Birth Parents

Exercise 1: Mother’s Shadows

(Jo) The participant begins by embodying the biological or adopted mother. She/he/they are to feel her whole being.

(Ha) Though everybody has both light and shadow, the focus here is on the shadow. The participant develops their mother’s shadow or weakness at every angle.

(Kyu/Kyu to New Jo) The shadow is taken to the point of exhaustion. Any more now is redundant like beating a dead horse with a stick. There is no more room for interest in her shadow. The only thing left is light. Dance your mother’s light.

Note: Same exercise can be done but with father.

Exercise 2: Abandoned By Mother

(Jo) One participant takes on the role of a mother and holds her standing son/daughter while travelling toward the center of the space. Gradually the mother lets go and leaves a vulnerable and naked-feeling child.

(Ha) The child enters into this feeling of loneliness and feeling unloved. The child even looks pathetic and weak in the joints.

(Kyu/Kyu to New Jo) Take the abandonment feeling to its climax. Give up. Mother returns, but either as the mother within or the mother as nature. The child feels cherished and never truly abandoned.

Exercise 3: Things Mother Needs to Know

This exercise is based out of the empty chair exercise from Gestalt psychology.

(Jo) One participant is the mother sitting in statue. The other participant resonates till he/she/they feels this statue as his/her/their mother.

(Ha) Through movement, tell mother something you always needed to tell her but never could.

(Kyu/Kyu to New Jo) Take your dance to climax. Dance what it feels like to have finally delivered this information to Mother.