Margot Lasher on "Moving from Within"

Above: Shiro & Brigit dancing

Wednesday, June 3 - "Naomi, who is a musician, says that when she is doing a play, at some point she absorbs her lines as she would music and they become part of her body, part of her whole self.

"I had this same thought about dance while I was watching the development of the young dancers at a performance of Contemporary Dance in Montpelier. There were differences of course in technical skills, but the striking difference for me was that some of the dancers moved from an internal place—from their whole body/self. For whatever reason, some had reached the point where the movement came from within.

"As ridiculous as this might sound, you can even see this with dogs. Along with my friends Peggy and Alan, and their dogs Amy (who died last winter) and Danny, I studied freestyle (dog-human dancing) with Shiro. But in spite of all my efforts, Shiro never really moved from within. In the woods, when he senses a prey, Shiro trots toward the scent with his head high, his neck stretched, his legs prancing. He never once had that beautiful look when he trotted beside me in the dance. Peggy with Amy and Alan with Danny went on to wonderful performances without us. I decided to let Shiro focus on his passion, hunting. However, when Shiro dances with another dog, especially with Brigit, he does move from within."