The Nature of Movement

Watch an animal move.  Really watch.  Most of the time it is different then your percecption of how you think it moves.  Kind of like when you learned that a dog says 'bark" and a bird says "tweet."  I don't hear "bark" or "ruff" when I really listen to a dog. It's a sound I can't put into the english language.  Sometimes a dog bark sounds like pans crashing to the ground or a bag of potato chips being ripped open.  And sometimes a bird "tweet" sounds more like a squeeky chair.

My point is when you really listen, really watch, you learn something different then what you expect.

Watch a bird with children and say what you see. 

• How does the bird move?  How does it walk?  Does it put one foot in front of the other or does it jump around with both feet?  When it moves it's head does it move it slowly and scan or does the bird tilt it sideways very quick?  When it flies does it jump into the air and flap it's wings?  Does it take a running start?  When it flies does it flap constantly or does it soar tilting slightly?

Ask the children to do these movements.  Remember they are not acting like a birds but taking the movements they observed and putting them into their bodies!  Observation is a very important skill .

I took my daughter to see the movie Ocean.  Throughout the entire movie I kept thinking, "I didn't know dolphins moved like that", or "I didn't know fish could swim under a shark."  It was like a water dance and I was in awe.  It made me think about really watching my surroundings and seeing the true nature of movement and not my perception of movement.

Take the time to observe the animals around you with the children in your life and discover the movement essence of the world.  Then make a nature dance that is not like anything you might imagine because the true nature of movement can sometimes be even more spectacular!

Sincerely,
Stacey