Twyla Tharp’s creative secret
Twyla Tharp, world-famous choreographer, in her book The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it For Life shares an important ingredient of her method in the following words:
I begin each day of my life with a ritual… First steps are hard… It’s vital to establish some rituals-automatic but decisive patterns of behavior- at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way…”
Getting started is often the hardest part of doing something. Each of us needs to find an intuitive way to overcome the natural human tendency towards inertia. For dancers, the ritual of morning class is the automatic beginning to each and every day. But any creative endeavor requires first steps.
When something is new, it is full of unknowns. Embarking into unchartered territory is uncomfortable; we are literally making it all up as we go along. Step by step, moment by moment, we are feeling our way. But Tharp offers us a little clue for how to get going.
How much easier it is to begin with something familiar first. We get up, we do that first familiar thing, and we are already moving, already on the go. From there, it’s simply a matter of continuing to move forward. Whether your morning ritual is a cup of coffee, a run in the park, or chanting naked, embrace it. Use it in your favor. Get up, get going. Whatever your ritual is, it’s your next step forward.
Twyla Tharp’s book is a must-have for any creative person. Click here to read about it:
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life
Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing
In the middle of the hum of everyday routine, it’s easy to forget why you’re doing what you’re doing. Most of us have a never-ending list of have-to’s or shoulds, and before you know it, you’re on autopilot. The danger with this is that the original passionate impulse gets buried. But without it, something gets lost in the translation: the love for the thing… and its driving force.
Remember to set aside your to-do list and enjoy. Sometimes you do just have to do things, but taking a moment to step back and look at the bigger picture helps us to remain inspired. The end result is guaranteed to be just that little bit brighter and bolder, and who wouldn’t want that? Take a moment to ask the following (and remind yourself what originally drew you to do this thing you are doing):
•What do I love about doing this?
•What unique perspective or gift do I have to offer?
•What is my vision of where I want to go with this?
Keeping the love of a thing alive in our hearts helps us to find the means to continue doing it and to share it with others. If you don’t love it, it’s time to do something else.
Use discipline to succeed in everything you do
Discipline is a huge part of every dancer’s success. One dictionary definition states that discipline is orderly, prescribed conduct, or an orderly pattern of behavior. It’s what’s known as self-control. Most things we do demand that we utilize self-control in our active, diligent participation. Work, school, even recreational pursuits move ahead when discipline comes into play.
Definitions are all very well and good, but what does it mean to be disciplined? It means showing up regularly. We’ve all heard the old adage that practice makes perfect. It wouldn’t be an old adage unless there was some truth to it. Consistently working at a thing means improvement and growth will occur. Discipline is what drives us to stay consistent.
Discipline requires developing an unwavering level of dedication. It doesn’t allow for excuses (aside from obvious things like vomit or fire), or wimping out. In a way, discipline is the opposite of insanity: by doing the same things over and over, you CAN expect different results.
Discipline is closely linked to intent. Intention lays the roadmap; discipline is what drives the bus. Setting intentions creates a concrete plan of action. Discipline drives us to stick with the original intention and succeed.
Discipline is power. Make it yours, and you will get wherever you wish to go.
Advice for ballerinas from a master ballet teacher
There are days when every dancer needs a little helpful advice. There are other days when it’s very difficult to keep your chin up. Advice and support are within reach, in Put Your Best Foot Forward, an inspirational book written by one of the master teachers of the School of American Ballet. Crisp, colorful photographs of young dancers and swirly letters illustrate the text.
Practical advice for young dancers helps dance technique and inner well-being. Becoming a swan, for example, means moving gracefully, keeping the neck long, but it also means not letting your feathers get ruffled.
Browsing the pages is a fun journey, and a helpful part of the path for any young dancer.
Voice of an angel
There is something about the didgeridoo that makes my limbs itch to move. Add soulful lyrics and a well-choreographed melody, and you’ve got music to move to. Tina Malia’s voice is rich amber honey, velvet seduction, otherworldly divinity.
The first time I heard her music, I was laying in the dark with my eyes closed. (I was receiving a massage). The music was so poignant that it brought tears to my eyes. Each song on The Silent Awakening was as beautiful as the last.
I bought her music as soon as it was humanly possible.
This is the sort of music you can’t play just once. After hearing it once, you will want to own it.
