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Yesterday I met up with a local dancer-choreographer for dance collaboration. We drew a theme card; the diaphragm became our focus and our opening movement sequence, StallOut, began.
StallOut is a freezing pattern generated by a fear of allowing inner expression. Mine flashed from panic to not breathing, and my collaborative companion went numb and blank. Kronos Quartet provided the score as we individually unfolded our grounding anchors from the buried depths.
Our visualized dancers exploded into an emotional tolerance of vibration and amplified feelings. Their arms and torso contorted with the painful release, then softened into acceptance before swaggering about the stage, claiming importance, performance ownership.
We talked about ways of using the movement to expand beyond a performance mindset. We no longer have ensembles. Our choreography must emerge in our individual lives and how we see others. It is not performance; it is dancing everyday life patterns. We dance the uphill struggle, the slippery slopes, and the bogs of despair. Our inner personas move anxious, confident, depressed, and twitchy. The musical score never fails to motivate, and we, the choreographers, share notes.
