When Others Count Sheep to Fall Asleep, I Count Ballet“ BLACK Steps SWAN. And” Everything FAIL AND THE FallsBALLET into Place ROAD. TO WISDOM
Still, growing up in Indiana, US, Catterson wasn’ t given the chance to attend a great ballet school, so she trained, but not at the intensity wannabe ballerinas do. She was, however, a bright student, and later majored in Psychology at Northwestern University. There, her fire for dance re-ignited. She apprenticed with Judith Scott Dance Company in Chicago, participated in the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College, experimented with choreography, and received prizes and accolades. Dance won out. In 1968 she moved to New York, to work under mammoth names like James Cunningham and Yvonne Rainer.
She is now seventy and goes to class every single day.“ It is not so much my perfect body that led to my lasting career, but my talent and passion. You can’ t be mediocre if you are a professional dancer. A plumber can be mediocre and make a living, a dancer no,” says the seasoned creator, who often tours the world teaching seminars.“ Competition is fierce, and resources are few. To just scrape a living, you quickly figure out that time is money. One moment you learn new steps, the next you throw them away. Let alone the need for constant adjustment. Dance equips you with a mental sharpness, toughness, flexibility and speed,” monologues a sleek, spark-eyed, astonishingly fit Catterson, who reminisces the times she adjusted her dancing to a wrecked stage, or out of tune violins. But, if, mentally, dance postulates a hyper-versatility that extends from strict discipline to lines and techniques to ample resourcefulness in unforeseen occasions, what holds true in the case of wisdom?
Does a dancer’ s short lifespan culminate in long-running wisdom?“ In a sense, yes,” answers Catterson.“ When you meet yourself in the mirror in leotards and tights, you learn to deal with your failings and assets. I suffered from an eating disorder for twenty-five years. I managed to overcome it, embracing myself with courage and sensitivity. You see, you need an artist’ s sensitivity, but courage and toughness will keep the fires burning.” For the celebrated choreographer, there might be something special about the dancers who stick with dance through thick and thin— and conquer wisdom. She steers the conversation into the topic of a fellow dancer, as a perfect example of a prodigy lacking the self-transcendence to“ take the heat”.“ At one point she got injured, and quit. You could see it written all over her face that she was grateful for her injury. It was the perfect excuse for this supremely talented dancer to call it a day.”
recreational activity? The same groundbreaking research contains surveys showing that even an expanding posture will increase feelings of power and tolerance of risk, while tilting the head upward induces pride. To the extent that somatic training alters movement patterns, Embodied Cognition claims ballet may contribute to psychological changes associated with wisdom.“ If you ask me, the upright posture I gained through ballet— something I physically lacked— has certainly boosted my self-esteem,” answers forty-four-year-old Leda Contogiannopoulou, one of the leading artists of her generation, albeit in... painting.“ The truth is I wanted to become a ballerina, but I liked food a bit too much. At fourteen I came to grips with the fact that my chunky body frame would mean I would literally need to starve to become a ballerina, so I chilled out end enjoyed,” the mother of two says.
Contogiannopoulou does not have stories of torment to share. Ballet has made her love her body more, filled her with positive feelings, and taught her the power of teamwork.“ I can see wrinkles in my upper body, and more beautifully sculpted bodies in the mirror. Many of my adult classmates are twenty years younger than me but I am still the second best technician in class and have one of the best memories!” she says.“ Confident, ebullient, quick-witted... Wiser?”“ Ten to one,” the artist replies in a soft but poised voice.“ I test my body’ s limits and this gives me valuable self-knowledge. I also have a fixed target in mind, an unshakeable focus. When others count sheep to fall asleep, I count ballet steps. And everything falls into place.”
When Others Count Sheep to Fall Asleep, I Count Ballet Steps. And Everything Falls into Place.
Those who climb the higher echelons of Terpsichore’ s art might open the gates of wisdom, science says. But, what happens with those who take up ballet as a mere
Leda Contogiannopoulou, first on the left
Stav Dimitropoulos is a journalist and writer who has appeared on CBC, CBS Radio and FOX Channel, and has written for In The Fray, YourTango, Gadgette and many more. Facebook | Twitter: @ TheyCallMeStav
July 2016 Edition from continnect. com � continnect. com � team @ continnect. com Page 13