Notes on class - June 1

Notes on class, June 1 2008 (by Larisa)

(It was wonderful to see everyone together again, and those who could not be there were missed. It felt like a time dedicated to replenishing, restoring, nurturing… all the things I wanted the month off to be but didn’t feel. I think, for me, it is good to just keep working. But always finding new ways to work, and building nurture and self-care into the package. For me, that might be more sustainable than cycles of busting ass and collapsing.)

So, in case any of you were curious about the progression of class:

I began class with a time for introspective improvisation based on the fundamental connectivities in a developmental progression (a la I. Bartenieff). I made this choice because it felt important to connect with ourselves, especially since we struggle so much with connecting to each other.

Then, with our attention directed inwards, I directed the group to search for something within them that needed nurturing. They were given the options of having the answer arise in words, or in movement. I asked the group to set a personal intention for the new year of work together we are beginning. Again, they were given the option of having the answer arise in words or in movement. If what arose came in words, I asked them to find a movement. If what arose was a movement, I asked them to look for the words it might evoke.

Then we shared these movements and tried them on as a group. I chose to incorporate this into class because we’d just come from a long meeting where we were struggling to work things out in words. While I know this is a necessary aspect of organizational growth, I am sometimes stuck by how consistently we try to solve all of our “business” issues in words. As dancers, I want to open us up to the possibility that might find some of the answers to the organizational issues we struggle with by looking into our bodies as well. Within our bodies lives the wisdom of our lives (and maybe our ancestors lives?) and when we sit down with our notebooks and start talking, I wonder if we are able to keep speaking from that wisdom. Let’s give ourselves the space to “move” some of our problems too. We are, after all, movers first. So I brought it to class.

I would love to hear responses from the folks who were there about what this experience was like for them.

Sounds a bit….dmtheavy? I don’t know. If all of that made you uncomfortable, I will point out that it was 20 minutes of a two hour class and we moved quickly on to plies etc. As for the rest of class:
One floor combination focused on being organized around the core, and being clear about the pathway of the spine (for example, being clear about when the lower body was initiating versus when the head and tail were moving simultaneously). Also, some basic strengthening. Pretty mellow, being our first day back. Next week I would like to add a focus on releasing weight into the floor.

Standing combinations (plies and tendues) contained some longer, dancier phrasework around the theme of being clear initiations, especially feeling the difference between moving from the sternum and moving from the top of the head.

A long, dancey combination… with COUNTS (yes, I did it)! It was fast and furious. We’ll go back to it next week faster and more furiously and we’ll take on the left side. You guys rocked taking that on after a long break. It even included a petit allegro. Notes to self- I need to be more clear about the pathway of the arms in this combination.

Things I felt aware of wanting to work on with this group:

I feel we can all be reaching more through our feet and hands. This is perhaps a core/distal connectivity issue? Out through the top of the head too…

Music for class included (in this order) Goldfrapp, the Beatles, Serge Gainsbourg, Severed Heads, Coil, Can and Blur.