Green Mountain Dance

Unison Movement

This may be my last post about this group.  We will finish up the semester in a week and then I will be away, teaching in Arizona.  (You are all coming to the workshop, aren't you?  See an early post to get the information.)  When I return I will be focused on teaching my course Group Improvisation at Hampshire College. 

This week I wanted to find a way to feel us all moving together as a group.  In some ways, this is more my need than my students' need.  I think the students get a lot out of being active, of moving in ways that they don't get to move at other times in their lives.  There is the social component, as well, of just getting to interact with other people.

Still, as I have said in previous posts, it often feels doubtful that I have reached everyone or helped everyone engage in their movement.  And we don't always achieve a unity of feeling as a group.  So I followed a thread of unison movement throughout the class, to see if I could heighten that sense of moving together.

We began with our names and movement activity.  I took it from there into exploring the parts of the body- how can you move your fingers, your elbows, etc.  This direction gives me the opportunity to notice what someone is doing - which may be totally unrelated to the group - and to say "so and so is moving his head.  Let's see if we can move our heads in the same way." This can pull someone into the group process. 

When we stood we took turns leading group in different ways of stretching and twisting.  From there I just noticed what different individuals were doing and then amplified their movement and had the group join in. We did some shaking and some turning.  We did some wiggling.  We began to do some flopping:  flopping our arms and our legs.  I had people stand facing a partner holding hands while flopping one leg and then the other. We decided to swing and after experimenting with different ways to swing we held hands in a circle and swung our arms in and out.

While still in a circle I asked the group how could we move together (still holding hands).  One person led us in and out, then led the circle around to the left and then the right.  The group followed well, but had a tendency anticipate the changes.  I asked them to wait a moment, and "let the group finish what it's doing.  Our leader hasn't started moving yet." 

I felt things had been tightly controlled for long enough, so I had the group break apart and start walking.  I called out:  Walk behind some one.  Walk by yourself.  Walk behind a different person. 

This turned into a very fun chase as we naturally formed a line and the leader tried to "catch the tale" and have someone to walk behind. 

Then we scattered again and I called out:  Walk beside someone. 

Then we walked towards someone and then away from that person.  I found that I had to use specific names, i.e.  "I am walking towards so and so and now I am walking away."  X is walking towards Y.  Now can they walk away."  This also turned into a spontaneous game of dodge and weave.

We followed this with relaxation.  We sat on the floor and alternated making ourselves tight and loose.  Then we tested each others arms to see if we could really relax our arms.

Our final activity was unison movement in couples.  I had one pair of dancers at a time stand in the center of the room.  One led and the other followed.  First I asked the leader to "make interesting movements" and I asked the follower to try to do the same movement at the same time.  Then I said to the leader, "If your partner is doing your movement, can you change what you are doing so he can be with you?"  And I said to the partner, "Are you really doing what your leader is doing?  Do you need to change what you are doing?  Maybe you need to look at your partner."  For some of the couples this worked very well. 

Overall, the class went well. I felt we achieved the group sense that I wanted during our walking activities. 

When we re-convene after the holidays, it will be a slightly different group.  I need to change the meeting time to Monday afternoon and some of these students have other commitments on that day.

Vacation Week

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we had a very small group:  two regulars, one of whom comes with a one-on-one support person.  By coincidence it was the two people I wrote about at the end of my last post.  Group interactions are hit or miss with these folks; but both do very well with one-on-one interactions.

So we had a group of four and it was just about perfect.

The support person and I work together quite well.  She is able to give her client what is needed without being overbearing.  At the same time she is alert to the other students and often interacts with them in helpful ways.

We began by acknowledging each other and saying names.  We went through the different parts of the body while we were seated.  During this section I would say, "We are all moving our heads.  Four of us as moving our heads together."  And so on and so forth.  When we stood I said, "We are all standing in a circle.  Look, there are four of us standing in a circle."  It sounds boring but, you know, it really seemed to help the students be aware of each other.  At least once one of them re-oriented her stance or his movement in order to be in better relationship to the group.

I had brought some hula hoops for us to use together.  Everyone had a hoop. 

