Dancers,
For a final posting, please take a moment and think about all the things we worked on this quarter and reflect on them. We worked on some phrases, Twyla Tharp, improvisation, focus, sound, language, gestures and contact. We covered many topics in the hopes of expanding your dance experience. What did you enjoy most? What was most challenging? How do you think this quarter changed your ideas about dance? What did you learn about yourself? Take some time to think about it and write a couple of paragraphs about your learning this quarter.
Louis
23 comments:
This quarter, I enjoyed learning the Twyla Tharp combinations the most. Not only did I like the choreography and the way that it moved, but I liked going to the dance performance and being able to recognize dance moves that I knew. The most challenging aspect by far was sounds and language. I have never connected dance with speaking and making sounds, so I felt a little uncomfortable with the whole idea.
This quarter has changed my idea about dance in the sense that I have learned to become more in tune with inner and outer focus, and how to control my body and feel the space around me and be able to use it to full ability. I learned that I can let myself be vulnerable, because even if it isn't reciprocated, the feelings that I will be able to relay will be real.I learned to trust myself and be comfortable.
This quarter has really expanded my dance experience and I have learned so much over the course of this class. I enjoyed the Twyla Tharp combinations, contact improv, and the warm up routines the most. I come from a background of ballet, jazz, and lyrical so learning combinations and dancing to music is always enjoyable to me. Contact improvisation was a completely new experience that really made me step outside my comfort zone but I found it to be very fun and invigorating. Sound, language, and gestures were the most challenging for me. These were completely new exercises that I never would have considered to be incorporated into dance. I was very uncomfortable with it and am still getting used to the idea but it is growing on me.
This modern dance class has changed my ideas about dance in many ways. Like I said before, I never would have thought that sounds and language could be considered dancing. It has really opened my eyes to a whole new world of dance that I never would have explored if I hadn't taken this class. I learned that it's okay to be vulnerable and put yourself out there because even though it's scary and uncomfortable, it has made me grow as a person and become more confident in who I am.
This modern dance course has expanded my dance experience in more ways than any other class ever has. I learned so many new and different techniques which really opened my eyes to ways of dancing that I had never thought about before. My favorite exercises were the Twyla Tharp phrases, some of the contact improvisation, and the gesture dance. Because I come from a strict ballet, jazz, and lyrical background, I really like specific choreography, which is why I greatly enjoyed the Twyla Tharp routine. I also loved how I got to see it performed on stage in the show. While I am somewhat uncomfortable dancing with gestures, I have found that I actually really like the final gesture dance because it is choreographed. It’s a fun experience to tell a story through specific body movements. I have still not mastered improvisation with gestures, and I still feel very awkward doing it, but the dance we learned was something new and unique and I enjoyed the experience. Contact improvisation is also something that was completely new for me. I found that I loved dancing with my eyes closed and just being led to move in whatever way that came naturally. It was an exciting feeling and one that I had never experienced before.
However, the biggest challenge I faced this quarter was building up the confidence to just let go and not care about what anyone thought of me or my dancing. This was especially an issue with sound, language, and some of the gestures. I still feel extremely uncomfortable with speaking while dancing, but it did help me build confidence in myself. By feeling so vulnerable and awkward, it forced me to put myself out there and just be me. Overall, while this course did challenge me to move and dance in ways that I had never expected, I found that I really enjoyed most of it. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me experience a whole new and unique side of dance.
I honestly enjoyed all of the lessons over the quarter, but my favorite would have to be the cycle. I love the concept of building off something and watching it grow into something else. I also enjoyed how I didn't need to think about what looked good and what worked out. All I needed to do was keep moving for ten to fifteen minutes and it cycled into something new before me. It was also a very good workout and I love feeling sore afterwards.
The most challenging thing this quarter was definitely involving voice into dancing. If you think about it, we talk everyday and some people make sound effects while making gestures in normal conversations, so dancing and making noises shouldn't be so hard as we made it to be. Hearing myself while I am dancing around is just a strange feeling, like I've never heard myself before. Reciting a postcard was even more challenging because I was so focused on what I was saying that I completely forgot my hand gestures and kept repeating myself over and over again.
Before this class, I always had the same dance teacher every year since I was six and was use to her style of teaching. She would give us a routine and critic our movements so it would look better. I never realized I could show my own style in a performance and that dancing could be molded into something I've never imagined before. This class has really helped me open up to myself and my own style and how to think outside of choreography.
