phandi : fall and get up (tutorial 16)

  • Purpose: self-confidence, trust in others.
  • Duration: It depends on the size of the group, minimum 20 min.
  • Materials: several objects: light and heavy fabrics, feathers, iron balls, paper balls, sheets of paper, etc., music (or not).
  • Participants: any age, any number.

Rule :

  • Catch the objects and show the group how they fall, one at a time.
  • Ask the group to split into trios.
  • Within the trio, everyone will have to try to fall like every single object, experimenting with the diversity of weight and the sense of confidence in falling without getting hurt.
  • The other two people of the trio will be careful to ensure that the falling person does not get hurt, participating in the fall, accompanying the fall, or taking the person in their arms. Find together a strategy to cushion the fall.
  • Change roles.

Comments :

This practice is very delicate but also very effective for removing anxieties and fears, instilling a sense of trust and collaboration in a very concrete way, because there is a risk of getting hurt. Obviously, we rely on people’s self-preservation instinct and on empathy.

To go farther :

Various specifications from totally free expression to different specific constraints. For instance, the trio might actually be a larger group.

Source :

Any book of confidence games and contemporary dance practices

Autor : Petit Pas, Manuela