You might have read my post about Sounding in Nia. That is what we call it when we make noise in a Nia class — sounding. You might have read my post about Reasons for Sounding in a Nia Class. Even if you did not read that post, I bet you are aware of some of the reasons to make noise in an exercise class. One of the biggest ones is to ensure breathing. If you are making noise you are breathing. Knowing the students are breathing is a HUGE relief to an instructor. Some of the other reasons sounding is good are it can help stabilize your core, it can act as an emotional, spiritual, or physical release, and it can be really fun. Sounding can be noises/words such as HA, HI, HEE, HOO, WAH, WAHOO, etc. Sounding can also be singing. With “Nia Music” sometimes singing is just sounds.
I always invite the Nia participants to sing. Often times I tell them it is really easy because there are no words. I have often wondered how the singer sings. I have often pondered how it is done. Then Nia put out this video*. It is an interview with Carl Tietze whose song Am I The One, is on the Sanjana Album. Sanjana is the first Nia routine I learned. In the interview Carl talks about how he invited a vocalist, Jen Folkner, to listen to the song. He said he put the headphones on her and most of what we hear on the song is from her first time hearing the music.
She is sounding. Granted, she is doing is beautifully. I don’t want to put the pressure on and say this is what we do or need to do in a Nia class. No, not at all. I am just saying that it is fine to MAKE NOISE. I did laugh when I heard this interview because I kind of imagined that songs that have no real words but are just a singer making noise was done like this. I imagined the musicians just saying, “Go!” and the singer just letting her/his voice come out.
I was recently very amazed and in awe of a woman who had never been to a Nia class before – in fact, before class she asked me what it was. So she didn’t even know what type of exercise/workout it was. And yet, while she was moving to moves she had never done, she was singing. The song was one of those songs without words, but she was just making noise in a “singing voice”. It was great! I was very impressed.
Making sounds or singing in a group workout class is not something that comes easy to everyone. Sounding while learning moves doesn’t come easy to people who normally make noise, so it was especially fun to have her in class. Plus she had that much more fun and received the benefits of sounding.
I hope this interview helps give you a glimpse into making sounds. I hope you are able to experience the benefits of making noise while do your cardio dance. You know it is fun.
Do you sing while you dance in your fitness dance class? Don’t you love the way singing and dancing makes you feel?
*Click here to go to Nia’s website to sign up for the monthly newsletter!
I had a new to Nia person come to class today. She called me yesterday to ask about it and showed up to class today. I like that. Of course, I asked her about it after class. She said she liked it because it made her think. She said that is what she needed. Nia is amazing because it is one of those exercises that DOES make you think. There are differences in a Nia routine. There are times when there is Free Dance, a time where you don’t think. You just let your body move to the music. You let it go and see where it takes you. It is not a trance dance, you are not in a state of trance, but you are letting your body move to the music without thinking. There is no thinking of what others think or how you look, or of a pattern, you just move. There is also the choreographed steps. Some of those steps are described as the actual dance steps there are, say a Jazz Square, a grapevine, a ball change, etc. And when learning them or even when incorporating them into a routine there may be thinking involved. There is also the imagery used in Nia. Where instead of saying reach up we might say pick an apple, instead of just saying walk we might say walk Jazzy, instead of saying get down on the ground we might say melt onto the earth . . . .these things might cause you to have to think for a moment. What are the movements involved in picking an apple? What does “Jazzy” mean? How does a body melt? Sometimes a routine will have us doing a movement that is out of the ordinary. Say against the normal “flow” of movement. And again that is where we have to think. So sometimes, yes, we do think in Nia.
Right now I have just begun teaching a routine, I have only taught it once and it is making me laugh because when I first saw Debbie Rosas do it on the DVD I didn’t understand why she said left hand on one section and right hand on another. To me it looked as if she was alternating. So the first few times I did it, I alternated my hands that I started with. When I was barring the song and I went to write down the arm choreography I stopped to watch it closely. She says left when we start with the left ONLY and right when we ONLY start with the right. There is alternating hands in between, but not alternating starting hands. This is one of those funny moves that makes me think. I love that the other teachers on the DVD didn’t quite get it either. Makes me feel better. Makes me remember that it is a practice and my brain and body will have to think about this move until I have it engrained.
I love that Nia is Body, MIND, Emotions, and Spirit (BMES). I love that new people come in and see all that it is and say they love it. I love it even more when they come back.
