And I'm feelin' good......

I have lots to report.  Firstly, 2 students in the last 2 days have voiced that they are aware that they imaged themselves negatively before a step in class and that it affected the outcome – totally new and very exciting.  Secondly, overheard in the college car park after a 1^st year ballet assessment were words about how the student that was speaking had used positive imagery before their assessment and that it had worked for them.  Reflecting with the students in classes after this highlighted that several of the students had used positive imagery successfully before and during their assessment.  One described it as ‘telling themselves they could’ all the way through.   I had worked on this on the lead up to assessments in the hope that the students would be able to allow themselves to do their best under assessment conditions.

Other news is the success of relaying back to the students some reading about how the lower back muscles cannot ‘pull up’ as their action is downwards, and adding this to the notion of lengthening the last inch of the spine – an old favourite of mine, then ‘pinning’ the pelvis with the top of the hamstring/bottom of the bottom.’  Student feedback has established that this is working and visually posture is better. 

Finally working on the journey of the tendu this week, along with ‘feeling’ what you are doing (Minton 2003 edition) have both been successful and have engaged the students.  The work of the inner thigh has been recognised within keeping the pelvis aligned and extending the leg muscles in the tendu, and work with proprioception and dancing with the eyes closed has raised awareness of what is actually happening within the anatomy when executing the given movements.  I feel positive, inspired and excited. 

Even injured students who have to watch class, (who I always include in my lessons), are interacting more and producing very insightful observations about what they are seeing and hearing.  One such student passed on a wonderful image about constructing the self as a dancer.  She explained that one of her old teachers used to say that becoming a dancer is like constructing a jigsaw; some days a piece goes in and never has to come back out, so it can be laminated, and on other days some pieces are in the wrong place, but eventually all the pieces slot together, on some days at least!  We got there via me using an image my cousin had put in my mind the night before.  She had related to me the details of watching a programme about how intricate carved furniture was constructed, and in contrast to her belief that such furniture was made out of one piece of wood, she learned that it was in fact made out of several or many pieces, and blended together to create the aesthetic of the finished product.  I felt that this related to the process of creating, for example, an arabesque, or indeed the finished product as a dancer.  We both described a similar image, but I loved the fact that my student wanted to share her version.  A very productive and positive week!