跨藝·觀察（二）

呼吸體現了舞蹈的時間性特質，舞姿、調度則體現了舞蹈藝術的空間性特質——這是一個眾所周知的舞蹈基礎理論。這兩天的觀察讓我想到了一個詞——跨空間（crossing spaces）：展示／觀察的空間、想象的空間和思考的空間；舞者、編導、學者在某一刻的同一空間存在中在各自的空間意識中游走。
1、展示／觀察的“跨空間”
從傳統的觀眾席走進排練廳，研究者參與進了舞者排練的展示空間。這雖然有助於研究者從過程中觀察舞蹈藝術的創作，但是另一方面，我們沒有哈利·波特的隱身衣，我們真實地“佔據”了舞者和編導的創作空間——一次，當我身邊的研究者在進行拍照的時候，靠近她的舞者反射性地說了聲“sorry”退到了旁邊。這不禁讓我思考——由於觀察者的在場，編導、舞者的排練是否受到這一存在的影響？雖然他們也很歡迎我們的參與，但是否能夠真正做到彼此的互不干擾呢？是否會成為一種無意識的“擺排”？
2、想象／呈現的“跨空間”
舞蹈創作、表演是抽象思維與形象思維的轉換。編導在想象中設計舞蹈動作，用語言表述給舞者，舞者通過對口頭語言、身體語言（如編導的示範動作）的理解建立自己頭腦中的形象，進而用身體語言表達出來。在場的學者通過編導的語言也同時進行了形象的想象，並與舞者的呈現進行二者的連接，並進行相關的判斷——編導的闡述是否準確，舞者的表達是否到位。台北編導蘇威嘉的排練中，對“扭到要抽筋”的動作，每個舞者有不同的呈現，每個學者也有不同的想像，這些與編導的要求之間一定存在空間形象的差異性。
3、觀察／研究的“跨空間”
對我而言，從第二次參加跨藝開始，我習慣於根據不同的主題預先對自己的研究視點進行2－3個關鍵詞的準備範圍，——因為在實際觀察研究中獲得的信息太多，如果不加甄選的話，研究思路會不清晰，從而影響最終的研究結果。即便有所預先設定，有時也會因為實際操作過程中的“火花”而造成觀察與研究的“混亂”——到底哪些應用於當年的研究主題。我想，其根源大概就是有目的的研究和無目的觀察之間的“跨空間”吧。
或許是對上述“跨空間”的意識和分析，我對自己的研究思路反而更加有把握性。

Translation…

ArtsCross Observations (2)

In breathing, one experiences the time-specific  characteristics of dance. Through stances and adjustments of posture, one experiences the space-related aspects  of dance. This is a fundamental theory of dance which is understood by everyone. These two days of observing made me think of a term — crossing spaces: the space for demonstration/observation, the space for imagining and for thinking. The dancer, the choreographer and the academic exist within the same space at the same point in time, but each have their own thoughts within their own awareness space.

1. The transcendence of demonstration/observation
Crossing over from the seat of the spectator into the rehearsal studio, the researchers participated in the dancers’ rehearsal and demonstration space. Although this made it easier for the researchers to observe the process of artistic creation, the fact that we do not possess Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks meant that we really did “occupy” the creative space belonging to the dancers and the choreographers. At one point, when the researcher standing next to me began taking photos, a dancer who came a bit too close to her automatically said “sorry” and moved to another part of the room. This made me reflect — does the presence of the observer have an effect on the process of rehearsal for the choreographer and dancer? While they welcomed our participation, would it be possible for us to truly avoid disturbing one another? Would we unknowingly come to be seen as “spectators”?

2. Imaginings/Transcending Space
Dance creation and performance constitute transformations of abstract thinking and imagery-based thinking. The choreographer designs dance movements within her imagination, and uses language to describe these movements to the dancer. The dancer constructs an image in his own mind, based on his interpretation of the spoken and body language (the choreographer’s gestures for example), and the way he uses his body to express this. The observing academic also uses the words spoken by the choreographer to conceptualise an image, then connects this to the image created by the dancer, before carrying out various judgements: whether the choreographer’s explanation was precise enough; whether the dancer’s representation of the image was correct. During the rehearsals with the Taipei choreographer Su Wei-Chia, all of the dancers interpreted differently the movement “twisted up with cramps.” The academics also had different ideas, and these were no doubt different from those sought by the choreographer.

3. Observing/The transcendent nature of research
Personally speaking, starting from the second time I participated in ArtsCross, I have developed the habit of preparing some thoughts around 2 or 3 keywords which represent my research interests. When actually engaging in observational research, you are often flooded with a mass of information. If you are not selective, the train of thought in your research can become muddled, and your conclusions can be affected. Nevertheless, even when you prepare in advance, on occasions you may encounter an unexpected idea while carrying out research, which can confuse your research efforts, making it difficult to select the areas you want to cover in your research for that year. I think the root cause of this must be a kind of crossover between objective research and casual observation.

Perhaps as the result of an awareness and analysis of this “crossover”, I seek to gain a stronger grasp of the ideas behind my research.