let go of your butt

I'm not the only one

2007-11-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

Like-minded thinker blogging: Jonathan FitzGordon of the FitzGordon Method.

A really important part is his description of the butt/pelvic floor relationship: the more the butt grips, the harder it is for the pelvic floor to engage. This seems only logical since the gluteus maximus is much larger than the pelvic floor muscles. But we need the pelvic floor for, like, staying continent, keeping organs from prolapse, being in synergy with deep abdominal and spinal muscles,...kind of important stuff.

Another issue is that, since the butt is a hip extensor, grip there is going to lock the pelvis and leg into extension, and it's not going to want to move. When it is supposed to, for walking or sitting down let alone dancing or anything else, other joints are likely going to end up moving more to make up for the places that are stuck. And especially if those joints are moving beyond their range of motion, those are the places likely to get injured. The joints closest to the hip are likely to be most affected: the SI (sacroiliac) joints and lower back above, knees to feet below.

Walking with buttgrip, at the extreme, gets toward that just-got-off-the horse waddle or shuffle. Sitting is likely to be rolled back off the sitzbones and slumped in the lower spine. I once saw a woman attempting to take a seat on a crosstown bus; her hips would not bend, so she ended up doing a hinge to drop her upper back against the seat and just barely caught her bottom on the front edge of the seat--one bump of the bus and she could have slid off the seat onto the floor.

The butt is a powerful muscle set, great for climbing, big jumps, getting up and down from the floor. Wasting that power on holding yourself up is likely to leave the muscles too tight to do those things.

Jonathan FitzGordon has an e-newsletter (subscribe and find other cool information at fitzgordonmethod.com), which most recently included the Relax Your Butt post and also this Exercise of the Month:

We overwork our butt. Before you learn to let it go you have to realize how much you grip it. Spend the next few days checking in with your glutes to see how often they are relaxed, if ever. Specifically watch what happen when stress enters the picture.

PS Been away from the blog too long. Return is more likely to be monthly than weekly or daily. But I'll be back.

Been a While

2007-03-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

One of these days I'll actually post something of substance. Meanwhile, this is fun:

follow the bouncing bot

Concert Announcement: Peripheral Dances

2006-04-19T16:23:00.000-04:00

We open in a little over a week!

Peripheral Dances
Featuring works by Gail Accardi, Sue Bernhard, Laurie De Vito, Mami Fujita & Maki Hatae, and Akiko Tomikawa & Rie Hozumi. Dance film by Kristina Jones
Dancers: Gail Accardi, Rachel Feinerman, Mami Fujita, Maki Hatae, Rie Hozumi, Sally Im, Yuko Meads, Hae Young Oh, Megumi Onishi, Nicole Speletic, Akiko Tomikawa, and Alissa Wall

Sundays April 30, May 7, and May 14 at 7:30pm at the
Green Space Studio Theater
37-24 24th Street
Long Island City, NY

Tickets $10
gailaccardi@earthlink.net for reservations and information

More pictures here.

I was born that way

2006-04-14T19:07:00.000-04:00

This landed in my email today:

"The DNA of Dancing" THE WEEK, March 10, 2006

Some people, it appears, are born to dance. After analyzing the DNA of the families of 85 professional dancers and 872 other people, researchers spotted two genes that appeared in the dancers, but not in others. They weren't genes for rhythm, coordination, or flexibility. Instead people who love to dance are genetically programmed to respond strongly to hormones and chemicals that promote feelings of spirituality, social communication, and bonding with other people.

"The genes we studied are more related to the emotional side of dancing," researcher Richard Ebstein tells Discovery.com. Dancers, he said, have "the need and ability to communicate with other people and a spiritual side to their natures that not only enable them to feel the music but to communicate that feelings to others via dance."

I was unable to find this particular article online, but did find the Discovery Channel tidbit and--joy to geeks everywhere--the study report. Some highlights and clarifications:

We suggest the notion that the “dance” phenotype is no more difficult to define than other complex human behavioral phenotypes (schizophrenia, attention deficit, personality, violence, and others) that have been shown to be both heritable and amenable to genetic analysis. Dancers fulfill a set of criteria with considerable face validity (similar in principle to the usual Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–style “symptom checklist” [12]) that both identifies and distinguishes one disorder from another. For example, the US Department of Labor suggests that the following qualities, inter alia, are required to be a professional dancer: flexibility, agility, coordination, grace, a sense of rhythm, a feeling for music, and a creative ability to express oneself through movement [13].

