Limon Teacher Training

A few weeks ago (aka a lifetime ago at this point) I took a modern dance class for the first time in about 15 years from the Limon Dance Foundation. I have always admired the style of modern dance that emerged from Jose Limon's choreographies but I never had the opportunity to give myself the luxury of specific study. I paid for two classes but only took one (the life of a gigging artist) and I was struck by the feelings of joy and generosity the movement released from my body. ​

I was not surprised by the sweat. 

After perusing the dance company's website for the location of in-person classes (not knowing that a move to LA was just a few weeks away), I saw an offering that I could not refuse - an online teacher training that both deconstructed Limon's techniques while simultaneously offered "reinvigoration" for pedagogy (a word I am uncomfortable saying out loud - hard final G or soft G?!) with a focus on inclusivity. Link to the offering below. 

Limon Dance Foundation Home Edition II

Hindsight is 2020... or 2021? Eh whatever, these years sorta blow. I digress - the timing could NOT have been worse as it coincided with the final week of my summer intensive for my MFA and the biggest move of my adult life.  

Of course I signed up. 
Of course I didn't quit once I learned about my pending move. 
Of course I had to shuffle everything in my life around to fit this dang week in. 

This training was unbelievably worth it. 

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The instructors, Kurt Douglas and Kristen Foote, are just amazing. I wish we could have been in person so they could better absorb my deep admiration for their knowledge, talent, and teaching styles. I typed and backspaced the private message "Can we be friends?" so many times - I had to try and keep up with the incredible cohort of students so I had to focus! Kurt and Kristen shared Limon's philosophy and movement vocabulary with precision and authenticity - I think Limon would have loved to see the attention to detail and the attention to JOY both of them portrayed. I have a deep gratitude... can we be friends?! 

In addition to this, the workshop had accompaniment and MAN OH MAN was that a joy, a treat, and a delight. We had a chance to ask accompanist (and PHD) Allen Fogelsanger a bit and his ENCYCLOPEDIC knowledge only bested by his love and understanding music and dance's relationship. What a cool person - if you ever see this I'm already using the playlist! 

The fellow students in the cohort were knowledgeable, playful, deadly serious about dance but also amazing in their artistry. If there was a moment where I MIGHT feel imposter syndrome - that would have been it. However, I never felt out of place with all of these friendly artists. 

I took pages and pages of notes, but I'm going to give myself a minute to digest them before I start organizing them into my final thoughts and create the connections between what I learned and my teaching practices. I will say this - Limon's philosophies and the tenants of his modern dance style loan perfectly to traditional and modern belly dance. It is amazing how things in our universe are so connected. 
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All in all I think I gave myself a few very nice gifts with the cost of this workshop - a bunch of new friends (they may not know it yet, but I do), invigorated teaching ideas, refreshed look at modern dance, and a slew of artistic inspiration. If you haven't guessed it already, I highly recommend everything about this course.