Awareness Through Movement #236

Rotation on an axis - STANDING - with Megan Hopley

“All the weight of the body is on a straight line on the right side — from the heel to the hand is a straight line, up... a straight line up. The straight line up is necessary. It will work if the chest, in the middle, is moving backward.

That is what most dancers, male and female, do not do. While they are making a turn, they do this. That is a weak movement that breaks the speed of the movement. It is necessary that the middle move backward.

There truly will be a straight line. Only when the middle is backward will the movement of turning around oneself be free. Please listen to this and do it slowly. It is possible to lose patience with all the people, because the more the person is trained in his movement, the more he cannot notice and cannot feel. It is as if he did not have a brain.

We are talking about this movement. We said the great majority — look and see that all the dancers are doing it. They want to turn the body from the pelvis. We are talking about turning it around the heel. They do not distinguish between this and bringing this shoulder forward. They all do it. They bring this shoulder forward.

This is an axis.

This is a turn.
Look and see.
They do this all the time.
They cannot refrain.
It is necessary for them to show beautiful movements.”

Moshe Feldenkrais at some point during this lesson - which Megan may or may not read.

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A reminder,

the second vertebra (C2) is also called the “AXIS”

hhhmmm… imagine if this were the point we turned around.