specifically speaks about water and its qualities, she talks about the undeniable interconnection of culture, humans, and nature (Olsen, 2018, 07:31). Humans are 70% water, in the same way the earth is 70% water. Each time you arrive in a new place and you consume water, in three days that consumption forms a connection to the environment, as 'that 70% of you becomes the water of that land' (Olsen, 2018, 02:30). 'The understanding of water inside as well as outside, has made a wonderful relationship to water; that every quality of movement that you see in water is also in us' (Olsen, 2018, 02:44). Again, this relates to the idea of self-awareness in order to connect to your natural environment, but as Olsen teaches anatomy as well, she has a more physiological way to describe it. The same as Suryodarmo, Olsen's practice incorporates Vipassana meditation, in order to stay in connection to oneself (Olsen, n.d). Furthermore, her description of the human’s relationship to water reminded me of research regarding the effect of sea swimming, or sea immersion, on people.

In a study done on the subject, swimmers were interviewed and asked about various aspects of their experience when swimming. Quite a few people mentioned mental clarity, and focus and their attention clearly shifting onto their body, further described as ‘intense embodiment’ (Denton and Aranda, 2019). As a reflection, I feel like I greatly connect to the research presented in this study. When I discovered sea swimming, I remember experiencing this intense sense of mindfulness as I immersed myself in the water. The sea close to the shore in Iceland is quite cold, therefore your attention is diverted straight to the cold surrounding your body, and how you can relax by breathing deeply and calmly. While reflecting, I noticed this resembles meditation techniques I have practiced, as they often include body-scanning and breathing techniques. Now, whenever I seek mental clarity and sharp attention, I go swimming. I started including this in my practice regularly during Covid lockdowns, and the mental and physical benefits it brought truly amazed me. Moreover, after having done research now on how creativity can be enhanced in natural spaces, this idea of humans’ preference of natural environments due to the activation of instincts, or bodily affects (Plambech & Konijnendijk van den Bosch, 2015, pp.257), greatly corresponds to this information above. When in the ocean, instincts are switched on to ‘navigate’ oneself, making sure not to go too deep, put oneself in danger, being aware of other living creatures around, and focusing on calming the mind, which could be related to the increased attention and mental clarity the swimmers described (Denton and Aranda, 2019). Also, the study suggested that many people can be drawn towards waters and the ocean, as it provides a sense of calm and tranquility (Denton and Aranda, 2019), which could also be related to the fact that elements in nature are fractals; patterns constantly in flux (Sigma Documentaries, 2021, 01:00).

Olsen also draws inspiration from natural environments for her choreographic practice. Her description of her own practice in relation to nature is interesting as she says she uses the same vocabulary and the same descriptive words for the movement qualities of herself and nature (Olsen, 2018, 04:36). I found this highly relevant to my line of inquiry, as it gives me a different perspective to how I might incorporate natural elements into my choreography. Perhaps not looking at movements in nature and human movement as complete separate ideas can assist me with my idea of blurring the lines between body and environment. As an example, I have always found that ocean waves greatly resemble the rising and falling motion of breath. In practice I could utilise that similarity both by syncing up the motion of the waves to the dancer’s movements, and using descriptive words relating to the waves’ movement qualities to influence composition. ---

Dear Dancer,

As I read through your research above, I wonder if you could add one element into your practice. As well as being a performer and teacher, Andrea Olsen is a Qi Gong and yoga teacher (Olsen, n.d). As you aim to find how movement can connect people to their natural environments, Qi Gong is a movement practice that has great relation to nature and heightened self-awareness (Jahnke, et al, 2010). Since you have discovered a through-line in your research regarding a disconnection to oneself resulting in disconnection to the environment, Qi Gong could also be of relevance there. One of the practice’s main purposes is to enhance natural self-regulatory capacity with greater integration of mind and body. The movements are ‘meditative, flow[y], and dance-like motions’ (Jahnke, et al, 2010), aimed to balance and shift the energy within. It is often practiced in nature (Jahnke, et al, 2010), for as you have come across before, natural environments tend to have a tranquil, calming effect on humans (Plambech & Konijnendijk van den Bosch, 2015, pp.257), which corresponds to the deeply focused and relaxed states utilised in Qi Gong to enhance the ‘Qi function’ (natural energy). Moreover, the practice’s relation to meditation reminds me of your prior research on Amerta Movement Practice, as Suryodarmo integrated his study of Vipassana meditation into his practice.

Perhaps you could incorporate Qi Gong into your daily practice, and see if you think it is relevant in your search of how movement can reconnect people to natural spaces. Furthermore, the movements and movement qualities of the practice could also prove beneficial in choreographic practices, as its fundamentals are in line with your research.

Sincerely,

Practice

---

Dear Practice,

You were absolutely right to suggest Qi Gong as a part of our journey. I have done it in the morning for a few days now, and its relevance to my practice is apparent. Although I am not necessarily focusing my research on the mind-body connection, is seems to be an integral part of the human-nature connection. The classes I have been taking are led by Andrea Olsen, who’s practice I have been looking at. It is interesting to observe and tune into the vocabulary she uses as she is leading the classes. A lot of it has relation to nature, e.g. ‘clearing the waters’ when emptying the mind and clearing the energy is a focal point in the class (Olsen, 2020, 00:50), and some of the movements have names of natural elements: fountain, tree, waves etc. (Olsen, 2020). Furthermore, I have started incorporating this into my choreographic practice as well. This sense of shift and flow of energy complements my idea, and using movements and motions directly from Qigong seems both relevant to the practice-as-research approach and experimentation, and the fact that the fundamentals of the practice are rooted in nature and deep inner connections. Moreover, Olsen’s statement about humans becoming their environment, by e.g. consumption of water (Olsen, 2018, 02:30), pushed me to explore choreographically the idea of dancing ‘with nature’ rather than ‘in nature’. When I started thinking about that idea, it became more relevant to my idea of blurring the lines between body and environment, because I could dance the same phrase in any space and it could look the same, but if I had a different partner every time it would be a whole new dance.

Since I have discovered this through-line and these similarities in my research, as you mentioned, I have started to gain a clearer vision of a practice that forms a connection to natural environments. Now I believe it requires elements of self-awareness, or meditative elements, so that the mover, or the practitioner, is in flux with the present moment and their own sensations. Then movement should be cultivated from instinct and bodily affects relevant to each environment, and equal use of senses. The practice can be guided by relevant vocabulary, similar to what Andrea Olsen presented in her class (Olsen, 2020).

Thank you again for your observations and suggestions,

Looking forward to our further development and enrichment.

Sincerely,

Íris