Stephanie Fravel, Chicago, Illinois.
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| You Matter. |
Being a teacher of movement and a vocalist, you understand the relevance of this relationship. Why is it important to you to share this understanding with people through your dance fitness instruction?
Having studied music formally all my life, I feel as though the deep analysis of song structure and instrumentation can unlock choreographic phrasing that speaks directly to the soul of the dancer and the audience. Just as a C Major 7 chord strikes the happy notes of the heart, so too, can the right movement paired with its similar musical element. As a performer, I had to understand musical concepts that original composers wanted to convey to the audience so they could experience the same emotional dynamics and give themselves over to a journey with me. As an instructor, a class has already given itself over to me for an hour - and expects not just any journey - but a journey worth their sacrificed lunch hour, extra sleep, dinner with their kids, etc. So the stakes have been risen for my urgency to communicate the positive lifeforce through movement and strong music choices so that this hour is not only a fulfilling amount of time, but a great workout and something the student looks forward to each week. As a performer, audience members have thanked me for transcending them to a different world and providing an escape from daily life. As an instructor, I seek to provide that same atmosphere.
Being a performer, you know how to use your imagination to transform onstage. As a movement instructor, you work with large groups of women and guide them through the imaginative process of getting back to their authentic self through motion. How do you do that?
The first thing I say at the beginning of each class, is that there are "no sorries, no judgments, and no stopping." People usually giggle at this, and that moment of laughter has already opened up the room to a certain level of human vulnerability that is easier to work with. I continue with a warm-up that consists of several heart and hip opening fluid stretches that I learned through my training as an actor as well as in private yoga practice. Once the breath is in sync with the organs that make up our life force, the mind opens up and can reach into the more instinctive, youthful side of our beings. My music choices are an eclectic mix of more nostalgic songs, top 40, and one crazy "Disney-esque" song per class. Sometimes I'll give a brief background on a song, and all of a sudden the class has transformed into a chorus of 40-foot tall showgirls on a cruise ship -- or into the funkiest, hippest background dancers in a Janet Jackson show. When the class sees me open up to a song, or hears me refer to "dancing to this with my sister when we were 12," they are that much more likely to relinquish their souls to the moment knowing they are in the safety zone of the studio.
After your experience with reading the book Rocstar you were inspired to action, what was it about this work that compels you to share it with the community?
I've always felt as though there are few people who understand me. When I read Rocstar, and several moments appeared to have been plucked out of my life and shared with the author, I suddenly came to the understanding that I've never been alone. Not as an artist, and not as an empathetic individual with too much trust in humanity.
I shared the book with my sister and my mom (both in separate states), in hopes they would first understand more of what inspires and comforts me during long days out here on my own. And I hoped that the words of encouragement would lift them up just as high as it did me. I felt as though I just needed to get off the couch and do something with my spare time. I felt as though I needed to stop ignoring the phone and actually MAKE the first call for once. I realized that no matter how hard I work, I can't wait around for another's response or approval...that my part is already done. But to come to full circle, I realized that my part can only be done as long as I fully commit to doing the work. That realization was very sobering and rather emotional. It is hard to reach our goals as individuals without support from the community. As soon as I reached out to a friend and voiced a goal I wanted to reach, I felt as though it were already there.
Why should I share this? Because I want to hear the voices of the people around me. I want others to set goals and ask for support along the way. Voicing it, for me, was already halfway up the ladder.
Do you feel that the body of work can have an impact on the thinking of future generations?
It appears as though the state of mind in the current younger generation is that it's very cool to do nothing. "What are you doing after school today" "shoot, giiiiirl, I'm goin home and doing nothing.."
That was not cool when I was growing up and I want that to stop being cool now. I think that if we as a community stay connected through actual contact and provide support for hard work, then the definition of service will truly be redefined. Work won't appear to be so much work, but rather personal goals we are all striving to stay connected enough to reach.
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