I of course can't help but be charmed by the grouping of dance with schizophrenia et al and the implication we've a DSM-worthy disorder.

The study looks at two polymorphic genes and notes a preponderance of certain interdependent variations in dancers vs. athletes and also nondancers. These genes have implications correlated with two scales of human personality traits. One is the Tellegen Absorption Scale, which the study cites in reference to its association with spirituality, on the theory that sacred dance rituals have existed across cultures. To me, that sort of aggrandizement seemed unnecessary--the questions reflected, simply, absorption, the ability to lose oneself in the moment. As in that dancer high we all chase, no higher purpose needed. High scores on the scale are also linked to hypnotizability.

The other is the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (can't find it online), specifically its Reward Dependence dimension. (Questionnaire description found here):

Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire
The TPQ is a 100-item, self-administered, paper-and-pencil, true/false instrument which takes approximately 15 minutes to complete (Cloninger, 1987a). The questionnaire measures the three higher order personality dimensions of novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence, each of which measures four lower order dimensions (Cloninger, 1987b). The novelty seeking domain measures the spectrums of exploratory excitability versus stoic rigidity (9 items), impulsiveness versus reflection (8 items), extravagance versus reserve (7 items), and disorderliness versus regimentation (10 items). The harm avoidance domain measures the spectrums of anticipatory worry versus uninhibited optimism (10 items), fear of uncertainty versus confidence (7 items), shyness with strangers versus gregariousness (7 items), and fatigability and asthenia versus vigor (10 items). The reward dependence domain measures the spectrums of sentimentality versus insensitiveness (5 items), persistence versus irresoluteness (9 items), attachment versus detachment (11 items), and dependence versus independence (5 items). The TPQ is based on a unified biosocial model of personality integrating concepts focused on the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological basis of behavioral tendencies, styles of learning, and the adaptive interaction of the three personality dimensions (Cloninger et al., 1991).

Interestingly, the Village Voice article cited in the previous post mentions

the understanding that choreographers and dance critics have something in common besides a love for the form; we are, as [Tere O'Connor] puts it, "two populations with reward deficit."

Make of that what you will. The dancers scored higher than athletes and nondancers on reward dependence, which the study links with interpersonal communications. On that basis, if we regard dance as a form of communication, it makes some sense, though I'd still like to see the questions to understand where the difference is between competitive (thus, presumably reward-seeking) athletes vs. performing dancers. The study's description of the reward dependent

Individuals high in TPQ Reward Dependence tend to be tender-hearted, loving and warm, sensitive, dedicated, dependent, and sociable [58]. They seek social contact and are open to communication with other people. Typically, they find people they like everywhere they go and are sensitive to social cues, which facilitates warm social relations and understanding of others' feelings. The observed association between TPQ Reward Dependence scores and AVPR1a is consistent with the role of the arginine vasopressin receptor in social communication as demonstrated in extensive animal experiments [59]. The association between AVPR1a and Reward Dependence personality traits strengthens the notion that this gene contributes to dancing through its contribution to social communication.

seems to reflect cultural differences between dance and sport environments, but I've tended to stay away from the more cutthroat competitive end of the dance world. Another gene with connections to the TPQ novelty-seeking dimension showed promise for further study.

My email overstates the story a bit; the genetic differences were not exclusive to the dancers:

The association between AVPR1a and SLC6A4 polymorphisms and creative dancing does not exclude the presence of the same polymorphisms in nondancing groups of subjects. Almost all of us dance and almost all of us have engaged in sports. What the current study suggests is that the combination of polymorphic variants contributing to creative dancing is overrepresented in the dancers. There is no reason to suggest that the nondancer athletes or the control group of nondancers/nonathletes are devoid of these polymorphisms, but the current study provides evidence that these variants are relatively scarce in other groups not specifically selected for the creative dancing phenotype. Importantly, we not only compared creative dancers to performing athletes but also validated the case-control design using a family-based study that avoids the conundrum of a comparison control group that might be “contaminated” with polymorphisms contributing to creative dancing. As for most complex traits, the effect size of these two genes is small and in Risch's terminology will have small displacement [41]

Since one of the genes involves serotonin levels, this study seems to provide a genetic substructure for the previous study showing modern dance relieves anxiety.

