Toolbox

Spontaneous Gesture

Sidelight

ACTIVITY

Ask a question; watch the hands of the person answering.

Collect some of the movement you observe by watching, then repeating. In a group setting, wait until the entire group has talked, then show several of the gestures, using a Build-a-Phrase structure. This requires some practice, or a way of recording notes. The leader can make a thumbnail sketch and write down the phrase a participant says at the time of the movement. The connection of the movement to the text is usually quite helpful as a memory device.

Note that the impulse to gesture often comes into play with strong emotion or urgency to communicate. So in addition to being of inherent interest, the gestures can also be a signal for the aspect of the story or description that is most significant for the speaker.

It is possible to discover a more detailed kind of gesture by questioning the participant further. For example, when asked to describe a beautiful place, a person might describe the experience of a hike; the accompanying movement for the walk might be a large sweep of the hands to indicate the vast beauty. But if asked to further describe a particular walk, the large sweep of the hand might be interrupted as they talk about sunrise. Suddenly the second hand will become involved and they make a picture of the mountain, the sun, its slow rise, and even an indication of the coloring of the sky. All of these images will affect the simple gesture they are making. Inside those nuances are the unique expression and some essential quality of the person speaking.

APPLICATIONS

People can practice Spontaneous Gesture by forming pairs, then observing and questioning each other. They then show the group what they have collected from their partners.

It is fun to surprise a group using this technique. For example, if the group has just formed, you may observe and collect spontaneous gesture from their introductions, then make a small dance immediately from your observations. Because spontaneous gestures are often unconscious, people will sometimes be surprised to have their gestures mirrored back to them, saying “Did I really do that?”

Spontaneous Gesture can be applied in meetings, when people least expect it, as a way to help a group observe itself or as a compelling recap of the passionate gestures people use when a group struggles with a particular issue.

A collection of spontaneous gestures can be cornerstone for a community dance project. Organizers gather a group of participants for a story circle. Each person reaponds to a prompt, for instance “What is paradise to you?” After everyone has responded, the leader can build a dance from some of the spontaneous gestures observed, as well as from other movement sources. The dance can then be presented to other groups, with a mention of some of the stories that accompanied the gestures. A composite dance can ultimately be assembled from those constructed at a series of story circles with various groups.

FOOTNOTES

Warmups: A variety of warmups can be helpful before introducing Spontaneous Gesture:

• Isolations: Remind people that dance can include using fragments of our bodies and not always the whole body. Practice the idea by moving isolated parts of the body.

• Story dance: Sitting in a circle start with a simple question; translate the answer into a movement and a new question, creating a series of questions, answers and movements. Example: “What did you see on your way to class?” “A star.” (movement); “What did the star see?” “The city” (movement); etc.

Watch out for these pitfalls:

• Self consciousness: Once people understand that they are being observed for spontaneous gesture, it can make them self-conscious, hence less spontaneous; after a while, though, people tend to forget, or allow the process to work anyway.

• Confusion with habitual actions: Spontaneous gesture can be confused with habitual actions, like the way a person brushes the hair off her forehead or rubs his fingers together when anxious. These actions are quite useful in their own right, but are not the same as spontaneous gesture which evolves from an urge to communicate as opposed to a way of being.