WENDY JONES DANCE - Lessons

WENDY JONES DANCE

Dance is Home #14- Zooming

5/14/2020

Are you zoomed in or zoomed out? New habits for connecting while we #shelterinplace

In your house:

Study your next zoom meeting.
List the mannerisms and body language you see.
Find inspiration from the camera angles and focus.
Put these observations in order, illustrating your experiences in a dance.

Let’s dance about our zoom experiences. Zoom can be comical, frustrating, friendly, heartfelt, flat and so many other things. The gestures, body language and mannerisms speak to movement. This study encourages you to embody your current online practices in a fun and cathartic way. Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play.

Can you:

Make movement from freeze frames and lag time.
Add gestures from the reactions toolbar or any other effects to keep the zoom moving.
Represent someone in your zoom.
Amplify your observations, have fun!
Flick, press, swirl, stare.

Today’s focus: RELATIONSHIPS.
Happy dance making!!

I’m super excited to see your zoom stories through movement.
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #13- I Spy

5/12/2020

Finding time for games, entertainment while we #shelterinplace

In your house:

Choose three objects in a room.
Playing the childhood I spy game, create a short phrase that represents the phrase “I spy with my little eye”.
Create a phrase that represents the first letter of each object, consider the curves and angles of the letters. Be clear with the beginning, middle and end.
Start with the I spy phrase and return to it after each letter movement.

Let’s make a playful dance using the game “I Spy'' as inspiration. I Spy is a guessing game. One player chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players attempt to guess this object.

To give the dance structure, use the “I Spy” movement as the theme, returning after each of the letter movements. Perform the dance for someone in your house and see if they can figure out what objects you choose. It could be the next family tradition! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Expand on the letters using different tempos, sizes, repetitions, and inversions.
Add movement to the letter phrase that offers hints to the objects.
Invite someone into the room to play the game. Let them ask questions and create movements for “yes” and “no”.

Repeat, condense, drift, turn.

Today’s focus: FORM: RONDO.
Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #12- Planted

5/7/2020

Finding roots, grounding self while we #shelterinplace

In your house:

Choose a houseplant or outdoor plant/tree for inspiration.
Imagine your body is digging roots into the floor.
Flow in and out of free and bound movements while staying rooted.
Become the leaves, branches, and blossoms of your plant or tree.

Feeling stuck or unmotivated during quarantine? This lesson explores how the body can move while being rooted in one place. How can we continue to grow while sheltering in place? While planted in one place, what is it we can discover about ourselves, the world, and the space around us?

Dig in and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Discover the different ways you can move while staying in one place.
Experiment with different body parts as the roots.
Imagine the quality of the movement when in the sun, when watered.
Expand, trace, fill, dig.

Today’s focus: BODY and ENERGY.
Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #11- Home Chef

5/4/2020

Cookin’ up dances while we #shelterinplace

In your house:

Pick a recipe.
Create movement using the list of ingredients.
Use the measurements to determine size and weight of the movement.
Choose action words from the instructions to add to the dance.
Combine and enjoy!

Chop, mix, and bake to cook up your next dance! Indulge in the smells, texture, and techniques of your dish. Have fun using this recipe to inspire movement and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Imagine you are on a cooking show, teaching us how to cook the dish.
Play with what the ingredients look like raw, cooked, and in between.
Sprinkle the dance with memories of cooking this dish.
Slice, blend, simmer, chew.

Today’s focus: BODY and ENERGY.
Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance Is Home #10- Get Loud

4/30/2020

Inspired by the 2 Minutes at 7pm #GetLoudForOurHeros, my 10th Dance Is Home is dedicated to our frontline workers.

Let’s make dances in appreciation of our frontline workers.

In your house:

Look for something that will make noise, like a pot or pan and spoon.
Play with different rhythms and sounds.
Create three movements that share gratitude.
Connect these rhythms and movements.

In recent weeks I’ve enjoyed the 7pm #GetLoudForOurHeros demonstration of solidarity and gratitude for our frontline workers. Let’s use this brilliant idea of showing support with sound that connects across spaces and places to make a dance. I encourage you to perform it at 7pm for our heroes. Remember this mini dance can be as simple or complex as you want… use any of the suggestions below to expand on it. It’s yours to make!

