Today's World Mental Health Day. 10/10!
The "W" in JCWK Dance Lab stands for "Wellness".
Mental and Physical Wellness.
We embody mental wellness in rehearsal through:
- Check in's at the beginning of rehearsal and Check out's at the end of rehearsal
- An agreement to not "keep the peace". If something is bothering someone or feels "sticky" we need to talk about it before it becomes a bigger issue. The Check in's provide us space to introduce any "stickiness" that we're feeling - whether its in the studio or in another part of our lives. We're whole-people and dance demands that we engage multiple aspects of ourselves. If we try to "shut off" one part of ourselves, we're not able to access our whole-selves. Now, also as whole people, we sometimes need to compartmentalize something(s) in order to function. But we need to acknowledge that, too. Sometimes, just admitting that something is off is helpful.
- Honoring physical wellness. We had a performance tour, recently. Three weeks prior to the performance, one of our dancers was in a car accident and was injured so that she couldn't perform some of our material. So, we changed the material to make it work for her. Another dancer had a sprain. I'm still working with my broken foot. There's a way to get the work done while also honoring the needs of our physical bodies. It takes a bit of patience and creativity, but sometimes that's a benefit. I think the latest iteration of "Mourning Morning" is stronger, choreographically. More importantly, we found a way to keep the energy of the group focused on building and problem solving.
One of our friends, Sharon Matthew, is a retired counselor. She shares her wisdom with us. Here's one of her quotes:
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