NEXTSTEPPAD

Welcome to dancing at home — with its daily distractions, endless child supervision, traffic, noise, limited space and likely no ballet barre or mirror.  You are probably also confronted with carpet,  hardwood on cement or tile on which to dance.

Zooming your dance class can be a dangerous proposition. The inappropriate floors available in your home, apartment, basement or garage can facilitate both injury and fatigue. They will certainly not help to develop technique or improve performance. There is hardly a floor in your home space that isn’t too hard or too slippery. It is simply not a dance studio.

However, there are a number of options that will turn a small area in your home into a temporary dance space and provide your dancer with all the safety benefits of a professional dance studio. It is not a luxury to protect their well-being.

For the dancer who has a relatively small space to work with and needs to quickly install and remove their dance floor, the best option is Dancestep Plus. It is a dual density foamed back flooring with a Marley dance surface. It is available with free shipping in 6.56′ widths by 4’, 8’, 10’, 15’ and 20’. It comes in black or gray and is ideal for all dance styles except tap (because of sound reduction). The dual foam backing acts like a floating subfloor, keeping the dancer safe from impact injury. Multiple pieces can create virtually any size home studio floor. The non-slip surface works especially well for ballet.

A tap, turning or ballet board is a very portable and easy-to-use at-home option. All boards feature a specialized floor surface over a subfloor, sitting on 3/4’’ cross link cell foam. In other words, it’s a mini floating subfloor system.

For those interested in a real wood option, we have Encore Home, an easy-to-assemble click and lock system requiring no tools. It features a real built-in floating wood subfloor and is available in prefinished oak or maple flooring – ideal for tap and ballroom. Encore also works well for jazz and contemporary.

If you happen to have space you can commit to your home studio, consider Springstep IV, our professional, floating prefabricated subfloor. For smaller spaces, no tools are necessary to assemble it; for larger spaces, a circular saw will be needed to stagger the seams and fit the room. Top the subfloor surface with the dance floor that is appropriate for how you dance.

All of your dance floor options are portable or transportable. Size is determined by your need and your budget. There are many possible ways to go, and a Stagestep rep would be happy to review your options.

Your safety is of paramount importance, be it in the studio, on stage or in your home. More information is available online at www.stagestep.com or by calling 800-523-0960.

By Randy Swartz of Stagestep.

The post Preparing your home studio for safe dance appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.

Many would agree that these are uncertain times….uncharted for most of us. We don’t know what the future holds, let alone tomorrow. The landscape of performing arts and theater across the globe has changed, and there is no way of knowing what it will look like in the coming year. With dance studios and schools opening back up, there is hope for many, but with it often comes fear and anxiety. This and so many unanswered questions bring to mind the theme of uncertainty.

Uncertainty isn’t new, but our association to it these days is undeniable. The predictability of life, daily routines, even our communication is not what it once was. While that is not to say that we won’t get back there, we must acknowledge where we are now in order to move through this difficult time. It is even more pertinent now because we have grown accustomed to a new norm of social distancing and Zoom meetings. Emerging back into society and daily life outside of a virtual platform will most definitely bring out a new round of fears and anxieties for children and adults.

This begs the question, how can we move through uncertainty? More importantly, how can we do it authentically so we are validating our own experiences and not just doing what we are told or what we see others doing? Here are five ways to explore moving through uncertainty.

#1. Acknowledge its presence.

Take a moment to let that word “uncertainty” live in your body. Is there hesitation? Dissociation? Notice how it takes up residence. What parts of your body connect to a sense of or feeling of uncertainty? If this feels uncomfortable, you are not alone. The brain seeks comfort and familiarity, and thus our movement habits follow suit. When we safely find a way to challenge these ingrained habits of mind and body, we can explore the paths less traveled.

#2. Literally move it.

Feeling inspired to dance? Create a dance, a piece of choreography, a sequence of movement inspired by your own uncertainty. Notice the qualities of the movement, and allow this process to illuminate and express your own experience.

#3. Embrace uncertainty.

