As I twirled my bright yellow balloon, I was
thinking, I could not be happier. The balloon bounced gaily with not a care in
the world. The menacing fans which were whirring frenetically seemed poised to
burst my bubble.
Nothing of that sort happened. On the first occasion
my balloon soared upwards and was gently kissed and pushed away by the rim of
the blades. On the second occasion the balloon found itself above the rotating
blades. But lo and behold the balloon was actually bouncing on the blades! They
were having a fine time. That’s when I realized how unfounded my fears were.
We were at a dance therapy workshop. Dance as
therapy?! The equation was interesting. I thought I’d tag along.
We opened with a relaxation technique. As we stood
in a circle, we were made aware of each part of the body from the head
downwards. Next came free-style dancing
to the instrumental music. There was sharing by the group after each dance
exercise. I shared my insight that I was doing certain moves repeatedly for no
reason. My body was trying to tell me
something.
Dance Instructor Ms. Cliszma DaCosta was saying that
dance brings out the unconscious. Co-trainer Dr. Sujata Samant elaborated by
saying that the body remembers more than the mind.
Imagine each pore of your skin, having a sensation,
a hard disk of memory of the years you have lived. The body became a textbook
which required reading to interpret and understand the way you felt. Dance
movement therapy did not insist on dancing in a particular way. There was no
perfect way.
Mirroring was the next activity. Each person in a
pair held the balloon and moved it in a particular way. The other partner had
to ‘mirror’ the movement by moving his/her body in the same manner. Frustrated
by my limited repertoire Cliszma -- who has studied Dance Movement Therapy at
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai -- suggested that I improve my
dance vocabulary. She asked us to explore space and distance between partners.
Also to be kept in mind, were the three levels of movement i.e. head, waist and
feet.
The brief 2-hour workshop from 11-1 p.m. made us
aware of our bodies and the potential locked within.
The climax was the syncronized group dance to the
moves of Remo’s Maria Pitache and the
Konkani medley of ‘Goan Masala.’
As the workshop drew to a close we were asked to
‘melt down’ like an ice cream. The hall was darkened. Only the music played. Feel each part of your body relaxing. As you
work from the head downwards let your body move to the floor. Lie down flat on
the ground legs spread in total surrender.
As I lay down, I felt I was sleeping peacefully next
to my dad as he lay in the ground. He too was sleeping peacefully. Dance helped
me to accept his passing three months ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Published in Gomantak Times, Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on Sunday, 22 October 2017. Instagram photo courtesy, Cliszma DaCosta, 17 October 2017.
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