Saturday morning met me with a pleasant surprise; the dance class I teach was completely packed, not only with registered students, but with two friends I haven't seen in months. We stretched and did our kung fu warm ups, we twist and kick and reach and raise our arms, swing punch on a diagonal, lunge side to side, stretch and roll and do sit ups and leg lifts, find our balance, awaken those sleepy cold Saturday morning muscles. The first half hour is devoted to warm up exercise; I believe muscle memory is enhanced when the muscles are loose and warm. Some of the stretches build strength, too, but I prize flexibility and good posture. Strength comes later.
I have a quick study, who likes to stand directly behind me. She says she has never taken Middle Eastern dance, and that may be true, but she seems to grasp the theory and motion immediately when I demonstrate. Most of the ladies in class have learned the few moves I've shown them; some motions are harder to grasp than others, and sometimes they'll get the basic move but their posture goes to hell while doing it. I'm an easy teacher, and although I do things by repetition and rote, and I will make them work up a sweat, I mix it up. We look at something difficult, then we do something fun.
Dancing is about motion, and the ideal for this type of dancing is to make it look effortless, to look like the body is floating above the floor, describing with the hips a figure eight here, carving a crescent there, tricking the audience into seeing the shapes of the motion rather than the dancer. A good dancer begs the audience to watch the dance, not the body. I want to be a good dancer, to find that suspension and grace. I am learning a lot by teaching the basic motions to beginning students.
But Saturday I had students who have been dancing for a few years already, ladies who come for the exercise, for the smiles, for the feeling of togetherness when we all have the same motion bending our limbs in unison. It's a beautiful thing, the flex and bow and bend, the stretch and undulation.
After class one lady approached me and requested private lessons. I am flattered; she has been dancing almost as long as I have. She is very stiff and nervous, a flighty little bird, and I believe that's her primary impediment to seeing the results of her training. She's a runner, and I want to give her a glass of wine, make her let down her wild black mane of hair, and realize she doesn't have to hold her body rigid for dancing like she does for running.
No darlin it's all about being limber and soft. The trick is making the control and balance and strength exerted look simple, easy. She keeps her balance in her upper body and I want her to drop it down to her belly button. She's coming over tonight for an hour; we'll see how much we can do. Above all it should be fun.
I have a quick study, who likes to stand directly behind me. She says she has never taken Middle Eastern dance, and that may be true, but she seems to grasp the theory and motion immediately when I demonstrate. Most of the ladies in class have learned the few moves I've shown them; some motions are harder to grasp than others, and sometimes they'll get the basic move but their posture goes to hell while doing it. I'm an easy teacher, and although I do things by repetition and rote, and I will make them work up a sweat, I mix it up. We look at something difficult, then we do something fun.
Dancing is about motion, and the ideal for this type of dancing is to make it look effortless, to look like the body is floating above the floor, describing with the hips a figure eight here, carving a crescent there, tricking the audience into seeing the shapes of the motion rather than the dancer. A good dancer begs the audience to watch the dance, not the body. I want to be a good dancer, to find that suspension and grace. I am learning a lot by teaching the basic motions to beginning students.
But Saturday I had students who have been dancing for a few years already, ladies who come for the exercise, for the smiles, for the feeling of togetherness when we all have the same motion bending our limbs in unison. It's a beautiful thing, the flex and bow and bend, the stretch and undulation.
After class one lady approached me and requested private lessons. I am flattered; she has been dancing almost as long as I have. She is very stiff and nervous, a flighty little bird, and I believe that's her primary impediment to seeing the results of her training. She's a runner, and I want to give her a glass of wine, make her let down her wild black mane of hair, and realize she doesn't have to hold her body rigid for dancing like she does for running.
No darlin it's all about being limber and soft. The trick is making the control and balance and strength exerted look simple, easy. She keeps her balance in her upper body and I want her to drop it down to her belly button. She's coming over tonight for an hour; we'll see how much we can do. Above all it should be fun.
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