The activities we did with Ondrej were fun and some parts of them made me think about the foundations of dance again. For example, he reiterated the importance of breathing, especially while using the back consciously, and transferring all of our bodies’ weight to the ground to gain balance. These are some things that seem […]
What is Dance without Performance?
The activities we did in Ondrej’s class felt more comfortable than yesterday, especially the partner activity that one person has to close their eyes and the other has to lead them to move to other space in the room. Yesterday, some classmates said that they felt relaxed, to a point where they forgot that there […]
Second Thought
My favorite part of today’s dance class with Ondrej was ‘second-option’. I was initially confused about what second-option meant—are we expected to predict our future? But then I realized it shouldn’t be taken literally and the main focus should be on deliberately creating an unconventional (in my perspective) flow of movements. It took me a lot […]
It’s about How
I was partnered up with Marika for today’s exercise of initiating movement from a specific part of the body. I went first, before Marika, and whenever Marika touched a certain body part of mine, I tried to move from that exact point and connect it to other movements. I tried to vary the position of […]
Trust
What I love about Professor Harrell is the way he values us as artists, despite our lack of knowledge and experience in dance. Whenever he talks to us, I see only passion and genuineness to share his stories and philosophy about dance in his eyes, and no trace of any judgment for our imperfections. I […]
A Crucial Mirror
Whether it is choreographing or putting together a presentation, watching other people’s works has always had an interesting influence on my work. I am quite ambivalent about it; sometimes it brings inspirations but also often an unpleasant guest, insecurity. Owing to the supportive class environment, I did not feel much of the latter sentiment today […]
What do you see?
My stage fright has been my constant companion for any kind of performance throughout my entire life—regardless of whether by ‘stage’ I mean a 600 seat auditorium or my bedroom, in front of my friends to sing. I think my fear stemmed from the pursuit of perfectionism and others’ judgments that entail if I fail. […]
Hierarchy in Dance
I sat next to Vania during the dinner today, one of the dancers of Trajal’s company (and a truly lovely, inspiring woman). We had an interesting conversation which jumped from one topic to another, from what having an accent while speaking English means in each other’s cultures to what our childhood dreams were. I was […]