I am a Dancer

This is a truly inspirational essay written by Martha Graham that I felt the need to share. I was particularly moved by her writing about dancers as individuals. So moved, in fact, I will approach my experiences as a dancer and choreographer much differently. Dancers are human and each dancer interprets movement differently according to their own experiences, in their own individual way. No person has the same experiences, same knowledge, same body as another. No two people will dance the same, so one must move fervently and with confidence. The choreographer wants your individual interpretation. As you will read below, Martha expresses this so much more eloquently than I!

Source: MarthaGraham.org

I am a Dancer

By Martha Graham I am a dancer. I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one’s being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes in some area an athlete of God.
To practice means to perform, in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.
I think the reason dance has held such an ageless magic for the world is that it has been the symbol of the performance of living. Even as I write, time has begun to make today yesterday – the past. The most brilliant scientific discoveries will in time change and perhaps grow obsolete, as new scientific manifestations emerge. But art is eternal, for it reveals the inner landscape, which is the soul of man.
Many times I hear the phrase “the dance of life.” It is an expression that touches me deeply, for the instrument through which the dance speaks is also the instrument through which life is lived — the human body. It is the instrument by which all the primaries of life are made manifest. It holds in its memory all matters of life and death and love. Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to the paradise of the achievement is not easier than any other. There is fatigue so great that the body cries, even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration, there are daily small deaths. Then I need all the comfort that practice has stored in my memory, a tenacity of faith.
It takes about ten years to make a mature dancer. The training is twofold. First comes the study and practice of the craft which is the school where you are working in order to strengthen the muscular structure of the body. The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted. The movement becomes clean, precise, eloquent, truthful. Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it. This might be called the law of the dancer’s life — the law which governs its outer aspects.
Then comes the cultivation of the being from which whatever you have to say comes. It doesn’t just come out of nowhere, it comes out of a great curiosity. The main thing, of course, always is the fact that there is only one of you in the world, just one, and if that is not fulfilled then something has been lost. Ambition is not enough; necessity is everything. It is through this that the legends of the soul’s journey are retold with all their tragedy and their bitterness and sweetness of living. It is at this point that the sweep of life catches up with the mere personality of the performer, and while the individual becomes greater, the personal becomes less personal. And there is grace. I mean the grace resulting from faith — faith in life, in love, in people, in the act of dancing. All this is necessary to any performance in life which is magnetic, powerful, rich in meaning.
In a dancer, there is a reverence for such forgotten things as the miracle of the small beautiful bones and their delicate strength. In a thinker, there is a reverence for the beauty of the alert and directed and lucid mind. In all of us who perform there is an awareness of the smile which is part of the equipment, or gift, of the acrobat. We have all walked the high wire of circumstance at times. We recognize the gravity pull of the earth as he does. The smile is there because he is practicing living at that instant of danger. He does not choose to fall.
At times I fear walking that tightrope. I fear the venture into the unknown. But that is part of the act of creating and the act of performing. That is what a dancer does.

Jazz it up!!

When I get to my last class on Tuesday nights, I'm often throatsore from shouting 5-6-7-8 and ready to lay down on the studio floor. My amazing Jazz students keep me going. Even if they are tired as well, they are always excited for class.

This class in particular has been very diligent about practicing outside of class. My best moments have been when my Jazz dancers remember what we worked on the week previous, and come to class having improved! I love it when we can breeze through the warm up and work really hard on our technique. For the last part of class we have fun working on different styles of Jazz, 70's, Fosse, Luigi, Musical Theater.

We get to unleash our sassy dancers and work hard on technique that informs our ballet and modern classes. Everyone should try Jazz sometime!

-Miss Hannahbeth

What I am giving thanks for...

Miss Alicia and I were talking the other day about how great this year has been so far. The economy is getting better (sorta), we have roofs over our heads and food in our bellies, great friends and family, and each week we get to teach what we love: dance.

As Thanksgiving nears, here are the things I am thankful for at AiM:

* Great students. - Our students are simply fabulous. Students who have great attitudes, lovely smiles and a desire to learn. I really appreciate that our students are so fun to teach. Many times, teaching does not feel like a job.

* Teachers who continue to dance. - Dance is not an easy field to get into. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of ups, a lot of downs. The teachers at AiM have been really fortunate to perform professionally throughout the years. Miss Lindsay is the assistant rehearsal director at MADCO where each year she gets to work with nationally recognized choreographers, choreograph and continuously take modern and ballet classes. Miss Hannahbeth recently took on an important role at aTrek Dance Collective helping teach, dance, choreograph...you name it, she's doing it. Miss Alicia, Miss Kirsten and I have been freelancing throughout the fall with various companies and also participating in shows like 60x60 where we get to choreograph. It's inspiring to work alongside artists in the field.

* Students taking extra classes. - This year we have had an influx of students taking additional classes.  Students are learning a wider range of dance styles and techniques which is helping them across the board. Our students are becoming more well-rounded as they learn not only ballet and modern, but also jazz, tap, pointe and more advanced ballet. These classes are not a requirement of our curriculum, so it's always wonderful to see students taking it upon themselves to improve!

* Positive attitudes. - We all know that mid-fall, students, parents and teachers get into a mis-season lull. It's almost the holidays but not quite, homework is getting heavier and heavier, daylight savings makes us all a little sleepy, and each organization is planning an extra field trip or performance. It gets a little exhausting and sometimes can change our attitudes. But I must say, especially with our ensemble students, they have maintained a high work ethic and are still very focused on their classes and rehearsal practice. For example, Ballet/Mod 3-4 always asks me relevant dance-related questions, focuses on their ballet technique as well as their modern and always comes in with smiles on their faces! This really helps us teachers because we feed off the positive energy, thus making for better classes!

So thank you students for making my job incredibly enjoyable! It sure beats the pants off slinging steaks at a restaurant (which I used to do...ew).

- Miss Keli