Hey Louis,
So class has been super fun. Out of all of my dance classes that I've taken, this one has been one of my favorites. One of the reasons why I really enjoyed it was because this class allowed me to grow as a person. In other dance classes, we learn the steps and the counts and we move, but this was different. I felt like all of the excercises we did allowed us to individually grow, either from our focus, to sound, to talking and contact and whatnot. This class made me realize that theres more to dance then following the leader. It is to make the dance personally mine by giving it my all. I feel like these excercises broadened my mind. I was pushed to the edge of my comfort zone and I think this builds great characteristic.
I think what I really enjoyed most was the improv and gestures. I felt like I was able to be more creative and show others my silly side. I also liked the contact improv because I like to touch people:)
Challenges . . . Definately sound. It was nerve racking . . . but not because I was embarrassed but because Im slow. i cannot think fast. Trying to sum up weird noises that I have never made before was impossible! I felt like if I made a noise I would repeat it until it sunk in . . . which was what we were supposed to not do. Yea. It sucked:)
What I learned about myself is that I know I have fun and that Im silly when Im comfortable doing something Im confident in, but when Im not in my comfort zone I need to push myself a little harder to just do it. I think this class helped me get in the groove of just summing up the courage to give it my all. Its pretty cool.
I enjoyed the class Louis! and Im sad I missed the last week with you guys:(
Love,
cougar
When I first started this class I had a completely different idea of what it would be like. I was expecting another dance class similar to all of the other ones I had taken. I was surprised when I found out how much we were going to push the boundaries not only on the definition of what dance is, but our own personal styles as well.
One of my favorite things that we did in the class was the twyla tharp pieces. I think this may have been because I was most comfortable with it. It was a lot more choreographed and conventional. The improvisation stuff was a stretch for me, I have never done anything like it before. I think that I improved a lot with it though in the ten weeks.
Another part of the class which was really difficult for me was making sounds while dancing. I had never even thought about using vocals in a dance as part of it. It was difficult for me to get past feeling stupid to really get into it, but I feel like I was doing better at the end of the quarter.
Modern this quarter was definitely not what I expected it to be. Although many of the things we did in class were different from what I had hoped to learn, I do feel that I have gained a much stronger sense of trust in my body as well as a sense of comfort that I can just let it do what it wants without having to think about it or worry about what other people might think. I think that is definitely something to be valued and am really grateful to have developed this in myself. I know this will definitely come in useful in my dancing in the future.
My favorite part of class this quarter was learning the phrases and choreography. I also really liked the few times when we had warm ups with counts and certain stretches that we did in sequence; I just love classic dance warm ups, they feel so good and are so fun!
The most challenging unit for me was contact improv. It was so intimate and touchy and I felt very uncomfortable doing it with people I don't know very well. I think it is a really cool concept that I can appreciate, but I feel that it should have been a whole separate class in itself that people could sign up for if they felt the desire to do this.
Overall this was a very interesting class that definitely got me out of my comfort zone and exposed me to new ideas about dance that I never would have expected.
What I got out of this quarter and this class was very unexpected. I learned a lot about where my comfort zone is and what it is like to explore outside of that and try new things. Using voice is still something that I am very nervous about even after doing different exercises for a couple of weeks in class. BUT also because of this class, I learned to accept the nervousness and know that it isn't a bad thing. It just means I'm expanding myself and what I am currently doing is unfamiliar.
It's hard to put into words sometimes how I feel about dance. I feel like I learn a lot about myself and the world around me. Like the different exercises we did (eye contact etc) where you had to be vulnerable with another human being had me realize that other people have fears just like I do.
The time we spent on Twyla Tharp's choreography was one of my favorite parts of the class. I have always loved her style, especially after taking Comp 1 with Charlie last spring who used to dance for her. So to get to learn her choreography was really an honor and I loved, loved, loved it.
After yesterdays performances from the other class, I realized the atmosphere of our class as well as the content differed greatly from the other classes. And I also realized that I was glad. I don't think they fully understood that, being on the outside looking in. But being on the inside of it and looking out I really saw how much I had expanded myself and my abilities to "roll with the punches." Also, seeing your description of the different things we have worked on this quarter brought it to my attention again.
I am really grateful for this quarter and I learned a lot. I know I will be applying things I learned this quarter to other dance classes in the future!
Thank you!!!
