She is amazing. She's either a professional dancer or a bodybuilder with dancing experience, because she's got more muscles than I knew existed and also dances very well (understatement). Even though it is a university-level class (and I take it with mainly undergrads) she still tends to conduct it like a classroom. She'll take role and then say: "Okay dancers, let's move into the space." When she really wants to test us, she throws the craziest combination and sequence and doesn't really go over it and just says "Let's have three dancers start us off" and even though we look like pathetic little messes, sometimes she sits in her chair next to the pianist or drummer (I LOVE that we always have live music accompaniment) and after a few minutes just says "That was so beautiful, dancers." I'm not actually so encouraged by this as I just think she is generous to the point I think it's funny.
Yesterday, it got real. Our class is everything you think about with modern dance: when we have the pianist for accompaniment, he combines this with his laptop for crazy Hindu-y background beats and then some solo notes on the piano. Last night we had to start on the ground and then "feel our way" across the floor in body movements that changed levels and were led to another one always with a point of contact with the floor and organic movements taking us across. I wish I could explain it better, but whatever image you have in your head when I say "interpretive dancing" is probably correct. This is more or less the studio we dance in:
I was NOT professional enough to not laugh about it the whole time I was going across. I'm not sure if I offended the teacher, but I couldn't help it! I was half laughing because of how ridiculous I knew I must have looked, and half laughing because I was SO uncomfortable doing it. Also, I have a crush on that little hipster piano player so it doesn't help interpretive dancing in front of him.
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