The Creative Source – The Real You – FreeDance Stage 4
Posted by terrepruitt on February 9, 2012
In Nia we have FreeDance. FreeDance allows for so many things. One way we FreeDance is we dance to the music with no choreography. We let our bodies sense the music and allow it to move us. When we let our body move freely without thinking and without judging it is a great workout. Many of the Nia Routines have songs where there is no choreography and we just FreeDance, and many of the routines have choreography in addition to FreeDance. Our feet might have set patterns, but our arms and hands are free. Or our arms and hands might have the pattern and our feet are free. Many combinations of dance, choreography, and body parts. Nia FreeDance also has stages. A Nia teacher can call upon these stages for many things. The stages in FreeDance are used for learning a new routine, they might be used as a focus in a class, they might be used for a playshop, we have many options. In Nia FreeDance the fourth stage is The Creative Source – The Real You.
With this stage during the White Belt Nia Intensive I participated in, we were instructed to remember a situation and tell ourself the story of the situation and allow ourself to feel the emotion of that situation. We all walked around the room telling ourselves a story. Some of us talked out loud, some of us were silent. All of us used the emotion the story evoked to move. Our movements might not have been considered a dance by some, because in this stage we are not necessarily dancing. We are not moving our bodies with the intent of dance, we are allowing the emotion from the story to move our bodies. Depending upon the story it could appear as if our movements were a dance. Yet, since we do “dance through life” in Nia, all of our movements are a dance . . . just not the typical dance. In this stage we are not intent upon dancing.
The purpose of FreeDance is to the purpose of stimulate movement creativity. So we use the stages to assist in that. So using a story and the emotions along with the story can really allow for movement we might not have thought to bring to the dance floor. Some stories we use to practice stage 4 might be happy, some might be sad, some might be filled with anger, whatever the story and the emotion it is what moves us.
In the intensive there was all types of movements when we practiced this stage. There was stomping, jumping, running, rolling, skipping, punching, kicking, screaming, laughing, smiling, frowning . . . . all types as you can imagine would occure with a group of people with many different stories. As stated this is a tool to awaken different movement.
When we dance I think that we have a tendency to move in the same pattern. We might move in different patterns to different types of music or different beats, but there might just be a handful of different patterns. When we are challenged by using the different tools of Nia, when we practice and play with the eight stages of FreeDance we move in different ways. Sometimes muscles that don’t normally get to join us in our dance come alive. They are happy to be allowed to join in on the dance.
Using different muscles than we normally do in our dance fuels the creativity even further. When you let go and FreeDance you will be surprised. Here I invite you to try this fourth stage of FreeDance. I suggest choosing music without lyrics. Sometimes lyrics and interfere with FreeDance when trying to practice specific stages because lyrics can sometimes compel certain movements or emotions. So music without lyrics allows for you tell the story and listen to your body’s response to the emotion.
Well, what story are you going to tell?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
niachick said
Such a fun Stage of FreeDance. It’s so interesting that people go through life spewing emotions around — many not really conscious of what they’re doing — and yet, when one is asked to “dance” their emotion, it seems contrived. At least that’s been my experience in teaching this step. I’ll invite my students to think of a situation and then use gestures and movements to express the emotion. Many times, I receive the feedback that they felt awkward or they couldn’t think of a situation. So I ask them, “Really? How do you feel when someone cuts you off in traffic; or have you ever had an argument with your spouse.” Use real life situations.
It’s a marvelous tool. One of the many of the marvelous tools contained within Nia’s principles. Thanks for your post! Brilliant, as usual!!
Jill
LikeLike
terrepruitt said
During my intensive we were instructed to tell a story of something that happened. So, yeah, the examples you use are probably some of the stories people were telling. Since in 4 we are being the “Real You” seems to make sense to use a story or situation from the past to tap into the emotions.
We do have many marvelous tools available to us through Nia, huh? And they really aren’t new or unique to JUST Nia, we just get to us them in our workout AND our lives. That’s what makes it unique (in my opinion).
Thank you so much for being here! Yay!
LikeLike