Cara Reeser

This course will introduce students to strength, mobility, and physical organization techniques that develop awareness and skill in the moving body. Drawing from Pilates, yoga, and other dance-adjacent practices, students will build a dependable foundation to support their dance and movement practice. Each week, the class will focus on conditioning a specific region of the body, incorporating basic anatomy and joint biomechanics through guided movement investigations. While collective goals will be emphasized, attention is also given to individual body structures and personal movement objectives. Recognizing that every body is unique, students will learn how to work with their own anatomy to create strategies that support their personal movement journeys. Students will be expected to maintain a dedicated method for recording their practice—this might be a journal, sketchbook, or digital log. These records will support the development of personalized movement routines to be used outside of class. Full participation in both the physical and reflective aspects of the course is required. Students should demonstrate a clear understanding and integration of course material throughout the semester. This course is open to all interested movers. As students deepen their understanding of how their bodies move, they expand their potential for creativity, exploration, and play.

This conditioning uses embodied anatomy, Pilates-based strengthening, body weight exercises, information about cardiovascular fitness, and artistic reflection to build healthy groundwork from which to build a sustained physical dance practice. Each week, we will address a different area of the body with an anatomical lecture, definition and palpation of bony landmarks and activation of specific support structures, and targeted exercises to help build deeper understanding and support. This more intellectual investigation will be applied directly to movement to help develop technical training, as well as to encourage injury prevention and rehabilitation. Students will be expected to show critical-thinking skills around the concepts presented in class. They are expected to be present, attempt exercises, and develop personal modifications when necessary and to show some physical progress throughout the semester. Discussion in class is encouraged, as this is a time to display internal process. It is suggested, though not required, for students to maintain a journal throughout the semester.