Richard Landes the Great runs the Center for Millenial Studies at BU. Why is Millenialism such a hot topic? He says….
“Western culture is especially interested (one might even say obsessed) with timekeeping. The tradition of commemorations held in honor of a chronologically round number (e.g. the bicentennial) is more widespread here than in any culture in world history. So large a number leads many, often completely secular, people to reflect on the previous and the coming era, an activity one cannot do without some thinking.”
We are obsessed with time, but any sane person would be. I often feel a race against time, my list of tasks continues to grow, and as I cross one off, 5 more tend to appear. This is my engine fuel, and sometimes it is expensive, but because I am learning to use organically grown energy more efficiently, my time is becoming less of a threat.
Some fear aging, and the time lost in one’s life to experience the beauty of living. This is the beauty for me, and sure one has to sit down and ask the question, “What am I doing this for?” sometimes, but if you’ve truly got your belt on straight, you will know what you’re doing and why you are doing it.
I start teaching in Lexington tonight. I’ve made some serious decisions regarding the quality and content of my dance classes this season. It may be idealistic, but I want to establish a trust fund of sorts. I’m going to bring in a jar and little pieces of paper on the second week of classes. (This week there are too many logistics to figure out.). Each student has the opporunity to drop a note or thought in the jar every week. The first week I am going to ask them to write down one thing that defines them as a person. I can develop a better sense of my students from this, and even form some curriculum ideas based on them as individual human beings, and not just bodies to be trained in a technique.
As time goes on, they can use the jar to express a thought, concern, desire, or issue they might be having with something in our class. Last year I had my students write down their goal for the year in dance class, and I formulated my class curriculums based on the things my students really wanted to achieve that year. It was very great, and at the end of the year I reminded them of their goals. Aside from physical attributes (like a child with a hip bone structure that doesn’t allow them to ever reach their toes), everyone achieved their goals in some form or another.
Teaching dance to me is no longer about the technique, or the precision. For a long time I quoted Matt Mattox to my students. He is one of the founders of technique-based jazz dance, trained by Jack Cole, danced with Bob Fosse, and the greats. He once said, “The body is like an instrument to be fine tuned.” He was not talking about fitness (though this is inherent), but rather the technique that should be formed when a dancer is trained in ballet and jazz.
Without going in to a diatribe about ballet and its indigenous values to the world we live in and our bodies in general, I will just say this. Our bodies are not built to be constricted, tightened, and warped in to complete horizontal planes. We walk on two legs, and we swing our arms in opposition for momentum and balance. My training for my students this year will be a reversal of values. A re-evaluation of the way our bodies move. Let’s work with our natural inclinations to move and expand on them.
It’s getting late, and I have a lot of preparing to do. While the sun beats down on this hot September 14th, I will only remind you of the rare and unique neon green and electric pink grasshopper (about .25′ long) that graced me this morning on the back porch with my coffee and cigarette. He visited my 15.4 inch widescreen, and lingered for a good 2 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it before. If anyone has any information on this insect, some input would be greatly appreciated. So far, I haven’t come up with anything.