I found the technique to be a wonderful new way to explore movements and improvise. I was excited to try it because I feel like the improvisation I do where my mind is in control is limited because my movement vocabulary is limited. The concept of being able to lose the limitations and boundaries that the mind has on my dance was exciting to think about.
When I was doing the technique, I found that any movement that was small and slow really didn't continue of its own accord, as I had to think about maintaining it, but any movement that was large and energetic continued of its own accord and changed at its own volition. Letting the movements use that much energy was quite draining on my body though, and since I'm not really in good enough shape to dance that way for very long, I was exhausted 10 minutes into the exercise, so I felt like I couldn't really continue the improvisation technique, which was sad. It was definitely an electrifying experience for me though, and I feel like I was "awake" the entire time, while I feel like I "sleep" during exercises like contact improvisation.
I feel like I want to do the technique again, but I want to have it be a little less draining on my body. I don't know how to do that though without essentially corrupting the purity of the movement and making it an active choice made by my mind rather than my body. I hope that with further exercises I can develop the skill of free movement to the point where I can eliminate certain possibilities of movement (like exerting myself beyond my physical limit) while still maintaining that freedom of the body's motion without thoughtful control.
Honestly what we did yesterday in class yesterday was phenomenal. The only detriment that it had on me was that the next day my whole entire body was sore. Mostly my neck, shoulders and back are the most sensitive. I felt really out of it for about an hour after we finished as well. It was amazing to be able to completely get out of my head while dancing. Because I've been able to really mentally meditate however the same feeling happened with my body being able to meditate simultaneously with my mind. It was almost like my body was on autopilot. In the beginning it was difficult to get the movement to be energetic and fast as well as repetitive. My favorite part of the experience was when my body just started to move on its own and it was really difficult to stop, especially with the music manipulating the energy of the movement.
The repetitive cycle exercise turned out to be very fun and surprising. Going into it, I didn't think I would be able to stop my mind from controlling the movement and allow my body to do it. However, it amazed me that I was actually able to stop thinking and let my body go. I found myself moving in ways I had never moved before. It was a very cool experience to get rid of everything thats going on in my mind and just dance and feel the music. Most of the time my eyes were closed but every now and then I would look around the room and it was interesting to see how other people were moving. Everyone was so different and unique in their own way. Overall, I really enjoyed the repetitive cycle technique.
This exercise was very fascinating. At first I was a little apprehensive about having to just let my body go, but once I did I found it absolutely amazing. It was such a weird experience. Once I got into the rhythm and found a repeating pattern, my body just kept going naturally. I didn’t have to think, didn’t have to tell myself what to do. I just went. It was actually quite fun. The only problem though was that after a little while I became somewhat exhausted. It takes a lot of physical energy to move my body so much for so long. But nevertheless it was a good experience.
It was really cool for me to see what happened if I tried to just let my body have a mind of its own and to not think about what I was doing. It was difficult at first for me to get into the motion and to sustain the same movement for a long time...but after a while I just stopped thinking and let my body do its own thing. It was almost as if I were an outsider watching myself. I realized that I didn't HAVE to keep the same movement going forever, my body could just do what it wanted. So after I got going, my body would start doing different motions and then go back into a cycle, then go back into some other more unique moves, then go back into a cycle. It became a cycle of going in and out of a cycle (if that makes sense!) I also noticed my body cycling in and out of the intensity of movement, like when the music got wilder, my body would get wilder, and when the music calmed down, my body would calm down. For that reason I did not get too tired because my body would just naturally calm down when it got tired. After a short time of calmer movements, my body would cycle back into the crazier ones again. The exercise was a really nice release.
Thank you for trusting our class with this special technique.
