Harvard Gaga dance course teaches students to listen to their bodies
Among the many things you should know about the Gaga dance technique, perhaps the most important is that Gaga the dance has nothing to do with Gaga the Lady. It does have to do with movement — pure, uninhibited, and ever-flowing. Gaga dancers twist, wiggle, bend, stretch, fall, jump, and “float,” each move building on another and helping performers discover their bodies’ strengths and weaknesses. Developed by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, Gaga is a movement language intended to help practitioners raise physical awareness by focusing on (or in Gaga terms, “listening” to) the rhythm of their bodies, letting them direct their movement and the pleasure that movement brings. Gaga performers adhere to various codes and rules. There are no mirrors. There are no observers. There is no choreography. Gaga isn’t intended to be viewed. Some performers don’t even know what they look like when they dance Gaga. For many around the world, Gaga...