I worked as a pianist for ballet classes for many years. One of the best things I learned as I listened to hours and hours of dance instruction was about reaching. A brilliant teacher was speaking to a class one day about extending their arms in a reach. He lined them up and asked them to imagine they were reaching beyond their fingertips. What does that feel like? Then he pushed down on each arm and found that he could lower their arms without too much effort. Then he asked them to imagine they were reaching to the edge of the room. What does that feel like? Pushing their arms down took a little more effort. Then he asked them to imagine that they were reaching to India. What does that feel like? Here, he was not able to lower their arms. An extended arm is just an extended arm but a reach involves whirling internal energy that generates massive strength. No dancer will ever be able to actually reach their arm to India but the strength that comes from trying is impressive. It’s what attracts us to great dancers: radiating energy and vicarious strength.
Why would we ever reach for targets that we will never hit? Because the energy that comes from the attempt will create surprising strength that we would have otherwise not called forth. Go ahead - reach for India.
Comments