Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Dance Class With a Master
This morning I woke up and decided that since the weather was a little overcast, I would head up to Broadway Dance and take a class. It had been a while since I'd been up there and a good dance class stretching would do me some good.
I settled on a jazz class that didn't seem too difficult. The schedule said it would be taught by Frank Hatchett, the legendary man who started the venerable Broadway Dance Studio eons ago. I've been going to Broadway Dance since 2002 and I've never actually seen the man nor taken one of his classes. His classes were normally taught by one of his assistants.
That said, I was a little shocked when I saw him teaching the class before mine. It was advanced, and there were only about 10 people in it. Frank sat in a chair int he front, watching everyone intently. He would point to people and tell them what they were doing wrong. One person wasn't extending enough, another was using too much shoulder. It was great to finally see him in action.
My class started and Heather, one of his assistants, led the warm up. Depite all my yoga, I was a little tighter than expected. Nevertheless, it was fun and I was ready to get started on the routine. About 30 of us were all standing around when Frank walked back in and started talking choreography.
I was like, "No way! I'm actually going to be able to take a class taught by Frank Hatchett!" Then I got scared. Really, really scared. I thought the class, held in the middle of the day, was going to be a cake walk. Being that I hadn't been to class in a while, I was looking for a cake walk.
No such luck. Frank was precise in his choreography, often making us stop and hold poses while he checked everyone out. The crazy part was that everyobe obeyed. No one talked, no one spaced out, and everyone focused and tried to impress this man. In the four years that I've been gonig to Broadway Dance, I'd never seen anything like it.
We got through the routine, which was awesome, and by the end of the class I was soaked through with sweat, as if I had run eight miles. Afterwards I told Frank that I loved his class, which seemed to please him.
After class I got myself some much-needed sushi and was very pleased with my decision to go to class. Not only did I take Frank's class, but I stuck everything in it, which did a lot for my dance self-esteem.
Is this what they call Clarity?