This technique was so natural, so raw, I felt very childlike. I had thoughts of my childhood dancing in my back yard, or watching my daughter dancing carefree with no rules, no judgmental eyes watching... that's how I felt, like I was dancing all alone. The movements were very freeing, the music helped as my body naturally fell into the rhythm and intensity of the music, it was like the music was being played just for me. First I tried to let go of all boundaries, really give myself to this moment. Suddenly I felt myself letting go and not thinking about anything, my eyes shut tight I was moving with out "moving", I began to open my eyes slightly and found myself in a "being John Malcovich" state of mind. I was watching what was happening to me. It was very surreal.
After the class, I could barely function. I dance a lot and think I can stand up to 15 minutes, but my god, that was intense. It took me 45 minutes to be able to leave the locker room. Not that I was exhausted but that I was overcome by the experience, I didn't feel like I was in control of my body and I was totally zoned out. The next morning I could barely walk, my back and neck felt like I was hit by a bat, needless to say this result was not common for me, thus my absence at class Friday afternoon.... my friend is IcyHot!!
I look forward to exploring this great movement again, probably with a bit more reserve...but it was so cool not to be in control of myself! Amazing!
It was really fun and extremely intense to dance around for that long. My shoulders were very sore the day after. It was interesting to just dance without even thinking about what I should do next. I felt like I was just being carried around by my body. I felt so tired, but I knew I had to keep moving, so that was the only thought in my head. Other than that, my brain was shut out of my movements. I didn't really notice my surroundings or anything, I just kept on dancing. It was really fun and I never thought I would be able to do something like that.
I thought it was fun! Being able to let go of our inner control and let the movement be was cool. My body was moving . . . and I wasn't even telling it to move.
Thinking about it now. I felt like all of my movements were bound and direct. The repetition was in control of my body and that that was the only way for it to be in control. I think about it like blood circulating through my body.
I run a lot. About 20 minutes a 3-4 times a week at a pretty fast pace. I found that during this movement, my mind went to that place where I just blocked everything out. I felt like my body could keep on going. It reminded me of aerobics a little. The sweat felt great. There was a little soreness, but a good soreness,
The cyclical movement idea was an exhilarating experience. I loved the fact that I could let go of any self-consciousness, and any thoughts that I had. As I was dancing I lost myself in the repetition and in the excitement of what my body would want to do next. It was interesting when the music would slow down a bit, because my body didn't necessarily want to stop moving quickly, but it would automatically slow down, as if it knew that I needed a break physically. I felt so comfortable in the space doing whatever felt right to my body because everyone else in the class seemed to also be in this inner zone. One of the things my brain was doing while I was dancing was registering what people were around me, and that I could feel their energy surrounding me. And when I would close my eyes I was sort of taken into myself, getting lost in the repetition of the movement. Trying to stop moving was one of the most difficult parts for me. It was a gradual process which moved until just my fingers were moving, and then I could relax into stillness.
It took me awhile to feel the Fabonacci cycle as a spiral but once I got into it, it felt very natural. I liked trying the movement in different directions too but I mostly like the forward and backward motion...
I also thought that it was very helpful to have Kevin speaking the numbers so as to just allow my body to follow a natural order.
We also did the cycle shaking exercise this past week. To tell you the truth that exercise wiped me out. Even though we were supposed to be letting go of our bodies I felt so exhausted! However, once I let go I definitely felt the cycles going through my body. During the exercise, though, I would occasionally snap back into my mind and when I tried to control my movement I would tweak some part of my body. I think that to prevent any aching or body pain it would be important to extend the time to get into the exercise. I know we started with the hand motion but I think slowing down the cycle would allow the mind disconnect to form more strongly and prevent any pain from lack of control.
Since I was not allowed to participate in Wednesdays class because I was sick, I got an all new perspective on the exercises that we had been doing all quarter as well as the repetition cycle that was completed at the end of the class. Participating in the exercises that we have done before always felt different then it looked when I watched. It was interesting to watch people so engrossed in the touch improvisation that they were oblivious to the fact that they were completely disconnected from the group. Also, the meditation exercise was a different experience with your eyes open. I love the meditation exercise because it gets me to feel almost out of my body, as part of the floor. Just watching it though, it had almost no effect of me. When I watched the repetition cycle, I could really tell when the dancers were truly letting go and were having an almost out of body experience, and when they were holding back. Usually, they were going back and forth between the two. All in all, I felt like watching these exercise, while I would have rather been a part of them, was a rewarding experience, and deffinetly worth going to class for.
