Kira Kirsch
Earthing – a journey into felt sense and felt physics for dancers – Axis Syllabus

In memoriam to Steve Paxton:

“…what if, instead of pre-knowing who we are, we played at being masses? Not humans, not everything that racial capitalism and the gender system say about us, but just: things that matter? And of course, we‘ll never quite get there, and of course, there‘ll always be the choreographies of species, and race, and class, and gender, coming back at a gallop, but all the same: what if, you, and me, here now, not so different... from pebbles, windmills and lampposts, like all of them, we fell? What if, like all of them, we let ourselves be attracted...by the Earth and its gravity?" by Emma Bigé

In German, the term for grounding literally translates to "earthing”. Other than in the word grounding it points to a larger relationship, which is the relationship with earth as a planet, with its incredible mass which constitutes the omni present force that is gravity. How do we know earth, mass and weight? What is the center of mass, potential energy and tonic space? What are our perceptual systems recording and negotiating these concepts into physical experience and how does attunement to these systems shape our dancing and presence?

This course explores the concept of grounding, or “earthing”, through a deep exploration of physical experience, perception, and movement. Participants take part in felt-sense exercises and physics experiments, expanding their awareness of the earth, mass, and gravity through Axis Syllabus. Participants roll, crawl, walk, run, jump and fall into all directions of our kinesphere into looping patterns that can evolve into more complex phrases and rhythms. By investigating dynamic movement patterns, the workshop also explores the psychoemotional effects of “earthing” on the body and relationships in space.

Axis Syllabus can be perceived as a collection or lexicon for dynamic movement studies and offers methods for learning, researching and experiencing movement. It is a precise system of orienting the body internally and externally that is based on ongoing empirical, multi-scientific and pedagogical inquiry.

Kira‘s workshops aim to create a collaborative learning environment and effective space for personal research.