Many times I have been involved in shows and somebody has injured themselves during a number and can't continue the show and we have had to re-block on the spot. It actually amazes me sometimes how the cast can all pull together and just make it work with no time to plan or prepare. Defying the muscle memory that we have accumulated from performing the show the same way over and over. I'm not sure about the other performers but I get such a thrill from these scenarios, whether its the anticipation of it or the resistance against the muscle memory, I don't know. Twyla Tharp explains muscle memory so clearly in her book "The Creative Habit."
"Muscle memory is one of the more valuable forms of memory, especially to a performer. It's the notion that after diligent practice and repetition of certain physical movements, your body will remember those moves years, even decades, after you cease doing them."
I can relate to this so vividly, I often find myself, walking around Asda and suddenly busting out choreography from years ago when a certain song comes on. (Embarrassing!) It's actually really strange how your body just remembers something that your brain couldn't possibly. Whilst in rehearsals for different contracts, I will finish the day in the studio and then go home, have a shower, have some dinner and then not think of any choreography for a while. Then, just before I go to sleep I will stand up and do the choreography a couple of times so that it will digest during the night. I have found this really helps me to retain it all for the next day.
A time that muscle memory has hindered me is when I was on a ship and our dance captain was disembarking and I got promoted to take over the role at short notice. I had very little time to prepare to teach the new cast embarking. I thought that it would be fine because I knew all of the choreography indisputably after performing it for 6 months already. But, as I began to teach, it was like I had no idea, because it was retained in my body and not my brain. It's a little scary how I would go on stage every evening and perform the shows 2 or 3 times but when I needed to teach somebody it was as if I had never done it before in my life. I quickly realised that I had to adapt to the new role and I needed to go back and teach myself again in order to be able to teach the new dancers.
As a dancer, we have to be easily adaptable in many different ways.
- Moving away from home to an unfamiliar place
-Working with different people from different backgrounds
-Being versatile to perform whatever style the choreographer sets
-Adapting to the lack of work (eg, during the pandemic)
Bibliography
TWYLA THARP 2003 The Creative Habit
Fascinating that when you taught the routine it wouldn't flow in the same way.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what is stored in your muscle memory. I had a watch which would flick to tell the time in a different time zone. It had been in a drawer for years. I had forgotten how to set it, googled it, fiddled around with the buttons but couldn't work it out. It wasn't until it was physically on my wrist that my body remembered you had to tap the face. The arms moved to the other time zone and back again as they should.
Hi Lucy,
ReplyDeleteIt's such a weird feeling when you know something through muscle memory but can't then explain it verbally! I've definitely experienced that, and found that I tend to sing counts in my head so often I need to translate those counts back into steps when explaining routines. Our adaptability not only as individuals but as a community of performers has been amazing to me especially this past year, and I really enjoyed reading how you have experienced it at work.
Becca x
Hi Lucy,
ReplyDeleteMuscle memory is so interesting and it so amazing that it can show up in different ways. As a child I learned how to play the piano, often in lessons my teacher would play the piece for me and I would watch his hands for every detail. I realised that my dyslexia was preventing me from being about to read the music quick enough to play the keys at the correct time signature, as a coping mechanism I relied on muscle memory with in my hands. To this day I can still play some of my assessment songs without the sheet music. The idea that something can stay within your subconscious memory for years also relates to our ability to maintain technique and our performance ability. Is the idea of muscle memory something that you want to investigate for your areas of learning? I have enjoyed reading about your experiences with in the professional industry.
Sophie xx