Approximating superpositions in the continuum of jo-ha-kyū and ma: A method of mediating indeterminacy in movement improvisation

In movement improvisation, improvisers often experience vagueness and uncertainty of perception prior to moving. This article examines the sense of indeterminacy before movement is formed. It explores key concepts in Japanese Noh theatre, namely the sequencing concept of jo-ha-kyū (序破急) and the notion of interval, or ma (間), as a framework for mediating the indeterminacy in the act of improvising from the perspective of embodied practice. By configuring improvised movement as discrete jo-ha-kyū modulations, the ma interval occurs when one modulation is fulfilled, and the next one is about to take form. The interval is where potential of upcoming movement emerges from its indeterminacy. This article proposes that the improviser can approximate the fields of attention through the notion of ‘superposition’ where the felt sense of potential movements and relations are schematized as coexisting. In so doing, the sense of potentiality can be directly attended to, not only for enriching actualized movements but also for accounting for the wholeness of movement events. By drawing attention to the indeterminacy and potentiality in movement improvisation, this article argues that potential movement that becomes actualized, and that which does not, are equally valuable as improvisational material for enhancing the experience of both improviser and audience.