Improv anyone?

[Diana]

Has anyone here had much experience with improvisation? (As in personally actually improv-ing, not just watching!) In what capacities have you tested your abilities? And how best have you approached it?

In the world of professional dance, companies these days (especially ones with a more modern repertoire) seem to be seeking dancers who are not just skilled technically with their bodies, but also at utilizing their minds creatively as they dance. Many choreographers, in fact, prefer to play a piece of music and watch the dancer improv to it first before actually setting the choreography - in that way, they (the choreographer) can see what movements look/come naturally to the dancer and will flow smoothly in the piece.
In the strictest sense of the term, I'm just fine improving in an empty studio. Love it actually! But when it comes to structured improv classes, or contact improv (improv where you must always be in bodily contact with another person), I often am told there's something I'm doing wrong.

This is frustrating, because its "improv", right? I'd like to think that however I choose to respond should be acceptable!
Anyway, I think these two things hold me back in it:

1) If I am praised for improv-ed movements that are creative, I try to methodize whatever I did, and recreate it in different ways. This usually gets me in trouble for being too "repetitive". I start to feel drained of creativity and just want a black and white way to do it, rather than constantly being check with my feelings/surroundings.
2) Improv is very vulnerable, especially in the department of expressing feelings. I love that and hate that at the same time. I love that I can express deep feelings "deeply" through dance and sans words...but wait...I don't always feel comfortable expressing feelings to everyone!

I hope this is understandable to non-dance minded people. Feel free to respond with questions/suggestions for me, or to tell about your improv experiences, whether it be with music, comedy, acting...whatever!

[logan235711]

I might have to say that more important in improv over pure diligence is the desire to experiment. You can meet alot of people (maybe even most) who decide that simply working hard on obvious things with known results is the way to go. The audience and colleagues knows them so they have no trouble getting across the package in all it's respects. But that is not great improv, that isn't even improv in my book. One can have a great set of techniques, but one will be limited by performing to the confines of that set.

Improv is a mastery of two fold. First, you need to have your skills adapt to the situation, which means if you only have learned X skills that are most easily recognized then you will never be able to adapt to all the possibilities. The reason is that at the heart of improv you will meet other people who are not learning the common X skills as you should be doing, thus when adaptation comes, you won't be able to. This is exactly the second fold--that you have to be willing to experiment in situations to discover as many possibilities as you can.

Most people seem to trouble themselves with this. They may either think much of it is too absurd, not be able to see the use beforehand thus do not attempt at all, or would rather work on what they see as having the bigger pay-off at the beginning, etc. It is hard to ever fully get something if a person isn't willing to sometimes give back as much if not more in return. The fear that all the time might be wasted, that you don't know where it is going, etc., are all parts of improv that a master is going to have to go through. The fold naturally feed-off of each other. Each possibility that you are now able to see through experimentations breeds further and further insight into each situation. Simply put, the more tools you have to use, the more ideas you see. But it's the path towards obtaining those tools that is tricky.

[Tsuru]

Improving basically anything is hell ass scary for me. I need to think things through carefully! ><

[Diana]

Improving basically anything is hell ass scary for me. I need to think things through carefully! ><

-laugh!- Basically..it kind of is scary at first. There's been some definite awkward moments with other people during contact improv....oh the stories...
I really like to think things through ahead of time also- and while thats often not an option, it actually can be done sometimes. During my first semester of improv, our final was basically to do a seven minute group choreographic improv of a progression from one concept/emotion to another. For example: portray the progression of being confused/in the dark to being cognitive/aware/seeing clearly. My group determined these concepts a few weeks prior to the final, so it was possible to play with possibilities in my head before actually having to do them. The hard part was finding the right speed to progression, and feeding off other members in my group.

Logan, I think you're definitely right about experimentation and developing various ways of approach. I suppose that's the raw truth of it all. Like you said, it can be difficult to do though, as it can first seem to be leading nowhere. Seems it takes not only a lack of inhibition, but a serious dose of self-belief and commitment to keep following paths which may or may not lead to success. Trial and error, I guess. And most anyone who has become successful has endured failing many times.

I'd conjecture that improv is not most INTJs' forté on the surface, as yes, it can seem absurd, slightly irrational at times, and is a bit unyielding to quanitfiable formulas, like I've found. On the flipside, we definitely like to analyze and are determined to find a way to be successful.
Anyway, it might not come all that naturally to me, but I'm not ready to bench it just yet!

[anul]

I trained at IO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and it was the most fun I've ever had. I haven't been a part of a team in a while, but I always think about doing it again, but finding teams in a new city is difficult at times.

[blueback]

Well, anything expressive is going to work for some people and not for others. Improv comedy is the same way. Some people think it's hilarious and some people just don't get it. Even when it's good, sometimes only a few people get the joke.

That being said, I've seen more improv comedy then dancing, but it seems to me that most of the humor came from the enjoyment the improv-ers were having being silly. They were obviously enjoying themselves so it freed the audience to enjoy everything they did.

Maybe dance is sort of the same way. Maybe if you look like you're trying too hard it will upset the audicence and make them more critical. If you just make it obvious that you are enjoying yourself maybe it will give them unconcious permission to do the same.

[Diana]

-nods slowly- I can really relate to that as well. You definitely can tell a difference between dancers (even in normal performance) who are enjoying themselves in comparison to those whose focus is honed solely on technique.
I'll definitely keep that in mind next time I'm trying it.

Its really interesting to hear non-dancers' ideas about this; new perspectives can be so refreshing sometimes!

[OneBadMother]

I haven't done any improv dancing (err, no professional improv dancing anyways), but I did have an improv comedy thing going with my best friend in high school. It was a lot of fun, though it's a bit difficult for me to go with what I think up on the spot. My and my friends tend to joke around with situations a lot, though, and I think that helps.

[Diana]

... though it's a bit difficult for me to go with what I think up on the spot...

Yeah, I was thinking, if I were to do improv comedy, my problem would being having such a plethora of thoughts that it'd be hard to pick one on the spot [that was actually funny], or trying to say them all, which really wouldn't be funny!

I wonder if improv comedians tend to be more naturally extroverted or introverted? I'm inclined to think they'd mainly be extroverted, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Jerry Seinfeld was admittedly quite introverted.

Hmmm.......

[iamnotspock]

I did standup for a bit, which is total opposite of improv. I think it's more appealing to INTJ's, though, who like to carefully plan a routine rather than improvise.