Upon entering Arts 100, students laid onto the floors to participate in the Delicious Movement Workshop held by Eiko Otake. Otake, who was part of Japanese dance duo Eiko & Koma, has 40 years of experience as a New York-based movement artist and choreographer. With exercises ranging from “How to Sleep” to “Kindergarten,” Otake portrayed her modern dance style through slow movements across a sea of stillness and sounds. A veil of dim light blanketed the room as a student-encircled Otake gradually twisted and turned her torso for the first exercise. “The first thing that I want you to try is move … not exercise … just move to rest,” she murmured. “To make yourself sleep, you can make it inviting, by not being busy, by not being stressed.”
Bodies after bodies laid strewn across the hardwood floors, as Otake made space for participants by placing them across the room. Evoking feelings of a slight surrender and vulnerability, Otake emphasized accepting and understanding the mistakes made in a dance, “because when you correct your movements, you always know that you corrected your movements and you always have to try to hide it in a way,” she explained. It took a split second for students to indulge in the exercises, which left many in a state of lulled relaxation, even a meditative one, perhaps. Otake, however, does not claim to be the zen master of meditation, but rather one to appreciate every movement and feeling within each body part. “They don’t necessarily move together, but they can,” she said.
This workshop was a part of a yearlong series of events held by the UCR Department of Dance, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its doctoral program.