Oh and the contact improv was portion was another favorite!! :)
(There is just too much to say, I am cutting myself off now haha)
I enjoyed everything. I feel that everything we did in the class served a purpose for broadening our dance experience. The Twyla Tharp phrase was good in that it was structured and at the same time allowed for some embellishments to the movements. I think the most challenging aspect about this quarter was all of the different sound exercises that we did. I never thought of dance involving sound made by the dancer. Perhaps music or sound coming from off stage but never the person performing unless there was a specific dialogue taking place. At first speaking/making noises was a little strange, however it wasn't that intimidating to me. I learned that I LOVE CONTACT IMPROV! Thank you soo much for expanding on that and offering it to students! It's incredible.
This quarter was interesting to me in that we spent alot of time focusing on ourselves. We would do exercises together during class however they seemed to be more geared towards individual growth. This quarter, I have become much more comfortable with myself, not only as a dancer but also when it comes to improvisations and using my voice. I can tell a difference in myself, partly because of personal reasons and also because of things I learned in Modern. Thank you so much Louis! I feel that another layer has been peeled off of the person that I am becoming throughout this college experience. I'm more free!
This class has been a great experience for me. I have learned so much about the limitless possibilities that there are in dance. I also learned to be more comfortable with exploring what my body wants to do, rather than what my mind might be telling me it wants to do. I liked the Twyla Tharp piece that we learned because not only was it expressive and exciting, but it was interesting to see it performed at the Chamber Dance Company Concert in a different form and context.
Learning contact improvisation was an amazing experience that really stretched my comfort zone. It helped me realize how important and interesting meditation and relaxation can be in dance and in interacting with people, even outside of dance. I felt so connected to everyone in the class in a way after this too, which helped me grow through the class.
The gestures and dance with sound was difficult for me at first, but made me realize how much more it could add to dance and performance, that I haven’t seen very often.
I also really enjoyed the spiral exercises that we did, and how it was doing movement vocabulary based on the counts. This felt very natural and was a really relaxing way of moving.
I feel like I learned something new everyday in class, which was always expanding my mind and my love of dance. Thank you so much Louis. This class was an unforgettable experience!
My dance experience was definitely expanded over the course of this quarter. I have never learned so many different types of performance and improvisation during a quarter, as before I have only done choreography or some small improv exercises.
I probably enjoyed contact improvisation the most, as it is such a personal experience that doesn't rely on anything other than you, your partner, and the dance. You never have to worry about performing it or remembering it, as it's just for the enjoyment and fulfillment you get from it. I hope to still continue doing contact improvisation during the course of my dance life.
I also enjoyed the guesture dance you taught us for the performance, as having a choreography that long is wonderful when you want to dance something and you have that in your memory. It was also really easy to involve yourself in when you like the song as much as I do.
The most challenging thing was performing in front of others. I sometimes feel so unsure about my dances because they mean a lot to me, but I feel like others won't appreciate them. Performing is a lot less scary now, and we built up from doing improv performances, to sound performances, to our end of the quarter postcard performances. At the beginning of the quarter I don't think I would have been able to stand up in front of that audience and speak and dance if I hadn't grown during this quarter.
My ideas about dance have also changed as I have embraced the concept of modern dance being "right" every time you dance it, that your dance is wonderful if you gave it all your heart. That kind of security when you dance is a blessed experience and it really helped me to grow more confident in what I do, as I am confident that if it means something to me it is important and good. I hope to maintain that view as I leave your class and move onto classes where I may not always get the choreography, but if I focus and pour myself into the dance, it will be enough.
I learned that dance can do more for me than I thought it could, as I have had such relief at being able to dance out my feelings or situations and feel relaxed and cleansed afterwards. At the beginning of the quarter I like modern more for the choreography and less for the personal enrichment, but now that has reversed and I like modern because of the personal fulfillment it allows me and enjoying choreography is second to that.
What I enjoyed most was improvisation. I was able to use specifically chosen dance moves while adding my personal spice to it. Also, I learned much about dancing with another person, how to improvise a long with their dance. Improvisation allowed me to have more confidence in my dancing by trying my best, and looking alright even when I did not know the moves.
As for what I found most difficult , i would have to say focus. Most humans can not focus on one specific thing for more than a few minutes, if not seconds. Challenging this was refreshing, yet, as I said before, difficult.
P.S. My apologies to everyone for not being able to show up on the final day, i tried my best.
It would be an understatement to dub this class enriching. I've honestly never been so opened up by a dance class in other respects than physical and I value that so much. I hold it to my survey lecture classes, which is saying a lot.
