Dance Studio
EveryBody Dances with Dr. Deborah Heifetz
EveryBody Dances @ Yale Schwarzman Center brings local and visiting dance artists to our Dance Studio to teach masterclasses in jazz, hip hop, salsa, modern, contemporary, precision dance and more! All community members are welcome. This special Thursday edition will be taught by Dr. Deborah Heifetz.
Class Description:
MAP Journey: The Embodiment of Self and Otherness, led by Dr. Deborah Heifetz
The workshop investigates the embodiment of self and otherness probing identity through expressive movement and role play. The framework for the inquiry builds upon the recently published Human Needs Map, a dynamic systems-based matrix of human needs. We will integrate somatic principles from Laban Movement Analysis in this experiential exploration.
Participants will be asked to think about a conflict or issue in their lives for which they would like to gain more clarity. By “walking the MAP*”, participants have a chance to uncover and embody the needs involved in their struggle and discover what the “other” may also be feeling. Through role play and movement explorations, each student builds upon their question/issue through the lens of the model as it translates into the following three questions:
1. Where on the Human Needs Map do I locate myself and my issue?
2. How do I move the beliefs and needs that reflect who I am?
3. How might the “other side” move their beliefs and needs?
Acting out the needs triggered by their conflict, participants caninvestigate beliefs about themselves and others that build their conflict story. Participants have a chance to explore how their needs feel in their body and ask: How are deprived needsexpressed in sound and movement? What emotions may rise-up and what are these emotions trying to say? How are their fulfilled needs expressed in the body through sound, movement and the felt sense as a resource?
Two volunteers will create a short performance before Q & A.
The goal of the experience is to gain insight into oneself and others by building a language of needs. It is an empowering act of agency to become more aware of what triggers us, gain perspective about the beliefs we hold, and develop a problem-solving vocabulary for the reactions to needs that drive conflict and support its transformation.
The workshop is designed for 25-30 people.
* The MAP is both an acronym (Mental, Affective, and Physical) and the name of the model that addresses the interconnectivity of needs through their synergies and tensions.
