I just had to post this fabulous photo of Martha Graham, while we are on the theme of capturing the wind. (link via Blueberry Moon's journal, forwarded by Fern) Image from the New York Public Library archives.
As you may know I am a huge Martha Graham fan, and have been studying her technique off and on for a while now, (she is certainly one of my creative mentors). My dance teacher, and friend Helen Jones studied with Martha for many years (as well as dancing with the company). Many times during class Helen will share some of Martha's phrases, which cause me to feel excited and giddy. She attempted to bring the dancer our of her body and into her imagination through the use of imagery. The whole process becomes not so much physical but instead more like creating a painting. Movement through a concept. Very hard to explain with words, it is something that must be experienced. But to give you an example, instead of saying "tilt your head down and to the left", she might instead say, "listen to your shoulder, it is whispering something." It sounds a bit trite, but the effect is dramatic, I've watched it with people who have little training. The first is mechanical and awkward, the second graceful and soft, with much more feeling. She helps us to cease thinking about how to move because most often we think too much, too much control, with too much force.
You may be surprised to hear that one of the most difficult tasks in a dance class is walking. Even with experienced dancers. Because it is something we do without thinking. If we are asked to do it consciously it becomes mechanical and uncomfortable, one becomes unsure of where to place their foot, when to step, how far a pace should be, etc. You begin to worry about falling, or about how it looks to others. If you allow yourself to contemplate that walking is actually a process of falling and catching yourself you can really get yourself into a mess, (try it and you will see what I mean). Walking works only when the mind is free to drift to other things, when the body can forget that it is walking.
The message here is quite simple, stop thinking, allow yourself to feel. Let the movement happen naturally.
I come up against this again and again in class. I dance much better when I really feel and enter into the music, when I stop worrying about doing the steps correctly. When I smile the whole time because I remember how much I like to move and how grateful I am that I can.
"I am absorbed in the magic of movement and light. Movement never lies. It is the magic of what I call the outer space of the imagination. There is a great deal of outer space, distant from our daily lives, where I feel our imagination wanders sometimes. It will find a planet or it will not find a planet, and that is what a dancer does." --Martha Graham
Posted by kerismith at March 11, 2005 10:40 AMlovely post. i wish more musicians would think in terms of dance...allowing their bodies to take them to that other plane.....i have a bit of a pss for this subject and run workshops called the dance of sound. after all so much is about gesture, and more importantly, the source of the gesture?
Posted by: ruth on March 15, 2005 06:00 PMI had a similar epiphany when I first started doing yoga - the concept of "relaxing into" positions turned into a mantra for awhile - relax into it. Relax into coding, into painting, relax into gardening. It made everything seem like cake.
I just adore that photo.
Posted by: Brianna on March 14, 2005 01:29 PMHi Keri, I think I've posted one other time awhile ago. We don't know each other but I read your post from time to time and always find them inspiring. I'm dancer who hasn't been dancing as much as I would like to in the last couple of years and are currently taking a class that a fellow dancer is teaching. Your post is poginant to my life now in general and in my dancing. Thanks for the reminder to feel. Holly
Posted by: Holly on March 12, 2005 01:56 PM"stop thinking, allow yourself to feel" could easily be applied to art as well as to dance. Heck...it could be applied to most things in life.
Terri.
Posted by: Terri on March 11, 2005 07:09 PMmovement is an amazing and powerful thing. I guess that is why I have studied it for so many years, cannot seem to get enough of it in my life. I love the way my body feels moving and working through a class- the floating spinning sweating flying. I love how the weight of my body gives me power, how my muscles and mind work together to propel my body athletically through space, love how my bare feet feel working the floor. I have studied many different forms (particularly modern and african) and count martha as a giant among dancers, choreographers, among the greatest of artists. now I teach (creative movement and modern technique) for a wonderful organization here in atlanta called moving in the spirit (mitsdance.org) and have had the most brilliant experiences teaching at childrens' shelters, after-school programs and juvenile detention centers. I enjoy performing but teaching is where I find real joy. it really is all about breaking away from the mechanics of dance and using vivid imagery to draw out the authentic mover inside each child, each person. I have seen it (and experienced it) again and again.
several years ago, I was called to do a workshop at a detention center with 16-17-year old boys. I was nervous beyond words and wondered how in the world I'd be able to get them to take the class seriously enough to actually enjoy it. yeah, it was a little rough in the beginning. but somehow we managed to tap into a mutual language that seem to resonate and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed- watching those boys fly across that gym floor, weightless and soaring. everything negative kind of fell away in that short hour and I no longer saw juvenile delinquents in orange jumpsuits, but young dancers with unbelievable strength and vulnerability. I guess that's why I'm such a believer. art has unending capabilities to teach, to heal, to empower, to uncover the mover and artist inside.
thanks for posting such a beautiful image and thanks for your words. I was so delighted to discover that you are a fellow lover of dance.
Posted by: andrea j on March 11, 2005 04:47 PMNothing like dancing to shake the cobwebs away and
bring you closer to yourself.
There are so many wonderful old dance pictures in the archives of the NYPL. There were many of a dancer called Ruth St.Dennis that I had never heard of. She was a contemporary of Martha Graham I think.
We are fortunate in that our school district provides bi-weekly Martha Graham dance to our children from preschool through middle school.
Often, the children do not even realize that it could be called "dance." None of the movements they learn have dance names (my favorite, besides "hug the world" is the "pleading") basically the children explore space and movement. Beautiful program. The older kids study with the American Ballet theatre. Lucky indeed.
Does Helen dance around Flesherton? Where do you take your dance classes? I'm always on the hunt for new and innovative teachers. I enjoyed this post. After a tumultuous fall and winter full of despair and pain and mourning I realized I needed to do two things: free up my creativity (i.e. paint instead of write) and move (DANCE!).
Posted by: Daphne on March 11, 2005 01:10 PMKeri,
what a great post. A friend of mine just told me the other day that she has been going to a dance class. The movement has helped her stop the commotion going on in her head. She said she loves the way her body is shaping up but she loves most that her mind is able to stop. She said each time she leaves class she feels more connected to herself than ever before. Like the emotions were hanging out waiting for her to slow down enough to conect with her. This sounds quite wonderful. I think I might have to give it a try.
Jenn
Posted by: jenn on March 11, 2005 12:23 PM