Today is the last section of the movement class for PALETTE program and I was really happy to have an opportunity to be a part of this amazing program. Today’s learning objective was move with tempo and working forming shape around negative space of body. People were forming shape around each other, which makes me felt we are really close to each other, and making body contact. I really enjoyed this afternoon. I felt tired but also satisfy after the section. I am really glad to see all the seniors try their best to participate the movement class and felt warm from them for all the supports. I remembered the first section people still felt awkward dancing in front of people; some seniors did not really participate. But today, everybody moved and laughed during the entire section. The program brings people closer together.
Pei-Chun Chu, graduate student in Pharmacy
After today’s movement art class (as well as previous classes) I have gained a better understanding of intergenerational programming. It is a coming together, both those of younger and older ages, in order to move towards a common goal as a team. In this case, it is practicing and having a better understanding of the day’s dance concepts. It is not as difficult as it sounds. Working as part of a team, we have learned to communicate our opinions on picking the next choreographed move as well as taking into account each other’s limitations. This is one of the most important things I have learned as being part of this program – communication.
The PALETTE in Motion experience has been amazing every week. This week in particular I noticed everyone’s heart rate was increased from all the full bodied movement we were doing. I thought it was really nice to see how everyone was able to connect with the music we were using in some personal way; it didn’t matter that we all come from different backgrounds and we’re at different moments in our lives, we all moved together. Moving down the soul train line with my PAL I felt so connected to her, partially I think because of how the music was making us feel, and also just because we were sharing a space together. Movement is present in our everyday lives but during the PALETTE in Motion classes we get to explore new ways of moving that we don’t typically get to explore (including the dance majors). You get to know everyone just by observing how they present themselves in the space. It also doesn’t matter what age you are, the movement still looks beautiful and there are always some sweet moments between smaller groups where you can visually see the trust and respect between the dancers. When creating movement, everyone is able to work together to create material as a unit regardless of your major or your age. I just love being able to dance with so many different personalities and see how differently people move.
In the Motion IV class, our focus was on rhythm and spatial orientation, using the influences of African tribal music as our avenue. We were given a handful of dancing exercises (highs and lows, mirroring, moving during different counts of a beat) to weave into our dance exercise for the day. My group consisted of 2 healthcare professional students, 1 senior and 1 dance student. With much guidance from our dance student, we were able to figure out a piece that we all liked and felt represented us. At first, everyone (but the dance student) was confused about where to start or how it would all play out. Once we worked together and communicated what moves we needed to work on, everything started feeling like it fit in place and everyone understood their role in the piece.
This Sunday’s class was definitely the most difficult class, but that also made it very enjoyable. In this class, we focused on rhythm and beat, and applied those principles to African and Brazilian music. Kayla, Michelle, and myself worked on movements to try to emphasize different parts of the beat, as well as focused on call and response techniques to create a choreography. Not only was this a workout of our body, but also our mind. It took an incredible amount of effort to focus on keeping the beat, as well as knowing when to transition to the next part of our dance. We stumbled a few times in the beginning, but with some practice our group was able to stick together and keep good rhythm.