Bit by Bit, the Pieces Fit

A teacher, once, told me to not focus on steps. Dance is all about transition, she said. It worked! I, immediately, became more fluid.

There's something particular to movement: You can take a great image that works well for you, stand it on its head, and that can help, too.

Let me give you the reverse-version, now.

Last year, I was rehearsing an old piece with two good friends. We were really happy to be back together, again, but something went wrong. We were open and vibrant, but our dancing had become self-satisfied and insipid.

It was Phillipe who figured it out. We started the piece too comfortable, he explained to Paola and me. We eased through it, with memories of simplicity, and forgot how demanding it was for precision. We can't linger or anticipate. We have to be at the right place, at the right time, putting our entire selves into the act at hand, then the next, then the next, then the next....

After all, what is a line, but a series of points?

And, because that image worked, too, I assume, in my heart, that they're both equally true. (Dancers see the world in terms of complementary opposites.)


Recap #1: Segment Exercises

1) To coordinate, we first must be able to differentiate.
2) Differentiation -- the recognition of segments and parts -- comes to us through sensations.
3) The amount and quality of our sensations depend on our ability to feel.
4) The ability to feel is born out of a state of relaxation.
5) Relaxation comes when we open up to the pull of gravity.

P.S. With this different way of looking at it, why not go and give those segment exercises another try?