I always say that there was a reason Nia was once named Neuromuscular Integrative Action . . . . because that is really what it IS. I don’t know why they abandoned that, but I can imagine. It is a mouthful. And to some perhaps it sounded intimidating. Once people come to class they get to see it for themselves. It really was/is an ingenious name, just a bit much, I guess. As we are thinking we are using our nerves and our muscles.
I have written a series of three posts describing what is contained in a Nia Routine Training Package. I was reminded by a comment on one of recent posts about Nia Routines (Nia Routines I’ve Learned) that in 2010 I stated I would explain more about what we receive on a teacher routine DVD. Because the package put together by Nia Technique is so packed with information and learning material, my explanation took up three posts to summarize all that you receive in a Nia Routine Training Packages for Teachers. This post is just a quick summary and “map” so to speak of the three posts. I hope all of this information helps you understand that “with love, we [Nia Technique] have carefully crafted this ‘body of work'[meaning each routine] to offer you an in-depth body, mind, emotions, spirit experience.”** They do that so that we may pass on music, movement, and magic to our students.
When I RECENTLY mentioned I would write up a description I didn’t realize it would take so long and so many posts. But back in 2010, I must have known on some level that it would be more than one post because it has taken me three years to do it!
Nia’s Routine Training Packages for Teachers consists of a Music CD, a DVD, and a pamphlet.
The first post – Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs – explains the CD, the components of the DVD, and two of the components on the DVD, the Focus and Move the Move
The second post – DVDs Nia Teachers Learn From, Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs (Part 2) – explains the last three components on the DVD. DVD Components: Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the music.
The third post – Nia’s Routine Pamphlets, Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs (Part 3) – explains the pamphlet.
Each post while a full post in itself still only briefly describes things. I could write so much more and do many more posts, but I think I summarized it well enough to give you an idea of the training. I hope that those of you that are interested in teaching have a good idea of what type of training you get when learning a routine. If you are fortunate enough to live near Nia Headquarters in Portland, OR then you know that they often have workshops and things to even further your education regarding routines. Sometime in my basic area they have immersions where two days are spent learning a routine. We all learn differently and I am convinced that no matter how you learn, with all the different ways available to learn a routine there has to be something that will do it for you.
There is an annual license renewal required to teach Nia. The fee includes four Nia Routines. You get to choose the routines you want. For more information see: Nia Livelihood Membership for Body + Life Education
If you have any questions please ask. If you are a Nia teacher or one that receives these wonderful training gems and you want to add anything please do.
**this is copied from the back of the CD/DVD holder. It is just a portion of the paragraph.
Three years ago I posted about Nia Routines and I stated in that post that I would describe what the training DVD is like. Here I am with that information. Also, I want to share about the whole routine teacher training package that a Nia teacher receives. It is turning out to be three (sort of four) posts long. This is the second post. That is how much we get in our Nia continued education Routine Teacher Training package. I am just sharing briefly about it. These posts are to give you an idea of what you would receive. As a reminder you receive a CD, DVD, and pamphlet. The CD and DVD are shipped to you and the pamphlet you can view online, save to your computer, and/or print.
The DVD consists of the Focus, Move the Move, Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music. In post one I talked about the Focus and the Move the Move section. Here you’ll learn a bit about Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the music.
In the Learn the Move section they explain the move. The way they did this morphed over the years. I have some DVDs where they stood facing the camera and talked about the moves. Showing you the move and going into detail about each move. I also have some DVDs where the teacher is just dubbed over the actual class as shown in the Move the Move portion. So you are seeing the same thing over again and the creator is talking about the moves as the routine plays. The explanation includes both the physical description and little tips. Sometimes they might explain alternatives even if they have not done them in the Move the Move portion of the DVD. They also sometimes explain why we are doing a move. “‘Holding a ball’ allows a body to move systemically, connecting the upper body with the lower body.” This portion at times can help with figuring out how to do a move if it is a little challenging to you or your students.
With Energize the Move the creator explains the energy involved. For example “the energy at this part of the routine is meant to be focused and very intentional.” And, “the energy of connecting to your body and space around.” This section can help provide pearls and additional verbiage that you can use to get your class moving.
The last section of the DVD is the Move the Move with just the music. There is no teacher instruction. This is where you do the Nia Class without being told what to do. You get to watch and just listen to the music.
