“Dance for a Great Life” workshop

   On May 4th, 2008, the “Dance for a Great Life” workshop was held at Polaris Parkway in Columbus, OH. Six local members and eight from Kentucky attended, while Christella Hardman and Kate Tsubata traveled from Washington, DC. Christella Hardman is one of the founders of the Origins Dance Company and traveled to teach us some basic dance choreography skills and tactics to become a better dancer.

   The day started out with a few warm-up exercises and stretches, with deep breathing and steady movements. After these warm-ups, pamphlets were handed out, which included ideas for healthier life, choreographing a dance steps, and positive thinking tips. After reading these we tried a few positive thinking exercises, one of which involved pointing straight with one arm and then twisting your body to point as far as you can around and remembering how far you pointed. The next step was to stop, stand still and imagine pointing even farther. You found that when you tried again, you could point even farther than before, when you thought that was as far as you could go. The other was where you closed your eyes and held out your arm perpendicular to your body, recalling a tragic experience. You had a partner try to push your arm down, with you pushing against it as hard as you could. Then you would recall a happy, uplifting experience and have the partner try and push your arm down again only to find it harder than the first time. These exercises encouraged positive thinking and no negative thoughts.
 
   After the exercises, Christella choreographed two dances, one modern and the other hip-hop. All the members who attended learned it and performed it for their parents, within an hour. When all of that was over, Christella broke us into 4 groups and gave us a chance to choreograph our own dance. She provided a short clip from a song, the theme we wanted to portray in the dance, and around 20 minutes to create it. When the 20 minutes passed, all 4 groups performed their dance.
 
   Then Christella told us all to lie down on the floor, palms up, eyes closed, for a few minutes of meditation, with peaceful music in the background. After a peaceful meditation, everyone sat up and we had a closing prayer. Then the vans were packed, the studio was cleaned, the owners were thanked and we went back to use our new dancing knowledge to the fullest.

               - Gracie Becker
Columbus OH