Feeling unsettled or uncomfortable by uncertainty? Try a little more exposure Find ways to add more uncertainty into your day. Not only can it be empowering to take charge of your uncertainty, but it will help you grow accustomed to the feeling. Examples are walking/driving a new path, exploring new forms of dance, and mixing up your schedule or routine so it is not so predictable.

#4. Find stability and grounding.

One of the best ways to manage uncertainty or the feeling that the ground is unstable is to tap into a felt sense of grounding, balance and stability. This can be done mentally as well as physically. You can mindfully focus on your breath and heartbeat to bring a sense of center and calm to the body. You can physically ground with your feet on the floor and a lifted posture. Lastly, try finding balance in your body through dance-based exercises that challenge your balance and encourage you to find your way back to center.

#5. Connect to certainty.

If sitting in or exploring uncertainty is too much for you, then a wonderful option is starting with certainty. Think of a time, place or even situation when you felt most certain, and begin to get a sense of what that feels like, emotionally and physically. Being able to bring that felt sense to times and places that feel uncertain can be a powerful tool to help manage the intense feelings that come up when you are feeling anything but certain.

Giving ourselves permission to feel a less than desirable emotion like fear or anxiety can help normalize the experience and make it easier to acknowledge when we need extra support during uncertain times. While social distancing, it is important to remain connected and find ways to do so. Creating a community where others feel the same fears and worries can help us feel less alone and validate our feelings in the process.

Most importantly, keep moving! The best and sometimes hardest thing to do through the challenging times is to simply find ways to move. This can be dancing, exercising, walking, breathing, meditating, talking…the list goes on. Remember, we are always moving. We just need to become aware of how we are moving and how it supports or hinders our current state of mind. We can all find comfort in knowing that as uncertain as these times may be, movement will get us through.

By Erica Hornthal, LCPC, BC-DMT, Dance/Movement Therapist.

Erica Hornthal is a licensed professional clinical counselor and board certified dance/movement therapist based in Chicago, IL. She received her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago and her BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Erica is the founder and CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy, the premier dance therapy and counseling practice in Chicago, IL. As a body-centered psychotherapist, Erica assists clients of all ages and abilities in harnessing the power of the mind-body connection to create greater awareness and understanding of emotional and mental health. For more, visit www.ericahornthal.com.

The post Moving through Uncertainty appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.

“Dance came from the people and should always be delivered back to the people,” Alvin Ailey said. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a key part (but not all of) his legacy, works by this ethos. “Dance is for everybody,” asserts Cathryn Williams, director of Arts in Education and Community Programs at Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. Amongst many other programs offering dance across the five boroughs of NYC, her department offers AileyDance for Active Seniors.

Through the initiative, senior citizens across NYC have the opportunity to move for better physical health, boost their brain health, and have a creative and expressive outlet. Dance Informa spoke with Williams and Amos Macahanic Jr., an Ailey Arts in Education and Community Programs teaching artist, Ailey Extension Horton instructor and a former Ailey company member.

Williams explains how the idea for AileyDance for Active Seniors began six years ago as part of a five-year strategic plan for the Ailey organization, developed under the leadership of Ailey Executive Director Bennett Rink. She shares how offerings in the program include movement classes, culminating performances for participants, and opportunities to see live performances of Ailey, Ailey II and The Ailey School’s Professional Division students. Williams emphasizes how with cognitive decline and mental/emotional effects such as loneliness, having a creative outlet is crucial.

Movement can be particularly powerful because even with forgetting details such as dates, “you don’t forget how you feel” and that it can be “profound to express your own stories through movement,” she believes. Machanic emphasizes how senior citizens are often (unintentionally) forgotten in our culture. “It’s so important to give them a voice and a creative outlet,” he believes. He notes that the program’s offerings can give people access to what the company can provide when mobility issues might limit them from visiting the theater.

Willams shares how she gives teachers a framework for the classes but also encourages them to make the classes their own within that framework. In fact, she sees it as their responsibility to “breathe life into” the classes. The framework, which Williams hopes to build into a curriculum, most often consists of a beginning check-in when all participants can share a bit about how they’re doing. Following that is often a verbal prompt for movement, such as “I remember a time when….” Williams recounts a meaningful instance of that prompt leading a participant to share how when very young, her family came to the U.S. through fleeing oppression in Soviet Russia.