First we just explored holding the hoops in different ways.  Then we led movements that everyone followed.  We connected to each other by holding on to each other's hoops.  That is, we were standing in a circle that alternated hoop, person, hoop, person.

We explored how we could move with this connection.  Then we changed our group form to a line, one behind the other, but still connected.

We finished by putting the hoops on the floor and stepping from the middle of one to the next without over crowding or bumping into each other.

It was all very simple.  I was intrigued to see how well both students did and I realized that a lot of it had to do with the size of the group.  It could be argued that each had  "one-on-one" support, but neither the "official aide" or I played that role for most of the time.  We were simply a group together.

That is one of the difficulties in this kind of work when you are working independently and having to interface with multiple agencies.  It is very hard to find a time that enough students can get transportation to and from class to make it financially practical to offer the class.  At the same time you find that there are people in your class who would benefit from a smaller group.  Or you find that there are conflicting needs within the group. 

I find my teaching muscle is constantly being stretched.  Small successes are what carry me forward.  I have found that writing this blog is also very helpful  When I review the events of the class I recognize what happened.  Previously, I might not have done so.  Also, I am finding that I go into the next class with a better plan- even if I have to throw the plan away!  I feel I am developing the path we are taking together in a way that is more organic and directly related to the group's needs.

Drums

I brought the drums.

We didn't use them immediately. When I began class I was surprised to find that a couple of the dancers were having a very hard time focusing and becoming part of the group.  I have been able in recent weeks to go right into our tune up and exploration of body parts; but on this day I found myself having to spend a lot of time one-on-one with people just to get them to acknowledge that something was going on.

It was the kind of beginning that makes me feel ineffective and makes me doubt myself.

So I backed up (mentally).  One person came in late and I used that opportunity to shift to a variation of the name and movement activity I described in the first post on this group.  I spent a lot of time just talking with each person and pointing out who was present.  "What's your movement today?" I asked.  Then I said to the group, "This is 'so and so's' movement.  Say his name together.  Let's do the movement." 

That seemed to help everyone focus.  Then I observed what kinds of movement people were doing already, perhaps unconsciously.  I exaggerated the movement myself and had the group all do it.  For example, one person was moving her head.  I started to move my head and said, "This is so and so's movement.  Let's all do it together."  I noticed a variation of the movement that another person was doing and had the group follow that person.  Finally we got the point where I could ask, "What's another movement we can do?"  The answers I received were great:  Stretch!  Twist! Turn! Shake!  Walk!  So we did all those movements.  

We came back to a circle.  I had people sit down and then lie down.  We spent a few minutes alternating  being tight or loose all over.  By now we were well past the half-way point in our hour long class.  Sometimes that's the way it goes.  I have a big fancy plan, and I have to just go along with what is in the room.

I gave everyone a drum to use.  I have a collection of drums I have found in yard sales and thrift stores and that people have given me.  Most of the ones I brought on this day are Chinese hand drums:  a thick wooden frame with heads on both sides held on by brass tacks.  The surfaces are painted with colorful dragons and birds.  I also brought a frame drum.

First I had the group hold the drums without playing them.  I asked them to try holding the drums with one, then two hands.  We tried moving the drum around- holding over our heads, "wearing it like a hat", holding it behind or beside us.  (I took suggestions from the group.)

Then we all played our drums.  At this point we didn't worry about being together or making music.  We just explored the sounds.  When things began to quiet down we took turns showing some of the ways we had played our drums.  Some people had very clear patterns that we tried to copy.  We stood and began to walk with the beats that people created.

One person had a very steady beat, so we played that and walked and said:  E-ven, E-ven, E-ven while we played.  Another person had an uneven, steady beat. We skipped or galloped and said:  Bump'ty, bump'ty, bump'ty.  We weren't together as a group; but individually people were able to do the beats and move.

To finish the class we came back to a circle.  I wanted to see if we could all play our drums together in a steady beat.  One person, who had trouble focusing at the beginning of the group, put down her drum and seemed to "go away."  We were clearly standing in a circle, but she placed herself in the middle and just stood.  She didn't respond to questions such as "Do you want to dance in the center?"  (My hope.)  Or "Can you join the circle?"  I was at a loss.

Then the amazing thing happened.

