Paola Napolitano

One takeaway from the MAPP programme for me is cultivating reflective practices. It is a process of learning new self-questioning behaviors that make you open to new views. I still remember when Liz Lerman’s Critical methodology was introduced to me during an improvisation class at Independent Dance year ago. I found this process provoking, almost irritating, as I did want to have a right or wrong feedback. That was not the point. I was not used to carve out answers from my own reflections, hence the difficulty of a new learning framework. Comparing myself now and the beginning of this journey, I can clearly see the change I have made thanks to the ongoing self-reflective modalities MAPP proposes. Tutorials and feedback have been nourishing places for me to be in. I have gradually allowed my rational, pragmatic mind to enter into a constructive conversation with my tutor and the students community. Creating the space for a real dialogue exchange with my tutor first, then taki...

I feel I might explore this theme over and over again and come to newer insights each time. Since Module 1 my constructs in regard to knowledge, information and learning have radically shifted, and keep molding into new visions which constantly support my journey as a student and a common person. Looking at my journey since the beginning of this MA to Module 3, I can see my approach to learning has changed and been enriched with greater curiosity, flexibility, and perhaps with deeper wisdom in asking myself the right questions. In this process, I have learnt to let go of my control on my predictions, and expectations about my learning goals and leave room for self-reflection which has enhanced my free independent thinking. ‘Step back from a philosophy of ideas and looking at different narratives’ Mike stated. Helen said diversity still supposes there is a norm to compare the diverse stream to the main one. If we look at the history which has imposed a truth so far, this is incred...

I still remember the editions of ‘’Il Corpo Umano’’ (the Human Body) back in the 80’s. I used to collect each piece of the body that came with the weekly magazine and VHS cartoons illustrating the workings of this fascinating machine that is the human body. I was looking forward to completing this big puzzle, and being able to complete this little plastic statue. I soon developed a passion towards dance, music and singing. It was not until a very long break that my conception around the body started to mold around various professional experiences and movers I have met along the path. I got fascinated at the idea we could experience movement rather than interpret movement through our body. For the first time in 2015, I started to contemplate the idea of movement rather than dance, of agency rather than executor, of attending rather than controlling, of stillness as an action rather than an absence. I gradually landed in the fields of somatics, which although still considered con...

Our Sunday MAPP meeting on Sep the 26th gave us space to discuss on Knowledge, Information and Learning. One of the points that stood up for me concerned the definition of knowledge which, unless shared with others, it remains just a personal opinion. This made me think of the definition of performance I heard long time ago, by which it has to involve the presence of public in order to be classed as performance. So in a way, knowledge can be identified in relation to others e.g. students and teachers. This led to expand Dewey's view on 'transactional learning' and the un-learning needed sometimes in planning or delivering dance classes. A few terms that were mentioned to describe teachers are vessels, channels, means, which I associate to the general idea of a flexible container that alternatively becomes content according to the time of and the role in the conversation. Starting Module 2, I am deepening my understanding about positivist and non-positivist standpoints. As a...

One of the most interesting features of somatic practices is the absence of the mirror in class which is much used in other contexts as a checking tool for one’s body appearance and physical outcome. Why is that? As a commercial dancer I got used to train while watching my body or the perception of my body at the mirror, and to compare myself with others’ performance all the time. By studying the concept of ‘Dualism’ and how this translates into mind-body separation, I have recently reflected on how many body practices still use external props for self-assessment. Not to mention, how many professional environments completely deny the unification of the material, psychological and spiritual aspects of a person. Leonardo Da Vinci’s quote ‘One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself’ encapsulates the essence of challenge and self-mastery as opposed to basing one’s performance on external value scale. Yet again, what is the perception of ourselves in our dail...

I was really lucky to be able to attend the session this afternoon with the academic team of MAPP. As I took a break from my working schedule, this moment was just the right treat for me, especially in this chaotic moment in time. A few concepts that stood out for me were non separation between artistic research and personal endeavors, starting from any points for research, leaving the assumption of correctness and give space to personal freedom in research, giving and feeling joy in approaching creative realms. I was particularly struck by the research about theatre, translation and sound by Pedro De Senna, as I conducted a similar research for my final dissertation in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies in 2017. Looking at life and artistic investigation, I appreciate they’re both part of the same whole. Personally, I find it quite challenging some times to integrate completely unrelated daily activities into my artistic research, while I tend to spend more time for reflection pu...