Dance Training Journal 4: 1/28/15

Dance Training Journal 4: 1/28/15

We started practice today by going over our "personal zone". This was a very important review, as by going over it, we were able to discover our "comfort zone" which became important later this practice. In the personal zone review, which had us following and trailing other dancers to maintain a distance from them that felt safe to us, I was able to note where mine currently is. It seemed to me, that i really felt the most comfortable in "Issoku ittō-no-maai" which is a Kendo term for "one step, one strike distance" Essentially it is the Kendo term for the distance between two sword wielding combatants, where one is currently OUT of striking distance, but may accomplish a strike with a single step. Considering that I am bringing primarily my decade of Kendo experience to this dance class, this seems entirely logical that i would default on that distance.

Next we did some "motion idea's" this exercise was accomplished by Robin telling us a basic idea like "stretching" or "swinging" for us to base our motions on. We would then do that, and then for the next stage she would have us "mix" two or more forms of motion simultaneously, like "stretching and swinging" or "walking and twisting" etc. I was really surprised by the amount of "range of motion" this opened up in me, just by having me try new combinations of things I already knew how to do. It is also noteworthy, that sometimes I would see one of my classmate's motions and be all "I wanna try that". 

Next we discussed "what makes motion" as a class. We talked about ideas like music, environment, inspiration, imitating people, animals or objcets, our own senses, the "center" of our body/breath, our memories, our emotions. It seems like there isn't much reason to NOT be able to move, in any given moment, a person who WANTS motion should be able to have something, from somewhere.

Next, we did some group work. We paired up, and then went to the floor in small groups. In small groups we practiced full mirrored, group work. First of all, it was a blast! I saw other groups do some insane, beautiful, gutsy stuff that you would SWEAR was planned, but wasn't. Each group, seemed to have a unique energy and 'take' on the same music, even across multiple dances with the same groups, and same music. I noted that there was a LOT of room for bold improvisation in this format, and that our groups seemed to have a high tolerance, and capacity to work with it, in real time.