Today was our final regular modern class at St. Mary's college - my students are a mixed bag of stress ball & giddy spring-time glee. I decided to do a movement generating exercise adapted from exercises I learned first from Mim Rosen at UMD & then Liz Lerman.
First, they chose one shape that represented their current mood and one shape that represented the mood they would like to be in... easy enough, right?
Next they had five minutes to write a story, fact or fiction, poetry or prose, that took the audience from the first mood to the second.
Here's Mine:
No rest. Sleepless night.
Depression
Darkness
Anger at my own exhaustion.
The sound of her laughter
distracts me from the gloom.
She is hungry, yet happy...
Simply because the sun
Bright and Warm,
Visible, Present - just like me.
Last, they circled the action words and underlined the descriptors and choreographed to those words - using the beginning and ending shapes as book-ends.
The result: Lovely phrases all around that altered moods and relieved stress while pounding home the idea of authentic abstraction. YIPPEEE!
Students noticed common themes, their shared experiences, "It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling _______." BUT, they get that there are infinite ways to express the same sentiment. And, they have a new outlet for figuring out what's going on in their worlds and how to move with it.
For the most part they are not interested in dance being a large part of their adult lives - but I hope dance will always be there as a support, tool, release, play, enjoyment, elevator, experience, and joy. They are a pretty fabulous group of students... willing to go on the journey. As their teacher, for that much I am grateful.
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