My quarantine snack of choice has been ice cream.
I know, I know - Ben & Jerry shouldn’t come over during shelter in place but hey - these are stressful times and mama wants sugar.
I haven’t bought ice cream since last summer (because who would eat ice cream when it’s cold outside? Lizards?!).
I usually go for something with a swirl - caramel, fudge, brownie, toffee... :: drool ::
I like to take it out and leave it out for 10 minutes to make it easier to scoop, which inspired this thought -
That’s EXACTLY what dancers need to do.
Often we are stiff (like ice cream fresh outta the freezer), which makes us hard to handle.
We don’t have a freezer but we have desks, sitting in traffic, housework and other causes for our shoulders to creep up and our body to stiffen.
Professional dancers are able to maintain a malleable consistency through their body (think soft serve ice cream) - making it look natural and easy (they’re aliens I’m sure - no normal human moves with such grace).
You need to give yourself time to melt. At least until you’re connected to the energy in your body. Let go of the tension and grip.
It should feel like your skin and muscles are slipping down with gravity. Some affirmations to say while you’re in position is:
SOFT SOFT SOFT SOFT
OOZE OOZE OOZE OOZE
HOT CHOCOLATE HOT CHOCOLATE HOT CHOCOLATE HOT CHOCOLATE
Words are powerful and they can shift how you feel.
And how you feel directly affects your energy and shifts your body which you need to set up correctly for dance.
For a visual - go pick up a pint from your local grocery store. You may also need to taste test your subject as well, with multiple scoops…
So what’s YOUR favorite ice cream? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS!
Ciao Ciao
Caitlin
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