the following are notes meant to guide a short introductory workshop to the first mode of the {qiudanz technique}.
we are going to be playing with movement sequences. these sequences will consist in combinations of a very limited set (or vocabulary) of actions.
we will learn some rules to manipulate these sequences.
there will be some guided activities to get acquainted with these rules, but the whole idea of this technique is for you to start playing with it in your own way :)
the idea here is to have fun and connect with movement-based joy. it gets more interesting with the computational aspects, but the moving aspect is the most important one!
the three names of the movements we just covered, IN, DEH and SHOW, are also the names of three different actions to take regarding our movement sequence.
even though our sequence was never longer than three movements, the sequence of sequences (or meta-sequence) started to be somewhat complex and fun to perform :)
# conversation game
let's play a little bit with what we just learned!
in this game of pairs, one person performs a sequence, the other repeats it with an applied transformation, and this continues back and forth.
it is also valid to repeat the sequence as is.
therefore, the set of four valid operations to apply in this mode, are:
```
- .
+- .
++ .
.
```
there's no need to say or indicate what was the applied operation.
always finish the sequence with a SHOW (.) to indicate that it is the other person's turn.
if possible, try to be aware of how the conversation unfolds. is the sequence growing too much? is it always too close to being empty? what kind of operations are easy to follow?
## a small example
supposing that the pair of people consists of X and Y, the following illustrates the beginning of a possible conversation, indicating the sequence that each of them peforms:
in the tape and guide game we also have a conversation but now each person has a different role.
the tape person will remember, transform, and perform the movement sequence, and the guide person will move in order to wordlessly indicate an instruction to be applied.
in a first level of complexity, the guide can only perform one of the following four instructions for the tape:
try this game alternating who is the guide and the tape each time!
# target and more
a possible variation of either of both games is the target game: start with a given sequence, keep in mind (or in sight) a target sequence, and apply transformations to try to arrive to that target.
for example, you might start with:
```
[ - - - - - ]
```
and the target could be:
```
[ + + + + + ]
```
even though it might be interesting to look for a fast (or the faster?) set of transformations, it might be even more fun to not arrive at the target sequence directly. what if you both make the sequence oscillate before arriving to the target? what if you find a very rhytmic or complex way to arrive?
these are just some ideas for keeping the practice of this first mode.
the next modes will include more movements (and therefore transformations), so it will be great to be fluent in these first ones already!