I was looking for something else

2006-04-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Deborah Jowitt and Tere O-Connor discussed the choreographer-critic relationship in an article Jowitt wrote for the Village Voice a couple months ago (see also this post by Downtown Dancer for background and commentary). The choreographer-critic relationship debate generated some heat last fall, but it is not a new issue. At one point in the article, Jowitt revisits a past element of the discussion:

As O'Connor mentioned in an essay he wrote for Movement Research Journal's fall 2002 issue on criticism, he dislikes it when critics pull what he terms a "stop-action" moment from his work.

This Austin Chronicle article from 2003 may explain why.

Kathy Dunn Hamrick was reading a dance review when a phrase caught her eye: "multiple cuppings of dipped heads." Huh? She had seen the show, too, but the reviewer's description left her baffled. What was a cupping? How many cuppings were there? And did she somehow miss them all? She stood up in her office and began dancing out whatever came to mind -- "funny, bizarre images" -- trying to re-enact the vivid and peculiar phrase. She dipped her head. She cupped her hands. She cupped and dipped again and again.

And then, she got an idea.

This idea was to make an entire program out of phrases from dance reviews. The show would pay tribute to the creativity of dance reviews at the same time that it poked fun at the difficulty of describing modern dance. Its title: "Say What?"

If questions on reading a review include "Did the reviewer see the same dance I did?" or, from the choreographer's POV, "...the dance I choreographed?" Hamrick apparently set out to choreograph the dance the reviewers saw. I can't find video of the piece (nor did I stumble across any reviews) and so have no idea how successful it was.

Rehearsal pics

2006-04-07T07:19:00.000-04:00

Concerts April 30, May 7, May 14. I'll post more info about that soon.

When dance had impact

2006-03-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

This weekend the BBC aired its documentary on the audience riots sparked by the premiere of the Nijinsky/Stravinsky/et al Rite of Spring. As this report notes:

After all, nothing in the arts shocks us anymore. Still, when did you last see an audience so passionately divided that they started to fight each other?

The question seems relevant in light of other recent dance tempests. Might examining the chosen medium of an Ohad Naharin or Sally-Anne Friedland provide a more direct and possibly savage commentary than political haranguing or simply ignoring? Would Joan Acocella and Tere O'Connor come to blows if seated next to each other at a premiere? Would European works rile a New York audience, or vice versa?

Choreographers, is this the stuff dreams are made of, to have that kind of effect? Does anyone set out to shock the audience (and I'm not sure that was Nijinsky's intention, though it might have been Diaghilev's), and if so, could that even work?

Modern Dance is the new Xanax

2006-02-27T09:31:00.000-05:00

Abstract of a study found here:

The study investigated the effects of modern dance on anxiety. State anxiety was assessed before and after a 3-mo. education programme, using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The target group followed a class in modern dance. Control groups were (1) a physical education group to control for the effects of exercise, (2) a music group to control for aesthetic sensitivity training, and (3) a mathematics group. Several concomitant variables were measured: age, sex, attitude towards dance, and previous experience in sport, dance, and relaxation. Dance training significantly reduced anxiety, but no control activities did so. Examination of the concomitant variables showed that the result could not be accounted for by any obvious artifacts.

Though this study apparently focuses on the effects of bringing dance to nondancers (I don't have access to the full text), the implications speak to one of the reasons why "dancer" is as much an identity as a profession. I and many dancers I know will talk of dance as our therapy, our refuge, our safety net. And the idea of giving it up (a suggestion frequently and cavalierly made by some nondancing others in our lives) provokes feelings akin to withdrawal.

This is not a new study (1984) so perhaps it's time for it to be revisited: let modern dance take its rightful place with yoga, meditation, etc., as a mind-body healing technique.

How do you say?

2006-01-28T20:27:00.000-05:00

I'm looking to learn how to say "let go of your butt" in other languages. If you know, please provide translations and/or transliterations.

It slices, it dices, it's a floor wax,...

2006-01-22T23:39:00.000-05:00

Much of the press I've seen around this story delights in pointing the finger: pilates ain't perfect.

The study concluded that the cardiovascular benefits of Pilates appear to be limited.