Of everything that we did, the Twyla Tharp combinations, contact improv, and the vocal exercises were what I found to be the most enjoyable. I think I stated this in my paper, but I really liked the Twyla Tharp jump series to Kane's percussion because it felt a lot like the Afro-Haitian I studied my junior and senior years of high school. I love that fluid feeling and almost the sensation of being controlled by the music. It took me a while to realize that the contact improv exercises had a spiritual effect on me but once I accepted the initial oddity of the intimacy, I was able to learn a lot about myself and how I view dance (and humanity), which was both refreshing and intense. But I liked it. This, I also think I stated in a post, but I enjoyed the vocal exercises because they surfaced everything I love so much about acting and blended them with dance. It's also just really interesting to look at dance as something that can be explored through voice because it opens a whole range of new projects and definitions.
I think I was the most challenged by the gestures (separating gesturing from miming), the toy series at the beginning of the quarter (which I think had less to do with the exercises and more to do with my absence from modern), and lastly the rain movement was so hard for me (I have no idea why)!
I've never been given so much freedom in a dance class. So on the level, this class has definitely broadened my idea on what a technique class consists of and how a class can be facilitated. My ideas on dance as a whole have absolutely been opened up (as stated above) as well as my attitudes about what dance is and how it should move.
On many different levels, I consider this class to have been a profound review of human nature and human tendencies. I learned so much about my own inhibitions (and abilities to rid myself of them) but also society's constrains on behavior and contact. You should be proud of that.
I didn't really have a chance to express my passion for the subject matter (not content because it's not that surfaced) of this course in my little blurb on your thank you card because I was drunk with energy but I hope I've taken the time to let you know now. Frustrating at times, which all good courses are, this class really challenged both my body and my mind and I appreciate that so much. Thank you for that.
Take care, Louis!
Well first of all, I don't think there's really any way I could sum up my experience in this class with a few paragraphs or put it in words even but here are some of the big things that come to mind.
The biggest thing for me about this class was that it completely challenged the way I thought about dance. It made me again re-examine why those divisions between different art forms seem like barriers.
It was an amazing experience to express my self, not only through movement but also through vocals and I think even a little bit of acting, or at least what I considered a touch of acting. I'm not gonna lie, but I did at first take everything in with a little bit of skepticism, never really sure if this new concept would work for me but in every case I found myself discovering new range and ability within myself to take these completely foreign ideas and make them my own.
Another huge aspect of the class that was very revealing to me was the contact improv work. I feel so lucky to have been introduced to this so early on in my college/dance career. The way you went about introducing this was also very helpful. I would get comfortable with the simple exercise, such as the finger tip one, so the next exercise just seems like a logical, natural progression to the point where full on contact improv felt fluid.
This course really pushed me to grow as a dancer and to focus on things much more important than technique. It opened my eyes to the even greater possibilities of dance and to my own ability to grow beyond set molds and structures.
THANKS YOU SO MUCH LOUIS!
Love,
Fausto
This quarter, for me, has been all about self belief and acknowledging my insecurities. I had fun every day in class, from the relaxing techniques to the vocal compositions that challenged me to the core. I enjoyed the challenge of being uncomfortable and vulnerable with people I barely knew. It put me into a very awkward place at times but I believe that is when you have the opportunity to grow the most. I hope I never stop growing as a dancer. I found vocalizing and dancing the most challenging, doing two opposite things at once and trying to do them both well was very difficult.
This quarter has helped me to appreciate other forms of "dance" I am not completely sold...perhaps by graduation!!! It has definitely inspired me to look past what I believe to be dance and consider things I might not have before.
I learned that I am a very strong individual, I believe I am a great teammate and I like to smile and bring people together. I like to be social and have a good time dancing. I learned that I am a strong dancer. I need to let go of my age, it's just a number, and focus on what I can give to other dancers, myself while dancing and to a performance. I believe I am very positive but I am hardest on myself, this is something I will continually work on.
Louis,
I am so thankful to have stepped into your class my first quarter at the UW, I believe it has reignited the passion for dance that I thought I already had. You have inspired me to be me, not to dance with blinders, and to be proud of the dancing I do, for it is mine. If I dance with my whole heart it will be seen and I should be proud of that. So thanks!
