Winter Quarter Energy - with The Alay'nya Studio

Winter is a time of "grounding" energy. We do this using dances that have very "earthy" rhythms, such as the beledi, sai'idi, and masmoudi family. We emphasize strongly rhythmic dances, especially those with nice, hip-dropping beledi sections. We cultivate our ability to generate rhythm as well as respond to it, so we emphasize beledi with zills.We also build our repertoire with drum solos -- a great way to develop technique and precision! We also study basic dance choreography construction, ranging from simple dance openings to how a full-length, mulit-part caberet piece unfolds. We focus on basic choreographic "units" that can be used with different kinds of music, providing "building blocks" for your own choreographies.

Because winter is such an "inward" time, we use this time to re-focus on how to generate dance from the "inside out." We learn this as a set of seven Basic Principles , which we teach in our Beginner's Session and cultivate further in the intermediate and advanced classes. Visit our Winter Quarter Studies page for more details and lesson plans / reviews.

WINTER QUARTER STUDIES

We can get the most out of our dance training by adapting what we do to the seasons and natural rhythms of the year. Intuitively, we know that winter is a time for "grounding." So we use wintertime to "ground" our dance practice.

To do grounding, we work with "earthy" rhythms, emphasizing the beledi family (including sai'di and masmoudi). We also develop the basis for our drum solos. The intense, vigorous pulsations and pelvic work for beledis and drum solos are great grounding feelings. This also builds up our "fire energy," and helps us move towards the warm seasons.

We also do grounding is through floorwork. Because our muscles are not as supple in the wintertime, we do a little floorwork in winter, and more in summer. (In summer, floorwork helps us to cool down, by connecting with the earth.)

All in all, our winter dances encompass two extremes; one is the grounding and percussive aspect, very extroverted and outgoing, and the other is to do very internal work, such as with floorwork and taxims.

According to ancient Judeo-Christian teachings, winter is the time associated with Uriel, an archangel whose name means "God is my Light." Uriel is credited with teaching humanity the sacred mysteries of the Kabbalah, along with alchemy. Uriel's symbol is the pentacle, which refers to the earth, or a grounding energy. The energy of winter is cool and dry. We both use that energy, by doing more internal and meditative (body-aware) work, and also move out from that energy, towards the energy of spring air and moisture, leading to summer warmth.

Early "Dark" Winter

Winter is a time for drawing inward, for gathering in, blending together, and quietly transforming our lives thorugh a natural alchemy. It is dominated by yin energy, which is not, as some scholars would state, a passive time. Remember that these original interpretations of the universe as "dualistic" was made by Chinese scholars, who filled the magisterial and administrative roles within the Chinese empire. Scholarly though they may have been, we cannot trust that their interpretations fully encompased the nature of female energy, or that they addressed it appropriately. So their characterization of female, or "yin" energy as being "dark" and "passive" is probably not quite accurate.

If, with the wisdom that you personally have, you were to characterize the two energies of the universe as "male" and "female," just on the basis of your own knowledge and experience , you would never look at a little girl baby and say that she is "passive." You wouldn't see this baby, or this child, or this young woman as being "passive" at all. Yet, you'd note that her way of being was (typically) very different from that of her younger and older brothers.

You would note that little boy babies, and little and big boys themselves, are often loud, boisterous, and outgoing. You would see them be focused on tangible outcomes. They like to build up "houses," and then explode them! As they get older, they like to do (secret, because they ARE dangerous) experiments with fire and explosions. Their games "mature" into various forms of fighting, whether expressed as video games, after-school structured sports, or simple spontaneous brawls.

We can largely agree that masculine energy, in its elemental form, is active, goal-oriented, and direct. It is overt in every way; overtly competitive, overtly catching attention, overtly aggressive. It is "overt" in the sense that what you see, with very masculine persons, is what you get. It is "linear" in the sense that the dynamics are about getting from Point A to Point B is as direct a form as possible. There is really very little that is hidden, nonlinear, or subtle about yang energy, and that is why we've addressed the yang principle first. It is the easiest to understand.

In contrast to masculine, or yang, energy, we wish to understand feminine, or yin energy. And it is not as simple as making it the "negative of" the masculine form. So where the ancient Chinese scholars might have characterized yin as "passive," compared to the masculine principle as being "active," we might say that their interpretation is too simplistic.

If we look at a girl baby, she gets what she wants not by force or aggression, but by "drawing" others around her to do her will. Have you ever seen a "passive" baby girl? (Presuming that she was neither sick, nor sleeping, nor so emotionally abused that her energy was shut down.) The answer is -- never! Baby girls flirt with their fathers -- and their mothers, and anyone around them. Early in life, they find and use their "magnetic power of attraction."

And until society beats it out of us, this is what we find as being purely and authentically "yin," or feminine energy. It is an active power of drawing-in, it is a magnetizing force of attraction. In contrast, the masculine energy is to strive, to churn, to push, to create, to "put it out there." The feminine energy "gathers in."

Think about this, reflect on it, see how it plays out -- and has played out -- in your own life. Discover the power of winter, of yin, which is not at all the chilling, angry, and aggressive power of the "Queen of Winter" as depicted by C.S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Neither is it the angry and vengeful "Queen of the Night" as depicted by Mozart in The Magic Flute. No, both of these characters are masculine-mind projections, based on their fear about what feminine energy might be if it were not totally passive. We will explore this dichotomy more, as it is prevalent across many societies.

Create winter as an active time for reflection and contemplation, and for -- not so much "thinking about" these matters, but rather -- letting your knowingness "emerge."

The cold winter temperatures (coupled with a good high-pressure zone coming down from the North) help promote clarity of thinking, of insight, and of making distinctions. But much of winter's process is done in the late hours of the evening, and in the very early morning hours, when you are in a more quiet, subdued, "hypnagognic" state -- in between dream and actual awake cognition. This is a very powerful time. Draw on it. Use it to bring insights and more refined, subtle understandings to your consciousawareness.. And notice, as you do so, that you are being very yin -- you are not exerting yourself to go forth and "discover," but you are rather drawing the understanding to you. This is using yin-power.

Early Winter Curriculum focuses on "Internal Body Connection" - building awareness of your neck, spine, and pelvis. Creating good body awareness, and a good sense of connection between your pelvic alignment and the rest of your movements is essential factor in dance! Our "internal awareness" practice leads us to discover, for ourselves, our own "cranial-sacral connection." The deep quiet of early winter is an excellent time to "go inwards" for this discovery.

The second Early Winter attention focus is on our sacro-iliac joint; the set of ligaments connecting our sacrum with our ilium (pelvic girdle). This is our first exploration of the "contract/release" cycle. When we do very simple, quiet floorwork, initiating the contract/release from our sacro-iliac joint alone, we gain a much more natural - and hence powerful - dance expression.

We build on the natural flow and connectedness we gained during Autumn's "water" energy with Winter "grounding" beledi rhythms and drum solos. Both Beginners and Intermediate students will each learn both a beledi (or sa'idi or masmoudi) dance and a drum solo. All students learn how to match movements to rhythm for dance and drum solo improvisations. Senior students develop progressively more complex and technically demanding movements, expanding vocabulary, and increasing choreography repertoire.

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