may The Flow be with you

OR... How To never dance alone

This is probably the most useful piece I have written. I didn't have any hesitation in writing a 'How to' - no thought saying - "Ravi - you are being a show-off" or "How do you know it holds true for other people?". So, here it is - peruse or perish :)
Do give u'r feedback!

The Setup:
The day's work ended with a meeting (= a time for rest + creativity) and a game of badminton. So, when I reached the British Council after couple of fruit juices, I was good. DJ Ross Allen had come down from London. The crowd was sparse and the floor wooden - but the sound was good.

I let the beat seep in. Or pretended to do so. I was moving - but it was more like negating stillness. I was doing the i'm-too-cool-to-dance-like-these-people moves - a nod of the head - feet shifting by two inches. Yup, the moves that come from not knowing anyone or indeed, the song.

Our hero learns:
So there I was, rooted to the spot and oscillating, when suddenly, I was reminded of a technique taught by Vijay Padaki during his Summer Project On Theatre (SPOT). The technique is quite simple, really - let any part of the body 'lead' the movement and let the whole body follow where the part leads. Soon (usually a few seconds), another part of the body will want to be leader - and then let the body follow that part.

Ravi = Jamiroquai?
Soon I was moving in a way not dreamt of by me (Hail the cliche king!). At first my legs were leading most of the time - the upper body was inert. Although I noticed this, I let it be. 'Billie Jean' floated out of the speakers. Hitherto, I would have probably cursed the DJ for playing MJ -but now the music was directing new parts of the body - fingers. Moving with fingers leading is *total* fun - I was smiling. Were the others finding this strange? I was reminded of Jamiroquai and smiled even more:). After a while, shoulders and head took charge. And then fingers again, small of back (also fun!), pelvis, knees, back of left foot - oh! it was fun.

The Mistake:
As I said, I was having fun, when I noticed two girls - one English and one Isreali, dancing close by. I joined them. Here is where I made the mistake - I continued to concentrate on my body parts leading me. It was almost as if I didn't register their presence. Not that I wanted to - but I was enjoying my body movements too much.
And here is where I should have used another Vijay Padaki technique, with a twist - I should have let *their* body parts lead! I would have continued the game - with them. Notice there needn't be a connection between the bodies. This concept may be difficult to swallow but i am so convinced it is the way to go - once you are comfortable with your body, then see if you can be comfortable with other bodies.

The Looking Back:
In retrospect, this technique has two advantages:
1. You forget the environment - since I didn't know anyone, it was even better - it took attention away from feeling out of place to the body, which, in most of our cases, is not getting enough concious attention anyways

2. There is no 'wrong' or 'awkward' step. In fact, there is no judgement! And you don't care what others think, because you have no time to give them attention!

All said and for a change, done, I *will* end up being influenced by the environment/mood etc. - but I hope this comes back to me, like yesterday

For the show to go on:
An article on SPOT and Vijay

FreeStyle Dancing

If the link does not work: http://www.dance.net/topic/2846764/1/Freestyle/freestyle-defined.html

Ta Ta:
Let it grow, let it grow,
let it blossom, let it flow
- Clapton 'Let it grow'