Martial Partnering-PlayFight, artistic research The Grotowski Institute Wrocław, Poland

We start research in 2013 in Poland in The Grotowski Institute in BodyConstitution project. HUMAN - WARRIOR - PERFORMER are our essentional cognitive philars. We were inviting different teachers from different practices to provoke our psycho-physical paterns and habits for human developement.

Martial Partnering-Playfight It is an intensive process embodied in form of a journey through the body centers such as spine, pelvic girdle, pectoral girdle, breath and senses. We search for the moving natural rules of mobility, kinetics, statics, dynamics, balance and state of lost control. We enhance the frequency of our mindfulness and presence.

We confront ourselves our limitations and face the group, the process of decision making, responsibility, safety and patterns of our body and psyche. We work on our body weight. We practice variety of body partnering: jumping, catching, lifting, rolling, falling, forces redirecting, centrifugal force and centripetal force, clinching, attraction, pushing, pulling.

Through an in-depth process of finding what practically may be necessary (or not) here and now, but also what may be relevant and helpful in the new upcoming surprising physical situation. Based on our experience of various movement traditions, we learn how to wake up, release and strengthen the potential of our instincts, body memory, logic and biological adaptability.

This language is understood as a physical coherent field in diversified bodily communication, which becomes a dialogue between the autonomy of the individual and symbiosis in the relationship. This is the path of many years of practice in martial arts, sport, dance, physical theater and psychosomatic practices. Training tools can exist as separate training pillars and as the beginning of an in-depth movement and dance process.

Games, motor interactions, stimulate proprioception of the body, mobility, motoriness, dynamics, body stabilization, orientation in space, motor intelligence and help to keep the body in good physical and mental condition. We observe our patterns that determine our movement habits and through their conscious provocation we try to transform them into a potential that supports entering the physical relationship of bodies. We are interested in the conscious body: flexible, durable, sensitive, instinctive, present and in the flow.

The body is ready to enter into a physical dialogue in a conscious breath, rhythm and sharpened senses. Obstacles and difficulties are our authentic teachers, which help us to understand the fundamental functionality and mechanism of the brain, receptive body via external incentives. We still learn, how to awake and invite fresh psycho physical state which allows us to “dance” via diverse social dialog.

👉Our search and training began in 2013 at the Grotowski Institute in the BodyConstitution research program. Intensive workshops and seminars, training with Jozef Frucek from Fighting Monkey Practice (between 2013 and 2016) were a huge inspiration. We drew inspiration from the ideas of Movement Culture and Ido Portal. We have cooperated with outstanding contemporary dance and contact improvisation teachers, including: Yaniv Mintzer, Milan Kozanek and Zuna Kozankova, Iwona Olszowska, Sebastian Flegiel, Jacek Owczarek, Daniel Lepkoff, Steve Maxwell and many others.

leadres: Jakub Gontarski and Aga Rybak
Now research is continued by Jakub Gontarski and main assistant Mertcan Semerci(Zar Theater)
footage: Maciej Urlich
dramaturgical guidance: Marzena Kopczyńska
music: Mr.Ptyś

about us:
https://jakubgontarski.com/
  / martialpartnering