I came into class feeling tired and extreme tightness in my body but over the course of the movement class, I grew more and more relaxed and in tune with my body as well as with the group. One principle that I always go by is doing what feels good, as to not harm my body and therefore myself. I have been dancing for a long time, but never have I used a tennis ball to warm up my feet. I could feel my feet getting looser the more I experimented with different movements. Later on, after our warm-up, the lead / follow exercise really helped to build up a sense if trust among the partners, but also among the group since no one wanted to bump into each other. This type of ensemble building is extremely important to ensure everyone is comfortable in the room and I believe this trust exercise did exactly that.

When dancing, I personally do not choreograph for other people, not because I do not want to, but because I have not had the opportunity. The dances I did were either ballroom dances, where male partners lead or group dances where dance teachers teach the choreography to the students. Although I do like to dance, I haven’t made a choreography in the longest time, so having the opportunity to make a short one today was extremely refreshing. Although I have danced in the past, I had never learned about the history of dance, more specifically of contemporary dance with its the developments in Judson church and the resulting conceptual dance movement in Paris. Giving context to the work we did helped me gain more appreciation for Trajal and our choreographies. What fascinated me was his seemingly simple choreography that was full of meaning and depth because of its simplicity. Even standing there, like we did in the beginning, is already a statement.

When we discussed the ‘neutral body’ in class, it became clear that the people who coined this term were most likely white and privileged, seeking to democratize dance by creating the idea of the ‘neutral body’. Although their intention was well-meaning, the fact remains that through assuming every body is neutral, they were erasing the dancers’ visible attributes in an attempt to seem inclusive. Something very interesting I learned about in the intercultural learning program I did was the five stages of cultural acceptance. The first was denial, then polarization, and then minimization. Exactly this minimization of differences is what I believe occurred in this case because although we are all human, there are inherent differences, and rejecting these by focusing on an overarching commonality as in the end a failed attempt at inclusivity because this type of inclusivity does not concern itself with difference, which informs our lives.