Today's ballet technique class was taught by Laura, whom I'd never taken class with before. She mentioned she had recently returned from a decade or dancing and teaching in Amsterdam and was now mostly teaching at Alonzo King's LINES Ballet and at the ODC in San Francisco, which was exciting to hear. Her class did not disappoint - it was full of class-strict, classical staples, but yet wonderfully influenced by a slightly contemporary edge.
What really got my attention was Laura's singular focus on the influence the mind has over the body. After we finished a combination at the barre that ended in a front passe balance, she asked us what our thoughts were as we got into the balance. To be honest, my thoughts were something like: "Okay, balance coming up. HUT!" and as a result, as Laura helpfully pointed out to me, my chin was lifted a little too high, and my chest, neck, and shoulders tight. Was I even breathing? Probably not enough!
Now I'm pretty proud of my strength and the balances I'm able to execute. But does that mean I can't improve or make it easier? As I found out, I certainly can make it easier, and present a more beautiful presence at the same time. Laura exhorted us to think very positive thoughts as we embarked on our balances. "I am so ON today!" she exclaimed gleefully as she pulled up into a passe balance. We all laughed, but when we tried it from there and throughout the rest of the class, I was humbled by the difference it made.
In addition, I received another crucial correction from Laura: I'm pushing my chest out too soon when hitting a balance, especially at the end of a moving combination. I was to pique up into a back attitude en releve (step onto the ball of the foot, with the other leg bent behind me), and I was giving the full "Ta-DA!" with my upper body way too soon. "If you give it all at the beginning, there's nothing else left! Save it a little, then when you know you've established the balance, then show it all off!"
The result of these two observations was that I felt I could balance for longer, with less tension in my upper body, and it was just ... less effort. As I stepped into my attitude balance, it was not about "nailing it", it was about establishing a presence and then blooming into the full movement. I hesitate to even call it a pose - when I tried her correction, I was constantly moving, evolving. I felt elegant and beautiful, even!
Laura's consistent reminders and excited exclamations of "Yes!" whenever someone incorporated her corrections were very encouraging, and made me work that much harder. I wanted to receive a "Yes!" (I did get a few :-)
"Have your mind be a witness to your body," Laura concluded about the positive thoughts concept, and I was struck by how powerful this statement was. It also made me realize just how much dancers must overrule the natural tendencies of our bodies in order to hone our art, to constantly gird ourselves psychologically to master limb and muscle. But the way Laura described it, I suddenly felt that it's less about overcoming our bodies, but about observing and encouraging. Our bodies are, after all, our prized instruments - I've only got the one, and it's irreplaceable. It's time to stop fighting it and to work with what I've got, imperfections and all, and to make the best of it!
2 comments:
I prefer the idea of mind AND body (not over). A lot has been written about our tendency to privilege the mind at the expense of what I could call thinking with the body. I don't really suggest that the body rules the mind, but rather that they work so closely together that most of the time we don't even think about "which" is control. Of course the mind has to start something the body is unfamiliar with. But once we are "proficient" the body and mind work together unconsciously. Think about our ability to drive a car after years of having a licence compared to when we were learners. Think also of the baby learning to walk. I suspect they think it all the way through, "I know I can, I know I can". But as adults we don't even give walking a second thought. This may be where a point of distinction may be noticed. Dancers generally walk a little different to non-dancers. Neither think about it, but what if one group wanted to walk like the other? Does this make sense, or am I just rambling?
Thank you, Mike! When we already have the "muscle memory", it doesn't take much to go through the motions, but when learning something new, our minds certainly are involved (whether we like it or not). That's why I can think so hard about a movement that my body is literally stuck and unable to engage, when trying something utterly unfamiliar to me.
But the mind can certainly influence the body, as in when stepping into a balance and thinking "Oh, this is going to be bad ..." versus, "I'm going to be on this!" I'm sure there are myriad ways the body can be influenced by the mind, and vice versa. A very interesting gentleman by the name of Steve Sisgold maintains that listening to our bodies is the key to unlocking our deepest anxieties and issues, the first step towards resolution. This, of course, incorporates the mind, too, so as you say, mind and body work in harmony. Perhaps our experience depends on which one we engage first.
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