Our Bodies…. Our Selves!
It is time to celebrate - our Bodies … our Selves!
Our bodies are the histories of our existence; our memories of eons and cultures past through cellular memory; genetics and spiritual heredity.
In 2022, we are coming to focus on the importance of body, mind and spirit in the dancer ~I would like to share some thoughts about the mental health f dancers.
In dance we used to ask the dancers to take “form’ in social dances-reflecting community, social status, connections… then to tell stories by becoming images of perhaps a swan era faun; embodying good or evil; becoming fairylike or sinister, playful, amorous …
We have ‘trained’ dancers for centuries by rules to reflect the times and evolution of cultures and societies - to become the elite expression of world cultures.
I have wondered if we ever realized that the body IS visible music - the flow of muscles and fascia throughout the body in glorious patterns of wavelengths moving our bodies into forms, portions and expressions - sometimes in harmony and sometimes in dissonance - our bodies are symphonies!
Every body dances!
From wiggles and squiggles; playing with our toes and hugging them to our nose! We reflect the rhythms of our cultures, the waltz of our mother’s heartbeat and the breath of being born!
As we open the world of dance to little ones and begin to ‘train’, do not begrudge the images and remembrances, the inspirations and the inherent intuition to move and express. Let’s remember to ask for the stories, the feelings, the images and embodiments - listen to the rhythms and tempi, the flow and the percussion, the heart, the pulse and the beat of love… war… anger… sorrow… grief…hope!
The young ones ~ As our dancers grow -to stand and walk and march and run, skip, hop, jump, gallop, spin and turn, fall and recover -discover their bodies in time and space - be with them in the journey.
There is time and timing in training… this is so important. As artists, we need to re-member, re-call the innocence, the imaginations, the feelings of a child, a young love/first love, the trees and butterflies, flowers and snowflakes.
Training will hone the muscles to move the bones to take forms and express feelings. We must respect and bring the whole person through the training.
As we grow dancers - I would like to share a few thoughts:
Everymuscle in our body reflexes to an organ, vital to the systems of our bodies- our physical and mental life. Take care of the bodies and the minds; the how we train, what we ask for and when; the intensity - Repeat, repeat, repeat is MADNESS. Let’s teach to inform and remember; to express and connect… for efficiency, artistry, connection and communication.
Those forming years ~ of hormones and growth spurts; easy stretching over doing! What we can do before our bones form solidly; before the growth hormones settle - may be absolutely stupendous! This is when we can learn to take care of ourselves. The pelvis and spine will shift and change; the sternum will solidify the spine will be flexible then not; our legs seem to go on forever and our moods swing in a split moment. This is the time that we need asafe and secure; caring environment. These years are volatile, explosive, unrelenting and filled with possibilities!
The Masters knew ~