Coordi™

The human body's ability to do more than one physical activity at a time is fundamental to our survival and development. For instance, our ability to run and throw something simultaneously has multiple benefits. Brain science has demonstrated that we can only focus on one thing at a time (so, the throwing action takes the focus while the running action goes on auto-pilot). But, we do see examples of people performing activities that require many more coordinations. Drummers and organists have always exemplified this to me, as people routinely working with three or four concurrent coordinations with their limbs. They have systematically learned how to build complex systems coordinating many independent parts. Jazz, African, and Modern dance delve into this a bit but, to my awareness, do not go beyond coordinating three separate systems at any given time. Ballet does often have several things going on at once -- smooth arms versus fast footwork is common, but separating the right side from the left side of the body in either timing or texture is not. There are many examples of this kind of higher-level coordination that present challenges for dancers to learn but great artistic potential in their use.

This work is about the human body's inherent potential to push into a new technical area. Coordi™ class is a version of this ongoing work that is accessible to people of many ages and physical backgrounds, and that promotes wellness for both brain and body in a fun way for quality of life.