Held at Thacher Montessori. In attendance: Victor, Glenn, Dev, Chris, Rick, Brad, Scott, Wayne, and Sandra
(No notes taken that day, so this will be generally anecdotal.)
Work with Sandra Bain Cushman, today! (Link opens a new window.) Sandra has a long and storied history with the Guitar Craft and Guitar Circle work, as well as the Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists, and is also a wonderful person, to boot.
Our work today focuses on Sandra's "Five Relations" work, and we begin in the Thacher music room with guitars off, exploring the first triad of the relations: Balance. The idea is that before we can be balanced with our guitars, we first need to be able to find balance in the body. Once Sandra's made a pass around the circle with each of us, she invites us to strap guitars on and begin playing, while she continues to work with each of us.
Circulation work that slowly moves to improvising.
Next follows Animation. More work directly with Sandra, followed by more improvising while Sandra comes around to each one of us. Opposition after this.
Span comes next, as part of an AT lie-down, that eventually becomes ambulatory work, and then more work with guitars, taking us out into the hall, up and down the stairs several times, and back into the music room. This brings us up to a lunch break.
After lunch, we meet in the gymnasium for more ambulation. Outwardly, this exercise is simple enough: an extension of Frank Sheldon's exercise of filling a space as much as possible while also constantly remaining in motion. We maintain this while also keeping some connection with the others in the group as a whole. As an added level of complexity, we cycle the 60 Point exercise as well. Two cycles through, with a pause on the hour (something else we have been doing today).
Back up to the music room to work. Integration as part of a sitting exercise.
Some questions, answers, and discussion. Observations given.
The final triad, Poise, with Glenn as a willing demonstration subject, and then each person in turn. Some final work with guitars, during which Sandra kills the room lights and leaves us to improvise on our own.
We collect our things, and go back to the gym to review a diagram of the Five Relations, with the triads drawn in to illustrate; most everyone takes a photograph for their own reference later. Some mildly profuse thanking of Sandra, a couple of nods toward the approaching future, and that brings the day to a happy close.
1 comment:
As a personal anecdote, two observations from myself:
a) The first was experienced during the work with Span. As we were all lying down, with Sandra talking us through the three relations that comprise this triad, I had a sudden realization of bigness that I don't usually have. Though I am just under six feet tall, I tend to have a mental image of myself as much smaller than what I really am; indeed, I strangely forget just how long my arms are. So to suddenly experience my elbows as being precisely where they are, which is much further out than the sensorial experience usually is, was fairly revelatory.
b) I forget specifically what triad we were working on--possibly Integration--but there was a very interesting moment for myself while we were improvising and having Sandra work on each one of us. Sandra was working directly with me as we circulated and improvised, and I suddenly realized just how difficult it was to let Sandra do her work and also continue to play at the same time. So I made a leap and, instead of simply remaining passive as I was adjusted, made a change in direction in a circulation, which was almost impossible for me to do, but I also knew it was the only way that I would actually be able to get the information and really internalize it. All this in the space of a blink of an eye. Dev noted that he saw this happen on my face, and clearly saw a stage of struggle, a stage of decision, and a stage of execution.
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