So, thanks to the wonderful crew behind the London Tap Jam I got to partake in two master classes by Thanos from Tap Motif, over from Greece. Lovely you say, and?
So I mentioned last week wanting to spend the next dS workshop working on this visualisation of the solar system models. And I’d decided that we would build from reality- with the dancers choosing and observing people around the harbour. And I’d realised that I could combine all the ideas I’d been having about flocks of friends and personal behaviour: a great week.
But now I’ve really got it sussed. Thanos was talking about building up poly metres using sets of 2 beats, and 3 beats which you could combine in so many different ways, building pyramids. Which is obviou; we do that instinctively all the time in tap. Then add to this the joy of combining teams of dancers cross-phrasing, with one team completing a 5 beat sequence,at the same time as the other side complete a 6 beat sequence. Suddenly these incredible polyrhythms ring through.
Again you say, where are you going with this Laura? Well it’s the simplicity of building from 2 and 3’s: I can do all these wonderful pedestrian sequences that slice together and layer together and gain impact from simplicity.
But that’s just the starting point for my Sunday inspiration. Because I started to think how wonderful it would be if you could build all your working structures and leadership structures along these lines: Dexturous beautiful, musical units, like Lego building blocks, that always sound great, fit together in unlimited combinations, always help people find the base heart beat. And yet allow everyone to work effectively and independently. And when panic hits (which it always will somewhen) you can break everything back down to the 2s and 3s. To simple understandable manageable chunks.
It would be a mighty fine citedal of an organisation if built with twos and threes.