Archive for dance classes – Page 2

Dreamwalker – Healing

by suzannah
April 7th, 2009

 

articles_clip_image006I had a pulled muscle in my left calf.  I was unsure if I could dance on it, but rather than skip the classwork, I decided to explore the healing possibilities that Nia offers.

We started class by rubbing our hands together and creating some heat from friction.  We placed our hands on the part of our body that we felt needed some extra healing.  From there, we used the moves of the routine DreamWalker to continue sending healing energy to our in need parts.

Having the focus of healing helped to determine the language I used to deliver the instructions for dancing the routine.  Every move I invited the students to do was directed to comfort, adjust, and heal their bodies.  The attention to healing through movement caused awareness.  I asked, how can you tweak this move so that it feels good in your body?  What does your body need right now to heal?. Do smaller moves make you feel better?  Is having both your feet on the floor a better sensation for you?  How can you adjust your moves to be more exact in technique so that your joints will be used in a way that allows the most ease?  Do you like, need, or want the sensation of dynamic energy – strength? Do your muscles yearn to be challenged by resistance? Read More→

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Girls Night Out with a Martial Arts Focus

by suzannah
April 3rd, 2009

side-kick1I had another request to teach Girls’ Night Out and because there was a visitor, I decided to just go ahead and do it.  I had planned to do DreamWalker and to focus on the Martial Arts energies.  I kept the focus, but applied it to GNO.

I found it amazing how well suited to the change of focus the dance was. Nia Technique has 52 basic moves and only some of them are drawn from the martial arts, but you can play with the different energies no matter where the move originates.  This is what is so clever about Nia Technique: the way the body of work can be ever-changing and never boring.

  • Tai Chi – the slow dance, meditative, grounding, soft edges, smoothness, contemplative.
  • Tae Kwon Do – bursts, power, hard edges, energy away from or directed to the center point, reactive, precision, technique.
  • Aikido – harmony, spirals, breath, swirling, arcs into circles, circles into spirals, going with the flow.

An example of a move with a change of energy is a front kick.  A front kick with Tai Chi inspired energy would resemble more of a lift.  A soft raising of your limb. Change that to a Tae Kwon Do energy and the knee leads, followed by the snap of the lower leg – precisely where the kicker means it to go.  Heal leads and “lands” exactly.  The kick is recoiled in the exact opposite manner.  It is crisp and exact.  Enter Aikido – the front kick develops from arc, seen best by following the path of the foot. It’s got a mix of strength and flow. The energy flows from your center line along the leg bones, and out through the foot. The ending might be more of a flow back to earth rather than a lowering or recoiling.

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The Confidence Thing

by suzannah
March 23rd, 2009

suznia-whiteI want to talk a little more about Girls Night Out  and how it relates to confidence-building. 

The music for this dance is really great and no matter who dances the routine, there is a playful and connected response to it. This is truly a routine in which you get a workout without even realizing it. The hour is over really quickly.

Another unique feature of this routine is that it starts and ends with the same song, and that calls for Freedance both at the top and bottom ends.  This is an unusual way to start a routine since Nia Technique usually takes you through seven cycles: Setting the Focus and Intent, Stepping In, Warming Up, Getting Moving, Cooling Down, FloorPlay, and Stepping Out.  

Freedance, although it can belong to any of the movement segments, is not usually the domain of the Warm Up.  In GNO, the music starts right in to get the dancers stoked up.  The song is actually called Girl’s Night Out, and it is supposed to create that buzz that happens when the girls are together pajama party-style and getting ready to go out together. 

Dancing it again at the end of the routine gives us an opportunity to feel the same groove but with a totally different body, a different movement vocabulary, a different familiarity with the music, and a different relationship to the others in the room.

One of my aims with teaching Nia Technique is to give my students more confidence with their bodies. The assurance that they can move the way they want without worry, pain, self-consciousness, or concern regarding ability. 

I want (and Nia wants) students to move from spirit impulse, in response to music, so that they feel good.  Even though there is attention to technique in every class and every routine involves stated principles to make movement safe for EveryBody, Nia class is also about doing movement Your body’s way.  

Nia is crafted in the Body’s way for each person to take, adapt, and use for their own Joy in Movement. When you feel Joy in your body, you will find yourself moving with confidence. In the same way that you need a map to get somewhere new and you might travel to the new place with care and consideration of every street, landmark, and instruction, Nia Technique beginners move at first with care and consideration of every movement sequence, music change, and lead from the teacher.  After a few minutes, or sometimes a few classes, students recognize the calls, the steps, and the concepts and can move with a new, strong confidence.

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The Thrill of Nia Technique

by suzannah
March 16th, 2009

untitled-1One of my newer students said to me, “I am just so intrigued by this.  I don’t know what it is about Nia, but something definitely happens to you during class.” 

This student is an inspiration to me while we are dancing.  She really looks like she’s enjoying herself in the expression and exploration.  She is comfortable with sounding and with movement.  She likes to dance right up close to me, which I understand.  I am the same way in a class.  It’s like she doesn’t want to miss a beat. 

Nia is never boring.  If I ‘stay in my body,’ really listen to the music (even if I already know the music), remain very present with the work, something refreshing happens every time.

Here’s another testimonial from a class a couple weeks ago: 

“First of all, I wanted to let you know just how much the class on Monday lifted my mood.  You know that I dragged myself in, and I left feeling much better about my body and life in general.  I hope that when you are having a hard time getting “up” for teaching that you know that you can have a tremendous positive effect on a student’s mood and outlook.  And you’d have no idea that happened. But remember that it does happen – and I think it happens pretty frequently.”     M. P. (Arlington, VA) 

Yeah. It’s pretty cool to have something that you can count on to bring you Joy. If something makes you feel good, tell the person.  It spreads the Joy.

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Changing It Up

by suzannah
March 12th, 2009

suz-lisa-teaching-nia062008

As a teacher, you have to be creative, constantly finding new angles and challenges to make sure you’re communicating well. So I thought I’d share some of the ways I’ve changed things up recently as I’ve been teaching. 

I am adding more sounding and affirmations into my classes. Even though it is difficult for some people to do, I ask my students to use sounds and words to tap into the emotional realm of dancing Nia Technique.   “Yes,” “no,”  “hai,” “shaa,” “ki-ya!” accompany kicks, strikes, blocks or any other move that spirit demands.  I also ask for a sigh or a loud exhale. When there are many people in the room, the energy builds and flows even more easily when sound is added. Read More→

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