That's the part that gets the lede. However, they go on to say

"Pilates has a long list of benefits including improved body mechanics, balance, coordination, strength and flexibility," said Dr. Cedric X. Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for ACE. "While the ACE study shows that a Pilates session burns a relatively small amount of calories, it is still a valuable addition to any exercise routine offering the essential elements of building a strong core and increasing flexibility."

(A leftover from my days as a holier-than-thou editor: I hate confusion of "amount" and "number.")

This was part of the alleged controversy in the Wikipedia pilates brouhaha as well: some folks complaining that, yeah, it increases core connection and improves posture and all, but it's not, like, high-impact and stuff.

Most athletes of all kinds cross-train. The reason I got into pilates in the first place was as a supplement to dance; and some forms of dance, along with some martial arts, come as close to total body systems as any regimens I can think of. I don't claim that the work I do is all anyone needs to stay fit. In fact, with my dancers in particular, I've stated categorically that I am under no obligation whatsoever to provide a complete workout; my task is to focus in on those physical issues that require particular attention, and if that means devoting an entire session to the achilles tendon (or to letting a student catch up on sleep), so be it.

on metaphor

2006-01-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

This amused me, even if I'm not familiar with the involved parties.

On Taoist bodies, sport, and rhyme

2006-01-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

Was re-reading this book. I'd have to agree with the first reviewer that it is not a deep resource, but apparently we are in the minority, judging from the rest. I did appreciate reminders of the overarching themes: beginner's mind, balance, and so on, though a pamphlet would likely have covered what was here for me.

The book provides numerous affirmations intended for the practitioner to use, and many of them are in rhyme (meter all over the place): "I stay in the here and now, so I'll take a bow," "When I give up control, I get on a roll and play with some soul," "When I selflessly play, I ensure that I stay,"...you get the picture.

Stuff like this sets my cutesy-meter off, even if it is easier to remember. I've noticed other linguistic phenomena surrounding sport: the necessity of repetition, some unusually formal possessive constructions (line drive into the glove of the shortstop).

Back to the beginning: it could be quite interesting to go into Taoist literature (my favorite is the Chuang-Tzu) and make the connections: the story of the butcher as a guide to finding space in the joints, for one.

Seasoned dancers kick butt

2006-01-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

Never underestimate the power of the "older" dancer. The Super Bowl tried.

Traditional seasonal subject matter

2006-01-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

So, the new year. Musings for the year, so far, in no particular order or grammatical construct:

Quad stretches.

Cross-training options: martial arts, rock climbing, other stuff I haven't thought about yet--suggestions?

Find a day off.

More time in civilian garb.

See more, and not just dance. An interesting prospect this month: a theatre festival on neurological conditions.

Keep learning.

Transit strike

2005-12-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

The NYC TWU strike held off til a day when I don't reverse-commute to Queens (over an hour with good transit karma). Today everything is walkable. Time to bundle up.

UPDATE: Wore just about everything I own to go wandering. No one arrived in time for my Anatomy class, which may have been for the best since I could then spend part of the time prepping to sub the dance class to follow. I'm on the sub list for that but don't much get called so dredged a class prepared months ago out of my subconscious. The class was small but extremely appreciative. Then took class subbed by Downtown Dancer, ran off to a Feldenkrais lesson, and home to teach one more session (student commutes by bicycle). We'll see what tomorrow brings: for one thing somewhat longer walks, still within the realm of possibility. Just hoping the strike is over before I have to commute to my Thursday 7am teaching.

What the heck is Pilates anyway?

2005-12-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

The owner of one of the studios where I teach directed me recently to the Wikipedia entry on Pilates; she took umbrage at the article (which she did not fully compose but contributed to) having being branded non-neutral and by the criticisms of the method appended to it. As an officer (currently freelance, formerly full-time) of the Editorial Police, I'd say both sides are wrong. The article, as it stands, is a hodgepodge: it's incomplete as to description and history; it includes some editorializing that lacks context so doesn't really make sense; and many of the criticisms are similarly lacking in context and come across as trivial. I'm not currently prepared to put in the time to rewrite it, though I'll keep it in mind should I find myself housebound at some point.

