My Lightbulb Moment

[shanmonster]

On Monday, I decided I wanted to teach an "easy" dance class--easy for me, that is, and not for the students. So I took in a half dozen mop handles and handed them around to my students. "You're going to go through all the movements you know with a stick balanced on your head." This is the best way to hammer home the steadiness needed for good isolations.

First of all, everyone tussled with just getting the things to stay on their heads. It's not easy. Mop handles are slippery, and roll and slide at the slightest provocation. But eventually, everyone was able to stand still with a stick on their head. Then I had them walk around. They started very tentatively, but by the end of the class, they could all walk with a lot more confidence. And everyone's posture improved markedly.

While everyone was busily trying not to have the sticks fly off their heads, I took a look around the studio. The room is also used for Pilates, and plenty of Pilates toys are at my disposal. I saw a collection of small exercise balls (like one of these), about the size of a big coconut. They are soft and weigh about three pounds. I picked one up and balanced it on my head. It is much easier to balance than a stick because of its weight and softness.

So I started dancing around with the ball on my head. Soon, all my students followed my lead. One of them found the ball harder to balance than the stick, which I thought interesting. But even more interesting is how all of my students, after playing with the ball a while, improved drastically when they went back to using their sticks a few minutes later.

I think there's something about switching between two different balancing props that helps you figure out balancing that much more. I'll have to experiment more with my students....

I learned something about my own dancing, with these balls. My turns suck. This is not news to me. But in using the ball on my head, I discovered exactly why my turns are irregular. When I did a spot turn, the ball rolled off my head. I tried it again, concentrating more on keeping the ball on my head. I succeeded, and both my spotting and the actual turn were much better.

An imaginary lightbulb blinged on over my head.

The main problem with my turns is the way my head wanders, tips, wibbles, and wobbles. With the ball on my head, I can't do that. If I do, the ball rolls off. The ball gives me immediate physical feedback when I do something wrong. So I need to get one of those balls. If I practice every day with one on my head, my turns will be spot on (pun intended) in no time.

To paraphrase from Orgazmo, "I don't wanna sound like a queer or nothin', but I sure do like to dance around with balls on my head."

I spoke with gha5t about this, afterwards, and we realized it would also be a good prop for tightening up our kung fu forms. Granted, a couple of the movements won't work with it, but it would be excellent for the spinning jump at the beginning of fook fu. Hmm....

Comments

[androgenie.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have to try this...I actually own one of those balls.....*ponders*

[mishakitty78.livejournal.com]

it's funny - we did the first of several classes on balancing last night. my students too did better when they used weighted baskets rather than dowel rods or canes. i THINK this is because of the way the prop is set on the head (here's my lame-o attempt to explain this sans physics!). so, if you think about it, a ball or a basket that's not very long is more within the vertical column of the body...it doesn't stick out much past your center core and, if it does, it's generally round in that it would be distributed evenly. the center of gravity is closer to your center. but, with a dowel rod, cane, mop handle or sword, it sticks out pretty far away from your center core - it's long. also, the length of it sticks out just ot the side, not also the front and back, so it's weighted oddly.

i'm still struggling with trying to explain this better, but this was the epiphany i had in my class last night!

[pamcash.livejournal.com]

I would kill to take a dance class with you!! You'd surely kick my pastey ass and send me home crying (in the best way possible!!!)

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're ever up this way....