Martha Graham would be proud

Sweet Cheeks took his first official dance class yesterday morning. A ballet class. Yes, we stuck a 20 month old into a structured toddler ballet class and expected that to go well. Hmm. What we learned is this: he is without a doubt… a dancer. What we saw, was his inability to stand still when music or rhythm is around him. He feels it, and cannot help himself. His body just moves to it. He is in every way a free spirit, especially in his dance. There is no sign he’ll ever be comfortable conforming to the structures of classical training, and frankly we’re ok with that. While we enjoy and appreciate the art of classical ballet, neither one of us have ever been excited to pull on a pair of pink tights or pull our hair back in tight buns. No, give us bare feet, hair in our faces, and a pounding beat in our limbs, hands, feet and heart. That is how we dance… with unbound passion and energy. This is how Sweet Cheeks dances, and we can’t wait to see him break all the rules as he grows. Here’s to all the strong, beautiful, genius history makers of dance who did everything they weren’t supposed to.

It seems we have a little Merce Cunningham on our hands.

 

Wonderful words from one of our favorite rule breakers, the divine Martha Graham:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others”

 

*and thanks to “Lou Lou” we have a couple of photos from his first dance class experience. This of course, was another rule we broke 😉