dance #149, speeds and slownesses

Tuesday May 19, 2009

Speeds and slownesses

“Bodies are not substances or subjects: but modes. A mode is a complex relation of speed and slowness, in the body but also in thought, and it is a capacity for affecting or being affected, pertaining to the body or to thought. Concretely if you define bodies and thoughts as capacities for affecting and being affected, many things change. You will define an animal, or a human being, not by its form, its organs, and its functions, and not as a subject either; you will define it by the affects of which it is capable. Affective capacity, with a maximum threshold and a minimum threshold, is a constant notion in Spinoza…” (Deleuze, Spinoza: Practical Philosophy, 1988: 124-125)

10:30 p.m. A 5 minute sensing in the study. Moving with Deleuze and Spinoza. After a slow warm-up to ease my limbs, seated on the floor, I tune into sensation.  There is a liveliness that arises in my throat. A rushing and a calming. The dance leads from my throat which becomes a sensor moving into the space. Subtle movements. Throat leans into the world and feels out sensation. Feelings rising up. The dance ends when I stand and a deep low sounding emanates from my open mouth, resonating in my throat. Released. Alice was eager to participate at first. She just walked away. It was a beautiful spring day. School’s almost out.

~ by nmyers on May 19, 2009.