Dance Training Journal: 4/24/15

Dance Training Journal: 4/24/15

Adaptation:

Activities Involved:

Warm Up: Hula-hoop passed through arms. 'normal', 'artful', 'fast and artful' and 'slow and artful'

Pass the airplane: Airplane passing, increasing distance.

Pass the movement: passing movement in small groups, demonstrating to class

Restrictions: Restricted Hands, 1 foot, restricted pelvis, 'wild card'

Goals:

Stay in character

Always be ready to adapt

Spontaneous adjustment to the situation

Questions:

How would one train a group to pass a hoop through the arms, fast, efficiently, and artfully?

How to transition a airplane without stopping the motion?

Ways to use the idea of 'restrictions' out of class?

Ideas for further exploration:

Hoop pass training:

I imagine, that one could practice training a small group of dancers to pass the hoop, and attempt to enforce exactly ONE technique for passing it. What I noticed worked, mechanically, with the hoop in between hands, the person receiving it, raised their hand, pulling both their partner's and their own hands above their own head. They then would put it over their head, and step through, preferably in a quick, concise stepping manner, and then let the hoop slide to the center of the hands of the next person. I imagine, if one were to train that motion, and then practice consistent execution for several laps, one could gradually increase the speed of the passing, say using drumbeats or a metronome as a reference point to train the skill to be fast, and artful, for a large group.

Non-stop airplane transitions:

I would accomplish this, by having the partners involved start spaced out. That way when you approached a partner for a pass off they would see you coming. As you passed off the paper plane, you should have a very predictable line of motion, that the receiver can see, at least 1-3 seconds before you complete it. Then they could match your speed, and 'take' the plane and continue an new motion without interrupting it's movement.

Using 'restrictions' out of class:

One could self restrict certain body parts, or motions when performing mundane tasks, in a pool, on a walk, or realistically in any environment where any amount of motion is possible. It seems like it's the sort of thing that favors thinking 'out of the box', very, very often. One could say, resolve to find 4-6 places a day to practice using 'restrictions' on motion, and develop a keen sense for such matters. One could even try doing certain things without furniture, like typing in a seated position with no chair, or such. I've also noticed that carrying certain objects on my person, like backpacks, training equipment, or weight also creates 'restrictions' to my motion that can be explored. Alternately training a pool where you have more options, rather than fewer is another way to explore this mindset.