I went to a lovely workshop today. It was "upper body extension for beautiful veil", taught by Dawn White. Dawn is a graceful, powerful dancer and when I used to go to her regular Edinburgh classes (back in 2003!), I remember thinking she focussed more on creativity and elegance of movement than I was used to, and less on hip technique. I was pregnant when I last went to Dawn's classes, couldn't keep up the pace and then she left for Australia!
You can see Dawn's upper body extension as she dances here!
You can see Dawn's upper body extension as she dances here!
I really enjoyed today's 2-hour workshop. Dawn's teaching challenged the way I think about movement - she talked about creating beautiful movement, not just shapes. She emphasised how we use the space with the extremities of our bodies, from our fingers to our toes, our chins to the crowns of our heads. There were challenging drills - the notion of cracking walnuts between my shoulder blades was painful, but as Dawn said, if you go to a workshop and don't push yourself, you might as well be dancing in your living room. There were lovely swishy combinations with veils, the room was sea of colour as we switched from demure dancers to warrior princesses!
It feels like a long time since a teacher has given me new technique to think about, rather than a choreography or style of dancing. I am really looking forward to more workshops with Dawn and hoping she stays in Scotland for a good while!