The music portion of the DVD always makes me remember I have always wanted an option in the Move the Move portion to be able to turn up the music. I have an exercise DVD (Turbo Jam) where you can “pump up” the music. You can still here Chalene Johnson giving you instructions but you can make the music much louder. I think it would be of great help to me if I could turn the music up on my Nia Routine DVDs but still listen to the teacher talking. I have yet to suggest that to Nia HQ. It would really be nice for me to hear the music louder so I could practice my listening to the cues, yet still get the benefit of the instruction. I’ve tried to time the music say from my iPod to the DVD so I COULD turn up the music myself, but I can never get it synchronized. 🙂
In my post Continuing Education – Nia White Belt Principle #12, I talk about the three stages of learning a routine. I mention there are steps in each stage. The Learn the Move and Energize the Move are couple of the additional steps. Watching and learning the information contained in each of these sections of the DVD can be very beneficial to leading a routine.
In my next post I share some information about the pamphlets and you’ll see how there is even MORE information to learn!
Are you getting a clearer picture of what is contained in a Nia Teacher’s Routine DVD? Can you somewhat understand that there is a lot of good information?
In my post about Nia Routines in February of 2010, I stated I would explain more about what we receive on a Nia Routine Teacher DVD. A comment with questions on a recent post (Nia Routines I’ve Learned), reminded me that I needed to do that. Over three years later, I am explaining what we get. I also wanted to share what is in the Nia Training/Continued Education package as a whole. We get a LOT. It is more than just music and routine. The amount of time and effort and all that goes into our training DVD/package is awesome. I know that even though I see the results and I think it is a lot, there is probably so much more that goes on in the background I would be even more impressed. Since we get so much I am finding as I type this that it is a longer explanation than I like to have in one post. So this will be part one of what is in a Nia Routine Teacher Training package. When a Nia Teacher receives a “Nia Routine” there is a CD and a DVD. We used to receive a pamphlet within the package, but now we have to print those out ourselves if we want a hard copy. But basically a training routine package is CD, DVD, and pamphlet.
The CD and DVD are in a cardboard holder, one side has the list of songs with the 8BC and the time shown. The other side has the Focus and Intent that the routine was created with. The back of the holder states the name of the routine and the creator, along with a paragraph about Nia Technique’s thoughts on routines.
The CD is a typical music CD. It has music on it. But as a Nia Teacher or student you know there is nothing really typical about Nia routine music. 🙂 The songs play one after the other with no pause unless the song itself has a pause before the music begins or after the song ends. Or I guess the engineer putting the CD together could put a pause in.
The DVD consists of five sections: the Focus, Move the Move, Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music. The “Focus” portion of the DVD is the creator (or one of them) talking about the focus and the intent of the routine. Often times they explain a bit about how the focus relates to the choreography. For example if the focus is “Steps and Stances” it might be mentioned that there are a lot of opportunities in the routine to experience all six stances.
“Move the Move” is the routine filmed almost as if you were taking a class. Sometimes they change the camera angle, but it is still basically as if you are taking a class.* The music is playing and the teacher is teaching. *There is one routine I have in which it was filmed with the class FACING the camera the entire time. I do not care for that at all. I like it when the camera is BEHIND the teacher with the mirror in the shot and it is as if I am standing behind the teacher taking a Nia class. I don’t know if there are other routines in addition to Birth that is filmed with the teachers and the class facing the camera, but I will inquire before I purchase additional routines.
Often times in addition to the teacher demonstrating different LEVELS of a move, they will demonstrate a lot of different moves that CAN be done while doing the routine. I always have to remind myself that just because they are showing us multiple ways to do the move or multiple ways in general to move to the music it does not mean I need to put them all into the routine when I am leading it. They are just showing examples as to what can be done. I find it very funny that a lot of the times Carlos was not even doing what he explained the choreography to be. To me, he often just let his spirit go and he danced to the music that he clearly loved. In his spirit dance he was able to show a lot of different things that could be done to the music.
As you can see this post is a bit long in itself. I have only touched upon two of the sections included on the training DVD. So stayed tuned for part two where I give a brief summary of the sections: Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music.
Do you like to take lead follow exercise workout classes where the teacher is facing you? Or would you rather have the teacher’s back to you?
At the present time I am fortunate enough to be holding Nia classes at four different locations in San Jose. Each location allows me to meet different people. At one of the locations I have been teaching for four years and some of my students have been coming to my classes that long. At three of my locations I am a new teacher and Nia is new. Most of the people are new to me. It is exciting to met new people and discover new relationships. There is the relationships between my students and me and there is the relationship between Nia and the students. One of my students told me after one class that she loved the part of Nia where we compare things to nature. The specific example she stated was “tickling the clouds”. She said that the mention of nature in Nia reminded her of one of her favorite poets, Mary Oliver. She asked me if I had heard of Mary Oliver or if I was familiar with her. I said no. I also said that I would look her up. Well, the following week, my student came into class and handed me a copy of two poems. As soon as she held out the paper, I remembered that I had said I would look up the poet and that I had forgotten. I gratefully took the paper without reading the poems because class was about to start. After our class there is another class so I did not stop at that time to read the poem either. It was not until today I picked up the paper to read the poem. On the second line I realized I HAD heard this before and I laughed. This very poem or at least a portion of it is in the Nia White Belt Manual.
I thought it was funny that my student related Mary Oliver’s work to Nia and obviously so did the creators of Nia, Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, because they put this poem in the manual. Only the first few lines are in the manual, but I recognized it right away.
The lines are:
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
From Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese poem.
That portion of the poem is at the very beginning of the section which is Principle #1, The Joy of Movement. The last line of that section really struck me.
I want to continue to share with my students that a Nia class is not just about learning the moves and doing a routine. It is about doing what the body loves. It is about their relationship to their body. It is about their relationship to Nia. To me that is why we do a routine over and over. That is also HOW we do a routine over and over and not get bored with it. If we move and let our body do what it loves then it is moving in a different way. Once we have done a routine a few times we can play. We can move lower . . . if that it what the body loves . . . we can move higher . . . if that is what a body loves . . . all the time moving in the general pattern of the routine. It is when we are not in tune or when we cannot let go, that the routine is tiring or boring. If we are only moving the way it was choreographed and not putting our spirit into the moves it is as if we are walking through a desert on our knees. Suffering through a workout. UGH! Repenting for the cream we had in our coffee, the workout we missed yesterday, or the cookie we had at lunch.
I used to do a different routine every class. I thought people would get bored with the same routine. But then I realized that the more I knew the music and the choreography the more fun I had and the more playful I could be. I asked my class and they said they liked the fact that after doing the routine a few times they, too, could be less concerned with the choreography and more aware of their own spirit, dance, and play. So it is a relationship with Nia and the body that we are building and experiencing in a Nia class, we are not just learning a routine, we are not just moving through choreography.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I work on a routine schedule, playing with it to see what works. I want to ensure my students don’t get bored, yet I want them to build a relationship with Nia. I want them to be able to dance and play with the routines.
I love that my student shared her thoughts with me. To me that is me being able to witness her budding relationship with Nia. I love that because of my thoughts about repeatedly doing a routine, I was able to look at this poem and relate it to that. Like many things I might look at it sometime from now and have it relate to something else. My relationship with it might change, just as my relationship with my students and with Nia will change and grow. That is the nature of it all.
This is Nia Blue Belt Principle #12, Observe, Listen, Guide, Co-Creating Movement. This is something that we can do as part of the practice of Nia. This is something we can do in a live Nia class or even while doing a Nia DVD. Observe the teacher, listen-observe ourselves, then guide our own bodies to match what the teacher is doing. So watch and follow. Then really pay attention to what it is you are doing. Sometimes we might think we are doing the same thing but we are not. Then guide yourself to match what the teacher is doing. It does not have to be rushed. The moves do not have to match right away.
All of it is done with X-Ray Anatomy which is principle #10 of the Nia White Belt. X-Ray Anatomy does not mean we have X-ray vision, but it does mean that we see the way the body moves. We look at the body and observe the movement of the bones. As we dance and observe the teacher we see the placement of the bones. We see the vertical and the horizontal. We see the different planes.
Then, with X-Ray Anatomy, we listen to our own bodies. We acknowledge where our bones are. We notice the alignment. We pay attention to the structure. We monitor our vertical and horizontal. We discover how our bodies do the move. We witness it. We can stay here until we are ready to guide ourselves to match the teacher. If we are playing with the principle in a live class it is recommended to speak with the teacher beforehand so that they understand that we might not move onto the move they are doing until we are ready. It is also a good idea to stand in the back of the class so as not to distract the other students. Most people will move on to the next move, following the teacher, within one or two repetitions, but with practicing, play with, and the dancing of Nia Blue Belt Principle #12, Observe, Listen, Guide an entire sequence of moves could possibly be “missed” while in the “listening” stage.
Then when you are ready — no rush — you move onto matching the teacher. Have your bones and your angles match hers/his. Have your alignment match, your vertical and horizontal match.
This also works as a teacher observing the student. We can observe the student. We can watch the way they are doing a move. Then we listen to our body. We pay attention to how we are doing it. Then without rushing we can model our student’s move. It is a way of Co-Creating Movement. The practice of this principle also entails Nia Blue Belt Principle #6, because there is going to be some Split, Ellipt, Blend with this. But the order would be more of an Ellipt, Split, Blend. We would be ellipting onto the teacher or student to observe. Then splitting into self to listen. Then blending in the guide portion.
This is another interesting aspect of the practice of Nia. This is another way that Nia is unique. We Co-Create Movement to dance with our students. With music as our main guide we have all these principles to play with.
Can you see how the practice of Observe, Listen, Guide is a way to Co-Create Movement in a class?
Regular reader? Familiar with Nia? Then you know that Nia has different levels and that they use belt colors to distinguish between. White, Blue, Brown, and Black. Each belt has thirteen principles (except Green Belt*). The trainings for the levels are called intensives and the intensives can be attended by people who just want a to explore self growth and/or learn how the body is connected to many things. If you are a new reader and/or not familiar with Nia . . . . there you have it. In November 2011 I took the Nia Blue Belt Training and I am using my blog to make notes on it. It is taking me some time to get through the principles, but I am jotting down my thoughts that come to me as I thumb through my notes. My intent is to continue to work and play with the 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles after my initial posts and come back to some of them and share some more. The principles can be deep because they are very rich. So like many things they have layers and the layers can be peeled back to expose more and more. This post is about Nia Blue Belt Principle #11, Music, Movement, Magic – Manifesting the Ultimmmate Nia Experience. Yes, ultimate is spelled with three m’s, representing music, movement, magic.
One of the ways we learn to bring this to class is to use objective and subjective descriptions. We can do this for many things. We can do this when stating the class focus and intent. We can do this when leading the class through a move. We can do this when talking about music. The following are examples:
Focus and Intent:
Objective – Today we are going to focus on the rhomboid muscles. These are muscles in your upper back that assist with shoulder blade movement. They pull your shoulders back and down.
Subjective – I like pay special attention to my rhomboids so I feel as if I am standing upright and not hunched over. I feel they need extra love. We can give them that during class with the intent to stand tall.
Move:
Objective – Pull your shoulder blades down.
Subjective – I feel as if my shoulder blades are in my back pockets!
Music:
Objective – This music was part of an Oscar Winning Score.
Subjective – This music makes me want to close my eyes and ride the peaceful notes to happy.
This objective and subjective way of looking at things is a key to Nia. It can be compared to THE Body’s Way and Your Body’s Way. There is a way the body was designed to move — objective. There is a way that YOUR body, and my body moves — subjective. There are specific ways to do the Nia 52 Moves — objective. There is a way that each individual Nia participant does the Nia 52 Moves — subjective. All of this helps to create the “magic” that is part of Nia.
The Music is the core. We dance to the music. The Movement is what we do. We move. We dance. We play. The Magic is what we bring, which with all of it put together there is resulting magic.
This is just a tiny portion of Nia Blue Belt Principle #11, just off the top of my head. There is much, much more to Music, Movement, Magic – Manifesting the Ultimmmate Nia Experience and I look forward to delving into it more.
Have you experience the Nia Music, Movement, and Magic yet for yourself?
I participated in a Nia Blue Belt Intensive in the beginning of November 2012. Nia trainings are accurately named as intensive because they are intense. They are intense because it is 50 plus hours of moving and thinking and learning and listening and exploring, etc. It is a lot. Nia is a great cardio dance workout, but if you want, it is a lot more. The way things are connected is pretty amazing. I am writing posts somewhat off the top of my head as to what my initial thoughts are in regards to the 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles. After I get through all 13, I want to go back and write more as I read about each one and live with each one. I also want to review the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. At this time, I am on Nia Blue Belt Principle #9. The principle is Form & Freedom. The tagline is The Yin and Yang of Nia. As I have stated in my other posts about the principles there is a lot more to them than I am writing about. Nia is deep. This is just off the top.
-The energy variety
-Personal creativity
-Silence
–FreeDance
–Natural Time
-Adapting the Choreography
-Movement variety
-Mixing routines
-Transubstantiation
We have a lot of things that give us form. We have a lot of things in which we have freedom. There is yin and yang. The form and the freedom can be separate . . . we could just dance a song entirely FreeDance with no form at all. Just everyone dance their own way, no choreographed steps, no guidance, no form. Or we can marry the two. I love that. I love sharing with my Nia class that we are free in our form to do what we want. We can think about what we are doing and the moves we are doing or just let the music dictate to us.
Right now the routine I am doing is full of places to have the form and the freedom. There are many places in the routine where our feet have a specific form. The moves, according to Carlos AyaRosas (FKA Carlos Rosas), are precise. Our feet have a specific place, but our arms are free to move. While our arms are moving when the concentration is on the feet you can sense the form, the structure, the precision. But when the concentration is on the arms . . . .even if you are just letting them dance on their own to the music . . . you sense the freedom. You can sense your spirit. When you’ve had enough practice you can do both, have the form and the freedom.
The form is what many of us are accustomed to having, it is what we were trained to have in an exercise class. The freedom is what helps Nia be unique. With the Nia Blue Belt Principle #9 – Form & Freedom -The Yin and Yang of Nia we get to play and it makes the possibilities endless.
Have you ever played with form and freedom? Why don’t you try it? Put on some music you like to dance to and get your feet moving in a specific pattern. After a few rounds of the pattern just allow your arms to go. Let them move freely. Can you see how that can add up to an amazing workout?
Have you ever listened to a song and had a rush of emotion? Have you ever had a song take you somewhere else? The song could transport you back to a place in time or a location. The song could allow you to to be lost in thought, lost in feeling, lost in emotion. All the world around you fades away and you are in another space. Even if it is not such a strong pull that all the world disappears, have you ever had an emotional response to a song? Have you ever stopped to think what the artists meant by the song? Have you ever dissected a song to really try to figure out what emotion the artist was trying to convey? Have you ever had the emotion you experience during a song seem completly different than what you think the artist is transmitting with the song? Say “Happy Birthday to You” brings you to tears because of a sad birthday memory. It is amazing how music can elicit emotion. It is amazing how music can figuratively transport you to a different time, a different place, a different state of mind. On the other hand have you ever been at a club or a party and just danced or bobbed your head to a song, not thinking about a personal emotional response or what the artist was feeling? This is all part of Principle #8 of the Nia Blue Belt. I say “part of” because as with all of the principles there is a lot more than I am posting about. There is a lot more than I even have thought about. This is just a little part. This principle is The Power Of Silence And Sound. Music, Emotion, Expression.
There is power in the music. The music is both the silence and the sound. There is emotion in the music – in the silence, in the sound. The emotion can be expressed. In Nia, for the purpose of this principle we are saying there are three emotional parts of a song. There is the emotion of the artist. What feeling is the artist trying to get across? The next song you hear, think about it. What do you hear? Then there is the emotional part of YOU. What do YOU feel when you hear the song? As I mentioned sometimes what you feel is different from the emotion the artist was putting out there. Sometimes it can be the same, but not always. Sometimes it can be the same emotion but maybe you feel it more strongly, than the artist was. Then there is the emotion that you express. The emotion of the dance, the emotion of a Nia class.
In a class there is the choreography. The moves have their own emotion. In leading a class, in creating a class, in crafting a class a Nia teacher plays with all three. The artist’s emotion, the personal emotion, and the Nia emotion. Because Nia is a body mind dance exercise (to put it simply) and it is body focused the moves in a class do not always match the motion of the music. Sometimes it is an exercise in itself to move slowly to a fast moving beat. Or even to stop when the music begs for motion. Or to move through a portion of silence. But also, because it is Nia, it is fun to match the choreography to the music exactly. It is fun to take the emotion that the artist is throwing out there and match it. With Principle #8 of the Nia Blue Belt Nia teachers have a great tool in which they can learn and study the music. It can be broken down to allow for all types of movements and emotions to erupt from the dance. We get to play with The Power Of Silence And Sound.
If you want to play with The Power Of Silence And Sound, pick a song. Listen to it to decide the emotion of the artist. Then DANCE that emotion. Then play the song again dancing your own emotion. Then play it again and marry the two, the artist’s emotion and yours. Have fun mixing it up!
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