This
weekend I am home alone - my better half is in Russia (thankfully not where the
meteor landed) and I am dedicating as much time as I can to my study. I
want to take a minute to reflect on a theatre visit - well actually 2.
Last
Saturday afternoon, I saw A Chorus Line at the Palladium. I last saw it
when I was 13 at Drury Lane... and can vividly recall the impact it made on me.
I was at Bush Davies, immersed in my study and loving it - and the notion
that a graduate from my school (Cherry Gillespie FYI) could achieve a role in
this show was huge for me. That, and the show itself really hit home and
I was somewhat nervous about seeing it anew, over 30 years later.
No need
for worry - I saw much again... I marvelled at how the dancers of 2013 had
adapted to the style of 1978 - dance has progressed/changed/developed so
much since then - especially Jazz dance, and they did a great job.
The
biggest impact this time round was Scarlett Strallen dancing The Music and The
Mirror as Cassie. She WAS Cassie - not a performer playing the role - she
was Zac's ex-lover, who had failed in Hollywood, who still loved the dance as
she always had, desperately demonstrating her love of dance and her talent to
get a job. Jaw-dropping, breath-taking - totally immersed - BEING in
capital letters, not doing in lower case. She was totally living the
moment, the story, the dance. I was really moved. At the end of the
show I was literally speechless - my voice box felt as if it had turned on it's
head and I could not speak (rare for me!!)
With
regard to my study I guess I learned that imagery can be pretty much
anything....not just words, or pictures....I was reliving mental imagery which
had stuck with me for over 30 years, whilst simultaneously being
emotionally carried along by the moving images in front of my eyes.
Powerful stuff....
I am
also struggling a bit due to the challenges of my reading at the moment; there
is a particular notion that Eric Franklin finds unmentionable (the glutes -
and consciously mentioning using them within dance) which is the
polar opposite to the way I teach ballet. I frequently mention 'pinning'
the pelvis and by default the turnout with the 'bottom of the bottom' 'the
glutes' and supporting the balance with these muscles, and the thought that
this may not be constructive is tussling with all my teaching buttons.... So, I
must ensure that I ascertain whether what I am saying is useful, and whether I
am negatively interpreting what Franklin actually means. It is really on
my mind so I must act swiftly - Monday I feel! I guess that is what study
is all about - nobody can afford to get complacent and this is
certainly 'keeping me on my toes' (see what I did there!)
Catching up... I acted on this on the Monday I mentioned. All the students that I asked felt that they need to be reminded about the glutes and do not feel ready to work without postural reminders. One student explained that she uses my reminders and imagery as a prompt, but interprets them in a way that works for her... for example she feels at the bottom of a plié she has to 'let her glutes go' but she needs to remember to reconnect them...
ReplyDeleteIt put my mind at rest as I wanted to affirm that my imagery about this area was of use. I am asking for more feedback from the students as I work through this module, as it has become so clear to me that I have to make sure that what I am describing to the learners assists with their learning. Testing the effect from my mouth to their imagination and physiques I guess. So far so good...