Well, not a coffee break exactly, but spring break! This week has been spring break for a few of my normal commitments, including two of my classes, and it's been so nice to have time to breathe (and research, ahem).
I was just talking to someone recently about how breaks seem to allow ideas and technique to "gel" in some odd way. It was really great to talk to someone else who understood that; as a kid I was always so confused when my teachers would talk about how we shouldn't take breaks, ever, because we'd lose our technique. I always felt--and still feel--like I actually get better when I take a break, like I come back stronger and better in different ways. My leg might be a bit lower, if the break is long enough, but coordination gets better.
I might have felt like the lone one out as a kid, but now I think I was right. Not just for myself, but for people in general, because I'm now noticing that my students come back more coordinated after breaks. It's like things seem to click for them technically. For my modern class, we had classes cancelled two weeks in a row (once for snow and once pre-planned), and this past week I noticed some real differences in how they were dancing. Things like parallel position were suddenly more settled and not as much of a struggle.
Has anyone else noticed this in themselves or their students? Do you know what the science is behind it?
Hi Hannah, great reading your blog. I have experienced myself and observed in my students very similar things regarding coordination after breaks. I'm not sure about the science, but also very intrigued about it. I have read an article lately, where the author spoke about the neuro motor system (NMS), that is also "in charge" of movement coordination. And how images and ideas can influence the way our NMS works. Maybe after a break, we have less information/corrections we want to apply or think about, that can interfere with the NMS and so we "allow" the body or the NMS to find its own or more natural alignment and coordination? (I have posted the article on Adesolas blog). Maybe that could be one aspect? I don't know, but am very interested, if you find more information on the topic.
ReplyDeleteInteresting concept! I'll post if I find any good articles for sure.
DeleteHello Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI remember my teachers drilling into me the famous quote by Rudolf Nureyev "When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss class for three days, the audience knows it." I have found that to be true, however I have also found a great advantage to taking breaks, including longer breaks lasting up to 1 year. For example, your brain retains correction but sometimes is limited by incorrect musculature development, if you take a year off, the muscles disappear making creating new opportunity for the muscles to redevelop properly. Also if you take 1 week off, sometimes you need that week to recover from over exhaustion and you come back a much stronger dancer. I am a strong believer in breaks, however I also understand that yes if you do take time off, during your immediate comeback, you will loose a lot of technique, for the short term.
Ugh, yes. My teachers drilled that into me too, as a way of saying, "You should never, ever, ever take a break." I haven't really found it to be true, honestly, and some technique improves. I've found it's the raw strength, like leg extension height, that tends to go first. But it's balanced out with such a nice quality that I don't mind so much.
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