I don't really know where to start with my experience from the repitition exersise. During the exercise I went through multiple different spaces. Occasionally I would feel really dumb and feel stupid for what I was doing and just kind of laugh at myself and that's when I would be present to others around me. Then I would bring myself back to the very beginning of how we got into the exercise and do something simple and just repeat it over and over until I forgot that I was trying to repeat something, it was just happening. Once I got back into the exercise again and back into the repetition, the dance would start to happen to me. Which I didn't really believe you that that would happen when you explained it. It seemed cool when you explained it and very intriguing and interesting but I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. But you were right, it just starts happening to you. I have had multiple back injuries in the past and deal with a sore back and neck as a result of that, basically on a daily basis. My back felt amazing afterwards and very lose. I also found the cycle starting randomly, especially that day, but also a few days after, whenever music was on. It would start happening again :). Also, mentally it felt like I was in a different mindset for almost the rest of the day. It is hard to explain honestly.
My favorite part of this was what I shared in class after we did it. I have native american heritage, I am actually the last generation of Cherokee in my family recognized by the government because my kids won't be "enough" cherokee to be "technically" recognized as native american. I identify with that part of my past, and although it's not usually what I identify with *most* I felt that in this exercise I was drawn back to something in my blood and in my heritage. It sounds funny saying it out loud but at some points I was so completely out of my head and so free to move and dance that I felt as though I was dancing to ancient drums around the fire in Georgia. That was REALLY unnexpected but really awesome. I haven't felt that connected to that part of me since I went to the reservation.
I could write a ten page paper on this I feel like :). But I won't. Bottom line is, it was incredible and a completely new and unnexpected experience.
I an not sure what to write about this. There was a moment when I felt as if I became pure energy and I was in a vortex. I was spinning around and around and I couldn't control my movements anymore. I ended up on the floor and had to stay there until I had control over my body again. It felt very strange. I didn't allow myself to get to that place again. The rest of the exercise felt good as a releasing experience although my body was very sore the nest day. There were times when I was totally in sync with the music and that felt good.
Ok so I really had alot of thoughts about the repetative cycle exercise! When Louis was first describing it, it made me think of a music piece I had made once with a looper machine. I started out just saying one phrase rythmiclly. As the loop continued it started to sound like something else and change and so I would change the phrase with what had evolved out of the loop. Anyway,I really liked the idea of doing the same thing with dance and it totally made sense to me. It also made sense to me in that it reminded me of when I use to go to rave parties and dance to electronic music for hours. I would get into another zone while dancing at these parties(no drugs involved)where the music was just moving my body and I was watching amazed at the content that came out. Ok, the third thing this piece reminded me of was actually an experience that I had with church. My family was involved in a very charismatic church(Toronto Vinyard). People would have spiritual experiences where their bodies would shake or move supposedly without their control.As Louis let the repetitive cycle take him, it really reminded me of this spiritual movement. I started to become a little cynical about the whole thing I think because it turned into something that was associated with organized religion and all the skeptism I feel towards it. It made me question the very definition of dance. I also,like Kimberly, was thinking alot about Native American ritual dances. I have been taking a Native American anthropology course that deals alot with their diferent ceremonial dances in which they ware masks and transform into the other.While doing the exercise,I felt something in this dance to be similar and connected.I felt this same connection with the vocal exercise we did. It was like a space that it was ok to be socially unexceptable.Ok all these thoughts as I was dancing and I actually did not get into the cycle as much as I would have liked to, although I feel that I have experienced this cycle before at the rave parties I mentioned earlier.
OK so honestly at first I thought this whole concept was a little much. One, I thought the idea was a little scary and two, I didn't know if I would be able to fall into the cyclical movement.
