Milli mála - 01.01.2010, Side 165

know that at the end they will have to perform in public. I give them
a chance to quit if they do not feel comfortable at this stage of the
discussion. But if they stay, they are responsible for the outcome at
the end. We make a sort of contract of honour to make sure that we
will realise our goals. I start every session by doing a relaxation
exercise. I tell students to lie down on the floor and close their eyes,
then I talk to them in a calm voice to help them to connect with their
body so that they may feel the energy and weight of their body. I tell
them to leave behind everything that they have been doing over the
day and concentrate on the nape of the neck, the back, the arms, the
hands, their posterior, calves and heels. To wake them up calmly, I
tell them to touch their faces and do some massage before they open
their eyes. They stretch when breathing in and relax when breathing
out, and breathe out with energy and sound. The students really like
this exercise as it gives them an opportunity to reconnect with them-
selves and makes them more open for the interactions that will take
place in class. I also use physical exercices to build up trust. For
example, I ask students to stand up from the floor with the aid of
another student. They put their backs together and have to stand up
at the same time without using their hands, and they have to do this
very slowly to realise the complementarity of their relationship.
Pierra explains it this way30:
The first phase in the series of warming-up exercises, con-
cerning relaxation, visualisation, breathing and then contact,
is important for complementarity. This phase gives the stu -
dents the psychocorporeal condition for the relaxation part,
to help them be more aware of themselves. These exercises
are essential at the beginning of every session. Starting with
these exercises on the floor symbolically places the students
in a new space and gives them fundamental sensations.
There is a new quality of concentration which brings out the
dimension of play.31
anDrEa MILDE anD ÁSTa IngIBJarTSDÓTTIr
165
30 This is my translation [Á.I.] of this paragraph. For original version in gisèle Pierra see Une
esthétique théâtrale en langue étrangère, p. 78–79.
31 Ibid, p. 79.
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