California Part 6 - Nia in San Diego
The first class of today's double-header is in Carlsbad. Not actually San Diego, but part of the San Diego metro area. Lisa-Anne was my producer and we had a nice room to fill with our Nia passion.
There were some teachers in the class, and also some people planning to take the White Belt in the near future, so it was a highly functioning Nia crowd.
We had a great time and I learned a few new pearls and some new variations on the movements that I can adopt into the routine. It's fun to experience this routine growing and changing with each time I present it. Today was the first time I actually felt that feeling that time slows down. When I first work with a routine, I operate with an unshakeable feeling of trying to catch up to the music. The moves and everything seem to be going so fast. But as I get more comfortable and familiar with it, time slows down, and it seems like I have all the time in the world to do the movement. It is much more relaxing the second way, and I'm sure I deliver a better Nia experience that way.
Here is some video taken by a student from the back of the class. It is posted on Facebook and I dont' know to extract it, so if you don't have a Facebook account, I suspect you won't be able to see the video.
And here is another video, taken in the same class by a different student. This is also posted on Facebook, so I hope you can view it. It is a public posting, but I believe you do need to have a Facebook account to access it.
After class, I went back to my motel room and took a nap. Then I woke up and made a sandwich out of beef jerky and fermented vegetables.
My phone cord has been fraying for over a year, but holding on and remaining useable. Until last night, when it wouldn't stay connected long enough even to recharge. So after lunch, I made a trip to the Encinatas Apple Store and bought a replacement cord. Now it works fine again.
In the evening, I drove to San Diego (about 45 minutes) to teach Orchestra. This was the first chance for me to teach the routine on the road. It is a good routine and people seem to be liking it. but I'm aware that it's not done. It needs tweaking. I got some good notes from teachers in class about how I could make the routine better.
So I'll be working on making my movements more precise. I tend to move more body parts than are necessary; which, especially in the beginning of the routine, makes it harder to follow along. And I will also be staying with some of the movements for longer, rather than changing up so much. This was one of the biggest messages I got from taking a FAB Your Choreography playshop with Debbie Rosas. My two main notes from her were that I should stay with things for longer, and that I should build up to the climax. I tend to go to the climax right out of the gate, so I need to add more foreplay to my choreography. It's fun to adjust.
I stayed in the green room, chatting with some local teachers for about two hours. My friend, Audrey gave me a jar of some bone broth soup she made, with ginger turmeric and chile. It was so delicious. I had it with bread and made a satisfying meal out of it.
I did some laundry at the motel before going to bed. On the way to the laundry facility, River spotted a rabbit hopping along the grassy area. It was his first rabbit. And while he seems oblivious to squirrels and birds, he nearly always chaces cats. So, it seems that rabbits are more in the cat category than the squirrel category. The rabbit wasn't exciting enough to prompt a chace, but he didn't entirely ignore it, either.
I'll do lots of driving over the next few days and I don't teach again until Saturday, so I have all week to explore what I can find between San Diego and Corpus Christi.
There were some teachers in the class, and also some people planning to take the White Belt in the near future, so it was a highly functioning Nia crowd.
We had a great time and I learned a few new pearls and some new variations on the movements that I can adopt into the routine. It's fun to experience this routine growing and changing with each time I present it. Today was the first time I actually felt that feeling that time slows down. When I first work with a routine, I operate with an unshakeable feeling of trying to catch up to the music. The moves and everything seem to be going so fast. But as I get more comfortable and familiar with it, time slows down, and it seems like I have all the time in the world to do the movement. It is much more relaxing the second way, and I'm sure I deliver a better Nia experience that way.
Here is some video taken by a student from the back of the class. It is posted on Facebook and I dont' know to extract it, so if you don't have a Facebook account, I suspect you won't be able to see the video.
And here is another video, taken in the same class by a different student. This is also posted on Facebook, so I hope you can view it. It is a public posting, but I believe you do need to have a Facebook account to access it.
After class, I went back to my motel room and took a nap. Then I woke up and made a sandwich out of beef jerky and fermented vegetables.
My phone cord has been fraying for over a year, but holding on and remaining useable. Until last night, when it wouldn't stay connected long enough even to recharge. So after lunch, I made a trip to the Encinatas Apple Store and bought a replacement cord. Now it works fine again.
In the evening, I drove to San Diego (about 45 minutes) to teach Orchestra. This was the first chance for me to teach the routine on the road. It is a good routine and people seem to be liking it. but I'm aware that it's not done. It needs tweaking. I got some good notes from teachers in class about how I could make the routine better.
So I'll be working on making my movements more precise. I tend to move more body parts than are necessary; which, especially in the beginning of the routine, makes it harder to follow along. And I will also be staying with some of the movements for longer, rather than changing up so much. This was one of the biggest messages I got from taking a FAB Your Choreography playshop with Debbie Rosas. My two main notes from her were that I should stay with things for longer, and that I should build up to the climax. I tend to go to the climax right out of the gate, so I need to add more foreplay to my choreography. It's fun to adjust.
I stayed in the green room, chatting with some local teachers for about two hours. My friend, Audrey gave me a jar of some bone broth soup she made, with ginger turmeric and chile. It was so delicious. I had it with bread and made a satisfying meal out of it.
I did some laundry at the motel before going to bed. On the way to the laundry facility, River spotted a rabbit hopping along the grassy area. It was his first rabbit. And while he seems oblivious to squirrels and birds, he nearly always chaces cats. So, it seems that rabbits are more in the cat category than the squirrel category. The rabbit wasn't exciting enough to prompt a chace, but he didn't entirely ignore it, either.
I'll do lots of driving over the next few days and I don't teach again until Saturday, so I have all week to explore what I can find between San Diego and Corpus Christi.
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