To my surprise it was incredibly amazing! At first my mind was keeping me from really getting into the movement. Though after I face away from the group and closed my eyes I started falling into it. Slowly my movements became actual unintentional repetitions that slowly transformed. As the movement got bigger and more intense my mind fell deeper and deeper into this almost trance like state.
There were a few points where I stopped, either because I just fell out of it or because there was too much blood rushing to my hands from swinging my arms so much. The further the exercise progressed the easier it was to fall back into the movement and just let it move you. I feel like my body did some pretty cool things that I'd actually like to keep in my vocabulary.
Apart from the physical though I feel like the whole energy in the room reached an almost spiritual level that we were all in tune to. It kind of blew my mind to realize that I'd 'felt' when you had really become another part of the group and not just the teacher figure. It's going to be really interesting to see what this evolves into in the future.
This repetitive cycle was surreal. It was an experience I never thought I'd get to explore. It took a moment before I was able to let ALL of myself go and just DANCE. But once I did.. I didn't want to stop! Though the cycle was extremely exhausting, the energy I had in me was extraordinary. I let mind go, closed my eyes from time to time, and just moved. However, the music did have an influence on me and the way I choose to let go of my body and mind. The rhythmic beats provided me with a surging source of energy once I felt down. It was amazing..
There was a different kind of calmness associated with these "repetitive cycles" or "shaking cycles" as I like to call them. Feeling that kind of movement through my body caused different things to happen to me. It made me relax, but aware and once I started my body didn't want to stop. When we first started I said to myself "Are we seriously going to do this exercise for 15-20 minutes?" I thought it would seem so long and I would be tired and sweaty. But I was surprised at how easy it was to let go of the tension and just let your body move freely. I stopped thinking about it and found new movement through my body that I didn't know I was aware of. I think this exercise was the most helpful to me. I felt more comfortable in my own skin and was more aware of what my body could do in a more in depth way.
17 comments:
I found the technique to be a wonderful new way to explore movements and improvise. I was excited to try it because I feel like the improvisation I do where my mind is in control is limited because my movement vocabulary is limited. The concept of being able to lose the limitations and boundaries that the mind has on my dance was exciting to think about.
When I was doing the technique, I found that any movement that was small and slow really didn't continue of its own accord, as I had to think about maintaining it, but any movement that was large and energetic continued of its own accord and changed at its own volition. Letting the movements use that much energy was quite draining on my body though, and since I'm not really in good enough shape to dance that way for very long, I was exhausted 10 minutes into the exercise, so I felt like I couldn't really continue the improvisation technique, which was sad. It was definitely an electrifying experience for me though, and I feel like I was "awake" the entire time, while I feel like I "sleep" during exercises like contact improvisation.
I feel like I want to do the technique again, but I want to have it be a little less draining on my body. I don't know how to do that though without essentially corrupting the purity of the movement and making it an active choice made by my mind rather than my body. I hope that with further exercises I can develop the skill of free movement to the point where I can eliminate certain possibilities of movement (like exerting myself beyond my physical limit) while still maintaining that freedom of the body's motion without thoughtful control.
Honestly what we did yesterday in class yesterday was phenomenal. The only detriment that it had on me was that the next day my whole entire body was sore. Mostly my neck, shoulders and back are the most sensitive. I felt really out of it for about an hour after we finished as well. It was amazing to be able to completely get out of my head while dancing. Because I've been able to really mentally meditate however the same feeling happened with my body being able to meditate simultaneously with my mind. It was almost like my body was on autopilot.
In the beginning it was difficult to get the movement to be energetic and fast as well as repetitive. My favorite part of the experience was when my body just started to move on its own and it was really difficult to stop, especially with the music manipulating the energy of the movement.