I certified in Pilates because it was an umbrella label under which I could do what I do. I'm not much for labels ("dancer" is one of the few I embrace) and have a rep (deserved) as the anti-Pilates Pilates teacher--told a student once that she was not allowed to do Pilates anymore. I dislike the phenomenon aspect; the term "powerhouse" makes me gag. It's easy to do the exercises wrong, and many of the cues that are commonly used in teaching will lead some people to do them wrong. Joe's bombast about his method as cure-all was in part a product of his era, as was his idea of desirable posture. I, for one, don't want to look like this guy (though I grant it's impressive for his age).

Where I can find common ground with my fellow Pilateans is in certain overriding principles: alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement. Pilates, of course, doesn't own those; they apply just as easily to much of dance, yoga, tai chi, and a whole lot of other mind-body modalities. I use all of them, and pretty much everything else I've ever learned. I do a lot of work of a rehabilitative nature, though I do not have a medical degree or license and therefore would not bill what I do as officially "rehab." Obviously, I don't take Pilates as the One True Exercise. But, whatever you want to call it, I get to do some great, rewarding, keep doing it even if I win the lottery kind of work.

Too many options on a Saturday night

2005-12-01T22:27:00.000-05:00

Trying to decide: Do I go see this, including a post-performance panel with NYC dance's go-to podiatrist and an anatomist/nutritional biochemist? Or do I go to a workshop to learn to do this?

I'd originally scheduled rehearsal time, but that went out the window til Sunday.

Apparently the Times believes there should be dance journalism

2005-11-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

From this release:

July: Dance Reporting and Criticism, at the National Dance Institute, Duke University in Durham, N.C. The three-week institute, held in partnership with the American Dance Festival, helps 10 journalists learn to write about dance with authority and passion. The festival's faculty, visiting choreographers, scholars, teachers and distinguished critics lead discussions and the fellows also attend performances, write reviews, participate in dance-technique classes, view dance films and videos, analyze movement and study dance history.

So another ten journalists may be able to render more informed reports. Are there more than ten of us out here?

Unsolicited testimonial

2005-11-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

One of my students explains.

Wanna watch?

2005-11-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

Dance blogs lately have been on building dance audiences, perhaps through the internet/blogosphere, in the wake of diminishing press coverage and public indifference. Downtown Dancer sums up some of the debate here, with links to Leigh Witchel's take on Great Dance's Doug Fox's plan for the net to save us, and Doug's response to Leigh. In a previous post on the subject, Doug cited several assumptions regarding dance coverage and how those assumptions don't hold in the web sphere. I'd like to look at another assumption: what do we mean by building audiences?

Of course I'd like to see a greater general interest in or at least acceptance of modern dance as a legitimate pursuit. Acknowledgement by the mainstream media is a nice but somewhat paternalistic way of achieving this, and some of the response to diminishing press coverage is not unlike what I feel when my mother pushes me to get "a real job" again.

Most of the shows I go see are sold out; and there are a good number I've missed for that reason. Generally, these are limited-run shows in smaller venues, and their scale is at least somewhat in their favor. If I produce a weekend at University Settlement (which, at my current rate of output, I should be ready for in about 2010--I'll keep you posted) I've got some shot at recouping my investment. A week at City Center can sell out every night and will still be vastly in the red. Obviously, there are several steps in between, but the jump from level to level is such that the financial headaches tend to increase with success.

So if our paradigm is a music business-style trajectory from coffeehouse pass-the-hat to Madison Square Garden, the equivalent of an album would help generate buzz. These days, more of that happens on iTunes and shared mp3s, so net-based dance multimedia could create phenomena, especially as computer video-capability improves. Video hasn't generally treated dance well--it's flat and no substitute for the real thing--but the medium is improving and, presumably, we'd want it to be just good enough to make folks want to come see it live.

Longer runs in the small houses are another solution, one that within reason would appeal to me as to many dancers who rehearse for months for the sake of a 1-4 night run. Here in NYC, the number of small and nominally affordable spaces is limited, so extending one run would take space away from other choreographer/producers, space already rapidly disappearing given the real-estate crunch. Is the paradigm here the movies: run one show after another (tough on the dancers), create double or triple features (could be tough on the audience), slice City Center up into a multiplex? Or perhaps the exclusive restaurant, wherein it could become a virtue to seat people too close together and/or raise prices far beyond where we've typically dared to go? Strategies would be different for pursuing each of those.

