Post #2 for the Virtual Book Group (How to Land by Ann Cooper Albright)

June 3, 2020

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During the past 2 weeks, dancers throughout the country have been reading How to Land: Finding Ground in an Unstable World by Ann Cooper Albright. Please follow the Comments thread here, and please consider getting the book and diving in next week as well!

For today, we read Chapter 2 (Disorientation) and Chapter 3 (Suspension):

Scan back through Chapter 2. What are 2 or 3 phrases or quotes that resonated for you? Throughout this chapter, my mind kept coming back to Shelter in Place and the disorientation of this time. What connections did you also make between SIP and Chapter 2?
Chapter 3 is on Suspension. Again, what 1-3 phrases were meaningful and potent for you? Thank you for adding comments below.

There is still time to join the group! We will have these small weekly check-ins on the blog, sharing notes, and then will meet the last day through Zoom on Wed, June 17th at 3pm PST.

Some book buying options:

Books Inc in the SF Bay Area

The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City

Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn

Amazon.com (paperback and e-book)

The reading/discussion/comment timeline:

Wednesday, May 27th: Introduction and Chapter 1 (Falling); 48 pages

Wednesday, June 3rd: Chapters 2 and 3 (Disorientation and Suspension); 57 pages

Wednesday, June 10th: Chapters 4 and 5 (Gravity and Resilience); 61 pages

Wednesday, June 17th: Chapter 6 and Afterword (Connection); 38 pages

2 responses to “Post #2 for the Virtual Book Group (How to Land by Ann Cooper Albright)”

Jill Randall

Jun 3, 2020 at 7:47 am

Reviewing Chapter 2 again….one of my side margin notes is “Shelter in place as bodily disorientation for dancers.”
Personally and professionally (considering students through the online classes we offer through work) – I am thinking so much right now about moving at home, grounding activities, forward fixation right now on screens, and care of the eyes/neck/head.
While I know that online classes are not ideal formats, I still think there is a lot of potential there for movement, joy, connection, embodiment, and grounding.
On page 69, these two quotes offer me much hope for this moment in time in our life:
“Is there another way to think about moving through the world that doesn’t collapse into the binary options of one way or the other?”
“One of the great joys of learning is the opportunity to engage new ways of perceiving – looking, hearing, tasting, touching, moving, and feeling differently. Like changing a habit, however, changing perception is not always so easy. This is because it often means we have to change our expectations as well. And that shift can be immensely disorienting.”
The second quote also deeply connects with the racial injustices in our country right now. It connects with the personal work I am doing at home talking about race, the recent tragic events in our country, and how we can work towards change and justice today. The second quote relates to conversations I am having at work about racial injustice, white privilege, and moving towards organizational change right now.

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Bhumi Patel

Jun 5, 2020 at 6:35 pm

I’m totally behind and just starting chapter 3 today. But the beginning of chapter 2 going through the somatic response to political demonstration feels real and alive in my body this week having gone to several protests that began peacefully and were escalated by the police. She comes back to this discussing the women’s march which got me thinking about how different protesting feels now than it did with the first women’s march and other BLM protests that I’ve experienced, likely due to the pandemic.
I found myself connecting with the way that she talks about being lost and what that means or implies (page 46) and the lack of integration to having conscious attention toward being present in ones body.
Hoping to get all caught up and will comment again reflections from
chapter 3 once i finish!
sending love!

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