Today during PALETTE in Motion we explored expansion and compression. We moved individually to discover how expansion and compression can articulate the body, and moved in groups to discover how these concepts can be applied spatially. As always, dancing served as a unifying component of PALETTE in Motion, allowing us to laugh and step out of our comfort zones in a room full of smiles. I feel that the intergenerational nature of this program has shown me how beautifully unique people are at every age. Each person brings to the room their own experiences, fears, and self-consciousness; but also their own openness, energy, and encouragement, which allow the space to fill with positivity.
I had an interesting discussion with my PAL after class about the role of gender in dancing. This PAL had always viewed dancing and intuition as “feminine,” and saw masculinity as being defined by logic and order. My PAL said that the class is revealing to them how dancing from intuition can be genderless (just as I am discovering it is ageless), and that if we ask our minds to let go of preconceived notions, we can all move together as human beings. I find this reflection to be a valuable representation of my experience here as well. PALETTE in Motion breaks down many barriers: personal, generational, and physical.
Aria Roach, student in Dance
Last week, each group was assigned at least one student in the dance program. This is very helpful because inexperienced dancers (like me and I’m sure several others) were able to mimic motions if they were unsure about where their limbs needed to be
Some stand statuesque while partners walk around one another, observing how we move, how we hold ourselves. Coming together into webs, where there were physical connections between everyone in the group. Breaking away, where every person drew away from each other, but still feeling that connection between the group. Everyone involved in each simple connection and movement. Each of these moments stood out to me from today’s class as ways of breaking down the walls and pre-conceived notions that are often between the different generations that met together today. Each movement pulled away blinders of age and simply allowed me to see a partner with whom I am sharing movement and expressiveness.
Today was the last day of the PALETTE in Motion program. We had our showcase event where we choreographed a dance incorporating the difference dance elements that we have learned together throughout the movement art classes. It was amazing to see how much my group has learned together through these dance sessions. I remembered in the first movement art class, we were unfamiliar with how our bodies moved. Each movement required thought and the motions were uncertain and less defined. Today, however, as we slowly pieced together our dance, I can see that our movements were more spontaneous but yet more certain and confident. Not only were we more familiar with our own body movements, but we were also more familiar with each other and how our bodies moved together. Because of this understanding and comfort with each other, we were able to communicate with each other using nonverbal cues throughout the dance as we transitioned almost seamlessly from one dance segment to the next. In the end, when we showcased our dance to everyone, I felt like we were not only performing our dance to everyone but we were also showcasing our relationship with each other through these different dance movements.
Today was the last day of PALETTE in Motion for the Fall 2015 semester. The group I have been working with over the past few weeks has grown tremendously in their ability to understand and comprehend the overall concepts of movement. Counting and establishing a pulse with music is a rather hard task for many people and communicating with my group about how to count was crucial. In the end, my group was really able to find and keep a pulse when dancing together.
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