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9/20/2019 0 Comments

Dancing High to Low = Better Balance and Stability!

Did you know that moving and dancing at different levels can improve your balance and give your body sensory information to help prevent falls? 

This week in classes, we’re exploring the LEVELS in space where our bodies can move and groove.

​Think about your body divided into three parts. From your low toes and soles of the feet up to your hips is one section - this is what we call “low-level” space. Between your hips and shoulders is your “middle level”. And the space from your shoulders up to infinity is “high-level” space.


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Challenging your body to move in and through the three levels supports your balancing system by strengthening and stretching muscles. For example, dancing down low with the knees bent and in a squatting position, strengthens the large muscles in your legs and core. Dancing up at a high level - even up on tip-toe - strengthens the lower leg muscles of the calves and feet and it also keeps the core engaged. Twisting and bending at your middle level lengthens and strengthens the muscles in the back that support the spine. Keeping your middle body supple helps you adapt during weight changes and to maintain your balance when transferring from one leg to the other. Moving through the different levels also engages your eyesight, helping you stabilize based on the visual information coming in through your eyes.

Want to experience for yourself how dancing your body through the different levels impacts your balance in just one hour-long class? Why not dive right in and give Dance Wise for Parkinson’s a try!
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9/10/2019 0 Comments

Sculpt yourself into a Work of Art!

Have you taken time recently to think about how your body has the potential to make so many interesting shapes? In our daily comings and goings, it’s easy to lose sight of all the beauty that is inside of us. There are so many ways to be distracted from noticing what we can create with just our amazing bodies. So let’s take a moment to think about moving with intention, purpose and SHAPE! Imagine creating curved, straight or angular shapes with your body. Thinking and visualizing the shapes helps you to sculpt your body into many new and interesting statues that are as unique as you are!

Try making a curved shape with your arms. Think about hugging a huge beach ball, then imagine holding it with your legs or arching sideways over it. Now, try a straight shape by stretching your whole body out into space so that nothing bends. Move into an angular shape by bending all your joints, even your fingers and toes. Stretch into a different straight shape. Now, feel as though someone is twisting the upper and lower halves of your body, the way you would twist up a taffy wrapper, to form a twisted shape. 

Notice how you feel when exploring the many ways of creating these different body shapes and moving them through space. Expansive? Challenged? Capable? Creative? Awkward? Whimsical? Empowered?

Next time you’re going through the motions of your daily life without much thought, take a moment to nurture your creative spirit. Become a shape-shifting masterpiece! Invent a new way to walk through your space. Your body and mind will enjoy the novelty and challenge and you will likely find renewed pleasure in familiar routines!
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9/4/2019 0 Comments

What is Creative Dance and Can I Do It?

Anytime I meet someone new, the subject of dance always comes up. It's no surprise, dance has been the longest and strongest influence in my life for over 30 years! Inevitably, many will scoff and joke that they are the most uncoordinated person they know or that they have 2 left feet. Challenge accepted! I invite every uncoordinated human with 2 left feet to try my creative dance class and experience the freedom and joy that comes from dancing!
 
So, what does creative dance look like?
You may be thinking that creative dance might look like the scene out of White Christmas, where Danny Kaye pokes fun at "choreography". Or what about the complex sequences in the latest Broadway show like Hamilton? Some people even think that in a creative dance class, there is little structure at all and the dancers just undulate and fling their bodies about; guided only by the way the music makes them feel. You may be intimidated by the thought - I would be, too! So then, what is creative dance?
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Creative dance is a dance form that combines personal mastery of skill with the artistry of expression. During each one-hour Dance Wise class, we alternate between structured and free movement exercises designed to master skills as well as develop personal artistry. The skills in Dance Wise classes include vocabulary from classical ballet as well as modern, jazz and even tap dance. The exploratory dance activities draw from a vocabulary of dance concepts like Energy: smooth and sharp or Levels: low/middle/high. There is a solid structure for every class that supports different learning styles and that we build upon week after week. Even a brand new student can join at any point during the year and begin experiencing the benefits and joy that creative dance can inspire.

So, forget about the time when someone laughed or commented unkindly when you threw caution to the wind and danced like no one was watching! Come learn about the interesting and meaningful dance concepts that underlie all our most basic and complex movements. Experience the satisfaction of mastering dance skills you thought you could only watch as an audience member. And read about what Dance Wise dancers have to say about their experiences in the Dance Wise for Parkinson's Program. Then sign up to attend a class!

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    Author

    Elena Diehl is a dancer, dance educator, and dance enthusiast sharing her passion with you in the studio every week! Stop by the blog to get a sneak peek into each week's dance concept.

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