Life is unique and cannot be boxed in frames
We cannot be a confined statement, as we are so much more.
To accept to be defined, is a defeat of possibilities.
As we are unpredictable in spontaneity,
As much as we are disciplined in character.
But we cannot be one without the other.
There is much of everything in us
That is how we are born
As a cosmic expression
Of creation asserting itself as a
being.
Each individual needs space and sound in the right balance.
To each his own
The choice to speak, share
And stay silent
Rests within us.
In every shy person there is a voice and opinion waiting to speak.
In every gregarious person there is a need for quiet and silence.
There are shades and tones hues and gradients in every one.
Every one is best the way they are.
When dance lessons are adapted to suit the requirements of a specific group there is greater relevance in dance education and its application.
Here are 6 Valuable Tips while conducting Adapted Dancing workshops.
1. Empathetic Communication
Communication is a very important part of any dance education. Especially so in dance workshops in special groups. When addressing a session it is important to keep a clear and empathic tone to establish a sense of connection and care. Whatever the language of communication, maintaining appropriate eye contact provides the necessary connect of being spoken to in the session.
2. Simplicity of Steps
Breaking a pattern to teach by dividing it into simple steps or simplifying it all for every one by choosing easy to do steps makes it more relatable.
In case of dancers with balance issues it is necessary to initially modify / alter steps or reduce directional changes to suit these parameters and progress from there.
Ideally starting of with simply the foot work without working on the arm movements helps focusing on learning one thing at a time. The progression must be gradual in time.
Photo& Artwork credits Savvy Raj
3. Matter of Repetitions.
It is necessary to do a number of repetitive movements of the same steps in order for the muscle memory to form. Hence repetition helps more than switching to other movements.
Depending on the groups capacity to continue, taking a pause, interspersed with explanation or some motivation in between is also a good idea so that it does not get too challenging or monotonous.
4. Ease ofFormations
There are different dance formations like the square circle and line etc. However conducting the dance workshop in circular formation is known to bring about a sense of community.
Adapting other dances creatively to this formation initially helps when the participants can see the instructors movements in the center.
5. Slower Music
Besides choosing appropriate songs even decreasing the tempo of the music aids in keeping up with the music Especially for new group of dancers and dancers with special needs.
6. Value ofInclusiveness
Most importantly ensuring everyone in the group is feeling included & addressed to, is positively impactful.
Coaching another and transferring skillsets is an art.
Dance, it feels wonderful when you do.
Dance for your life to feel at ease.
Dance when you feel like and dance often!
Dance makes it all worthwhile.
Your body feels light and easy, as you dance.
The trick is to keep flowing
With the moves and continue dancing
As long as you enjoy the feeling…
Dance is not meant to harm the body.
But to heal your body and mind.
Integrating the spirit within you
So keep dancing …whenever you choose
For the body likes it best when you dance!
How is life well lived asked someone to me recently.
While each of us has an answer that is perfectly tuned for our souls purpose.
Yet life is well lived…
In the letting go
Of the unnecessary
For then we experience life best
In the lightness of being.
When we persevere enough to let go…
Let go of the little niggles along the way
Those that seem to bother for the moment
They will diminish in time
Let go for the need for self importance
Remember our uniqueness
There is truly no one like another.
Let go of over stretching,
to meet up to overcommitment,
And the over expectations of society.
It is a disastrous road not worth taking .
Let go of over perfecting
Every thing said or done.
It can be truly overwhelming .
Let go of unkind and inconsiderate behavior.
One cannot and need not please them all .
We are born to do better than that.
Let of the unnecessary squabbles and arguments.
Leave it for there are others who wish to do so.
In the letting go, gratitude and contentment begin to surface
From the depths of our being.
Let us be drawn by just our vision and dreams.
For they are related to our purpose of being.
Let’s continue on our path in
perseverance..
We will have a journey well done.
Life reflects itself through the things you do, the people you meet as well as in your passions and perseverances, in so many intriguing yet enthralling ways.
One such beautiful reflection I am experiencing is right here happening in France.
A sense of deja vu, a throwback to a decade ago, fond memories of teaching dances to people in the different places, all thanks to the magic of movements.