My favorite thing I learned in this modern class was the Twyla Tharp piece. I thought it was so fun to learn her choregraphy. It also felt good to dance it. Seeing later at the CDC dance concert made it even more interesting. Iwould have liked to do more over the quarter however. We went over so many things in this class that I felt that I didn't have enough time to appreciate them all. Some things were intersting to me some things not so much and some things were fun and again others were not so much. I really like contact improv. I'm so glad we worked a lot with that over ther quarter. I think it's a good base for choregraphing a piece. Another thing that I enjoyed was the few pieces that were built on over the quarter like our warm up phrase on the floor and of course our big piece we performed at the end. Although I'm not comfortable with it I dont mind the idea of using voice in dance. I think it's a good way to convey something to the audience or express yourself other than dance. I didn't like however, the senseless words because I didn't find tham very helpful for my growth in dance and I never got to the point where my comfort level increased with that. Nonetheless it was really fun to watch and released tension somethimes. I would have liked to work more with speaking like with the postcard dance. I thought it was fun and very interesting to watch. It was hard though to put together my words and my gestures. Infact I hardly think I was very sucessful at all. If expanding my dance experience was agoal for this class then that certainly happened. I can't say that I've made progress in any one area but I do have a broader knowlegde of the dance world. I really need to improve in dance technique, which didn't happen for me this quarter, and learn to execute broader, more full-bodied movements. I did have an ah-ha moment in this class when we were dancing the waves and Louis wanted us to give it 120% which was really exciting. I want to dance that way all the time. Anyway, tutto sommato, I have to say that I laughed a lot; sometimes it just felt like a dance party, but not all the time:)
Growing up in Vietnam I was a top student, a good child and an obedient Catholic girl. I was taught to stay in line, to speak only when asked, and to kneel with my hands together in church. The only outward emotion that was encouraged for girls like me is timidity. Despite the structured and strict environment, I always love dancing. My favorite days when I was about 7 have been Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday when I got to dance in my gymnastic class, but dancing is not encouraged in my culture and studying always is, so I left dance a few years later to focus on my study, and didn’t find it again till Sophomore year at UW.
My motivation for dancing has changed a lot after this quarter, Louis. I loved dancing then because I loved music. The combination of classical music, structured techniques and choreography give me the love, inspiration, challenge and order that I require and need in everything I do… It was also the physical challenge of dance that kept me looking forward to dance classes every day. Every morning I wake up because I get to dance and find the grace and strength in the beautiful notes of the musician. Every note seems to sooth away the worry of everyday life and school. However, it is more because of the structure and order of dance technique, than anything else that put me at ease with the new challenge and love that I found not the classroom, but in the dance studio.
Today I dance because it is the only time I feel free, of expectation, analysis, and plans. It is the time I get to let go off of the plan and analysis from my set path and curriculum that make me so numb, to feel…the notes, the floor, the motions of my joints…It is the only time it is ok to feel. Your class taught me the attitude of “just do it” and to let my body flow and feel the music.
I want to be a physician. On medical missions I share the passion of a doctor for medicine and curing people of diseases, injuries and deformities. I want to be a dancer and in the studio and hopefully on stage one day, I share the passion of a dancer who is eager to show the world the beauty of human body and expression…
My favorite part was telling stories or postcards through movement while also using sound. That is because I love challenging myself and putting myself into uncomfortable situations (so to speak), and getting myself out of my comfort zone. And also because I love telling stories and entertaining people with them, be it real or made up stories.
I enjoyed learning new ideas such as the cycle thing, an added focus on breathing, and contact, something that was really fun and I think brought some of us closer together as dancers and people. All those things awakened new skills in me that I can now think about and work on while continuing my dance education.
Of course learning phrases and Twyla Tharp was also fun since it let me practice dancing something exact and definite, as oppposed to something improvised.
In all, this class was probably the most enriching and educational dance class I've ever taken. I'm really excited about it still.
Well, I have been soooo presently surprised by this class. It is my first quarter at UW and my first time dancing in um.. a long time. I have been critical for a while about modern dance. I did a modern dance associate of art many years ago but since became really disolusioned with it. To me, it was to self indulgent and not accessable to the general public.But in spite of it all, I missed dancing so decided to give it another whirl. I am so thankful that this is the class I gave a whirl to. It showed me how amazingly creative each and every person is and that the "weird modern stuff" is actually accessable and that people are capable of alot and given a safe environment can be so creativ,e and not just in a pretty or conventional sense! I loved reading the feedback from everyone and the openess to the new ideas explored in class! I saw my own resitence to new ideas pop up over and over and was happy for the jolt to my system.