One of the men who has autism and who rarely interacts with others picked up the drum and gave it to the woman in the center.  At first she didn't take it.  But he insisted (non-verbally).  Eventually the woman took the drum and joined the circle.

Two Sessions

We did a session focused on unison movement. 

I like to work on the skills necessary for making the same movement at the same time with folks who have autism or other developmental disabilities.  This focus seems to help the participants develop more awareness of other people and to begin to recognize non-verbal social cues.   It is also enjoyable to feel oneself as part of a group, whether it be two people or twelve, that is moving as one.

On this day, we followed each other in movement through the tune-up.  I would point out an interesting movement that someone was doing and invite the group to try to do the same movement in the same way as the person named.  We might stretch the same way that " A." was stretching or swing the same part of the body that "B." was swinging.  We found new ways to crawl and copied each other.  We stood in a circle and made opening and closing movements together.  No one was the leader.  We began with our hands opening and closing.  Then we let the movement develop to include the arms, the spine, the whole body, and then the circle itself. 

We then took turns working with a partner.  I had the group sit on the floor in a loose circle.  I went into the middle and asked for someone to be my partner.  Once I had a volunteer I explained that I was going to make up some interesting movements and my partner was going to make the same movements that I did.  I said that I had to be careful not to get "too fancy" because I wanted my partner to be able to do the same movement at the same time.  After leading my partner through a few movements I sat down and my former partner became the leader.  She chose a new person to be her partner.  In this way we gave everyone a chance to lead and to follow. 

I find in groups like this it is helpful to focus on one pair of dancers at a time.  That way I can give encouragement and can label what I see happening.  Often times the leader will move too quickly or will create a complex pattern of movement that the partner can't possibly follow.  When that happens I just ask the leader to slow down and keep it simple.  Sometimes a leader needs encouragement to get moving.  Sometimes I have to remind the partners to look at each other.  Sometimes, when things are going well, I point it out:  "Look," I might say, "We can't tell who is leading the movement because these two are really working together."

What can be difficult is when there is disparity in the strengths and abilities of the group members.  I sometimes I feel I keep it too simple for those who are more capable and too complex for those whose limitations are more severe.  No common ground, nobody getting what they really need.  That is frustrating and challenging for me.  This model of two people at a time doing the activity while the group observes helps me overcome that situation.

The following week I went back to a focus on the beat.  I brought a large frame drum with me to class.  After we thoroughly explored some basic movements we took turns setting different paces for walking.  I played the drum:  one beat for each step.  For those with a clear sense of the beat, this was easy.  But some folks had very erratic walking paces.  I did my best to accompany them exactly as they stepped.  I felt it was more important to validate their movement style than to correct them in any way or to try to get them to change their walks to something that was easier to follow.

We sat in a circle with the drum on the floor in the middle.  I had everyone place their hands on the drum.  Then I invited the group to explore the sounds they could make.  This was chaotic at first, but eventually settled into a steady, unmeasured beat that the whole group felt together.  When the drum music died down, I pointed out that we had all played together and that we had found the beat without anyone being the leader.

Then I said, "One person is going to play the drum now, and we will take turns 'echoing' the music he makes."  I then played a very simple pattern, just two even beats.  Everyone was able to repeat it back to me.  We went around the circle so that each person had the chance to create a drum pattern and hear it echoed back by each individual in the group.

When someone created a more complex pattern, we just stuck with it until we understood it.  I found that saying the pattern i.e., "Bump-ba-dum-dum" or "badda-badda-boom"  and getting the group to say it with me helped them play the pattern accurately.  We also had some trouble with people speeding up the beat.  I wasn't really able to correct that, but I talked about it and demonstrated the difference between keeping a steady beat and letting it run away.

We actually ran out of time in this class.  I think I will stick with the focus on beat for a couple more sessions.  Next time I will bring enough hand drums for everyone and we will let the dance begin!

Get the beat

I decided to have a session where we focused on the time element.  On this day we followed what is becoming a routine:  exploring the movements of parts of the body while seated in a circle; rocking and rolling; spending time on our backs, fronts and sides and exploring the movements we can make; creeping and crawling; walking.