Machanic describes using a “word wall,” allowing participants to each throw out a word or words as prompts for movement — such as “what do you think of with the word ‘dance’?” He works with Teaching Artist Heather Bryce, whom Williams says has used poems as movement prompts. Williams also describes “accumulation dance” as a technique that the classes employ, adding participants’ movements on top of one another to make movement phrases.

If participants are independently mobile, tableaus are also possible, she says. Teaching participants about aspects such as levels in space and movement dynamics also adds an educational component that keeps their brains stimulated, key for helping to fight off memory decline, she adds. Williams says that teachers also sometimes show videos of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancing iconic Ailey pieces such as Revelations and then teach the participants adapted versions of certain sections.

As other ways to keep the classes flowing and beneficial for participants, Machanic explains the importance of “keeping feelers out” for what students would enjoy and what would nurture them. For instance, if a participant says “ragtime” on their “word wall”, he and Bryce might discuss and say, “Let’s bring in ragtime for the warm-up”. He also underscored the importance of being flexible with the format, because classes can go in unexpected directions. To be most effective, the teaching artists need to make adaptations. Machanic also mentioned certain classes are for senior citizens and their caregivers, and some are for caregivers alone. These classes offer meaningful self-care for people who give so much, and need to refresh and refill to keep giving.

Then it comes to culminating performances, which Williams said importantly “validate [participants’] experience” and allow them to share with their family and friends. Machanic added that the performances also create community in assisted living homes, allowing different floors of residents to connect and to share. For him, it’s incredibly meaningful to see this community connect. It’s also special for him to see the growth in his students — physically, mentally, spiritually — from the first class to the performance. He also noted an important atmosphere of “no pressure” sharing, that’s it okay if someone misses a movement. “The goal is to see a light turn on in them — we know that’s the way in,” he affirmed.

What this kind of movement classes offer that fitness classes for seniors can’t seems to be a valid question. Williams believes that apart from the culminating performances and opportunities to see performance (live and via video), they offer the important elements of aesthetic engagement, imagination, emotion, and of narrative and personal story — while still offering the same important physical benefits (increased flexibility, strength, balance, and mobility).

Machanic underscored how these classes also remind all involved how “everyone has something to say,” and gives them a spiritually safe space to do so. In this line of thinking, a senior citizen reaching an arm can be as meaningful as a huge leap from a young, lithe dancer. All of that said, Williams was clear that the approach here stands apart from Dance/Movement Therapy, a formalized clinical field that works with and through set clinical goals as well as theoretical and empirical frameworks.

Several times, Machanic noted the joy and appreciation of participants. He believes that he’s seen them “come alive” and “transform before [his] eyes.” He also described seeing them “lift each other up”, which can be incredibly touching — such as a resident who was a former dancer helping older, less mobile residents. Machanic also described dancers attesting to practicing outside of classes, demonstrating the classes reaching far beyond the time they are held in participants’ lives. Williams recounted striking instances of the classes’ physical benefits such as a participant recovering from an operation far faster than her doctor would have thought.

In a longer-range vision, Williams would love to bring the classes to senior citizens in cities where the company tours, through residencies. Wherever it all goes, AileyDance for Active Seniors, under the umbrella of Arts In Education and Community Programs, is a key component of bringing dance back to the people — as Ailey believed, after all, it came from them. It lives in all of us, however young or old.

For more information on AileyDance for Active Seniors, head to www.alvinailey.org/about/arts-education-community-programs/aileydance-active-seniors.

By Kathryn Boland of Dance Informa.

The post AileyDance for Active Seniors: Dance from and back to the people appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.

While the word “privilege” itself has been the topic of many discussions recently, the principle is not novel. I would like to share a hard lesson I learned a few weeks ago with my Dance Informa community. I have run a group on Facebook for over 12 years now — a group dedicated to advocating for and showcasing the field of dance/movement therapy. (Dance Therapy Advocates; I encourage you to check it out.) Since it is just a group and not a formal organization, I have never actively issued any public statements or taken a stand on any social causes or issues. As I thought about it more, I assumed that if I didn’t stand for any particular cause, that I stood for every cause; essentially, neutrality meant equality for all. After being called out in this group for not publicly using my platform to voice injustice, it got me thinking about my association with power and privilege. And in true movement therapy fashion, naturally I wanted to explore how this showed up in my body.

