The Pure Joy of Muscle Memory
At home one afternoon, after returning from my studio, I became riveted to an exhibition ice skating special on the television. For the past several weeks, in anticipation of the upcoming winter Olympics, there have been various winter related sports venues scheduled on the weekend. From a publicity aspect, these can wet the appetites of the public and elevate a high level of interest to these events. However, this show was different. The performing ice skaters had a very special place in my...
Read MoreWalking Properly is an Art
Our feet carry all of us throughout our lives. But, how often do we actually think about the process of walking? How do we appear to others as we walk? Our natural tendencies will probably vary everyday due to the types of shoes we are wearing that day, to the weather, to even the handbags we are toting on our shoulders. The feet are at the lowest point of circulation in our bodies and the abuse our feet endure can create chronic problems in our gait. Just as models learn to “walk”...
Read MoreSlapstick or Reality
Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, even The Three Stooges are all great examples of old time slapstick humor. It was born from vaudeville and their skits brought laughter and entertainment to its viewers. I always felt a little sad to see someone get hurt, if only in jest. Perhaps I was only projecting some hidden agenda inside me to what I perceived on the TV screen. These programs were choreographed and rehearsed to look like situational pratfalls that made the actor look like a sorrowful...
Read MoreWhat “The Pilates Guild” Meant To Its Teachers
After about 3 months of taking pilates, I knew that this was something I felt an immediate passion for. I had a dance background and my mind and muscles sensed a kinesthetic relationship which was like no other form of exercise I had ever experienced. I wanted to be taught by the best and that led me to the Pilates Studio of New York and Romana Kryzanowska. I took lessons from her and her daughter Shari as well as other trained teachers there and waited impatiently for the next scheduled...
Read MoreShall We Dance?
Probably no other form of dance can better exemplify the elegance of spinal alignment than ballroom dancing. In your “dancers’ hold,” the term “mirror image” is uniquely expressed as if the two dancers move simultaneously but opposite of each other with precision, form and fluidity. I have seen top professionals perform and it appears as if they actually breathe together as “one.” Ballroom dancing is wildly popular with TV shows like “Dancing With...
Read MoreAre all barre classes the same?
Are all barre classes the same? I think not. The ballet barre is a staple of the classical dancer. It is their primary piece of equipment for methodically and structurally slowly warming up all the muscles of the body. Professional dancers warm up even prior to the class with various modes of their favorite stretches such as sitting in center splits with legs outstretched in two opposite directions or leaning up against a sturdy wall with one leg on the floor and the other propped up onto the...
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