In this class we walked back and forth across the length of the studio several times.  First we just walked and said "Walk" with each step.  Then we consciously changed our pace - I took my cue from different dancers.  We discussed how some walks felt fast and some felt slow.

Then we clapped our hands with each step we took.  I didn't try to get us into a unison beat.  I just let everybody try to coordinate the clap and the step.  This was difficult for some and easy for others but eventually we all had success.

Then we took turns leading the whole group across the studio with our individual beat.  Here's where things got interesting and fun.  Our first leader started off fast and slowed down.  Then sped up.  We were all able to stay with him.  The next person would clap and step for several paces and then stop.  Then continued.  Our third leader made a bee-line steady and straight across the room.  Our fourth leader did a side step, clap; side step, clap (syncopated) with a pause to shimmy.  Very fun and the whole group got it.  Our next leader did the most exciting variation for me; but an uninformed observer would not have noticed anything interesting.  He walked with a steady pace across the room and kept a very steady beat - no surprise there;  but he had a little bounce in his knees with each step. I have worked with this student for over five years.  He has never bounced in his knees. This was momentous!!  I spent a little time talking with the student.  "You have a bounce in your step," I said.  "Yes."  "That's different," I said.  "Yes.  Different. Different."

We shook out our hands and did some whole body movements together such as stretching and twisting and bending.  We did some swinging.  Then we sat down again in a circle.

One person at a time went to the middle of the circle and walked.  That person was free to start and stop, to change from fast to slow, and so forth.  Our job was to try to clap our hands with each step the dancer took.  Everyone had a chance to be in the middle.  This was moderately successful.  We did finally succeed in stopping together when the dancer stopped; but the clapping with each step was very ragged.  One dancer (my syncopated side-stepper) did a very complex patterns of movement.  Everyone told her they liked watching her.  I said I wished we had thought to make singing sounds, not just clapping. 

We finished with opening and closing movements that began with hands and gradually grew to the whole person and then the whole group opening and closing together.

Books by Barbara Mettler

These book posts will eventually replace the List of the same title in the left column. All are available through Mettler Studios, Inc., 3131 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ  85719.  Telephone:  520-881-4493.

Dance as an Element of Life, first published in German by Verlag Musikhaus Pan AG 1984.  Published in English by Mettler Studios, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, USA in 1985.  ISBN 0-912536-12-8

I assign this book to all my students at Hampshire College.  It is a quick read, less than 100 pages;  but it is rich.  The first part is autobiographical information.  The second part delves into Mettler's work.  When I read the book, right after it was released here in the USA, I was still living in Tucson and sometimes working with Barbara.

I called her right up.  "Barbara," I said, "This is your most accessible writing ever.  You have it all right here in these few pages.  A person could pick this up and immediately begin to explore your work." 

My students tell me they do just that.  "There I was in the library," said one young woman.  "I got to the part where she tells you to close your eyes and raise your arm.  I did it and I made myself tight and loose, too.  Then I realized people were staring at me."  "Everything you've been saying in class made even more sense when I read this," said another.  I loved this comment: "I thought this was going to be 'Creative Dance for Dummies.'  Boy was I surprised." 

The direct, clear writing and the simplicity of the dance concepts has universal appeal.  But also Mettler's personality comes through.  This, I think, is especially valuable for those who will never have the opportunity to know her in person.

 Materials of Dance as a Creative Art Activity, first printing 1960.  Currently in its seventh printing which is a commemorative edition that includes new photos and commentary by Mettler's students and associates. Mettler Studios, Inc. 2006  ISBN:  0-912536-14-4

Some of us who have used this book for decades jokingly call it "the Bible" of creative dance.  Barbara called it a "handbook for anyone interested in body movement as art, education, recreation or therapy."  The dance material is presented as a series of creative problems to be explored and solved in a variety of ways by individuals and groups through improvised movement.  The studies progress from the most basic dance experiences toward "the goal of mature artistic expression."

The structure of the book is interesting.  The right hand (odd numbered) pages present actual lesson plans that sometimes read like transcripts of the teacher's words.  The left hand (even numbered) pages contain theoretical material and commentary.  There is a lot of blank white space on every page which Barbara told me was for the purpose of taking notes. 

