Robert Dekkers teaches ballet via live stream on Facebook. He greets us from his kitchen as though he can see all of us, even though he is not in the room with any of us, and we can only see him. He begins teaching his ballet class by taking the knee, an act that shows his solidarity with #blacklivesmatter. At the same time, his gesture is an outward expression of his generosity toward all of humanity. He is saying we are all in this world together. He knows during this age of the pandemic, we are all stuck in small places, which is not where anyone ought to be.
Being alone in a small space is not the same as being in a studio with other dancers. Dancers are always expanding, extending their bodies, seeking to seize all of the space on the floor. It’s pure joy to stretch just one small notch, metaphorically earning an incremental yard. Instead of wallowing in the confinement of too small a space, Dekkers prompts us to expand our awareness by using all of our senses: what we see, what we hear, what we can detect in scent and taste, and most important of all, to breathe and to know what is in our heart.
The connection among body, mind and spirit is essential for dancers to thrive. Dekkers teaches us how to change what the room feels like because we are there, very present, moving through time and space, reorienting ourselves into the wholeness of being human. No ordinary dance instructor, Robert Dekkers is Artistic Director of the Berkeley Ballet Theater (BBT); he is also founder and Artistic Director of the avant-garde dance company Post:Ballet.