Teacher's Wisdom
Class includes a slow exercise that gives each dancer enough time to meditate to experience their existence. It also includes exercises that are technically challenging—but are not impossible. Movement logic needs to be part of each exercise. It works well when the exercise is fun and when it is also musical to a point that it is just great to do. What I love to see is when a dancer comes to realize the inherent intelligence in his or her body. It’s far more satisfying than seeing someone who can execute eight pirouettes.
Why do you think that good alignment is often equated with muscular strength? There is a general perception of the body as weak and unintelligent. There is a distrust of the body as it is. I think the body is magnificent. With students I research the idea that they are using too much power in their support system and subsequently blocking their movement. Why they do that? I wish I had a simple answer. You might look at the imagery that is being used in ballet and contemporary dance training. You also might look at today’s cultural attitudes and beliefs. By cultural, I mean a perception of the body that is embedded in advertising. For example, the idea that being fit means a certain kind of musculature. Having lots of muscles today is considered sexy. But having lots of muscles does not necessarily translate to being centered, and it will not necessarily make you a great mover.
What other issues affect placement? Your placement is the physical manifestation of the way you see yourself. The more emotional trauma you accumulate in the body, the greater sense of physical protection with which you try to surround yourself. Your placement will also be affected by any imagery that is unrealistic or unsynchronized with the way the body functions.
You once said that ballet is misery. Please explain. If you interview those in the ballet field today, 97 percent will eventually confess that ballet is misery. It doesn’t make sense to me. Something that can bring such joy, like dancing, also comes with so much pain. Whether you talk to people who take ballet as hobby, modern dancers, or ballet dancers in companies, the conversation is the same. We have a history of using negative reinforcement in training dancers. If there is one thing that I would like to teach more than anything else, it is that taking pleasure in moving can make you a better dancer.
What do you think ballet offers beyond the obvious—learning a classical technique? For me, ballet is a source of meditation. You can learn who you are by working with your body. The idea of finding symmetry—ballet is just great for that. It’s so simple: front, side, back with one leg extended and the other supporting the body. At the same time, because of ballet’s straightforwardness, you are very exposed. This simplicity creates a greater potential for humiliation. Ballet brings all the divisions of the self together. Grace can be the result. In ballet you are constantly in a process of becoming excellent, however you define it.
