To begin with, Ondrej’s class today surprised and excited me in a sense of being part of the exercise ‘Second Thought’ and the one where we were split into two groups. The satisfaction from participating in the two exercises came from the fact that they provided me with a wonderful opportunity to experiment and express my creativity through movement and leading or following the rest of my group as we moved around the space. It was a delight to sense the freedom of your body and for the most part – your own limitations in dancing when you feel yourself falling into patterns (repeating the same movements as they seem comfortable to the body) and not knowing what you are actually having in your mind as ‘second thought’. It was indeed challenging in a way to face both your capabilities ( as sometimes you find yourself insecure and not believing you could possibly do particular movements when in reality you have the power to do them even very well) and your more weak spots/limitations of the body.

Later,as we started the second part of today’s class with Trajal, I found pleasure in performing in front of my colleagues as well as with all of them at the same time before the end of the class. On the other hand, what I liked the most was the discussion when had ‘Medea’. The reason for that I think is because I was curious to hear what were other people’s opinions and especially Trajal’s perspective on the play and what are his ideas in terms of working with the text and making a dance piece based on a section of the original text. It is  always great to have him in class more specifically, listening to his observations on everything he introduces into the class.

At the last section of the class today, what stuck with me was Debra and Ondrej’s comments on the purpose of and expectations towards the dancers as a crucial part of a dance performance. I cannot agree more on the fact that dancers and their own interests,passions,opinions,etc. Are as significant as those of the dramaturg themselves due to that dancers can contribute greatly to the creative process as they also have agency as any other person involved in the work they are doing. In addition to that, I support the statement that,unfortunately, in some cases dancers are still being stereotyped as performers who are always expected to ‘submit’ and be disciplined no matter what. Overall, this conversation on the importance of dancers and their own contribution to the work they are doing with their personal experience was one which, I would say, is a necessity when discussing anything related to dancing and I am glad we had such one today.