22. Acquaintance

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22.2. Music and movement

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22.1.Acquaintance: text and idea

Acquaintance, Marieta Stoycheva Acquaintance, Veronika Kaneva

TEXT

Touch of the hand is blessing your friend,

Through love and friendship two souls will blend.

Lighter your burden grows

When, with a friend so close

You dance to music bright

Filled with delight.

(Repeat from “Lighter”)

Abundant blessings flow

Through every soul,

You feel the hand divine

Making you whole.

(Repeat from “Abundant”)

(Repeat from the beginning)

IDEA

In Acquaintance we meet our partner face to face for the first time. We make friends and make a partnership. In the language of gesture this is the first time the partners touch their hands and look each other in the eyes.

"The partners face each other, holding hands, in pairs. Next they turn their backs to one another. This exercise is an organic way to develop self-consciousness. It says that one should appreciate the consciousness of others and see the good in the qualities they have, and the others should appreciate the good in us, in return. When the partners turn their backs, the one to the left is working on the good and the one to the right – on the truth. The center is between them. The center is love. When the partners are face to face, they move to that center, to love. Facing each other they make an ellipse. While back to each other, they make a hyperbola with the movements of their arms. The hyperbola is a method for solving big contradictions in life. It has two halves. This is the person divided, the two poles - male and female. Next, when they unite, the human being is created." (Beinsa Duno, Paneurhythmy, Sofia, 1938, p.81)

Acquaintance, Nevyana Momchilova Acquaintance, Preslava Petrova

QUESTIONS

1. Text: Write in your own beautiful words a sentence/ essay/ poem about friendship.

2. Drawing: Draw a picture of Friendship. Draw an illustration to the exercise.

3. Questions: How do you make friends? How many friends do we need? What are friends about? What is the difference between a real-life friend and a virtual, over the net, friend?

4. Experience: Tell us of situations and experience when you have met for the first time one of your best friends. What was the feeling?

5. Imagination: Imagine when you turn face to face that you can glimpse into the eyes of your partner and see all the good in them, imagine they are the windows to his/her soul, two deep wells.

6. Affirmation: Write your positive affirmation on Acquaintance. For example: I can see the good in you.

7. Quotes: Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit (Aristotle). A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view (Wilma Askinas). You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you (Dale Carnegie). Find your own favourite quote for Acquaintance.

Acquaintance, Stefka Nikolova (follow-up activities)

Published in 22.1. Text and idea

22.2.Acquaintance: music and movement

MUSIC

Measure: 3/8

Tonality: F major

Total: 120 measures

1 measure = 1 movement

MOVEMENT

1 cycle: 6 movements

Total: 20 cycles

SP for the exercise

Partners face each other. Those on the inside circle with their back to the centre of the circle and those on the outer circle with their face to it.

Inside SP:

Arms: The right hand (now back hand), palm down, is raised to face level and placed on the left palm of the partner. The left hand (now front hand), palm up, is raised to solar plexus level and holds the fingers of the right hand of the partner with thumb on the top. The elbows are curved.

Legs: The weight of the body is on the right foot (now back foot), the left is on toes to the left side (now front foot).

Outside SP:

Arms: The left hand (now back hand), palm up, is raised to face level and holds the fingers of the right hand of the partner with thumb on the top. The right hand (now front hand), palm down, is raised to solar plexus level and placed on the left palm of the partner. The elbows are curved.

Legs: The weight of the body is on the left foot (now back foot), the right is on toes to the right side (now front foot).

1: Partners are face to face, next they turn forwards

Arms: Hands make arch-like movements forwards: the front hands move up to face level and the back hands move down.

Legs: The toes of the front foot turn forwards and the weight of the body is transferred to it. The back foot remains on toes, pointing forwards. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

2: Partners turn back to back

Arms: Hands of partners separate, each moves his/her hands in front of the chest with elbows horizontal to the sides and middle fingers touch, palms down. Next the hands move in semicircles down and to the sides to horizontal position, palms down.

Legs: The back foot makes a step forwards in perpendicular direction: toes of the inside partner point to the centre of the circle, toes of the outside partner point opposite. The weight of the body transfers to the perpendicular foot, while the back foot remains on toes which rotate in the same direction as the front foot. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

3: Partners are back to back

Arms: The back arm folds in the elbow in a horizontal semicircle and the hand goes in front of the chest with palm down, elbow to the sides. Simultaneously the front arm folds in the elbow with a descending semicircle down and up with palm up and the hand goes in front of the chest, elbow to the body. Both forearms line up in a diagonal. Hands touch, palm to palm with each thumb is on top of the other hand; each hand holds the fingers of the other hand between its fingers and thumb. For a moment the fingers of the front hand lightly stroke the fingers of the back hand while arms move apart.

Legs: The weight of the body gradually moves to the back foot, while the front remains on toes. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

4. Partners are back to back, next they turn forwards

Arms: Hands separate and move forwards and upwards; elbows come down by the sides of the body.

Legs: The toes of the front foot turn forwards and the weight of the body is transferred to it. The back foot remains on toes, pointing forwards. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

5: Partners turn face to face

Arms: Partners hold each other by the hands and the hands move to a position symmetrical to SP: front hands move forwards and up to face level and back hands move to solar plexus level. Elbows curved.

Legs: The back foot makes a step forwards in perpendicular direction: toes of the inside partner point opposite to the centre of the circle, toes of the outside partner point to the centre. The weight of the body transfers to the perpendicular foot, while the back foot remains on toes which rotate towards the partner. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

6: Partners are face to face

Arms: Arms make arch-like movements up/down to return to SP: the front hands move down to solar plexus level and the back hands move up to face level. Elbows curved.

Legs: The weight of the body gradually moves to the back foot, while the front remains on toes. Toes never lift off the ground.

Duration: 1 measure

Movements 1-6 make a cycle which repeats 20 times.

FP = SP

When the exercise is over, the arms go down by the sides of the body. The legs come together in standing position. Partners turn forwards.

Published in 22.2. Music and movement