In 1997 I founded my dance company Capacitor in San Francisco. I began a hyper creative phase of making ten full-evening works over the next twenty-two years. Many of the pieces in those shows were duets. I loved to choreograph them and I loved to dance them. I loved being present with another person on stage - communicating non-verbally in front of hundreds of people. Even when performing to music, there would be a space of silence around us where we were in crystal clear communication.
The trick, was to let the audience witness us connecting. We had to let the audience see us. We had to let them project themselves and their own relationship onto us. Whether it was a love duet or hate duet, whether it was sexual, primal, or profound - these stories never got old for me…never lost their thrill.
I was good at smoothly transitioning between giving weight and taking weight. I knew how to hold my weight so I was lighter - knowing how to lengthen my body and not land like lead on my partner. I knew how to ground myself so I could be a stable base for my partner. I could hold much larger people by managing my relationship to gravity.
I remember going out to the (SAR) Search and Rescue site of Yosemite and meeting a bunch of professional climbers. One of these climbers is a bear of a man called Greg. We all went to the waterfalls for a sunny afternoon. Between leaps into the water, I began to fly people in Acroyoga. I offered to fly Greg. Grounding my pelvis carefully, I lifted him off the ground. His spine elongated in the Folded Leaf pose. I twisted him. I stretched him.
Much later he told me what a profound experience that had been for him. He had never been lifted by anyone in his adult life. He had never had anyone take his full weight. This short flight had moved him greatly and had given me the opportunity to be strong, solid, and stable, something I enjoy at least as much as flight.
Capacitor became known for a number of things, but one of them was for our strong women who gladly caught, carried, supported, battled, and threw our men.
In Creative Journey, I guide couples through Anniversary Refresh rituals in which they remember why they originally fell in love and how to reawaken to one another today. Enjoy your duet - the art of giving and taking weight.