For all our friends in New York City and elsewhere, I read recently in the NY Times that there was a program presented by Cindy Lee (director of OM yoga center in NY) which combined yoga and dance; or better said, showed the connections between yoga and contemporary dance. Can someone post that reveiew, which I believe was within the last month, from the NY Times? Anyone else know of any choreographers combining or synthesizing these two body systems/techniques? I ask becasue I'm particularly interested in yoga, and how it might be presented in performance.

Trina, in the short time I have been following the reviews in the New York Times, it seems to me that as soon as an article is more than just a couple of days old, there seems to be a charge for the article. Perhaps, I am wrong ...but that is the way it seems to me. You can however, just go to the New York Times front page and enter into the search box what you want and see what comes up.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.nytimes.com/</A> <P>you will see the search box in the upper left hand side - you would probably click on archives, if you think the review is older.<P>

Trina: <P>What specifically interests you about the combination of yoga and dance or the possibilities of yoga in performance? I didn’t get a chance to see the concert at the Om Center, unfortunately, but this is an interest of mine also. For me, I’m not interested so much in including yoga asanas as part of a dance movement vocabulary, as I am in somehow capturing the kind of psycho-somatic intensity and concentration a person attends to yoga practice within the dancer’s onstage persona … I guess this treads on new-agey territory. I’ve been researching methods that combine meditation and movement, what I’m calling "body prayer," like sufi spinning, Barbara Dilley’s Contemplative Dance Practice, Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Ryhthms, walking labyrinths. Simply watching a group engaged in walking meditation practice can be quite beautiful. Anyone have any input on any of these methods?<BR>

Ah-ha! Roth's 5 Rhythms - thanks for reminding me what that was. Not knowing what I was getting into I dropped in on a class once in Portland and they were working with these 5 Rhythms.<P>I don't know anything about it but now it's years later and I'd sort of been interested in reading about what I'd been doing in that class. Though it probably wasn't a class I'd sign up for or anything.<P>What about tai chi? Is it part of your 'body prayer' studies?<P>

Re. The NY Times, most articles are available for 2 weeks before they descend into 'The Archive' where it costs $2.50 from memory to read the articles. In the case of dance I am sure that they are never seen again.<P>However, things used to be worse - a year ago they were only available on the day of publication before falling into the oblivion of 'The Archive'.<P>trina, I searched under Yoga without finding the article you mentioned I'm afraid.

Priscilla:<P>No, I hadn't considered tai chi ... I guess I'm confused by the lines between martial arts and fitness trainings and spiritual-somatic practices ... the "New Age" has muddled these lines, I wonder if teachings get over-diluted? <P>I’ve looked at Roth’s book, "Sweat Your Prayers," which seems overly simple, but holds the kernel of what could be a profound experience, I think. I’m eager to take one of the classes after the new year. <BR>

Here's a link to a review of the program at Om Center in the Village Voice, and a related article by Deborah Jowitt.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0049/footnotes.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0049/footnotes.shtml</A>

Thanks for the article link! This is an interesting follow up after I read the article in Dance Magazine a few months ago on dancers and yoga. Did anyone else see this? The article talked about Baby Om, a practice that 2 dancers invented for doing yoga with their toddlers. They also discussed how yoga had become an integral part of their daily warm up before class.. I myself began to study yoga this year, and while I havn't incorperated it into any choreography, I have to say it makes me feel great after a long week of dancing (my class in on a Sat. and a great way to wind down my aching muscles!).<P>------------------<BR><BR>"If it's self expression you are looking for the place for you is the analyst's couch" - Merce Cunningham

Misa danseuse-welcome!! Is this the first time you've posted? We appreciate your participation!!