The class was also definatly spiritual for me. I am coming out of a difficult marriege and life situation that had caused me to feel pretty disconnected.However, taking this class was really important in opening my eyes to connection that I was still able to have. Exercises such as the looking in the eyes and finger touch were espessially powerful in this respect. I have thought alot in the past about the demands that dance puts on the dancer to be perfect and to fit into a certain mold. I have not met a teacher until now that is really trying to break some of those molds and it was totally inspiring for me. I would love to see how I can further encorporate this style and way of thinking into more technique driven classes and still keep the creativity and openess. Thanks so much for this lovely class Louis!
It's difficult to describe in concrete terms what I learned in this course, or decide what section was my favorite, since so much of it had to do with the experience and the feeling of dancing the way you taught us to. The most challenging part of the course was certainly using vocalization in imaginary sounds/languages. For me, producing language in those that I can speak (natively in English or pretty well in Spanish) feels fine, even when it is improvised. For me what was difficult was to explore the sounds I could make outside of the language context.
I suppose if I had to name a section of the course that I liked best, maybe I'd say the contact improv, because those were the classes when time got away from me and I found myself surprised and disappointed when class was over.
My true "favorite part" of the course was more the general experience of creating dance for myself spontaneously through improv, being asked to and shown how to really inhabit my body in the present moment, connecting to an audience by using my focus, and really recognizing and being proud of what I have to offer and what I give in any performance.
I feel that I will approach future performances with more confidence, willingness to take creative risks, presence and focus. I have also enjoyed relating the concepts of the course to a metaphysical understanding of the universe as well as human interactions, and I really enjoyed when you pointed those things out. In so many ways I feel that this course was exactly what I needed right now in my life, and I am really grateful for the gift it has been to me. And most of all I am eager to share those gifts with others, be they audiences, friends, or strangers.
Thanks so much Louis and everyone in the class! I hope to continue seeing you and working with you in the future!
Love, Brynn
Wow! Wow! Wow!
This class has really stretched me beyond what I thought I could allow myself to do. My background has been one of self control and maintaing. The times when I have been able to let lose and express myself, have been in dance. But again, that was dancing to a specific routine that I learned and then performed.
I was happy to be returning to dance after being away for a long time. This class was the first modern class I had taken in an environment of learning. I expected to have a more formal type of learning.
Was I surprised when Louis started, bringing out sounds, gestures,contact improv, cycles etc. as a way to dance. I felt shy and introverted at first, to be making sounds and gestures while I danced. It made me feel very vulnerable. I realized though, that I was being challenged to step outside the box, one that was either of my own making or what I had been used to, and experience a freeing of my creativity. Whether I choose to accept the challenge was up to me.
I accepted and found a depth in myself, and a wealth of creativity that I did not know existed. As I accepted each challenge from Louis, I found myself opening up more and more and expanding to become more confident in the creative choices that I made and to let my creative voice be head.
I enjoyed the warmup routines very much. Twyla Tharp was a little challenging for me,but I enjoyed the lessons on gestures, sounds(after I got used to hearing my voice) and contact improv(after I allowed myself to be in the moment) and most of all learning the choreography for our presentation.
Thank you Louis for your unorthodox but effective method of teaching.
Consuelo
I have a had a lot of experiences in this class that have changed the way I approach dancing. I really liked the quirkier sections of this course. The improv, eye contact exercises, gestures, and vocal exercises were my favorites.
In improv I was able to connect outside of my body and into the body of my partner. I've had experiences like that in salsa but never to that extreme of a feeling. I danced with Consuelo for the dancing we did with the other class and though I've never danced directly with her, we made a very powerful connection and were able to dance in ways I could not have imagined before we started the exercise.
The eye contact exercise was awesome for me. One of my personal goals is making more eye contact when I'm talking to someone because I've realized that when you really look at someone, there is so much to gain. And just showing your respect by paying attention to that person as they speak shows a way of loving that I would like to be able to express. So even if the exercise was weird at first I really enjoyed it, and felt that I could connect with everyone I looked at.
The gestures and vocalization exercises we worked on were probably the most difficult but also rewarding. By being pushed out of my comfort zones I feel like I gain more and those exercises definitely did that. But they were also fun to do and I really appreciated learning how to be a performer. It's something I need to continue to work on, but this experience has put that into perspective.
Thank you Louis for all your work and for teaching me so much this quarter. I really enjoyed your class. It was awesome.
Shanna
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