Dance Ideas
Contents
About
IMPORTANT: I turned this webpage into a website: www.danceinspiration.net <<<<<
... and a book!
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Title: The Little Book of Dance Inspiration: Unlocking freedom in movement & authenticity in dance
Publication date: .... Jul 2, 2023
Description: {{{description}}}
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Freeform dance styles like ecstatic dance can be totally amazing for the discovery aspect! Dance alone or with a partner, the eclectic music might inspire you to move in ways you never have before. Or connect in new ways to yourself, a partner, or your surrounding. Yup, that's one of the more hippy things I've ever said, but it's true. On this page, I have some bullet point ideas on ways you can dance that I've come up with or taken from various workshops. Often I won't spell out what it means, because you interpret it how you want.
Principles
- All styles:
- Levels: (1) air, (2) standing, (3) crouching, (4) kneeling, (5) floor work. ........ (there are 5 levels, which are you ignoring)
- Tempo: (1) intense, (2) moderate, (3) relaxed, (4) molasses, (5) pause. ........ (tempo is dynamic, and don't forget to pause)
- Circles: from any of your joints. ........ (start shoulders, wrists, knees, hips, spine, neck, turn in circles and figures of eight)
- Patterns: am I stuck in a pattern? How might I challenge myself right now? ........ (what is your comfort zone or routine... can you break it... that discomfort, to break out of mundane, is growth)
- Limitless:
- Creative body: a body can ________ . ........ (jump, roll, sway, sit, swim, lay, breathe, contort, play tennis, make love, blow kisses, mimic, give, fight, love, laugh, cry, transfer energy, ... endless)
- Creative floor: the dance floor is ________ . ........ (a battlefield, love, lava, the universe, ... endless)
- Woo woo:
- Breathe ........ (expand contract)
- Slow dance ........ (slow like molasses tai chi with exaggerated poses)
- Negative space ........ (find the empty dance floor, dance around another person or object, wherever they don't occupy)
- Noise ........ (do I feel like clicking, clapping, howling, laughing, stomping... and is it appropriate in this moment)
Dance Ideas
Solo Dance Ideas
- Stylish:
- Fight ........ (fighting movements, best for fast songs)
- Invisible Wall ........ (fighting movements, best for fast songs)
- Badass:
- Moonwalk ........ (MJ style)
- Pop and lock ........ (oh yeah)
- Fun:
- Pick an animal ........ (make animal ears and pretend to be some animal, cuz why be so serious)
- Woo woo:
- Focus on a body part ........ (focus on your middle finger)
- Touch yourself ........ (nothing is sexier)
Partner Dance Ideas
- Fun:
- Pass the ball ........ (create a ball with your hands and throw it around, but then transform the anything, can translate to many people)
- Sword fight ........ (or more... tell everyone to walk the room with their hands as swords ready to fight)
- Hooks ........ (don't grab an arm, use your hand to hook their arm, waist, neck, feet)
- Woo woo:
- Energy flow ........ (imagine some form of energy, pass to another)
- Under, over and through ........ (pretty much have to have a conversation beforehand to, one person moves slowly, the other dance around them)
- Contact improve (never lose touch) ........ (always keep a point of touch)
- Eye gazing ........ (eye gazing with slow hands)
- Bounce the baby ........ (bounce)
- Primal animals ........ (flat out pretend to be predatory animals like lions and growl)
- Playful animals ........ (thing up any silly animal and act it out: monkey, snake, butterfly, worm)
- Lifts:
- Lifts ........ (wedding lift, fireman lift, back lift, piggy-back, on the shoulders, flip, hympicl, back to back)
Group Dance Ideas
- Wedding fun:
- Limbo ........ (enough said)
- Tunnel ........ (needs 4 people to start, for a standing tunnel and people go underneath)
- Conga ........ (enough said)
- Single Leader:
- Copy the leader ........ (two lines of people facing each other, and people in the middle mirror, everyone follows)
- Faceoff ........ (two lines of people facing each other, and people in the middle mirror, everyone follows)
- Woo woo:
- Hand circle ........ (all hold hands, mimic)
- Ameba ........ (just all rolling off each other, flowy music)
- Cuddle puddle ........ (not really dancing at this point!)
Ecstatic Rules
- No photos ........ (origin in big island hawaii, women were topless)
- No talking ........ (noises are okay, but talking distracts from the experience)
- No footwear ........ (grounded, quiet)
- Consent ........ (asking for dance, honoring a no, namaste hands)
- Be present ........ (be brave and be present with whatever emotion appears, cry if you want to but don't take this to seriously)
Ecstatic Quotes
- "Breathe in your intentions, breathe out your expectations."
- "We all came here for different reasons: to connect with others, to connect with yourself, to connect with something divine, to attend dance church, to exercise, to meditate, to release tension, to feel empowered, to meet new people, to socialize with friends, to feel sexy, to move energy, to find love in whatever form that means."
- "(1) You, (2) the music, (3) your partner, (4) the entity between." ........ (a threesome with your partner and the music)
- "Principles in dance, and principles in life." ........ (consent, confidence, shy, bravery, authenticity)
Misc Ideas
- Observe & Mimic
- Crawl
- Practice Rejection ........ (an exercise to encourage asking... and practice of saying no)
- Flowing Staccato Chaos Lyrical Stillness
Memorizing Ideas
When I was a youngster doing to clubs for the first time I would try to remember "Fight the Invisible Robot". In other words, I could dance like I was fighting or like there was an invisible object, like a ball or a wall, or just do robotic movements. It's funny that I picked that sentence - it was nice and short and maybe I couldn't remember anything longer. Maybe you can think of a fun acronym.
See Also
| Acknowledgements: Mostly Gabriel Francisco - I highly recommend his "Dance is Life" course. It was fun to see someone else has a collection of movement ideas, and so many of these are his! |
