HANGING ONTO THE LIGHT…
BRINGING SPIRITUAL FITNESS TO CLASSICAL DANCE
Yoga as a spiritual discipline fully supports dance, which is both a physical and spiritual manifestation of our humanity. When the yogi and dancer in us meet the interplay of their energies gives birth to a theater fueled not by their search for stardom, but by their quest for the betterment of humanity. The ultimate purpose of yoga is to prepare practitioners to develop a personal discipline and daily yoga practice in order to exercise introspection, build self-awareness and ultimately achieve growth. My purpose as a classical dancer is to demonstrate the integration of two wonderful disciplines, yoga and dance, not so much from a physical perspective, but from an inner-personal perspective that exemplifies a genuine respect for the human spirit. All dancers can not only transform themselves into superior human beings, but most importantly, contribute to transform the consciousness of all those involved in the dance industry, that is dancers, choreographers, and producers. We live in the 21st century; times are changing, and so must we. We live in a dark ages all over again, so would it not be wonderful to see a rebirth of the performing arts that would help us all on our journey from darkness into light? For if the theater of this 21st century is not of an uplifting nature, then theater will remain in a black box, physically and metaphorically, and that would be just plain too much darkness.
Choreography and Performance that Speak of Today: Our Fairy Tales, our Demons, our Changing World
My choreography and performance is not meant to display virtuosity, but to open a window where a door was closed, a window to explore through ballet subjects which are contemporary to us. We, self-made ballerinas, are passed the myths of nymphs. We are concerned with our current personal and professional predicaments within the ballet and performing arts industry. We speak of our roles in our relationships and in the workforce. With our work we stand against human dynamics that contribute to corrupt each other rather than uplift and honor each other. This is the artistic work of Warrior Ballerinas who get ahead by walking on their own down the path of spiritual realization through yoga. We might never be virtuosos; we don’t seek to be. Our purpose is bigger than us. In essence, we don’t even count, except for the legacy we leave behind: spiritual virtuosity in the performing arts.
DRAMATURGY
I’m interested in producing innovating filmed theater that questions the status quo ingrained in our culture. We no longer live in times when people lacked the knowledge and spiritual evolution to question traditions. We live now in times of unprecedented mental and spiritual growth, and as humans, evolving into supra-humans, we can no longer abide by rituals that diminish our full capacity to raise against injustice.
The Overcoat, a Theater Film by the iconoclast Sylvie Bayeux. Script by playwright Ed Ballou, Musical Composition by Composer Plamedi Lanari, featuring Paul Loper as Shoenik, fully evolved.
Yoga has developed as a popular practice over the past decades. However, most people in the West think that in order to do yoga they have to sing up at a yoga school and/or fitness center and
attend class regularly. True, the form and discipline must be learned from a qualified teacher at a qualified institutions, but ultimately yoga is meant to be done as a personal practice, in the solitude of one’s home in order to have the proper setting for introspection and personal growth, which are as much important as the physical benefits yoga brings.
We practice yoga not just to feel calm, relaxed, happy and to step momentarily out of our lives full of turmoil. When practiced that way, Yoga becomes a form of escapism, like TV. Yet yoga is much more that a way to temporarily unburden ourselves from stress and emotional upheaval. When yoga is done at home, as a Personal Yoga Practice, the benefits are quite different.
Reasons why a Personal Yoga Practice is more beneficial in the long run.
* Yoga requires us to withdraw our senses and mind from constant stimulation, which we can do in the solitude of our home, not at a crowded public place or while following instructions from an online yoga class, which forces our brains to remain stimulated by technology.
* Each of us has “issues” which can be addressed and solved through Yoga. Each of those issues is directly connected to one or more of the chakras because they are the result how well or badly those chakras are functioning. In addition, not everybody needs to work on the same issues. In a personal Yoga Practice we can choose which Asanas to do in order to work out the specific chakra that will help us resolve those issues.
* Yoga is time-consuming when we insist in doing it at a place other than our home. Transportation time and class time add up to an amount of time that we can’t invest for yoga, and often people don’t do it at all, missing all its benefits. When done at home as a Personal Yoga Practice, no time gets wasted.
* When done at home, a Personal Yoga Practice can be of any length: 20 minutes, 30 to 40, one hour or two, depending on the amount of time we have available. The important think is not the length of the practice. What matters is that we do it daily. 5 minutes of daily yoga is better than zero minutes.
Richard Hittleman in his renown book Yoga: 28 Days Exercise Plan outlines the setting requirements for the best and most efficient at-home Yoga Personal Practice: His recommendation is to do yoga:
* Everyday
* At the same time
* In the same room
* With the windows open
Follow these basic advice from this yoga pioneer and open the door to a world of personal transformation that you never even dreamed of.
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