[Adta] Movement Choir on the banks of the Potomac

[Wager Jody]

Good morning everyone.
I just wanted to share with you a little bit about the wonderful Spring conference that our chapter ... MD/DC/VA ... had last Friday featuring Marylee Hardenbergh. It was one of the most magical experiences I have had in a long time. After the initial schmoozing, our morning began with an experiential/didactic presentation of the structure of the movement choir. We were a group of 19 dance/movement therapists, one music therapist and Marylee's assistant. We played with the concepts and techniques as we warmed our bodies up and prepared ourselves for the richness of the day. By noon, we grabbed our box lunches and headed out to Fletcher's Boathouse. This boathouse is located between the Potomac River and the C&O Canal, just outside of Washington, DC's Georgetown neighborhood, with tall trees and big boulders scattered throughout. The day was glorious ... a perfect Washington, DC spring day ... lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze blowing ... plus a bit of pollen. The drive to Fletcher's became an integral part of our movement choir, as we attempted to caravan from Falls Church, VA. We were like a flock of geese, as we made our way through quiet neighborhoods ... with a couple of geese losing their way from time to time. An incredible moment was when we needed to make a turn-around due to a complicated entrance into the parking lot ... imagine 8 cars driving up a narrow hill and one by one doing a u-turn on a side street and traveling back down the hill ... Marylee informed us that this was "true flocking". It was very funny yet beautiful. We ate a delicious lunch together and then continued with our program. Our afternoon was spent designing, practicing and then performing our own movement choir throughout the area ... encompassing the river, the canal and the wooded area in-between. We divided up into small groups ... one at each of the above mentioned locations ... and choreographed our portion of the dance. When Marylee brought us back together, we officially began "performing" the piece. Each group got to perform for the others as we moved back and forth through the space. There were some outside observers as well ... families picnicking, soccer players, people fishing and kayaking. We moved in silence, to the sounds of the environment and to the music of Keith Jarrett that Marylee had playing softly in a boom box that she carried with her. It was a most beautiful dance! I know that portions of it were captured on video... I wish we could have had the whole thing taped ... a definite recommendation! 

I would like to thank Marylee publicly for her brilliant guidance ... her playful and inviting style made this process feel effortless. Yet I know, from having begun to try to conduct these movement experiences myself, that they are not so effortless ... that she did an incredible job of providing us with a solid structure and that held us firmly, yet with enough space for our own uniqueness to shine through.

I would like to recommend, with Marylee's approval I hope, that each chapter consider bringing Marylee to one of your meetings or conferences, and have her work with you on designing your own movement choir. It was such an incredible way of spending time together and connecting ... dancing and being playful and creative ... all the "stuff" that we do for everyone else in our day-to-day lives at work. 

We ended the day by reflecting on the experience and reviewing the elements that we had studied. We also spent time speaking about the therapeutic applications of the movement choir and how we might each utilize this "tool" in other areas of our lives. There was great enthusiasm as we spoke about ways that we as a group might try to bring this model to other gatherings in our community ... i.e.. Avon walk for breast cancer; race for the cure; psychotherapy networker conference. I know that we will be continuing this discussion long after this workshop. Despite the initial goal of learning a new technique, I think what we most seemed to take from this experience was the richness of our time spent together ... doing what we love to do most ... DANCE!
Thank you Marylee ... you have truly inspired our chapter.
See you in Brooklyn ... can't wait to join you in your movement choirs up there.
Love,
Jody (Wager)
Program Director
MD/DC/VA Chapter of the ADTA

P.S. Sorry for the lengthiness of this posting... I got carried away just recalling the day.