From Blog Director Jill Randall:

Crazy times, cancelled classes, and home isolation call for new projects and new options through Life as a Modern Dancer!

Personally, I have always loved poetry. I love reading poems. Thank you W.S. Merwin and Mary Oliver. I also love writing short poems as movement springboards in my classes. (I currently teach an intermediate teen modern class twice a week in Berkeley, CA.) My Movement Poems are truly just meant for explorations, not fully crafted dance projects and performances.

Please join in! I hope you will enjoy these poems at home or use within a college or high school dance course.

Today's poem I actually wrote last week and used it in my teen modern class, but I think college students and adults will enjoy it as well.

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Grounding

A movement poem for March 12, 2020 for my teen modern class

By Jill Randall

 

Feet on the ground –

Rocking,

       Shifting,

              Stability.

Moving……forward.

Moving…… o u t.

Connected – here,

Right now.

 

To listen to me reading this poem, click here for the SoundCloud file.

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There are numerous options for play and exploration. Here are just a few to get you and your students started.

-Read the poem and make a short phrase (mini composition!) with one movement per line. Decide whether to move in silence or with music. I would like to suggest Michael Wall's composition "Construct 1" (which you can find on Spotify or through his website).

-Use the audio recording on SoundCloud and improvise with each line. Then shape your phrase.

-Select 1, 2, or 3 words from the poem and improvise for about 5 minutes.

 

Please leave a comment below to share how you explored this Movement Poem. Thank you! Be well.

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