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I started on the dance line which is lead by Alyssa and after the first week we also had two other teachers, teaching ballet and hiphop-dance. I really like their teaching very much.
During the first week we were introduced to set up, focusing particularly on how energy is directed through the body. From there we moved on to “class structure” which is mainly based on constructive rest. This is the base of developing awareness and the ability to listen to bodies.
During the second week we started working with a warming up section, something that we can use as a framework to get ready for the class. It helps us a lot when we are learning combination, more awareness and which muscles we are using as well as how to use them so we can take more care of our bodies. It is important to know these things to avoid injuries. We started out working slowly for the first two weeks just to learn the basic movements.
 Then we went on to ballet which was new for most of us. Especially for me with my background which is african dance. Others had hiphop-dance as their background, so you can imagine how different it was to learn things like plie, tondue, degage, passé, coupe, frappé and so on. It was challenging and we are still learning.
We also do contemporary dance, which is mainly about feeling and using space, containing energy and learning to use your whole body from head to toe, from one fingertip to another and feeling the flow, finding alignment throughout the whole body. Although we are all at different levels, we try to help each other as much as possible. Our teacher once told us that the body is very intelligent. Everyone has body-intelligence in different ways, so we are learning now how not to work against but instead with our bodies. It may sound simple, but it is really hard.
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Story: Gifty Myles Abadoo
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