I am visiting Rennes France currently and last week I went to met my colleague from the world of dance, Celine Maheo who resides here.
Celine is a practicing clinical psychologist and an Argentine tango dancer.
What’s beautiful is that she is a dedicated professional who uses the dance therapy for helping Parkinson’s patients with their movements through Tango dance sessions.
My interest was piqued, as earlier I had been conducting similar dance sessions for Seniors, namely the Dance for Wellness workshops back in India.
So over a beautiful meet and greet sipping cups of hot herbal tea at the Les Grands Gamin at the heart of Rennes, ensued a free flowing conversation where we exchanged notes on each others life. Our passion for dancing was the visible to see as we hardly knew how moments passed by.
And when Celine invited me to her next Tango Therapy Workshop, it was an offer I could not refuse. I was actually keen to understand whether and how the cultural differences change the way of conducting and experiencing workshops here.
Dancing can improve the mobility and balance in senior adults.
Adapting the dance to suit the requirements of the group, like simplifying the steps, the placement of the feet, improves their coordination, mobility and balance.
The dance session was deeply engrossing & truly inspiring to witness and participate as well. The music played that day stayed with me well after the session.
So the next step turned out to be me conducting a Chacha session for them. The challenges of language barriers were surrmounted easily as Celine offered to translate my teaching from English to French.
Everything fell in place beautifully and voila time flew again.We danced a bit of Chacha that day and also some more in the next few sessions as well. I was told later by the learners how much they enjoyed it!
It was an amazing experience sharing the joys of movements and I thank Celine for her inclusivity in requesting me to conduct the dance sessions as well. And I deeply appreciate all her beautiful learners that I met,connected and danced with. It was a truly warm and wonderful time spent with them all.
As dancers, our every endeavour to bring smiles from the heart is a beautiful and creatively fulfilling experience.
Savvy
After the sessions we would gather together and discuss opening many facets of the learning and imbibing. It was a beautiful way of empathising and understanding each other.
Some of the beautiful souls I got to interact with in these few months…
Dance has a way of soothing your entire being and bringing forth and connecting you with the depth of who you are. That is when dance begins to feel meaningful and transforms life.
The dance connects established here in these sessions will be a beautiful memory etched in my heart, that I will take back home with me and cherish forever.
Today is 8th March 2020 and celebrated as Womens Day all over the world.
I dedicate this post to my friend and colleague Celine Maheo and all the women in the world who are making the world a better place, with every step in time.
Have you seen the whales breach
In such confidence they soar upward
They even maneuver a twirl
And fall back in complete trust
In the support of the water below.
How beautiful an example can mother nature give
Of unfolding grace in trust and confidence
Much of our lifes story can be just as beautiful.
When it is in a flow like that
When we rise in success with faith
Being completely confident of our purpose
When we surrender in complete unflinching trust
Knowing there is support and love flowing in the roots.
Why are humans rising and touching the stars?
Why are we progressing phenomenally
Yet why are we crash landing at times?
Why are we failing?
While it is the faith in ourselves that may take us upwards
Bu the lack of trust and support for one another brings us down.
Perhaps we need to learn from water
How to be flexible in its fluidity.
To be adaptable in its buoyancy
And then we too can rise again with every fall.
For inspite of every ability we have …
Support from our family and friends
Matter more than we know!
Wouldn’t you agree?
When you have faith in your roots then every leap of faith is of a trustful knowing
That no matter how far you reach you have a home to come back to!
“A tree nowhere offers a straight line or a regular curve, but who doubts that root, trunk, boughs, and leaves embody geometry?”
~George Iles
The above collage of artworks is based out of one of my photographs of this adorable tree I pass by every time, during my walks in Rennes France. I then enhanced my photo digitally and I am sharing the artworks out of my photography of this tree. I am always amazed how this tree would look different during different times of the day. And the changing weather would make it a treat to capture. While I clicked the pictures I couldn’t help notice the play of light on the tree and how its autumn leaves would shine through.
Sometimes there is no logic,
It is just the nature of being.
It may seem like just any other tree but for me this beautiful tree lives in my heart forever.
All life is a creation that matters
What engineers matter, designs.
Simplifying the complexities
Of the matrix of matter.