I use this book to organize my thoughts when I am planning a series of classes or writing my syllabus for my course at Hampshire College.  But I also like to take it down from the shelf, let it fall open where it will and then spend a few moments following the instructions on the page.

Group Dance Improvisations, 1975, Mettler Studios, Inc.

This is a companion to Materials of Dance.  Each chapter describes step by step how to build a group's experience towards successful completion of a structured, improvised dance.  Chapter titles include: Individual-to-Group Dance, Bodies-Attached, Skip Social, Laugh Dance, Position Dance, Drum-Voice Dances and many, many more.  There are references to specific pages and studies in Materials of Dance that help guide a teacher in planning her lesson.  What I like about these studies is that they provide even beginning groups with an opportunity to feel successful creating something together in movement.  The improvisations deepen the dancers' experience in many areas:  awareness of the force, time, space elements of dance; group feeling, leadership skills.

Basic Movement Exercises, 1973, Mettler Studios, Inc.

It may seem like a contradiction:  Barbara's biggest, fattest (630 pages) book is all about directed exercises.  This from a pioneer in free movement expression!  But I tell you what - I personally use this book more often than any of the others.

These exercises are all about developing feeling and deepening sensitivity in the instrument of dance - the body.  "Learn the form,"  Barbara said.  "Then throw it away."  So, yes, I have spent hours rotating my arm in my shoulder socket. I have spent days standing with slightly bent knees then rising to my toes and feeling the shift of weight travel through my foot.  I have spent years swinging my arms, legs, torso trying to get that sense of "drop" and of perpetual motion carried by the giving in and letting go.  (I had been studying and working with Barbara for eleven years before she said to me one day, "Why, Griff, you're really swinging.") 

Detailed instructions and many photographs guide the reader through exercises to activate feeling in the feet, to sensitize the dancer to the use and position of the spine, to facilitate changing levels from lying to sitting to standing to moving across the floor.  All this specific instruction is focused on supporting the dancer's freedom to move as wished or as necessary in any dance.  The exercises can make you stronger, and more flexible, and increase your range of motion.   One caveat:  the presentation is dated at times.  For example- conventional wisdom of the times when this was written suggested deepening stretches by bouncing the torso over stretched legs.  Now we know this is not a good thing to do and can actually tear muscle fibers, making the muscles painful and tighter instead of looser.  There may be other outdated practices to watch out for; but the overall value of this book remains sound.

The Nature of Dance as a Creative Art Activity, 1980, Mettler Studios, Inc.

This is another short and pithy book.  Less than 75 pages long, it covers what Barbara described in the introduction as the "substance of the art (of dance)" as she understood it. Each page covers one topic beginning with Pure Dance and progressing to Creative Dance Community.  Other topics on the way include Roots, Beauty, Feeling, Instrumental Skill, Rhythm, Outdoors, Spectators, Performance, Dance Artist as Teacher, Dance Teacher as Artist. 

I like the clarity of this book and what it tells us about Barbara Mettler and how she thought about her work.  It's a handy reference guide when I want to be sure I am clear in what I am teaching about Mettler's work.  It's a very serious work and seems to take itself very, very seriously.  But that was a necessity, I think, born of a time and artistic climate in this country that had not yet seen the validity of a free approach to dance by dedicated amateurs.

To My Readers: Reorganizing

I have created a new category just for my posts about the Tuesday Group.  It is called, of course, Tuesday Group.  This will be helpful down the road if anyone wants to look back at earlier posts and so forth.  It won't be particularly noticeable in the short term.

I am going to remove my "book list" and start a new category of posts that is called "Books".  That way I can write comments about the books without creating a huge clutter of type on the left column.  It may take me a few days to accomplish this.  I think in the long run it will be helpful.

Thanks to all of you who have responded to me via e-mail with your comments and feedback. 
Griff

Meeting # 4

Today I really wanted to see if within the  press to get everyone moving, and everyone engaged I could also let there be more "moments of art experience."

I would say I had partial success.

We got going with our journey through the body, part by part.  I tried to use interesting movement words that might stimulate greater range of movement.  "Curling and uncurling"  can be accomplished by fingers, toes, arms, legs, and spines.  We spent time on our backs with arms and legs in the air.  We spent time on our sides with one arm and leg in the air.