The repetitive cycle exercise turned out to be very fun and surprising. Going into it, I didn't think I would be able to stop my mind from controlling the movement and allow my body to do it. However, it amazed me that I was actually able to stop thinking and let my body go. I found myself moving in ways I had never moved before. It was a very cool experience to get rid of everything thats going on in my mind and just dance and feel the music. Most of the time my eyes were closed but every now and then I would look around the room and it was interesting to see how other people were moving. Everyone was so different and unique in their own way. Overall, I really enjoyed the repetitive cycle technique.
This exercise was very fascinating. At first I was a little apprehensive about having to just let my body go, but once I did I found it absolutely amazing. It was such a weird experience. Once I got into the rhythm and found a repeating pattern, my body just kept going naturally. I didn’t have to think, didn’t have to tell myself what to do. I just went. It was actually quite fun. The only problem though was that after a little while I became somewhat exhausted. It takes a lot of physical energy to move my body so much for so long. But nevertheless it was a good experience.
It was really cool for me to see what happened if I tried to just let my body have a mind of its own and to not think about what I was doing. It was difficult at first for me to get into the motion and to sustain the same movement for a long time...but after a while I just stopped thinking and let my body do its own thing. It was almost as if I were an outsider watching myself. I realized that I didn't HAVE to keep the same movement going forever, my body could just do what it wanted. So after I got going, my body would start doing different motions and then go back into a cycle, then go back into some other more unique moves, then go back into a cycle. It became a cycle of going in and out of a cycle (if that makes sense!) I also noticed my body cycling in and out of the intensity of movement, like when the music got wilder, my body would get wilder, and when the music calmed down, my body would calm down. For that reason I did not get too tired because my body would just naturally calm down when it got tired. After a short time of calmer movements, my body would cycle back into the crazier ones again. The exercise was a really nice release.
Thank you for trusting our class with this special technique.
This technique was so natural, so raw, I felt very childlike. I had thoughts of my childhood dancing in my back yard, or watching my daughter dancing carefree with no rules, no judgmental eyes watching... that's how I felt, like I was dancing all alone. The movements were very freeing, the music helped as my body naturally fell into the rhythm and intensity of the music, it was like the music was being played just for me. First I tried to let go of all boundaries, really give myself to this moment. Suddenly I felt myself letting go and not thinking about anything, my eyes shut tight I was moving with out "moving", I began to open my eyes slightly and found myself in a "being John Malcovich" state of mind. I was watching what was happening to me. It was very surreal.
After the class, I could barely function. I dance a lot and think I can stand up to 15 minutes, but my god, that was intense. It took me 45 minutes to be able to leave the locker room. Not that I was exhausted but that I was overcome by the experience, I didn't feel like I was in control of my body and I was totally zoned out. The next morning I could barely walk, my back and neck felt like I was hit by a bat, needless to say this result was not common for me, thus my absence at class Friday afternoon.... my friend is IcyHot!!
I look forward to exploring this great movement again, probably with a bit more reserve...but it was so cool not to be in control of myself! Amazing!
It was really fun and extremely intense to dance around for that long. My shoulders were very sore the day after. It was interesting to just dance without even thinking about what I should do next. I felt like I was just being carried around by my body. I felt so tired, but I knew I had to keep moving, so that was the only thought in my head. Other than that, my brain was shut out of my movements. I didn't really notice my surroundings or anything, I just kept on dancing. It was really fun and I never thought I would be able to do something like that.
I thought it was fun! Being able to let go of our inner control and let the movement be was cool. My body was moving . . . and I wasn't even telling it to move.
Thinking about it now. I felt like all of my movements were bound and direct. The repetition was in control of my body and that that was the only way for it to be in control. I think about it like blood circulating through my body.
I run a lot. About 20 minutes a 3-4 times a week at a pretty fast pace. I found that during this movement, my mind went to that place where I just blocked everything out. I felt like my body could keep on going. It reminded me of aerobics a little. The sweat felt great. There was a little soreness, but a good soreness,
The cyclical movement idea was an exhilarating experience. I loved the fact that I could let go of any self-consciousness, and any thoughts that I had. As I was dancing I lost myself in the repetition and in the excitement of what my body would want to do next. It was interesting when the music would slow down a bit, because my body didn't necessarily want to stop moving quickly, but it would automatically slow down, as if it knew that I needed a break physically.