Can you:

Use the rhythms you created to make movements.

Create a phrase that can be repeated for two minutes.
Find other ways to make noise.
Accelerate, jump, clap, bow.

Today’s focus: TIME-ENERGY
Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.
#GetLoudForOurHeroes#ClapForOurCarers#ClapBecauseWeCare
For more information on #GetLoudForOurHeros go to:
https://www.sfstation.com/san-francisco-make-noise-for-frontline-workers-every-evening-at-7pm-e2411630

Dance is Home #9- Table Manners

4/27/2020

Let’s make dances while we #shelterinplace

In your house:

Sit at your dining table or wherever you eat your meals.
Break from your typical table manners and find different ways to move your body at the table.
Add dinnerware to make sounds and shapes.
Choose where the audience would sit/stand and watch the dance.

A delicious score that explores movement potential at your dining table. Adding everyday dinnerware like plates, utensils, cups, should make this a fun and interactive piece. Perhaps you perform this dance at your next family dinner! Have fun moving in this defined space and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini-dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Separate upper and lower body movement.
“Play” with rules: no elbows on table, sit nicely, stand, use your napkin, don’t slurp.
Be inspired by a memorable time at a meal with family or friends to make movement.
Reach, pass, laugh, lift.

Today’s focus: BODY, SPACE and RELATIONSHIPS.

Happy dance making!!
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #8- Inside Art

4/23/2020

Dive inside a piece of art and escape reality.

In your house:

Choose a painting or photograph.
Imagine that you are inside the piece of art.
Create a story that involves you inside the piece.
Reflect the story through movement.

In “Sound On” (#7) earlier this week, I enjoyed the opportunity to pause, listen, and try new styles so much that I decided it would be fun to dive deeper, let go, and explore a new reality. This dance can go in many directions.

From following the brush strokes to having a chat with the painter, have fun, laugh, cry, or put on a costume. Play with being literal and abstract! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Give the piece a title.
Does your character have a name? What/who are you?
What relationships do you have with the images? How do you feel in the piece?
Float, analyze, carve, shift.

Today’s focus: RELATIONSHIPS-Why/When/With Who?

Happy dance making!!
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #7- Sound On

4/20/2020

Finding movement inspiration from the sounds around us.

In your house:

Sit quietly and listen to the sounds in and around your home.
Describe the sounds on a piece of paper.
Let the sounds inspire movement.
Create a moving soundtrack that describes the sounds you discovered.

Let’s pause, take a moment and listen. Unmute the outside noise and invite it in. Give yourself permission to sit still, be quiet, and observe. Who knows... the buzzing of the refrigerator might take you on an exciting journey! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Respond to the sounds with different parts of the body.

Let them travel.
Play with speed, accents, and duration.
Vibrate, circle, beat, slash.

Today’s focus: TIME-ENERGY
Happy dance making!!
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #6- Find Your Light

4/16/2020

Dedicated to all performers missing spring concerts.

In your house:

Pick a time of day and place with light that inspires you. If in doubt, turn on a lamp or grab a flashlight.
Fill the space with your body.
Trace the shape.
Move in and out of the light.

Have fun moving in this defined space and use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Sit in the light and breathe.
Make finger puppets.
Play with different body parts in and out of the light.
Feel it on your skin, how does it make you feel? Move with this energy.
Breathe, fold, glide, wave.

Today’s focus: SPACE- SHAPES AND FOCUS.

Happy dance making!!
Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.

Dance is Home #5- Book Work

4/13/2020

In honor of officially starting #distancelearning.

In your house:

Choose a book.
Play with heavy and light movements with the book.
Open the book to a random page, choose three words.
Create movement for each word.

Have fun creating movement with your book. Think of this dance as a duet. Play with being literal and abstract! Use any of the suggestions below to expand on this mini dance. Remember this can be as simple or complex as you want. It’s yours to make. Take your time and play!

Can you:

Balance, open/close, toss, smell, scan, drop.
Sprinkle the movement you discovered from the weight improvisation among the word movements.

Choose a space in your home that compliments your book dance.

Today’s focus: SPACE-ENERGY-RELATIONSHIPS.

Happy dance making!!

Would love to see your #danceishome
Please tag me @jonesdanceco so we can see what you made.