We rocked and then we rolled.  We slithered, crept, crawled, inched and hitched.

We stood up and stretched, twisted, and turned.  We made swinging movements and bouncing movements.

When we bounced (in our knees) I had us stand in a circle and hold hands.  I asked if we could all bounce together.  It took a little time, but eventually we all found ourselves bouncing down and up together at the same pace and approximately to the same degree.  One participant began to make a sound with the movement and everyone spontaneously joined in.  This felt like a "dance moment" - I think because of the spontaneity of the sound and self of all being together in movement.  We let go hands and let our arms swing and this deepen our sense of unity.  After a few moments I could see some folks were quieting down so we ended the bounce swing dance. 

Next we explored pushing and pulling.  We said the words and did the movements.  I asked,  "Who would like to use pushing or pulling movements to tell the group what to do?"  This group has had many experiences of leading by using strong or forceful movements and following by allowing oneself to be weak or forceless.  I would lead up through a more gradual progression with a new group.

We took turns using pushing and pulling to move the group around.  This felt very successful.  The movement built to a point where the group ran freely from one end of the studio to the other in response to the leader's forceful directions.

When we came together for our final activity we did our Open and Close Dance.  This felt very unified.  The study has become familiar enough to the dancers that I do not have to prompt or lead them at all.

I think one of the keys to success with this group is creating a comfortable routine they can relax into.  This allows them to be spontaneous.  When everything is new or different every week, it's just to risky to relax and have fun.  These are people who are often being corrected, "cued" and coached.  It is understandable that it will take time for them to trust that they can initiate a movement or an interaction.

Third Meeting Tuesday Group

This was a successful session.  Everyone was there, more or less on time.  Everyone was engaged in the activities.  Partners were able to move together and the whole group was able to complete a creative study together.

We began in our circle with a focus on parts of the body.  I made suggestions such as, "Let's move our hands";  and I gave observations such as "Oh, so and so is doing a head movement.  Can we all do that?"  I also spent time on "loosening up" - shaking the hands, throwing away the arms, the legs and so forth until one participant said, "I'm nervous." 

I asked her to tell me more.  She said she was afraid her head would fall off.  I told her that I had never seen that happen and had everyone feel their necks and the solid connection made by muscles, skin and bones.  But my student was very certain her head could fall off.  She told me she had seen a movie where someone's head came off "and their hands and feet, too." 

I wasn't sure what to do, so I talked with her a little more and finally got clear that she had seen a horror movie and it was hard for her to get the images out of her mind.  We talked about the difference between a made up story that was scarey and the real world.  I had the group alternate tightening and loosening different muscle groups. Then we felt around the joints, squeezing with our hands and saying, "That's connected" or "That's solid" or "That's not going anywhere." 

We moved on from there without more comments on the disintegrating body images; but I was intrigued.  This was one of those moments where the line between dance and dance therapy blurred - I knew I had to address my student's very real anxiety; but I did not feel I should delve deeply into her issues around body image, or that I should explore possible trauma issues from viewing violent images.

Our exploration of legs and feet (still seated) somehow got us into rocking and I used that to transition to rolling.  I had people roll onto their fronts, backs, or sides.  We spent time in each position finding ways to move.  Then we rolled to our fronts and tried to move around the room.  I didn't call it creeping or crawling or slithering because I wanted to see what the group would come up with.  We eventually got up to hands and knees, including the woman who had been unable to do so in the first group.  She quickly reverted to a kind of "hands then legs" hitching movement which we all copied; but this was progress.

When we stood up we focused on walking for a good part of the class.  I had people walk with partners.  I asked them to show me walking side by side and one behind the other.  In partners we took turns being the leader and changing the size of our steps, and then the direction in which we were walking.

We all followed one person who made up interesting ways to walk.  She is a very creative mover and often does so much movement we can't keep up as a group.  I coached her to take time to notice if the group was really doing her movements.  She was much more successful after that in keeping the group with her.

