Walking

This evening, I am winding down, watching Cesar Milan on The Dog Whisperer...he says, "The more you are quiet, the more you are connecting with Mother Nature." I think about this statement as I reflect upon my day teaching dance at HPU. Often after class, my voice is tired from so much energetic talking. I have even recently taken up voice lessons, so that I might learn to talk louder with less strain on my voice. As I teach a new phrase today, I call out the movements so less experienced dancers can keep up. When I face the class to watch the phrase, I continue to call out the movements, for fear that without me, they will not remember. And many of the students agree with this fear, as they are fearful of being lost in the movement. Always, I ask my students, "What is Dance?" When they look at me blankly (though I'm sure they know the answer by now), I say..."Dance is just glorified walking!" Though this may seem to demean the art of dance, I consider this statement to mean that dancing is as natural as walking down the street...walking is something most of us learn without much to-do and for me, expressing myself through movement has always felt as natural as breathing air. Not that it did not take tremendous effort and discipline to "train" as a "dancer," but the impulse has always lived deep within me. That being said, why should I not trust that the same impulse lives somewhere in every one of my students? Next Tuesday, when I arrive to teach class, I will try keeping quiet while my students dance, only opening my mouth to bestow praise. I hope that if I shut my mouth, they will move into their attention and discover their impulse, even if they are not doing exactly the right step at the right time. Shift, throw, lilt, circle: Step, step, step, step: Right, left, right left.

Always walking,

~Cara