Discovering the Power and Ability to Take Action
speak
by MEGAN LOWE
The Ability to Take Action: We got the intruder out of our home, but as we did, he grabbed my braid and attempted to throw me down the flight of stairs. While my part- ner was trying to get him off me, I counter- balanced against the attacker, pressing away from the railing with my left hand and send- ing my pelvis weight in the opposite direc- tion of him, while holding his arm in place with my right hand so my hair did not com- pletely rip out of my head. (Throughout my career as a dancer, I am constantly grateful for my understanding of how to use counter- balancing to aid my everyday life, but never more so than during this instance.) It felt like it took forever for the police to arrive, but they made it in this moment. They had to taser the attacker multiple times to get him to stop. Even after they fully restrained him, we could see that he kept fighting and trying to come back. I have never seen some- one so enraged and out of control. Once the attacker was apprehended, the police ques- tioned us outside in the cold, with nothing on but our torn, blood-soaked pajamas. We were then released to return to our broken home that was filled with glass, wood shards, chem- ical residue, hair, and blood—left to figure out what to do next all on our own. This is the most traumatic event that has occurred in my life. I never thought that sav- ing two strangers would have resulted in such a brutal attack on our household. As a result, our door and window were destroyed, and our flooring had to be completely ripped out due to blood contamination. We were out of our home for three weeks while repairs were being made. We had to replace much of our furniture and belongings. We continue need- ing to take time off work, have meetings, man- age paperwork and bills, and attend medical appointments. However, the psychological impact of this event has been the most diffi- cult to deal with. At least I can take solace in the fact that everyone is alive; a couple months later I received a letter from one of the victims: Megan was a complete stranger who risked her own life to save two random people in her parking lot. She had no obligation to help us, but out of the kindness of her heart she did. There were plenty of other neighbors who had come outside during all of the commotion, but Megan and her roommates were the only people who tried to help. I have no doubt in my mind that if she would have waited any longer, or just stood and watched like the other people around, I would not be here today. That night was the scariest thing that has ever
I AM DEEPLY IMMERSED in contact improvisa- tion and site-specific dance—exploring the possibilities/capabilities of my body in rela- tionship to other bodies and in relationship to space/architecture. I crave the feeling of earth in my core, sensing the ground through my dance partner’s core, and finding the grav- itational center of an object. Even now, as I write this, I get little butterflies in my stom- ach, alluding to that connection of centers: to move and be moved; to respond and elicit a response; to be thrilled by surprise, yet ready for anything. Climbing, falling, and folding into and out of floors, walls, windows, stairs, ledges, edges, and bodies, I test the laws of physics diligently. I am on a never-ending search for new discoveries through proficient movement generation, tackling unusual phys- ical situations and coming up with compel- ling solutions. It feels strange writing about this thing I love so much, instead of just doing it. I want to get up and dance. But as I sit here, I am reminded that I am constantly moving and connecting—my dance practice informs everything I do and how I interact with the world. The way my body makes slight adjust- ments to stay standing on a train that jerks to start and stop. The instinct that kicks in for me to counterbalance, gaining a little more length to obtain something that was just out of reach. The recruiting of my entire body to lift heavy objects in a safe and sus- tainable way. The ability I have to fall with little impact, working with gravity instead of against it. I recall a time when I was traveling fast on my bike and the front tire got stuck in a grate, flipping the bike in the air and launching me off it. Amazingly, I was able to land safely, with my backpack still on, and everything intact. Often in these moments, I find myself thinking, “Woah! Good thing I’m a dancer.” Never did I imagine that I would need to call upon my skills as a dancer dur- ing a life-threatening assault. Potentially Triggering Story: At 4 a.m. on December 30, 2018, my partner and I were woken by a woman screaming for help outside our home. We opened our window, and saw her and another stranger being assaulted. We yelled at the man attack- ing them to stop, but the violence continued. As my partner called the police, I ran to the front door. When I opened it, I noticed the attacker had started bludgeoning the male victim with a fire extinguisher—it was clear to me in this moment that he was trying to kill them, that these victims were just try- ing to get away, and that there was no time to wait for the police to arrive—so I made a split-second decision and urged the victims to come into our home for protection. It was like a horror movie—the victims hobbled down the sidewalk while their attacker slowly walked behind them, know- ing he could easily catch up. I remember thinking there was no way they were going to make it up the stairs before their attacker did, but the victims made it into our home and I slammed and locked the door behind them. The male victim was bleeding pro- fusely from his head, face, and leg, and he had been stabbed multiple times. While my partner was on the phone with the police, our roommate and I looked for things to stop the bleeding. Then the attacker started breaking down our door. My partner went to hold the door while the victims hid in the bathroom. We tried to reason with the attacker, but to no avail. No human words came from him, just screaming, growling, and roaring. Then the enraged man broke our window with the fire extinguisher. There was glass everywhere.
Photo by John Carnahan
Photo by Sebastian Arrua
The Ability to Take Action: Feet firmly planted, knees bent, hands tightly gripping a table near the broken window, I harnessed the power of the ground and felt its connection to my core and my connection to the object’s center, and I threw the large, heavy table up in one fell swoop to block the window. The Ability to Take Action: As the door started coming of the hinges, I ran to help my partner hold the door. Firmly planting my feet into the floor again, I channelled that power through my legs, my torso, my arms, and pressed my entire being into the one thing between us and this unseen, but very much felt and heard attacker. The Ability to Take Action: Through the cracks of the door, the attacker unloaded the contents of the fire extinguisher into our home. The chemicals made it hard to breathe and see. All I could do at that point was sense through my skin, muscle, and bone, trying to maintain functionality. The door completely detached from the frame and became a floating shield. I could feel the floor through my partner’s core via the door. Coordination become a necessity, as I could not press too hard or too little at the wrong moment, or the door would flip. I also had to react accordingly to the volatile entity on the other side with no way to visually pre- dict what he was going to do next. This was a feat of deeply physical listening to my ally, and to my enemy, through a large object. The Ability to Take Action: The attacker's hands and legs started forcing their way in. He kept body slamming the door and ended up successfully pushing through, bursting
his way into our home. I was the first point of contact; his hands grabbed at my face, and ripped at the insides of my mouth. All I could think of was getting this intruder out of our home, and that I needed to continue to push back without being overtaken—a harsh negotiation of balance. Our roommate pulled the attacker off me. Then my partner pulled the attacker off our roommate, and towards the gaping exit. I rushed to get a tall stool, using its weight, density, and length to help push the intruder out. No longer able to use the stool in our narrow entryway, I threw it aside and went to rush the attacker.
Continued on pg 9 »
+ + +
@
5
in dance DEC 2019
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker