beautiful

I have never had a class experience like I had today in Keith's class. I think most of the class feels the same way. What we accomplished today was nothing short of a kind of miracle that I could have experienced for hours and hours and hours.

The thing is, it's very difficult to convey. Keith's class itself is actually pretty hard to describe. I guess what we really did today was mainly improvised movement that was like dancing sometimes, like performance art in other moments. He played music and gave us some little direction, particularly as we began-- focus on movement through the feet, move it up into the knees and legs, let it come from the hips, etc. I'm always impressed in that class by the fact that I'm so much more physically capable than I think I am. If I truly let my wrist lead or my knees or my hips or my chest, and truly let the movement come from those places, everything becomes so relatively easy. I don't have to work to stand, I don't feel awkward on the floor, I can jump and leap and throw myself around easily. It isn't hard. It's so incredibly liberating.

As the music changed, obviously so did the movement and the direction Keith was giving us so that we began to work together-- to have "conversations," as he calls them. All of a sudden we were truly acting. We were creating relationships together and little stories. The most absolutely stunning part of the experience was as we concentrated on "reaching and pulling." The tension between partners and small groups of people opened up so many physical possibilities to get into various positions and shapes. But also in the energetic sense, we were able to make connections with people across the room, people who weren't even in the room. I had a particularly lovely little moment with Jared that all at once felt exploratory and sad and maybe a hint sensual but incredibly platonic and filled with such trust. I look forward to working with him. I feel like I can progress far with him in my class.

Looking around at the cohort at the end of class, all of us dripping with sweat and messy hair and breathing deep and with some emotion around our eyes, I've never been more in love with and attracted to a group of people. I felt like myself and knew that everyone around me was themselves too. It's purely amazing what happens when you let go and stop trying.