Dance Imagery

Though I have not thought of this particular image while dancing, but one of those automatic vacuum machines come to mind when it comes to having a steady flow of energy throughout. When the device hits a wall, it immediately goes elsewhere as if it was nearly pre-ordained. This gracefulness is how dance should happen.

Another image that may express an idea, and in particular that of pirouette turns, is that of a spinning top:

Maybe I should think of this more so that I can more gracefully pull off double pirouette turns. The top doesn't have moving parts at the top but is a solid structure. So should one find this solid structure and just turn into this thing. 

Yielding, Push, Reach and Pull

Calling upon my own solo, I will say that I use all of these ideas. When starting off, I use a push through space which then yields to the next move of a parallel sustained develope-type move, in which case the arms are outstretched and reaching. The aspect of pull comes maybe 10 seconds into the piece where I go down to my knees, but to arrive there I had to pull back my core as if there was a rope tied to me and I was pull back from my torso.

Out of all of these ideas, pull is probably the one that I use the less, so knowing this, I will try to use it more. I do know a pull movement that I enjoyed was done in Irene's piece at the point right before we went to run towards being propped up by two of our dance mates' legs.

Yielding appears to use a lot of shift of weight, for there is a transition that reverses or stunts movement, yet keeps moving in its own way to allow for a smooth shift to the next movement. This semester, I've learned how important transitional movements were. Very importantly is that all these ideas are much easier to pull of when one is using whole body, because then, for instance, there will be a uniformity in the pushing, as in, whatever is not pushing is resisting.

Dynamic Alignment

What rings highly for me in this book is Joan Skinner's Releasing technique, although there are many great ideas in this book. The reason I like Skinner's technique is because it's how I often like to think with practically everything in dance and outside--that one must keep the energy flowing like a river, and to learn to withdraw in order to gain. Rolfing I find intriguing as well, as I have in a type of dance meditation, pictured myself as a polygon with a great amount of grounding and balance. I saw that thinking in this way really did keep my balance up very well. I would definitely like to think [no, I mean feel] more in symmetry. I say feel after thinking of Sensory Awareness, that goes beyond vision and rationalizing.

The rubber-band tensegrity shows a good metaphor of resistance. Another good metaphor is the ship body. There was a whole section on the role of imagery relating to children, which I find great as an individual can learn much from the movements of children as they use great imagination and seem to be without limits. There are great creative experiments at the end of chapter 4, especially influencing body image and external space alignment. I haven't imagined before a room bigger than it seemed to be, but I have used space exercises of my own imagining where I felt I was everywhere at the same time. This brought great presence and awareness of space.

Whole Body Intelligence

If I could name two major focuses, one would be about arm placements and the other on working with whole body. The arms, hence, are the "part" from the whole that needs more work from me. I realize that a strong core is what keeps everything else together, a sort of core that pulls outward in all directions. I am very familiar with the feeling, but in all honesty, it also takes a certain state of mind, attuned to the "on top of the world" improvisational feeling. The trick (while paradoxically not really "trying") is to be in that same state while in warm-ups and the rest of the class. There is a certain sense of feeling like da Vinci's Renaissance Man, where you are in your own crafted bubble that all your limbs stretch out to. The feeling is extraordinarily grounding (and liberating) to moving through 3-dimensional space.

The body has to work as one just as my fingers are to type this blog. To more solidly utilize my core and whole body is the goal here. Everyone's capable of reaching great heights rapidly. Humans, however, often feel they have to create some sort of permit to allow themselves to reach whatever goal they have. Being human too, this is probably my case as well. The key is having an openness to admit this and to strive to identify the self-imposed permits or to create more encompassing ones. The learning process is interesting and very nuanced. 

So, in short, relating to whole body and the core, what am I doing to re-train? More action without action first of all, then feeling arms beginning at the core (instead of at the shoulder or elbow), feeling the music from the core, opposition, and active listening.

The Mind/Body Status

Health for me is almost in the hobby territory, so I would consider myself both mentally and physically quite healthy. Twice a day, I take a special concoction tea that is composed of the Chinese herb Eucommia bark (which targets the neck, lower back, and knees, and serves to construct cartilage), along with China's Reishi mushroom also known as "Mushroom of Immortality" and "Mushroom of Spiritual Potency" or "10,000 Year Mushroom" to the Japanese. This is a potent medicinal mushroom that has imense anti-tumor properties as well as numerous other cell-rejuvination related properties.

As for resisting change, I keep ears open for helpful suggestions anyone may be having on any types of blocks or frigidity, for it may be as a tongue which can't taste itself. (Ego creates a feedback loop which can limit the world view; so to battle this, one must form authentic keenness for others. By doing so, presense becomes larger. As a general rule, there appears to be nearly an endless supply of energy for an individual whose objective is to go outside of him/herself. It is like some sort of transcendental grant.)

I'm doing very well, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and because of the nature of humanity to want "more", currently, I'm left with making "more" by, in a sense, extending "myself" (or rather, the self), and going outside of "myself" to spread positive or growth vibes to the outside world. This is often done by not doing much. It doesn't take much, often, to cause a ripple of positive energy in the world it appears.

On Being Present

Presense may be synonymous with awareness. It, however, does not mean letting the left brain attempt it. When first working on the identity dance, I found it useful to completely clear the mind first, for a blank slate is fertile soil for creation. Going with the first inclination is practical because one can have material to modify. The starting ground has to start somewhere, even if it is a silly ground. The important part is to simply start doing. The challenge may be the idea of a short time line to create the work, but it is very surprising what a person can come up with in a short amount of time (improvisation comes to mind). The trick is being able to remember all the details from the improvisation.

In my identity dance, I did felt presense, although I could have probably used even more of outside-of-myself action. The type where you may have almost taken the vantage point of the people watching you, nearly forgetting altogether you yourself were performing. For the next solo, I would attempt to encorporate many of the suggestions I received--more lines, more sustaining, and even more core.

Strengths, Challenges, and Goals

There has been much learned this semester with Ballet and Modern from better turns and combinations to better breathing and posture. I have noticed that my strength has increased. Also, I feel that more and more energy has been extending to my fingertips which has been endorsed by Richard and Christina. Being that I will be taking the intensive courses for both Ballet and Modern, I hope to continue with learning correct shift of weight and sustaining of longer balances. There is always a goal of being quick about remembering combinations with both right and left side.

45 minutes of yoga a day has been helping me considerably in feeling more aware in class, so I will continue that. The knowlege learned thusfar from both Ballet and Modern has many applications outside of dance, so I see myself utilizing the skills for any other type of performance art (for me, juggling and unicycling). Dance is a movement art and it involves controlling the body. This idea is luring to me being that much literature I have read states that if one can control the body, the mind will follows. I also get the same type of disiplinary feeling in Ballet as I did in the 4 years of Tae Kwon Do I undertook in my youth. I do not see myself letting go of at least one type of movement art that is done on a fairly regular basis.