In the ultimum equilibrium
All exists in resonance
But as creativity unfolds
The matrices dance in its vibrations
The profoundness of it all
Leaves lasting impression
Impacting every life in every now
This is the eternal truth of creation
Every vibrancy is a dance in infinity
In its quantum state of being.
Life matters, as it acts and responds
In every moment there is.
Mind of the matter propels and distorts
Heart of the matter creates and vibrates
Conjoined the matrix of the matter
Stabilizes creation across dimensions.
Yesterday I posted a verse that came to me inspired by these captures. Here is the link https://wp.me/p6a0yZ-4CX
There is more to these photos…
While visiting Lourve Museum in France and while walking around those endless galleries of amazing artists and their creativity galore, my eyes turned to a glassdoor near the flight of steps.
I chanced upon this wonderful sculpture on the roof top of the facade, reaching out to the yonder as if to tell something… I filled in the blanks.
Sometimes we are so deeply caught in the maze of life around us.
But if we only care to look beyond it all, we are inspired to see so much more.
Art is in the way you see life.
Art is all around us and is but a perspective of the nuances.
All you need is the heart to appreciate.
Oh beautiful piece of sky!
Lighting our heart with liberty!
Forage in us the spirit of freedom.
Let us breath in the beauty of openness.
Let us witness the ethereal light across the horizon.
Let us rejoice in your dance of abundance.
May you bless us every day
Painting our hearts with hope.
And let us live in love.
In gratitude and good energies.
In a world that is literally shrinking globally, In a world where respect for cultural diversity, Is paramount to humanity. In a world where inclusivity is a necessity, In a world where businesses are adopting empathy driven approaches. In a world where love, kindness and faith is needed much more than ever, In a world that is changing states quo…
There is need for all of us to come together. There is need to value connections. There is need to understand each others vulnerabilities. There is need to be inclusive in the diversity.
When we move beyond the I And envision the Us When we see the world as ours than mine. When we care to collaborate together, In mutual respect of the differences When we acknowledge the strength of unity in the diversity. When the, Me and Myself Shifts to Us beyond the Mine.
Artic Circle Rovaniemi Santa Claus Village. Image Credits Deepa Rajesh
The world will evolve for the better of all. Let’s know, how interweaved we are! For that’s where our true strength lies In this very interconnectedness. No matter the distance of space or time. So, in a world where it is right now There is no room for the I, Me & Myself anymore.
The above clip is my dedication to my dear mother. They are a compilation from her own set of artworks dated around 55 years back in time or more.
The reason I share this is to encourage people to see possibilities in creativity and how it can soulfully connect us all, through creative enrichments.
To give you the background…my mother had and still has a fine sense of design and her drawings always had an artistic flow. But unfortunately the daily grind of life and living took its toll and art and creativity was pushed into the background perhaps not realizing the innate talents. But the truth is, a lot happens in appreciation than in indifference.
So her skills were lying untapped and unrecognized. In time as I grew up and while on a visit to my maternal grandparents home in the village, I chanced upon her collection of drawings and paintings stacked in the attic gathering dust in complete ignorance.
The moment I saw them I knew they have to be brought out to see the light of the day… although sadly it was personally disheartening, to see many of the beautiful pieces made on paper, crackling and crumbling in time.
I brought them back with me to the city and took pictures of what was left of it and tried to salvage it piecing them together.
By then I was encouraged by friends and relatives who saw and deeply appreciated them too.
I hit upon the idea of creating a video clip using technology to enhance her original design sense. Yes, they are not as good as her original artworks, for technology is way too perfect to bring out the joy of uniqueness in the human hand.
Yet it is my humble attempt to value the time spent in creating by her own hand with the limitations of the resources available to her in those times.
There are far too many paintings, so I pieced them like a kaleidoscope of sorts to get a sense of her artistic endeavours.
Many times we fail to see the hidden talents in our loved ones. We relate with them for years and hardly know the depth of who they truly are.
Art has a way of bringing out the brilliance of the light within us by bridging gaps in our understandings but also opening new perspectives of thinking.
Today is the day I was born, and one of the ways I choose to celebrate it, is by dedicating this post to my dear mother Anjana.
Thank you, mom, for the beauty you create, being who you are! God bless.
Savvy Raj 
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