Breathing

One of our instructors takes the time out of her week to figure out a theme for the weekend.  One of the most important themed weekends that we have had is Breathing Weekend.

A quote that she accompanied with her post that introduced the weekend’s theme was, “Breathing, emotions and movement are normally strongly interwoven, with each influencing the others. Young dancers often hold their breath, interfering with their movement’s integrity and precluding expressivity. In a sensory context, exploring various relationships between breathing and moving may enhance expressive potential and release physical and psychological tension” (Brodie and Lobel, 2012).

We as performers need to actively, find spots in our show where we can catch our breath, find big moments to breath in and check all releases (out) and catches (in)!

It is very important to breathe while performing.  You can’t get anything up without a breath in or a breath out.  You also can’t do anything without breathing… believe me… I have tried it… and everything that was done was horrific. You not only run out of breath real quick, but you begin to minimize everything that you are supposed to do while you body slowly stops providing oxygen to your muscles.

You can see in a performers movement when they do and don’t breathe.  You can see it through their face and by the way their body movement is limited and not full out.

If you pay attention to a performer at the end of their five-minute show, some performers look fine while others are trying to catch their breath.  Without proper breathing throughout the whole show, a performer will be very out of breath by the end. 

As a performer, it is very important to take in all of the information that is given by the instructors.  From that information, it is important to find where you can breathe in order to make the information look light and flawless.

It is very important that when someone tosses a piece of equipment, like a rifle, saber, or flag, to breath. 

In order to get a toss out, you would need to breathe out.  When you catch the toss, you need to breathe in.  When you breathe out while tossing, you can use that burst of energy to get an extra rotation for the piece of equipment that you are spinning. 

When you catch the piece of equipment, you need to breathe in.  When you breathe in, you can catch the equipment solid, and if caught correctly, you could get a nice crack. Without this automatic technique, which is taught on day one, you will not be able to succeed in your goals.

When you dance during a show that is the best time to find a spot to breathe.  When you breathe while dancing, everything flows more, and looks lighter and full of breathe (depending on the dance that you do).  Our most recent shows have dance that is more slower yet can get sharp.  This is the time where breaths in get you big, and a breath out can get you so small.

It is very important to breathe.  This piece of information is so important that it is said so frequently. Before you apply breathing to everything you do, it is always beneficial to start from the beginning.