I felt so comfortable in the space doing whatever felt right to my body because everyone else in the class seemed to also be in this inner zone. One of the things my brain was doing while I was dancing was registering what people were around me, and that I could feel their energy surrounding me. And when I would close my eyes I was sort of taken into myself, getting lost in the repetition of the movement.
Trying to stop moving was one of the most difficult parts for me. It was a gradual process which moved until just my fingers were moving, and then I could relax into stillness.
It took me awhile to feel the Fabonacci cycle as a spiral but once I got into it, it felt very natural. I liked trying the movement in different directions too but I mostly like the forward and backward motion...
I also thought that it was very helpful to have Kevin speaking the numbers so as to just allow my body to follow a natural order.
We also did the cycle shaking exercise this past week. To tell you the truth that exercise wiped me out. Even though we were supposed to be letting go of our bodies I felt so exhausted! However, once I let go I definitely felt the cycles going through my body. During the exercise, though, I would occasionally snap back into my mind and when I tried to control my movement I would tweak some part of my body. I think that to prevent any aching or body pain it would be important to extend the time to get into the exercise. I know we started with the hand motion but I think slowing down the cycle would allow the mind disconnect to form more strongly and prevent any pain from lack of control.
Shanna
Since I was not allowed to participate in Wednesdays class because I was sick, I got an all new perspective on the exercises that we had been doing all quarter as well as the repetition cycle that was completed at the end of the class. Participating in the exercises that we have done before always felt different then it looked when I watched. It was interesting to watch people so engrossed in the touch improvisation that they were oblivious to the fact that they were completely disconnected from the group. Also, the meditation exercise was a different experience with your eyes open. I love the meditation exercise because it gets me to feel almost out of my body, as part of the floor. Just watching it though, it had almost no effect of me. When I watched the repetition cycle, I could really tell when the dancers were truly letting go and were having an almost out of body experience, and when they were holding back. Usually, they were going back and forth between the two. All in all, I felt like watching these exercise, while I would have rather been a part of them, was a rewarding experience, and deffinetly worth going to class for.
I don't really know where to start with my experience from the repitition exersise. During the exercise I went through multiple different spaces. Occasionally I would feel really dumb and feel stupid for what I was doing and just kind of laugh at myself and that's when I would be present to others around me. Then I would bring myself back to the very beginning of how we got into the exercise and do something simple and just repeat it over and over until I forgot that I was trying to repeat something, it was just happening. Once I got back into the exercise again and back into the repetition, the dance would start to happen to me. Which I didn't really believe you that that would happen when you explained it. It seemed cool when you explained it and very intriguing and interesting but I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. But you were right, it just starts happening to you. I have had multiple back injuries in the past and deal with a sore back and neck as a result of that, basically on a daily basis. My back felt amazing afterwards and very lose. I also found the cycle starting randomly, especially that day, but also a few days after, whenever music was on. It would start happening again :). Also, mentally it felt like I was in a different mindset for almost the rest of the day. It is hard to explain honestly.
My favorite part of this was what I shared in class after we did it. I have native american heritage, I am actually the last generation of Cherokee in my family recognized by the government because my kids won't be "enough" cherokee to be "technically" recognized as native american. I identify with that part of my past, and although it's not usually what I identify with *most* I felt that in this exercise I was drawn back to something in my blood and in my heritage. It sounds funny saying it out loud but at some points I was so completely out of my head and so free to move and dance that I felt as though I was dancing to ancient drums around the fire in Georgia. That was REALLY unnexpected but really awesome. I haven't felt that connected to that part of me since I went to the reservation.
I could write a ten page paper on this I feel like :). But I won't. Bottom line is, it was incredible and a completely new and unnexpected experience.
