Moving through your Environment

This past weekend we started working on our newest project, a film on free-running. As we start exploring this form of urban athletics, we are intrigued by the art of this increasingly popular sport in which the participants explore and move through their environment in innovative and aesthetically pleasing ways. Free-runners often perform in urban settings, flying and leaping to and from buildings, railings, steps and any other object that most passersby will observe as an impossible prop in which to move from one location to another.

Despite the suggestion of the name, free-running requires the free-runner to have an acute awareness of his body and his environment. He cannot just run absent-mindedly from one position to another without being focused and making choices. Every time a free-runner jumps, he has choices to make; which direction will he go? How will he land? Where will he move to next? These choices must be made quickly, which means his thoughts need to be clear. We often have many thoughts competing for our attention, so it is vital for a free-runner to know what he wants and to follow through with his choice. Otherwise, he can end up being injured or causing destruction to the environment.

Just as all freedoms come with responsibility, so does the art of free-running. The free-runner has a responsibility to listen to and respect both his body and the environment. Whether he is jumping on rocks or buildings, communication must exist to prevent damage to either the body or the environment. If he does not respect the land, the rock can bite the free-runner. If the land does not respect the free-runner, the free-runner can destroy the rock. People shape the land by treading and jumping, but instead of working against the environment, the free-runner must run free with respect to it. He must land lightly to slowly mold his surroundings into a compatible environment without completely destroying or changing it. To achieve this compatible environment, listening must occur by both the free-runner and the environment. By listening, we can shape our bodies and our environment and then we can slowly mold and create an environment of a new light that respects the relationship between our bodies and the environment.

For the next couple months, we will continue to explore the world of urban athletics and free-running by filming and documenting members of the French troupe, Fils du Vide. Join us in this exploration of our environments by discovering your own new and creative ways in which to move through your surroundings while still respecting them.

-Becky, Soul Acrobat