Poise and Presence

Adagio. Slow. Chesapeake Bay Alexander Technique Teacher Training mornings always began leisurely, with students working in pairs or small groups.  Our director, Robin Gilmore, a dancer with a signature kinetic energy, would call out, ‘Good use does not have to mean slow use!’ But, a slow pace can be a good choice, as it has been for me this January.

Andante. In-between. This tempo is best described as a walking pace, a steady stroll that gets the heart pumping. Not-too-fast, not-too-slow. It’s the pace of my daily neighborhood jaunt.

Allegro. Fast. Susan Petry, another dancer in my life, mixes up tempos in her choreography; fast and furious dancing with an adagio accompaniment or vice versa. If I could simplify her body of work with just one word, it would be ‘playful.’

And this is the invitation:  let’s play with tempo in our lives.  Mix and match adagio, andante, allegro. Or choose a tempo for your day and observe its effects on your Self. The practice of the Alexander Technique is all about choice in the moment.

Make a dance of the daily!