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Bothmer on Ascension Day in Kassel
From May 25th to 29th, 2022 we had finally a Bothmer Intensive in Kassel again. Some postgraduates from other parts of Germany have accepted the invitation and joined the bmi training group in Kassel, which is in its 3rd year of the training. We were a mixed group of over 20 people who enjoyed the Martin Baker's lessons.
At the end of the long weekend the wish to resume our regular autumn conferences in October and even add such an "Ascension Conference" like this one on a permanent basis, was expressed ... why not? (Adrian Constantinescu)
A personal summary of the Kassel Bothmer Intensive
The weather conditions were not really summery during our days in Kassel: we had an unusually cold spell for June.
The warmth came from within, through Martin Baker's vivid images, which accompanied all Bothmer exercises and games. The sun didn't rise just once during his sessions: we saw the sun rising again and again as Martin lay down to become a mountain on the ground and his hand rose like a sun from behind. After the rhythmic raising of the stretched arm into the air, the sun shone at the highest point from each of our hands. Our hands were so awake, like the hands of someone who greets a friend with joyful anticipation by raising a hand and thus drawing the attention of this friend even at the other end of the train station, as the hand radiates its rays of greeting. The sun's power was also manifested through our hands as we walked in the frontal plane: the hands shone below as well as above, the body walking steadily.
The first evening on Wednesday and the following day established the start of a large movement of the sun, which continued until Sunday noon. There was a gradual build-up, which we experienced during the days: the space of experience and the experience of space increased from day to day, the practice became easier and more effortless. Unnecessary movements were avoided. From the individually practiced parts, a composition of walking in the planes was created.
Juggling, as an experience of managing to let go of the ball and catching it again straight away, gave you the impetus wanting to advance your own life just as playfully and freely. To experience oneself as an active player in a clapping game and at the same time to experience oneself in the community, formed the conclusion. Releasing the discus weightlessly into the air and making the spear fly in a beautiful wide arch would not have been possible without a suitable picture of imagination. This was a very important insight, which Martin Baker gave us and helped us to see and to experience it at the Bothmer intensive. The idea of an exercise or of a game is being formed from a notion, a picture which is there already at the very beginning, just as the sun opens the way to the day after the darkness.
We would like to thank Martin Baker for his work and Adrian Constantinescu for the lively translation and organization! We really wouldn't mind if Martin was invited back to Kassel as a guest lecturer soon again!
Judith v. DallÁrmi (student bmi training Kassel)
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