drop it like it's hot

Session 2, Day 3
We started off the session with my favorite topic…the pelvis! We talked about the classic image of a bowl for the pelvis, but I clarified that it’s more like those asymmetrical dip bowls that you buy at Crate and Barrel. Anyway, point being, the pelvis is a dynamic part of the body and many factors go into finding its correct alignment. We want to connect the base of the pelvis, the perineum, with the floor of the room – being careful not to tip the “bowl” of the pelvis too far forward, arching the low back, or too far back, tucking the tailbone under. I then introduced the class to a simple connection exercise borrowed from the Budo master, Akira Hino, by way of Amy Raymond (choreographer and former Ballet Frankfurt dancer). The basic rules of the game are: stand about an arms length away from your partner and find their center by feeling. Be cautious not to approach this exercise by using your mind to “calculate” their centerline. Instead, navigate by way of feeling. The right spot is a feeling. And you’ll find it so satisfying this feeling of knowing. We continued the class with our usual warm-up and pliés. We added another section to our tendus that worked the rotation of our leg at the hip socket. Even through an exercise of the legs such as this, we are practicing movement and articulation in the pelvis. Remember that the pelvis halves can move independently of one another. We repeated many of the same traveling exercises across the floor, remembering to get the heels down whenever possible, as soon as possible, and shifting the weight through the soles of the feet. We added legs swings to our repertoire. Stay loose in the hips and the supporting leg should be strong yet pliant. We worked on the combination and tweaked a few of the moves, adding a long leg and an off-center drag here and there. We’ll keep plugging away at all this material next week and start working towards some basic turns. ‘Til next time!