Teaching a Workshop

I was so happy when I looked at the screen. There were about 25 small squares on my computer. Each square had a person waiting to take the class. Some looked back at me, waiting to begin. Others were going about their business eating, stretching, or playing on their computers, It was an early Monday morning, and I wanted to start with something energetic. I had a plan to play some music that would get folks to move. I chose "Stomp" by the Brothers Johnson. It's a late 70s hit that always makes me want to move. As the music played, I started to dance. When I looked at the screen, I saw that people were dancing with me! This dancing was an excellent noon activity for a Monday. It was the early afternoon for me. However, many people in this meeting were zooming in from the West Coast of the United States and Canada. It was 9 o'clock there, yet they were still up and dancing with me. I did a special call-out to the west coast folks acknowledging their 9 AM Monday morning efforts. During the workshop, I change from dancing to moving fast and then, at times, moving slowly. The goal was to explore different ways of moving. Folks were engaged and eager to play along. Later that day, I led a second workshop. It was another opportunity to present the material and see how it works with these artists. I especially appreciate their input and involvement.

I'm grateful to the conference organizers for asking me to teach my workshop. I've been doing versions of this workshop online since last year. Each time I learn from the people taking the class.

Several weeks ago, I did a four-hour version of this workshop at the University of North Georgia. That day the class was full of theater students who, in many ways, reminded me of me from many years ago. At times, they were eager to participate, willing to try almost anything, and full of youthful energy.

 The workshop is called "Why Stop the Music.?" I will be teaching it at the Healthcare Clown International conference in the Hague, the Netherlands, in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to this trip. Four years ago I attended this conference. It was one of the highlights of the year. I love being in these settings where I get to work with other artists who do medical clowning. This year, I get to present my workshop to an international audience in real life. I will do my best to have everyone experimenting with their movement.

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