Carried Away in the Tide?

As I mentioned before, emotions are really strange and unpredictable. I feel like so much is changing right now and I know that I need to make a lot of decisions. Some of that anxiety stems from the normal stresses of classes and activities starting up again, and much of it come from my meshugenah feelings about this no-longer relationship with you-know-who. Anyhow…some questions: what sort of roles do I want/need to fulfill in all my spheres: classes, friends, relationships, clubs, family, residents, work, and dance. Do I want to focus more on schoolwork or real work? What kind of relationships am I seeking? Can I handle the responsibilities of my clubs? How will I be able to keep up with dance?

Along with all these questions I’m realizing more that I can’t do everything. Oh, I’m gonna die trying, but I need to focus on what it is within my spheres that I’m really interested in or am going to benefit from. In some clubs I might not need to be an officer, maybe I should just participate in the activities. Instead of taking lots of dance classes, maybe I should work on just practicing the steps from a particular class or two. And relationships, well there’s no easy answer to that topic.

Here’s a story for ya… In my improvisational dance class I learned something cool today. We were all asked to partner up and do exactly as the other was doing: walking, rolling, sitting, standing, stretching, etc. Then each pair had to join with another pair (making 4 people) and continue to follow each others’ movements. The pattern continued until eventually the whole class was one group following each other around.

The tricky part in the activity was that it’s fairly easy to balance the give and take of who’s leading vs. following in the pair and then it got more difficult within the larger groups. No longer could everyone express themselves. Similarly it was no longer clear who was leading when there were 30 people doing the same thing. It was still fun, but it changed the whole dynamic as the groups were enlarged.

When we were asked to evaluate the activity there were a lot of interesting ideas about reciprocation and group dynamics. One of them stood out in my mind. When we were asked which was easier, to lead or follow, the class was split on the question. Some preferred following within the large groups over the give and take of a single partner. I personally preferred leading, and consequently having a single partner. After all we’re not talking about formal steps or anything–just basic movements. It shouldn’t be difficult to lead the activities you perform everyday anyways.

However, many of the others were worried about being creative or getting their partner’s attention and they just figured it would be easier to carry out the other’s actions, especially within the larger groups. I think that says a lot about people: not just the basic idea that some are more outgoing and confident than others, but that to some it’s actually *easier* to follow than to simply go along your way as you normally would. Sometimes it’s just simpler to get carried away in the tide, I guess. That’s kinda scary to me. I don’t know that you’ll see a deeper meaning after all, but there was definitely a lightbulb over my head when we were talking about it…

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Published:
9.8.00 / 11pm
Category:
Dance, Reflections
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