Explain the need to develop your lifting techniques

One of the reasons why I want to develop my lifting techniques is so that I can become a better physical theatre practitioner. The ability to lift and to be lifted is a major part of working in a partnership to produce a physical theatre piece and is something that can be very empowering and look very good if done correctly. I feel that if I develop my lifting techniques, I will be able to do more things when put in a partnership and will be able to create a more exciting piece, as lifts are often very interesting to watch. Lifts create levels, so I think the need to develop lifting techniques would improve my piece visually by enabling me to explore my strengths and create another dimension of positions in the air.

I also have the need to improve my lifting techniques because it will make me physically stronger. Both being lifted and lifting someone else requires a degree of physical strength, particularly in the stomach, as that is where the core is. If I improve the technique of which I am lifted, I will get stronger holding my own body weight over time.

As I am quite small in stature, I am usually the person that is lifted but I would love to be able to lift other people and bear their weight with ease. By improving the techniques that I lift someone with, it would mean a lot to me as a performer, as I would not be dependent on other people to take my weight; I should be able to take theirs too. I do not think this would require much more strength in my body, as if I have a solid technique to lift them with, I will not struggle to hold them in different ways.

Another reason why I have the need to develop my lifting techniques is so that neither I, nor another person get hurt when doing physical theatre work. In the past I have noticed that is easy to pull a muscle or feel strained from taking someone else's weight, as the body naturally tenses up if it is not used to taking a large amount of weight. If I improved my lifting techniques, it would decrease the chance of hurting me or my partner, something I think is important when trusting each other and working in a successful partnership.