Chapter Fourteen
Setting the Stage
“I did not want to be a tree, a flower or a wave. In a dancer’s body, we as audience must see ourselves, not the imitated behavior of everyday actions, not the phenomenon of nature, not exotic creatures from another planet, but something of the miracle that is a human being.”
– Martha Graham
At dance practice the following afternoon I was practicing my stance when Sefa stopped in front of me. She ordered me to pivot, and do several percussive hip movements. When I’d done that, she proceeded to command several more: circles, figure-eight, pushes, slides, pulls, hip drops, shimmies, wiggles, and the proper flow. She alternated the instructions back and forth, calling them out in alternating succession, frequently doubling back until I got them right.
“