I an not sure what to write about this. There was a moment when I felt as if I became pure energy and I was in a vortex. I was spinning around and around and I couldn't control my movements anymore. I ended up on the floor and had to stay there until I had control over my body again. It felt very strange. I didn't allow myself to get to that place again. The rest of the exercise felt good as a releasing experience although my body was very sore the nest day. There were times when I was totally in sync with the music and that felt good.
Ok so I really had alot of thoughts about the repetative cycle exercise! When Louis was first describing it, it made me think of a music piece I had made once with a looper machine. I started out just saying one phrase rythmiclly. As the loop continued it started to sound like something else and change and so I would change the phrase with what had evolved out of the loop. Anyway,I really liked the idea of doing the same thing with dance and it totally made sense to me. It also made sense to me in that it reminded me of when I use to go to rave parties and dance to electronic music for hours. I would get into another zone while dancing at these parties(no drugs involved)where the music was just moving my body and I was watching amazed at the content that came out. Ok, the third thing this piece reminded me of was actually an experience that I had with church. My family was involved in a very charismatic church(Toronto Vinyard). People would have spiritual experiences where their bodies would shake or move supposedly without their control.As Louis let the repetitive cycle take him, it really reminded me of this spiritual movement. I started to become a little cynical about the whole thing I think because it turned into something that was associated with organized religion and all the skeptism I feel towards it. It made me question the very definition of dance. I also,like Kimberly, was thinking alot about Native American ritual dances. I have been taking a Native American anthropology course that deals alot with their diferent ceremonial dances in which they ware masks and transform into the other.While doing the exercise,I felt something in this dance to be similar and connected.I felt this same connection with the vocal exercise we did. It was like a space that it was ok to be socially unexceptable.Ok all these thoughts as I was dancing and I actually did not get into the cycle as much as I would have liked to, although I feel that I have experienced this cycle before at the rave parties I mentioned earlier.
OK so honestly at first I thought this whole concept was a little much. One, I thought the idea was a little scary and two, I didn't know if I would be able to fall into the cyclical movement.
To my surprise it was incredibly amazing! At first my mind was keeping me from really getting into the movement. Though after I face away from the group and closed my eyes I started falling into it. Slowly my movements became actual unintentional repetitions that slowly transformed. As the movement got bigger and more intense my mind fell deeper and deeper into this almost trance like state.
There were a few points where I stopped, either because I just fell out of it or because there was too much blood rushing to my hands from swinging my arms so much. The further the exercise progressed the easier it was to fall back into the movement and just let it move you. I feel like my body did some pretty cool things that I'd actually like to keep in my vocabulary.
Apart from the physical though I feel like the whole energy in the room reached an almost spiritual level that we were all in tune to. It kind of blew my mind to realize that I'd 'felt' when you had really become another part of the group and not just the teacher figure. It's going to be really interesting to see what this evolves into in the future.
This repetitive cycle was surreal. It was an experience I never thought I'd get to explore. It took a moment before I was able to let ALL of myself go and just DANCE. But once I did.. I didn't want to stop! Though the cycle was extremely exhausting, the energy I had in me was extraordinary. I let mind go, closed my eyes from time to time, and just moved. However, the music did have an influence on me and the way I choose to let go of my body and mind. The rhythmic beats provided me with a surging source of energy once I felt down. It was amazing..
There was a different kind of calmness associated with these "repetitive cycles" or "shaking cycles" as I like to call them. Feeling that kind of movement through my body caused different things to happen to me. It made me relax, but aware and once I started my body didn't want to stop. When we first started I said to myself "Are we seriously going to do this exercise for 15-20 minutes?" I thought it would seem so long and I would be tired and sweaty. But I was surprised at how easy it was to let go of the tension and just let your body move freely. I stopped thinking about it and found new movement through my body that I didn't know I was aware of. I think this exercise was the most helpful to me. I felt more comfortable in my own skin and was more aware of what my body could do in a more in depth way.
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