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Showing posts from October, 2020

Notes from a 'Get Active' Zoom Dance Class

I spend a significant amount of time planning content for the classes I teach at this time of year. The last two weeks have very much reflective of this, including some additional consideration around delivering classes digitally. The participants I teach vary in age, ability and intention, and I love the constant sense of flux from delivering technical dance classes for students studying dance at HE, to young people trying dance for the first time, via mature movers enjoying dance as a vehicle for being physical, creative and social. However, this year I've found this process jarring; I've found it a real challenge to make 'new' content, and I seem to be stuck in a pattern of habitual movement patterns and pathways; closed off in a sense.  For me, my vocational training in dance was centered around classical ballet, and when I'm able to zoom out on the bigger picture, this highly codified movement pattering and positioning is ingrained somewhere deep within me. I s...

Shifting Expectation to Intention?

A number of lines of inquiry seemed to emerge from the Skype discussion group on Sunday; the mind-body presence of self in our training and current practice, and the notion of expectation, evaluation and assessment stood out for me.  Both topics have continued to feel pertinent to me this week. With one of my freelance hats on, I'm starting to rework a piece of choreography created with and for the youth dance company I work with. This time round, the cast has changed, and it's been months since we've rehearsed the piece.  During the youth company session yesterday, I found myself opening a discussion around our expectations of reworking the piece and I found myself trying to strike a balance between the expectations I have of myself,  the expectations of the performers, the expectation of the audience, and the expectations of the producer/technical team I work alongside to make the performance happen.  To a certain extent, I can adopt strategies which support me to...