Movement therapy
If you feel sad, keep moving your feet. If you feel happy, keep moving your feet. Even if you feel tired, keep moving your feet. That is where the transformation occurs. Dance becomes both a meditation and a sanctuary.
There was one day where I felt such an incredible level of sadness that it was difficult to move. Everything felt heavy, my limbs were made of lead. I focused on my breath, but it felt stuck, like it was lodged inside of a metal vise. But I kept with the practice and kept moving.
There were moments where I noticed people jumping around, wildly expressing themselves, when all I could manage was a shuffle. It did feel good to feel my bare feet touching the smooth, polished, wooden floor. Since shuffling was all that was available at that point, I played with different shuffling patterns.
I changed the focus to my hands, following them as they swirled through the air.
I kept moving.
Something happened. I don’t know exactly how long it took, but all of a sudden, something shifted. The vise released a little, and movement flowed. It was an opening.
With the release came clarity. Thoughts danced through my head as my body moved to the music. The truth of why I was feeling sad suddenly dawned on me, along with the words I needed to say to heal the situation.
The feelings did not magically vanish, but they did subside. By choosing to keep moving, I found grace.
A new tool for transformation: SARK’s Transformation Exper!ence: A Multimedia Journey of Healing and Transformation for the Splendidly Imperfect
Are mistakes a good thing?
Life is a dynamic process. Things move and change constantly, and we do the same. Every so often along the way we are bound to trip up and make… a mistake. For some, the thought of making a mistake brings up a lot of fear: fear of looking bad or ridiculous, fear of being noticed, or fear of losing self-esteem. However, ask any group of people if anyone among them has never made a mistake in their life, and the answer will be a resounding “no”. But maybe, just maybe, they serve a purpose.
We can count on making mistakes in life, and plenty of them. But if no one is immune, then they must serve some purpose. They are learning tools. It can even be argued that they are necessary to success and growth. Each mistake we make is an opportunity to evolve. If we are willing to spend some time thinking about making changes to improve things in the next round, we will come out ahead.
Dance classes or classes of any sort are the place to experiment and try new things without fear of failure. If there is any good place to fall on your face, this is it. GO ahead, make the mistake, and then try, try again. Chances are that you won’t need 10,000 tries to get it right, like Thomas Edison did while inventing the lightbulb.
Even if you do fall on your face, it’s a chance to get up and try again. A steady pace wins the race. And really, we’re all in it together.
Passion, please
At any given moment, we are the sum total of our experiences. They shape us and our perspectives on life. Movement, feelings and expression are all highly personal, even though it doesn’t always feel that way within a group of dancers. With this in mind, it’s clear to see that trying to compete with other dancers is a waste of time. There has never been and never will be another you. You dance the way that you dance, which is different from anyone else.
As a living, breathing entity, a dancer in turn breathes life into their dance by bringing honest feeling into the picture. The highest kicks and the greater number of turns mean nothing without heart. The people in the audience are all human, capable of a spectrum of feelings, and they come to a performance wanting to be moved. If you allow genuine emotions to be a part of your dance, it will be real, it will be yours, and they will come back.
Tutus are the height of fashion
Looking around these days it seems like everyone (and their dog) (literally) is wearing a tutu. Age doesn’t matter; whether young or old, there’s a tutu somewhere out there with your name on it. No longer reserved for costumes or childhood dress up props, tutus are everywhere.
Those who are looking for tiny tutus can head over to FAO Schwartz, where Tutu Couture seamstresses will whip up a frothy custom creation. Karl Lagerfeld recently tried his hand at designing a tutu for the role of the Dying Swan, a role first made famous over one hundred years ago by Anna Pavlova. No matter how you look at it, tutus are vogue, and have been featured in Vogue as a part of this year’s spring collections.
It looks like tutus aren’t just for ballerinas anymore.
Hot summer dance nights in Paris
Just as May flowers begin busily blooming and evenings begin to turn warm, the banks of the Seine come alive every evening as an impromptu outdoor dance hall. It’s one more reason to love Paris as a romantic and cultural mecca. From sunset until midnight, dancers of all ages swirl, salsa, sashay and shimmy within the confines of four small stone amphitheaters on the Quai Saint Bernard while the river flows past. The good news: it’s free! What could be more ideal for dance lovers? Ah, to dance the night away (for free), just steps away from the Notre Dame Cathedral, caressed by the balmy Parisian nights… is the pinnacle of romance.
