Blocks Among the Trees- Spiral Camp 2020
Forty of us gathered in the meeting hall to share our first group dinner in a rustic cabin deep in the Redwood forest. The fog outside was thick, and the ice had not yet been broken for this group, arriving slowly, peering about the space, trying to integrate into the experience. Zach and I finished eating and put on some light music on the soundsystem. We were excited to be at Spiral Camp and could feel the energy of the group beginning to bubble. Zach pulled out an obscure toy he had recently picked up at a flea market: something like a shuttlecock from badminton but larger, made with feathers and a disk on the end where the ball should be. We began tossing it back and forth in the common area, then hitting it with our hands, and eventually kicking it across the room with our feet. Gradually, participants from the retreat became aware that a game was unfolding and began to trickle over shyly. We happily welcomed them and expanded our makeshift circle every time a new person joined. Some people asked “what are the rules?”, but this wasn’t that sort of game. There was no established rule set, this was an emergent activity, and we were discovering the structure of the play together as we played. As meal time ended, the our game circle became the opening circle, now filled with open eyes, wide smiles, and small giggles. Playing can turn people very quickly from strangers to friends, and I felt a new connection with the people in our circle.
“Playful practice requires practice”
Play More was invited to teach at Spiral Camp 2020 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, hosted by Shira Yaziv and Sebastian Grubb. We’ve had the opportunity to learn from both of these teachers over the years and have great respect for their work as both teachers and movers. Sebastian's knowledge of Axis Syllabus encourages us to look at movement through an analytical and anatomical perspective. Shira’s wide ranging experience has given her an easy way of breaking down difficult techniques into accessible parts. Shira has also been our acrobatics instructor for many years at the Athletic Playground, the fitness and community gym where we both have taught and trained for nearly ten years, and so we have a deep connection and affinity with her style. Together they created Spiral Camp; a weekend retreat where students take workshops in many physical modalities including dancing, contact improvisation, acrobatics and axis syllabus.
We felt motivated to take part in Spiral Camp because we love bringing play into new places. We have been committed to play in our own training for the last decade. We have taken every opportunity we’ve had to learn a new game or play something new. Play is great at connecting communities, but it also puts our brains in the best state for learning. Play can create an internal flow state which allows for heightened communication, awareness and better concept integration. It’s not always easy, though. Playful practice requires practice. We wanted to give these disciplined movement students a licence to play, laugh and enjoy themselves while working hard. Together we discover the edges of our abilities and play on that growing edge. These sorts of activities lead easily to active team-building and positive group dynamic.
For this particular workshop, we brought over a thousand rainbow colored wooden blocks. We balanced blocks, we dropped and caught blocks, and knocked them off stacks with our noses. We laughed, yelled, challenged and expressed. We tried things we’ve never done before and got really committed to doing them well. Appropriate level challenges in non-critical failure environments create opportunities for adaptability and growth. There is always farther we can go and more creativity we can use to push ourselves and each other to grow as movers in the world.
“Appropriate challenge creates a feeling of epic triumph”
We played more than a dozen distinct block games at Spiral Camp. Since this workshop was geared towards experienced movers, we were able to offer additional challenges beyond what we normally would. One such game was Block Press: the challenge is to press a block between you and a partner, get to the ground, roll over, and stand up again. Between two fingers, this is a fun game of communication and compromise. The higher level challenge is to press the block between your foreheads. When Zach and I first developed this challenge we laughed too hard to be able to hold the block between us. This activity became an obsession for some of our participants. One pair didn’t give up for over an hour (they did eventually get it, accompanied by the cheers and applause of enthralled onlookers). It was inspiring to see the focus and dedication that students would give to the task. When you offer an appropriate challenge to the right people, at the right time, it creates a feeling of epic triumph when it’s finally completed.
Being serious and being playful are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to be a disciplined practitioner with a playful attitude. Playfulness is also contagious. Once one person or a few people start opening up into a playful space, it welcomes others in as well. And a welcoming circle of playful people causes community to coalesce. Differences start to melt away and we end up on the same literal playing field. We begin to share a similar vision in our safe space of openness and connection occurs. I have seen again and again how play leads to connection and community and we want to keep spreading the knowledge of how to play together.
Written by Marria Grace
Photos by Swift Fox Photography