Another possible paradigm is sports, where a very small, elite few players/teams/leagues generate lots of attention and revenue while others, potentially just as good or nearly so, play in semipro obscurity and still others play for the sheer love of it. Dance was a participatory form long before it became a concert art. Doug of Great Dance mentions that he is taking class and expects that will help him build his understanding of the dance he sees. Classgoers, too, are an audience, and there are a lot more classes (here, at least) than performances.

Touching or touchy

2005-11-12T02:56:00.000-05:00

DA...NCE cites a UK Telegraph article wherein the founder of a dance award claims British ballet students are no longer being taught well due to a politically-correct ban on touch. This fellow's take on how things should be:

You have to push their bottom forward, pull their stomach in and push the shoulders down and back.

Yikes.

Not to the pushing and pulling bit. I'm constantly with my fingers in somebody's armpits or inner thighs, have found myself completely wrapped around a student, using my arms, legs, torso, and head in an effort to guide her or him into alignment. It's a running joke that I need a student intern (or two) since I'm forever running out of hands (and, to my regret, I can't grab myself sufficiently to get my body to do some of what I ask of it. I'll do the "I'm jealous of my students" post another time). In my Anatomy Awareness classes, I'll have my students doing that as well, by grabbing one's hand to put on another's body, so she can feel what's going on and hopefully understand the physical dynamic in question that much more. I have had some underage students, and toned it down with them mostly to avoid embarrassment on their part; likewise with some of my more conservative senior ladies. For most folks, though, it's pretty literally no holds barred.

That image, though, of the butt tucked under and the shoulders dragged down...that's the sort of thing I spend my time undoing. My blog title tells part of the story, of course; I also think that it is possible to keep the shoulders out of the ears in ways that don't involve stapling them to the hipbones. My goal is that each body part have its maximum available USEFUL mobility while instilling a sense of ease throughout. There are no cookie cutters involved.

New toy

2005-10-10T14:07:00.000-04:00

My latest new toy arrived.

I moved the caddy (sorta like this) sideways to the window, and the five large balls are sitting on the trundle couch. When the new toy is folded up, it actually looks like there's more space in my living room than before, an amazing feat for a NYC apartment.

It is, alas, still necessary to leave the house occasionally.

In search of a point

2005-10-01T21:01:00.000-04:00

Today was difficult.

That's not even fair to say. Out of six scheduled teaching sessions, three were very good, and one didn't happen (student overslept, and in this case I get paid anyway). It was the other two.

The earlier of those was frustrating for all concerned parties though maybe not irredeemable; jury's still out. The later, last session of the day, was a sinking ship that I was too ornery to bail out on. Phoning it in is not my specialty even when it's potentially the more effective course of action--in this case I couldn't even say that sticking to my guns had any positive effect. He was as determined not to get it as I was to make him do it. If I'm lucky, he'll say he doesn't want me as a teacher anymore (I don't have control over scheduling assignments at this studio. Most of my students there have requested me).

Things I think about, last couple weeks' edition

2005-09-19T14:05:00.000-04:00

I've been playing with a muscle personality theory. Started off sort of simple, considering introversion and extroversion as applied to muscle activation; for example, those whose muscle action tends to be drawn inward and who lose connection with the floor vs. those whose muscle actions go outward into the floor. Thinking, though, that I could probably cite muscular instances of much of the DSM-IV.

Labor Day (U.S.)

2005-09-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

I put this blog up a while ago, and it's been languishing, unloved, since. At some point, I'll have to do a background hello post explaining a little more what this is about.

Holidays are optional around here, perk and pitfall of the self-employed. I did a sesssion on Thanksgiving last year (hi, R), quite willingly. I've had a few holidays off where, frankly, I might have been happier teaching. So while teaching on Labor Day may violate some of the spirit of the occasion, I can't say I really mind, though I was content to have my regular Monday schedule preempted.

I have some pretty amazing teaching stories. Today is one of them.

I almost cancelled my anatomy class yesterday--Sunday before Labor Day didn't seem likely to get many takers. And, sure enough, ten minutes past class time I was still sitting there by myself. Five minutes after that, a class suddenly materialized, including two students who then scheduled private coaching sessions.

One of them came this morning. She's a concert musician, who's been having pain and wants to work on how she's using her body, looking to me to help figure out what the problem is. So she brought her instrument, and played for me.

I'm a dancer and work with a lot of dancers, so I am somewhat used to having stellar performances in my living room/studio. But wow anyway.