What is Acro Dance Artistry?
For me this title means taking solo acrobatic movements (like handstands and cartwheels) and incorporating them into how I move intuitively and/or expressively (aka how I dance). Rather than rote execution of mechanical forms I explore how these moves can be played with to find interesting variations and how I can make them feel more organic in the moment-to-moment of my personal dancing. I’d say artistry means a few things to me: (1) Using creative cue-ing and play-oriented tasks as I train (2) Cultivating the ability to improvise, adapt, and transition between moves (3) Finding clarity in execution and being able to layer performance (of a quality, a character, myself, whatever else) into my movement.
How long have you been dancing? How did you get started?
I started dancing when I was younger for a few years at a small studio after I saw my sister taking classes (Think “I Can Do That” from A Chorus Line if you’re familiar). I stopped training regularly in middle school and didn’t pick dance back up until I was at university as a theatre major. I saw some really weird, cool performances in the dance program there that drew me in, and eventually switched majors for my last year of study. Looking back it was very liberating for me as a young queer person from a conservative place to move my body with agency, strength, and creativity. Since graduating I’ve trained in many dance styles and dance-adjacent disciplines (like acro!) over the years. Most of my training has been adult drop-in, workshops formats like this, and occasional intensives.
What inspired you to bring acro dance to the Superhero Fitness community?
I started training at Superhero Fitness earlier this year to have a less dance-specific space to train in and also revisit / train the solo acrobatic elements of my dancing. I started getting to know the community and eventually the idea came up to facilitate a workshop where I can endeavor to share with folks how I’ve married acrobatics with my dance training. I’ve worked with acro & circus folks before and I love how much strength and skill they bring into the room. I really enjoy helping them find more softness, flow, and variety in their own physical disciplines.
What do you hope participants take away from this workshop?
-Starting to approach acrobatic forms not as fixed moves, but as places of potential (for variation, transition to other moves, expression).
-A couple new connections / concepts they can apply to their own training.
-One cool variation of a move they already know!
Do you have a favorite acro dance move?
A few! One of my go-tos is a dive roll. I struggle with front walkovers and recently found a fun variation of one I can do that makes me feel like a baddie! Lastly, I love a soft handstand with some momentum as I go into it; there’s SO much potential there and I practice it almost every session.
For someone trying acro dance for the first time, what advice would you give?
I find folks tend to feel intimidated and/or imposter syndrome around either the ACRO or the DANCE part of ACRO DANCE
(1) For those feeling they don’t have the strength for acrobatic moves:
The strength required for this kind of work is cumulative. I wasn’t always as strong as I am and didn’t necessarily train a lot of my skills in a strictly disciplined way. I showed up semi-consistently over several years and followed my curiosity and desire to do these cool things. The strength came eventually and one day I realized I was stronger. I can’t say that will be everyone’s journey as our bodies and health factors are all different, but I will say there is always a progression and / or variation that can be found for movements to train in the direction you want to go.
(2) For those feeling they aren’t enough of a **~_dAnCEr_~**™
A gentle affirmation that anyone can dance. Training in dance-specific techniques is helpful, but not necessary to find expressive, articulate, nourishing movement in this workshop or elsewhere. Learn to identify, trust, and hone the process of how you move intuitively and you’ll be more likely to find your dance.
For All:
(3) Go at your own pace, keep showing up, and take care of yourself! ♡︎︎
