Someone posted a topic about teaching grace on another tribe. I felt very strongly about it, so I'm introducing the topic here.
Grace is more than poise in my opinion, which is what I think the original question was about - how to teach poise and placement of arms, hands, torso, facial expression, a certain calmness and confidence in the dance etc. These can be taught and we drill and model and use metaphor to teach placement, flow, posture etc.

But beyond that I think its important to explore the roots of the word Grace and its greater meaning in our ife and thus its implications for learning, for presence and for clarity not only in ths dance practice but also in our daily life. Thus the following muse by yours truly.


Re: Teaching Grace
Today, 8:17 AM
Teaching grace is an interesting phrase. Grace usually implies something that comes freely without asking, for no reason. Something that alights within even though we've not asked - the most wondrous uncalled for gift that takes us my surprise and we react with humble joy. Grace is spoken of often when referring to a deep understanding or gift that is recieved in a spiritual sense or after giving over time and prayer in an attempt to take responsibility for something or to let go of something that we might be attached to (this could be a story, blame, control of a situation, outcome etc.). For example by the Grace of God/Goddess I recieved a deep understanding of humility or peace or empathy for someone whom I've been mean to. I have observed and experienced Grace can happen when we turn something over, in other words we stop trying to control the outcome and we let life be, instead of working so hard to mold it to assuage our fears and needs we surrender and in this letting go comes a deep space. Its the deep space that allows Grace to fill it.

How does this relate to dance and to teaching dance? As a teacher I always look inward first towards my own practice, my own understandings and my own exploration and commitment to such a concept. We think of grace in dance as a flow, a sense of carriage, a relaxed attentive presence, an extension perhaps and a softness. All of these feelings /physical manifestations could reflect the state of Grace above. If I want my students to understand Grace, I have to understand it. For me that means meditating on loving kindness toward myself and others and learning to be way more quiet in my body, mind and speech - otherwise there just isn't space. Finding a more quiet way to be active in the world is a huge gift, that first creates humility, which then flows into empathy and kindness, which then flows into a softness about learning something and doing something. Loving kindness towards myself is not freedom from accountability but the searing honesty of our baubling and small self and then kindly holding that and practicing moving away from small self.

When I began to move away from small self as a teacher, my capacity for teaching anything and everything soared. Because teaching was no longer about me and my needs I could become a true well wisher of all the women who came to me and begin to help them conceive of how to accept their own timetable for learning, accept their beginnerhood as wonderful and a ripe place to stay for a while, and most importantly accept that learning to let go and let Grace fill the space was highly desirable. (most of us hold on too tightly all the time both literally and mentally, bodily and emotionally, cause we think we can control the outcome) The only thing we can control is how we choose to be in the present moment, so I teach that right along with the very specifics of body mechanics. What does this look like in class? Well I myself become very expert at helping them conceive a movment, like as others said using metaphor they can relate too, but especially making the concept of anatomical physics accessible and understandable to them. This is our job as teachers, we can never let up on learning how to do that more clear, in and from every possible angle and constantly trying new metaphors to communicate the intention. Then after using very specific direction for anatomical movement I invite them to go back into the meditative mind state, the place in their body that is open to trust, open to taking time, open to slowing down and not attached to an outcome. The attached to outcome I find is huge. By moving seamlessly from one state of using mind/body to the other, our brains become just better and better at operating and doing what they do, which is connect neurons, muscles, bones, thoughts and emotions and desires into movement.

We all get really caught up in an expectation and what success will look like, so I try to stay fresh in what is success. That is - I constantly find and look for success in their attitude, their body movement, their strength, their tenacity, their willingnesss, their surrender, their wisdom, their staying with a difficult drill. Also at the beginning of every class we have a meditation, where among other practices, I always include a space for them to reflect on what they know they know already, what they love about themselves already, about what they are content with right now today, this moment and always to let gratitude completely fill them up and restore every neuron, cell etc from bone marrow out to their aura. OUr meditation practice and the prayer and inner mind, body, spirit work we explore in this 15 minutes every week, month after month, year after year is the foundation for my entire school of dance. I also bring in the mindfulness and loving practice into the rest of the 1.5 hour work, interweaving it constantly with the technical anatomical movement skills and drills. So we learn how to be soft and letting go, while we simultaneously "try" to attain a physical skill.

Finally I think the biggest give is giving everyone permission to not be "finished" and "done" and "perfect" . That its the journey and never ever a finished state. We are addicted in the west in being a professional performer in a year, a teacher in a year etc. WE don't know how to commit to a slow, open recieving state over time and let that be the making of us. WE're obsessed with being "there", thus we miss here 99% of our lives. For me teaching has been a huge Grace in my life, it came without asking and the responsibility as a teacher is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo huge, it has pushed me personally into growth, self reflection and a committment to humility and being quiet inside and seeing what's there that is the most valuable Gift ever. I'm a big stubborn ego head sometimes and being given the responsibillity to mentor, teach, love and GIVE to others has pushed me into the realization that my teaching has to be about giving and loving kindness first and foremost. I'm there to facillitate an experience of positive regard, an openess so something wonderful can happen, and when I become a servant to this, Grace shows up everywhere in me and in my classroom.

Hope this isn't too preachy. I'm all about the mindfulness and learning about loving kindness. If you want to share time with the ultimate teacher/student and fabulous role model, I highly recommend Pema Chodron's cd's. She is the most open self loving student and other loving clear teacher I've ever experienced in my 48 years of life. Many blessings, Palika