Throughout this online confrontation, I recognized defensiveness, shame, guilt and anger. I began to notice how my defensiveness was embodied, how it physically manifested itself. I noticed how being exposed made my posture shrink and how my need to explain myself or correct a mistake, unintentional as it may have been, left me feeling as if I was on the edge of my seat and jittery like I had ingested five cups of coffee. The shame, guilt and anger often associated with white fragility each had their own distinct embodiment. I wondered if I began to recognize these movement qualities when faced with such serious and difficult subjects like racism, could I harness this awareness and create a space for learning, growth and even change? If I can pause and notice what is coming up, I can then own my emotions and my inherent privilege.

In a webinar I recently attended, Carmen Marshall said, “Intention does not override impact.” To me, that suggests that no matter how good your intentions are, your words and actions still have consequences, and the impact of those “good intentions” finds its way to the receiver’s body.  I began to wonder how that impact was housed in the body. How had my words, or lack thereof, influenced someone else’s movement? The trouble with today’s communication is that I may not get to see that person’s body because most of these interactions are online. Since I cannot see the person’s reaction, I must try to empathize through self-awareness, putting myself in that person’s shoes and noticing how my body reacts and how my movement changes.

I’ve realized that it’s not just about recognizing your power and privilege but about using it. I’ve come to understand that having privilege may not be in my control. It may be something we are born into, but that doesn’t mean we are exempt from the responsibility that comes with it. In the words of Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Whether we realize it or not, it is up to each individual to self-reflect on the association with power. Just because we are not abusing our power and privilege doesn’t mean we are doing our part to recognize and dismantle it.

I began to think of this in terms of where I choose to move. Not only do I have the privilege to move and dance in this world, but I am seen by my peers, mentors and colleagues. This is not guaranteed to everyone — whether it is because of the color of your skin, religious affiliation, physical difference or gender identity, to name a few examples. Even how we move in this world, where we move, and who we move with without fear of harm or death, is a privilege.

With regard to privilege, I have been given permission to “sit in the discomfort” more times than I can count. The thing is that just mentally “sitting” in discomfort is not enough. It is vital that we allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable in our body. So how can we do that? Here are four steps to acknowledging the body’s response to power and privilege.

#1. Notice your posture.

Does it change when your power it challenged? What is your posture when you feel powerful or when you feel powerless?

#2. Recognize movement patterns around privilege.

Do you lean in (advancing) as if to fight or lean back (retreating) to run away? Notice how you engage in factors like space and time. Become aware of your relationship to movement when the subject of privilege is brought up. Do you shrink or “show up” in your body?

#3. Pause before taking action.

Allow your body and mind time to pause before jumping into action. Whether it is defensiveness or camaraderie, a breath to evaluate and notice your gut response can make all the difference in how you take action and how the action is received.

#4. Challenge and diversify your movement.

In order to increase empathy and understanding, find ways to build your “movement vocabulary”. The more we diversify our movements, the more able we are to sit in others’ points of view regardless of how different they are from our own.

Finally, if you find yourself being silent, notice what is under the silence. Fear of making a mistake? Looking foolish? Shame? These are all valid emotions, but unless we are willing to have these important conversations, those feelings will just continue to fester. We must be willing to sit in the discomfort and have difficult conversations in order to allow for growth and change. I thank all the individuals who challenged my role in power and privilege. I hear you and I move with you and I will not stay silent anymore.

By Erica Hornthal, LCPC, BC-DMT, Dance/Movement Therapist.

Erica Hornthal is a licensed professional clinical counselor and board certified dance/movement therapist based in Chicago, IL. She received her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago and her BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Erica is the founder and CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy, the premier dance therapy and counseling practice in Chicago, IL. As a body-centered psychotherapist, Erica assists clients of all ages and abilities in harnessing the power of the mind-body connection to create greater awareness and understanding of emotional and mental health. For more, visit www.ericahornthal.com.

The post Power and privilege: A body’s response appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine.