The practice of practising movement...

I grew up in a post-British colonial country and was educated by American Jesuit priests who taught the British curriculum to us. This meant that I grew up with "practise" as a verb and "practice" as a noun. I liked this distinction as so much of my training in dance as a child was very much about repetition and practising every detail of rhythm, gestures, port de bras, steps, and everything. Ultimately, I learned that training and moving my body every day needed to be a practice that would become a lifestyle more than daily choice. 

Teaching in 2024. Photo: John Lyons

Monday past, I landed back in NYC from Mumbai, India, at close to midnight. Tuesday was a regular work day for me, and I taught my adult beginner ballet class that evening. The 9.5 hour time difference between India and the USA has definitely played its "jet lag" card on my day-to-day life this week. But my observation here, is how age has definitely slowed my recovery from long-distance travel. And in the slower recovery comes with a strong desire to give-in immobility!

Teaching dance is currently my greatest motivation to keep moving. Discovering both new ways of moving and re-discovering movement that I have taken for granted for so many years. Recently, I was having trouble climbing and descending stairs, and have found myself planning my commute to/from work to minimize the number of stairs I have to take each day. Even as navigating stairs has improved, I do consistently hold the railings as a sensible practice, whether I actually need to use them or not.

As I teach both beginners and more advanced dancers, my focus on my own mobility, flexibility and joint articulation has definitely slanted my lessons towards the dancers being detailed in controling their transfer of weight and how movement both begins and ends. I may not be able to demonstrate steps the way I did as a dancer, but I am reminded of how my own childhood teachers were able to guide me to execute steps and movements that they themselves never physically demonstrated. And the modifications to movement that I use (so that I can watch dancers while leading them through an exercise) turn out to be appropriate modifications for both older and beginner dancers.

Teaching back-to-back classes for three weeks in India reminded me how much I love to build my lessons around the needs of the dancers in the classes. And the former students whom I taught in 2018, when I was in India teaching with a Fulbright grant, came out to see me and share their favorite memories of how my classes impacted their dancing both then and now. I am indeed a lucky person to have had such opportunities through my life in dance around the world.

Last studio rehearsal with guest artists and Indian Youth Dance Company! 17 July 2025

Paul Taylor in India - Pt 4

I am always intrigued by my fascination with teaching dance in different countries. And I have been fortunate to be deeply versed in the stylistically different forms of classical ballet and American modern dance. While in India, even though I came to teach modern in the style of Paul Taylor, classical ballet class was profoundly appreciated, and I quickly added ballet classes to my schedule. In doing so, I was also able to continue exploring the ways that these two dance forms both utilize and benefit from knowledge of the other. A thesis that dominated the early posts in this blog.

July 2025, Indian Youth Dance Company and guests...
from L to R: Tahira, Arva, Vidushi, Soumya, Aditi, 'moi', Achintya, Saurabh, Zelina, Navya, Anaiya, Rishi, Dovhani, Yonita... (I think I got the names right)

It still surprises me that after decades of so carefully planning out my lessons, and inevitably veering radically off script once I started class, that not much has changed. I still switch up my plan immediately once I see what I think would best serve the dancers in the room. This can come as early as the first exercise, or as late as halway through the class. But it inevitably happens. Maybe a difference is that I am more confident in my fourth decade of teaching that my instincts are rooted in past successes. 

So what makes teaching European classical ballet and American moden dance different in India? For me, it is seeing that there are not a lot of live performances of either form readily available to attend for young dancers. As such, their knowledge of the styles could seem a little naive, though I prefer to look at it through the lens of offering ways of connecting what they already know about movement and body mechanics and applying that knowledge to the smallest physical actions. 

It is always unfair to make generalizations about a culture and people as though they exist are all the same. Yet there is so much to be found in Indian everyday life that doesn't appear quite so prevalent in the USA or most European countries in which I have spent time. Here, even the public statues have carefully formed hands in gestures that mean something to onlookers. The blend of religious and tribal cultures are reflected openly in the food, public celebrations, clothing, and colors. And all of it "dances" with varying rhythms, which many take for granted since it is how they have grown up in the world.

Learning a movement discipline with very different roots than their culture, can seem incredibly alien because it is so different. And yet our bodies and the mechanics of movement are not so different. Guiding Indian trained dancers attention to the mechanics of how pliés, contractions, port de bras, laterals, parallel versus turned-out can all be broken down and put back together in different textures, in different rhythms, is part of the reward of watching them bring themselves to dance forms they only know through watching videos. My run-on sentence seemed necessary in my excitement at seeing how these dancers might potentially be defining Indian contemporary ballet and dance in the future. There will always be deep divisions between belief systems and approaches to life, yet it is the coming together through those imagined barriers that unspoken languages of communication are borne, evolve and take on life of their own.

18 July 2025. Final bow for "Origins". A show that celebrated the Indian born talent in dance that thrives around the world, and aspires to bring other dance forms into the vernacular of their own country.

The joy of participating in any performance production is getting to know the performers and crew quite intimately for the duration. It is a space where everyone's common goal is to do and show their best! 

With the exception of only two guest performers on the stage, I have had the privelege of working (if only briefly with a few) with everyone on the stage. Many of the performers and the audience members who came to see the show had been in classes that I taught when I was in India for six months back in 2018. And while I may never be able to remember all of their names, the looks in their eyes, how they move, what makes them individuals, has made them unforgettable to me. It is amazing that seeing someone walk up to me will be instantaneously recognizable for how I was looking at them in a dance class. But I do apologize that I am not so good with names. LOL.

You will need to ask Amanda about how this experience was for her. We have a couple short days to wrap up here in Mumbai, before we are back at our desks and in the studios back in NYC. But a last note here is that I was able to introduce Amanda to Yehuda Maor, whom I have known since the early 1980's. Yehuda was born in Israel where he danced with Bat Dor in some of Taylor's iconic works, before moving to the USA where I met him in California. As a dancer with both Oakland Ballet and ODC/San Francisco, I used to take open classes from Yehuda, and have run into him around the world as we both continued to explore international projects. Yehuda's presence in India inspired two film projects, "Yeh Ballet" and "Call Me Dancer", about his discover and training of Manish Chauhan. "Yeh Ballet" was written/directed by Sooni Taraporevala who attended "Origins" as well.

"Origins" post-show, Amanda, Yehuda and me. Behind us chatting are Manish Chauhan and Sooni Taraporevala.

Paul Taylor in India - Pt 3

A very common phrase I hear is, "There are no coincidences." However, sometimes I think it is necessary for us to let go of imagining that we control everything that touches us in life. Individually, we cannot possibly be the sole catalyst of events that are humanly inescapable, and that also affect so many others beyond ourselves. Alternatively, it is how we respond to life in the moment that can help us define our paths forward and how we reflect on what led us to this moment in time.

1984 rehearsal of Oakland Ballet for "The Green Table" with Anna Markard. Photo: Ron Reisterer

For many different reasons, learning the Kurt Jooss dance, "The Green Table" from his daughter Anna Markard has remained alive in my own teaching and staging of dances. She was always prepared, and she was also always ready to adjust as she saw fit for what the dancers in the studio needed. And ultimately, she let the intent of the dance in question guide her critiques and knowing when not to compromise on her choices.

Paul Taylor Dance Company introduced me to visiting India during our 1997 tour. Then I returned on my own in 2018 as a Fulbright Senior Teaching Fellow for six months during which time I worked with numerous different nascent dance training academies, teaching classical ballet and modern (in the style of Paul Taylor) dance all over Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.

Sadly, Mr. Taylor died the very night I was flying to India from NYC. On this trip, Paul Taylor's first manager, and a luminary of American leadership in the field of dance around the world, Charles Reinhart, has now sadly passed away. Both me were the same age, at least they were born in the same year, and when I joined the Taylor Company as a dancer, I quickly got to know "Charlie" like an "uncle" who was always a constant presence, even if we only saw him every few months.

Screen captures of Charles Reinhart in "Dancemaker" documentary from 1998.

So, spending time in India feels intrisically connected both to Paul Taylor and the sense of sharing an American dance legacy with this country and its culture. On this trip, Amanda Stevenson, manager of the Taylor School joined me to help deepen the breadth of what we could cover in a few short weeks of an "intensive" style immersion of both Paul Taylor's world of dance, as well as how ballet training can help to bridge the differences between the classical Indian dances so revered here, and the allure of Western contemporary dance styles found on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, et al.

It was quite the extended journey to get here, when Amanda missed her connection in London from NYC. So I thought it only fitting that I meet her at the airport for her first visit to India!

I am still fascinated by getting around Mumbai on foot or in a rickshaw, and I wish a video could do justice to the casual nature with which life narrowly avoids collisions. In many ways, I find Paul Taylor's choreography for groups can offer a similar sensation of exhillaration that collisions aren't happening between dancers on stage. LOL!

Lastly for this post, is an image of the studio where we have worked primarily, and the dancers, as they get a break to watch video of Taylor's dances being performed by his namesake company.

Institute of Classical and Modern Dance, Mumbai, India 2025!

Paul Taylor in India - Pt 2

 

Paul Taylor's "Prime Numbers" (1997). Photo: Howard Schatz

I have not had the wherewithal to take any pictures appropos this blog, since landing back in Mumbai, but it seems appropriate to share this image from "Prime Numbers" which was created in honor of the Taylor company's tour to India in 1997. The image has little to do with the actual dance, but there is a sense of the crowded, somewhat chaotic nature of life in Mumbai.

Perceptions of ourselves and what we may or may not know, is an ongoing part of learning. In just three short days of teaching ballet AND modern classes back-to-back to the same dancers, clear connections and divergences become evident. My observations of how the dancers approach and execute one excercise readily directs my choices for the next exercise. For example, in ballet class, we have been exploring articulation of the hips, knees, ankles in the different actions of weight transference, while using port de bras and arm placement as active, physical stabilizers. In modern we get to explore how the use of the spine changes the shape and articulation of the legs and arms without losing the sense of balance in oppositional forces. 

I don't speak directly to the dancers in exactly these terms, but helping them to find where to focus their attention in each exercise has been my impetus for my choices of each progressive exercise. My imagery in class is drawn from my observations of things that seem more common or explicit within the culture I experience around me while here in India. 

It has always fascinated me the fast pace and self awareness that pedestrians and drivers on Mumbai streets maintain. With very few traffic lights, most intersections are a battle of will as the most agile and assertive usually passes through, whether that is a pedestrian, rickshaw, motorcycle, auto, or truck. If dancers can bring this awareness into their classroom practice, I am usually impressed at their spatial awareness when dancing in crowded classes and limited space. 

Gesture in Taylor vocabulary is very important, and Indian classical dance forms utilize mudras (symbolic hand and finger combinations) intrisically. Once again, it is impressive to see dancers being able to layer attention to the gestural articulation of their hands and feet as an extension of their bodies in ballet and modern dance forms.

Similarly, Indian music (classical and contemporary) is polyrhythmic by nature, and tieing the relationship of movement to specific rhythmic forms in Western, Euro-centric styles helps the dancers make sense differentiating between things like triplets, waltzes, Balancés, pas de basques, et cetera. For me, dance is a visualization of rhythm, whether in consort or in counterpoint to the music to which it accompanies. 

I have hired a local percussionist, Sameer, to play for my modern classes, and we have been having an amazing time exploring the similarities, differences and challenges of bringing the dancers along on a rhythmic exploration of movement. He is not familiar with playing for modern dance class, yet he is highly sensitive to reacting to the dancers. This empathy for how a musician sees movement in dancers relative to what they are playing is such a valuable attribute when working with accompanists!

I will try to add some visuals to my next post about being here in Mumbai teaching dance!

Paul Taylor in India - Pt 1

 Who knew that India would play into such landmarks in my dance career? My first visit to India was with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1997 for the country's 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

1997 in Paul Taylor's "Prime Numbers" that premiered in New Delhi! Photo: Lois Greenfield

There is so much more to say about India, but the focus of this blog is how dance for me is a bridge between and into different disciplines of physical practice. As I have mentioned previously, I also think that my approach to dance is similar to my approach to life as a whole, trying to bridge cultures that have shaped who I am as a person today. In 2018, I returned to India for six months to teach dance and explore the many ways that dance exemplifies "international diplomacy" attempting to overcome political borders. Now I have returned for a short three-week stay, once again under the auspices of Paul Taylor's repertoire and the Taylor School.

1997 visiting the Taj Mahal, Agra, India

It is possible for you to read about my 2018 Fulbright by visiting this related blogsite Qajaq Dancer where I kept a blog going for 7 months.

I just landed back in Mumbai last night, and will be getting my bearings today as well as teaching my first two classes at the Institute of Classical and Modern Dance (ICMD) which is run by Pia Sutaria, who recently endorsed my teaching in NYC, both here and through my Instagram page.

Perspectives on the relationship between ballet and modern dance might better be perceived through the eyes of dancers for whom neither ballet nor modern dance is an understood form of training. In India, ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, tap are all considered "Western" dance styles. As such, it can be confusing to clarify if there is an order in which to study such varied styles, and to know how they can also be highly complementary.

For the next three weeks, I will be teaching both classical ballet and modern classes to mostly the same students. And it is always interesting as a teacher to see how dancers react to having different styles taught to them by the same teacher. From my perspective each discipline has its own goals and progression. I come prepared to teach a certain class, and yet I am grateful to have the experience to adapt what I am teaching to the dancers in the class. I have often been known to veer precipitously away from my "lesson plan" as I suddenly imagine that the dancers before me would benefit from a very different emphasis in class.

In a very reductive statement, my approach to Ballet is often about placement and alignment of the skeleton in a vertical axis to perform the desired technical and aesthetic movements and shapes that mark the style. while Modern is often about building core strength and articulating joints and musculature to discover an aesthetic not necessarily bound by a vertical alignment, or symmetry of shape. Maybe I will discuss this more specifically after I have been teaching these back-to-back classes this week.

Open classes in NYC at the Taylor School continue to build, and I hope that even just one new dancer will wander into a class each week. I am just one of an amazing roster of teachers, and I am flattered when dancers want to take from me specifically. But I have also learned that the every teacher has something from which we can all learn!

Hopefully I will remember to take a picture or two of my classes, and maybe even a short video clip. It is exciting to see both familiar and new faces here in India.

PS. On the 29th August 2018, I flew the same route of NYC to London connecting to Mumbai. It was the very same day that Paul Taylor died, and I actually received the news when I landed in London. So I had the whole trip to Mumbai to contemplate that I would not be around for the majority of the events that took place honoring Taylor, as I was to remain in India for six months! My contribution to Taylor's legacy in that moment was to be sharing what I knew of his dances, and him personally, through my teaching and presentations. It was strange to realize that in a country of 1.3 billion people, I was the only person who had the privilege of working and dancing for Paul Taylor. This trip from London to Mumbai had me thinking about how the path of the plane had to navigate between the militarized airspace of countries at war. Could dance be, is dance, a diplomatic phenomena that might bring some balance to the future?!