In February, 2006, the Yaledancers invited Bapak Waleed to lead a special workshop for their group on the Traditional Dances of West Sumatra. The Yaledancers consists of dancers from many different backgrounds, including modern, ballet, tap and jazz, who are dedicated to learning new and varied dance techniques, and always to maintaining freshness and creativity in their dancing styles. Bapak Waleed was able to provide them instruction in a type of dance that they had never before experienced, in the dancers’ own words movements that are very different from those they traditionally learn and practice.
Even though the Indonesian Dance was new and different for them, the Yaledancers followed Bapak Waleed through the basic stepping movements and patterns of the dance, paying close attention to even the intricate details of the movements. Bapak Waleed emphasized throughout the class how specific steps and details are tailored to aiding dancers of all kinds in increasing both balance and coordination in their movements. The group quickly learned and relearned the importance of maintaining balance in movement especially in crowded situations, whether they are on stage during a performance or in everyday life. Bapak Waleed also demonstrated how coordinated movement of the hands and feet lends itself to increasing the fluidity and ease of a dancer’s movements.
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Another point of emphasis during the evening regarded injury rehabilitation and prevention. Bapak Waleed pointed out how ankle, wrist, and knee joints are both strengthened and lubricated through Sumatran dance movements. The stepping patterns serve to strengthen and tone the back, guarding it from sprains and other injuries. Bapak Waleed related stories of students who had come to him in the past with sports and dance-related injuries and also some just emerging from accidents or surgery. Those who trained with him even for a short time found relief from their ailments, often emerging in better condition than before. In fact, at the end of the evening one dancer remarked to Bapak Waleed that the knee pain which had previously bothered her disappeared about 20 minutes into the workshop. |
Bapak Waleed ended the evening by demonstrating some of the basic hand movements found in Sumatran Dance, emphasizing the importance of maintaining control over the breath and clearing the mind to allow the body to move more freely. At the end of the evening, the Yaledancers were very grateful to Bapak Waleed for the ‘spiritual dance & sacred movement experience’ he shared with them. Several YaleDancers stayed afterwards to discuss further with Bapak about the ‘sacred movements’ of Sumatran Dance & Silat Tuo.
YaleDancers learning Sumatran Dance !
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