We finished with a group position dance.  One person begins this dance by going into the center of the circle and putting him/herself into a shape that can be held for a long time.  The next person who joins is given the instruction to position him or herself beside, behind, in front, over or under the first person.  This continues until everyone is arranged in relationship to everyone else.  Then, beginning with the first person, we leave the group position one at a time until the last to join is alone in the center of the circle.

By this time we were at the end of our session.  As I said at the beginning of this post, it was successful; but I also felt a bit flat.  We moved together.  We completed many activities, but the sense of having an art experience was missing.  My goal for the coming week is to get that creative spark back in there.

Tuesday Group

This week a couple of my students were missing due to conflicting appointments.  Those who came, 2 men and 2 women, are among the more socially outgoing participants who typically join us.  Two are quite coordinated, two have some neuro-muscular challenges:  not so much a lack of ability as an excess of muscular tension and a lag between intention and action.

We began with our group sitting together on the floor in a circle.  After a check-in and acknowledgement of those who were absent we began with an exploration of body parts.  We finished  tuning into our bodies; but no one seemed inclined to stand up so we did some rolling.

Everyone could do some form of rolling, but it was more difficult for some to get going.  As the teacher I often feel pressure to help the group move forward to a place where they feel themselves as a group, doing something together.  I may find myself rushing an individual who really just needs more time to be able to "get with it" on his or her own.  In this instance I think I found a good solution.  I started singing:

"Roll, roll, roll yourself right across the floor.  Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling.  Don't go out the door." (To the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat.)  Two dancers joined in with the singing and rolled happily here and there through the studio.  One remained silent, but created new and interesing ways to roll.  One waited, waited, waited and watched us; then rolled slowly across the middle of the studio.

We progressed to crawling, or tried to, but I realized that one student just could not make the transition to being on one's hands and knees. So I had the group get down onto their bellies and slither about.  This was still difficult for the student in question, but more achievable.

I don't usually worry about physiological developmental progressions in class - I like to follow the creative impulse which usually has a natural progression that is loosely "developmental"; but this seemed like an instance where it would be good to focus on those stages we go through in early childhood. 

I encouraged the group to "stay low" with bellies or backs on the floor and to explore how they could move from place to place.  We worked slowly back up to hands and knees and explored different ways to crawl, including upside down- on hands and feet with the buttocks toward the floor and the belly toward the ceiling.

 "Creeping and crawling" in the usual sense require a twisting fluidity through the spine that results in contralateral movement - i.e.,  a right hand/left foot coordination.  This is more complex than the earlier stages of "inching" or "curling and uncurling" in which  both sides of the upper body move, then both sides of the lower body; or movements in which the right side of the body (hand and foot) move together.

I was fascinated to watch my reluctant crawler eventually work up to sitting up and hitching across the room on her buttocks.  At one point she rocked forward to put weight on her hands and rolled onto one hip, but instead of progressing into a "contralateral crawl"  she continued to hitch her weight forward.  Of course we all tried out her methods of moving about and invited her to try other people's crawls.

We rested for a moment and then stood up.   We did some stretching, twisting, shaking and swinging.  First we swung our arms together, forward and back.  Then we swung them side to side across the body.  I asked the dancers to move their feet further appart and to shift their weight as we swung our arms.  We said "Swing" with each impulse and engaged the body and feet more and more.  Eventually this turned into walking: first in a way similar to the way toddlers walk with the body's weight shifting from side to side.  I then encouraged a "twisty swing" and watched the walk transition into a more "advanced" contralateral arrangement that moved more directly forward.

The value of all this?  For the participants it provided opportunities to move in different ways.  I incorporated opportunities to lead and follow each other.  I feel this is beneficial in at least two ways:  it re-inforces the sense of connecting socially with others and it gives positive feedback to person asked to lead.  Furthermore, the attention to these development steps seemed to help the student who was having difficulties with some of the movements.  I noticed that she continued to remain engaged throughout the rest of class, more so than I had witnessed in the past.  The value for me was the reminder that one can remain creative while bringing in purposeful movement strategies.

This was an interesting session for me because of the work with developmental progressions.  I consider my work with this group to be focused on the artistic and recreational benefits of dance; but I certainly call on my dance/therapy background from time to time.  This was one such time.