Sample Workshop

Yoga for Dancers: Integrating Yoga and Dance

Yoga may be applied to dance in a number of ways:

  • as a foundation for strong dance technique
  • as a way of sourcing internal energy to support technique
  • as a basis for movement invention and choreography
  • as a preventative and rehabilitative therapy for injuries
  • for the overall health and well-being of the dancer

In this workshop we'll spend time familiarizing ourselves with some yoga forms (postures) and breathing exercises. Each dancer will be given individual attention and instructin in order to learn how to adapt yoga to his or her own body. Students will be given information on technique and important elements of anatomical support necessary to create a clear, practical grounding for this work.

There will also be opportunities to specifically address each dancer's interests concerning technique, movement, choreography, or injury by using the principles of yoga. We will also discuss how trying to live up to an "ideal" in dance fosters competition, aggressiveness, and perfectionism which ultimately alienates us from our bodies. A gentle, responsive, inquiring approach to the body will help you discover how the external design of yoga is borne of internal energy -- and how this can directly support your dancing.