SCABs

GAGA DANCE – By @EvaMenovsky

By Eva Menovsky

 

GAGA DANCE

 

No, it’s nothing like lady gaga. 

Gaga dance is a movement language, a way to express thyself in movement. It’s designed for professional dancers as well as for the general public. In gaga dance, you improvise the movements based on somatic experience and imagery described by the teacher. All teachers do it differently. It facilitates movement guiding by sensing. Since gaga is about experimenting with movement language, I thought I would give it a try to examine how it comes across written down. 

While doing this dance, never stop moving. The movement follow through your body at all times. Sometimes you can’t even see the movement, but if you connect with the small muscles and the body, you will approach movement from a different place.  Work with your senses and listen to your body. Gaga is about doing what your body needs. 

So whether you are sitting down, or already standing, stand up.

Feel your feet on the floor.

Now make yourself heavy.

But keep your spine straight.

Feel your feet sinking in the floor.

The floor closing in, around your feet.

Now with every breath, you slowly make yourself lighter.

Breath in, breath out. 

Feel like you are lifting from the floor.

Almost flying away.

Feel the wind under your armpits.

Lifting your arms, but your hands still feel the gravity.

Your hands are heavy, slowly going to the ground. 

Your body follows.

Let your head hang, heavily. 

Shake it.

Start to shake in your head, and then slowly let it travel all the down to your feet.

While shaking, get your head up.

Stand straight.

Let you head move, up, down, left, right, behind, front.

Let your head give movement to the rest of your body.

Your body is a caterpillar, and your head are the front feet. 

Where your head is going, your body is following your head. 

Feel the movement travelling in your body. 

Let it travel from your head through your spine, all the way to your pelvis

Imagine a big ball in your pelvis which is rolling around. 

And your hips are just following.

Play with the ball, let it turn and twist and rotate. 

Now drop your pelvis on the floor. 

Feel the weight of your ball in your pelvis turning around. 

The ball is getting heavier and heavier.

It’s more of a trouble to move the ball now. 

You feel your weight sinking in the floor, while trying to rotate the ball.

The ball is moving slowly upwards.

Vertebrae by vertebrae.

Pushing your body closer into the floor. 

Feel the pain of your abdominals.

Until your head is on the floor. 

In 3 sec we are going to stand up.

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Let the movement resonate in your body. 

Let it flow.

Now feel like you are a boiler. 

You put the water in, and slowly you will raise up the heat. 

You will feel it boiling in the inside. 

This movement comes within. 

Feel your muscles getting hotter and steamier. 

Boil it before the cooker whistles. 

Feel the contractions in your small muscles. 

Feel them moving in your bones.

Now make it soft without collapsing. 

Keep the energy with you, while you softly let your arm and legs float.

Feel how the bones are floating in your flesh.

Feel your bones pulling away from your flesh.

Your arms, your legs, you shoulder-blades, your hips, your head.

All your bones are pulling away from you. 

You are going to pull bigger and harder in 10 sec.

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Softly drop your movement. 

Feel the movement echoing in your body as you lower your hands and stand still.

Thank you.

Hope that all worked for you. If not here’s a link to a class from the maker of Gaga: Ohad Naharin, if you want to experience a real gaga class. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLz09Splpf8&t=6s

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