I was just in Brazil for five weeks, and I got to witness Carnaval. It was, by far, the most advanced partying I've ever seen. I was excited to take movement classes while the pole studio was closed, but I learned that all gyms and dance studios had also closed during Carnaval. Why? Because you are supposed to do all of your movement in tiny sparkly clothing in the street, throughout rainstorms or in the middle of the night, for FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT with a million other people. And the five days are just part of the month plus of heavy partying.
On Friday, I even saw this epic float at the samba competition that featured pole dancers.
Now, about that transformative cue…
Imagine someone doing some basic steps and spins, but they aren't particularly enthused or invigorated by the act. The mover appears 'in their head' as they shift between making technical adjustments and anticipating what's next. They may be having fun, but it's hard to tell based on their expression.
Now, imagine those same movements performed by the same person, in a state of celebration.
(Ya know, like this):
How did their energy change?
I saw the transformative power of the cue, "Celebrate it!" last week in an 8 A.M. level one pole class. I'd taught a looping sequence of upright and floor moves that we were practicing to different songs. Things were going well, but I saw an opportunity for more vitality and enjoyment. I asked them to pause so I could invite an energy shift.
"We will continue working with the sequence, but when I say, 'Celebrate it,' let go of the flow, and instead, have a full-body party in the position you're in".
I demonstrated some pronounced head movement, down-low hip rolls, and jumping (I'm clearly a morning person). I then said, "You are free to celebrate in any way you wish-- as long as it's in contrast to how you were moving before. I'll let you know when to return to the sequence." When I demonstrated what the shift from sequence-rehearsal to party-time looked like in my body, their faces lit up.
We gave it a go. Despite the hour, within seconds, I saw confidence and joy blossom. As they moved between flowing and celebrating, I saw the people in the class become lighter and more natural, musically-inspired movers.
When I envision a 'state of celebration,' I see a range of states--from raucous hooting and abandon (I heard plenty of that in the streets this week) to subtle revelling.I'm a fan of using vocalizations to rev up. Sometimes, when I start to drag while training or working, I make sounds and faces to wake myself up (a diaphragmatic "wooohh" or "yeaaa" and some wide-eyed facial muscle movements can quickly build energy).
In my classes, I sometimes encourage people to make noise to raise the communal spirit attentiveness. But I believe celebration can also be subtle. I sometimes cue myself to have a, "little party for one", or, "a party in my (choose a body part)" when I want to bring more groove into my movement while dancing. When I, "Celebrate it," or, "Party with it," without fail, I swing more freely, and relax into the grounded pulse of sexy-feeling hip movement. The Oxford Dictionary defines celebration as:
"The action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social, activity."
I noticed that this change of approach, from practice-mode to celebration-mode, stimulated a full-bodied sense of aliveness. As beginners, most students were in the earlier (motor or associative stages) of learning pole fluidity. When we are newbs (at anything, not just pole), skills require more cognitive involvement; it's less likely that we will look like we are breezing through movements with care-free ease. Yet, their use of momentum and elasticity improved, their upper-bodies relaxed, and their dance became intimately tied to the music. Before, music just made the class less quiet.
When we feel liberated—that is, relieved of inhibitions, hindrances, limitations, and duties that have weighed on us—our spirits rise. When we overcome, and when we win, we humans tend to celebrate—often wildly.
I’m writing about this cue because something came alive in them. Working with contrasts such as fast/slow, big/small, often transforms how people feel about their movement (this was an exercise in contrast), but it felt like there was more to it. I have a few guesses as to why it felt different:The first is related to the aphorism-turned-scientifically-researched, "Fake it ‘til you make it," principle. Starting with Alfred Adler's "Act as If" research in the 1920s and popularized most recently with Amy Cuddy's studies on 'Power Posing,' psychologists have wondered if acting the way you want to feel could, in fact, transform how you feel.
Cuddy found that when we use body language to express confidence, we feel confident. I believe that because the class acted as if they were having more fun with the movement, they had more fun with it.
Secondly, celebration is one of the most universal and ancestral human practices. It serves several functions, one of which is to feel a sense of belonging to a group. In movement classes, we feel safer, happier, and less inhibited when we feel that we belong there. When the people on the poles were in celebration mode, their pole partner onlookers changed, too; they visibly and audibly supported and appreciated what the dancers were doing.
Thirdly, I'm reminded of the relationship between savoring experiences and happiness. Fred Bryant is the researcher most known for his work on the remarkable benefits of savoring experiences. He teaches people how to develop the skill of savoring. Three of his suggestions are: share the feeling with others, get absorbed in the moment, use the senses more consciously, and 'shout your joy' through movement and sound. These things were happening in class.
"[Savoring] is like swishing the experience around … in your mind", says Bryant.
In class, students were encouraged to let go of form and order, and instead, swish the joy of moving around in their bodies. In my own training, when I savor the experience, I snap into presence. I remember that of all the things in the world I could be doing, at this moment, I get to dance. Music becomes a dynamic landscape that explores me as I explore it. This exchange makes me swell with appreciation. It appears that celebrating and savoring sets the stage for gratitude.
The fourth reason this cue worked so well has to do with a cognitive bias known as the peak-end rule. This rule explains why our memories are biased towards the high-point of experiences (good or bad), and the end. (This rule is related to people's tendency to leave negative reviews if the tail-end of being a customer somewhere is sub-satisfactory.)
Celebrating transformed that moment, but it also changed how people felt about their overall performance that day. If there was a point in class when they felt inadequate or unskilled, it didn't appear to be on their minds. When they left the room, their previously drowsy faces beamed; they radiated the confidence unearthed while dancing.
Lastly, celebration shifted the rigid aesthetic values typically bound to pole dance. If someone forgot where part of their body 'should' go, it mattered not. They had a memorable experience partying with and taking pleasure in the material. Someone watching class would be more likely to notice 'how they are being' than 'how they are placing their legs.' Aesthetic standards fall out of relevance when movement is exuberant.
As mentioned, this occured in Brazil just before Carnaval, which is perhaps the most notorious mega-party in existence. At least in that room, but probably most of Brazil, there didn't need to be a specific reason to celebrate. The desire to celebrate was reason enough.
Next time you train, dance, exercise, or even take a walk, consider taking a pause and a breath, then add a little party to it, savor it, and make it a celebration.