This Mirror and You

DanceMentor

DanceMentor

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George Balanchine once said: "The Mirror is not you. The mirror is you looking at yourself". What does the mirror tell you about yourself? Is it always honest? Does it ever mislead you?
 
My jazz teacher always said, "The mirror is your friend." While it doesn't give the complete story, its useful for studying technique. On the other hand, if you try to look at yourself in the mirror while trying to execute a line figure...oy:oops:
 
Learning to look at the mirror when once I was so afraid of it is a learning experience for me as far as life or dance goes...
 
My least favorite part of any dance lesson is when my instructor asks me to look at myself in the mirror, for whatever reason.

I feel judgment from my mirrored reflection. Even if the thing he wants me to see is suppossedly a good thing, I still have trouble seeing it. I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the girl on the other side, but I still eye her with caution, afraid she will reveal to everyone else what I see when I look at her.

For me, I think the mirror is sometimes truthful, sometimes misleading. And sometimes both at the same time.
 
Wannabee said:
My least favorite part of any dance lesson is when my instructor asks me to look at myself in the mirror, for whatever reason.

I feel judgment from my mirrored reflection. Even if the thing he wants me to see is suppossedly a good thing, I still have trouble seeing it. I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the girl on the other side, but I still eye her with caution, afraid she will reveal to everyone else what I see when I look at her.

For me, I think the mirror is sometimes truthful, sometimes misleading. And sometimes both at the same time.
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You took the words from my mouth. It's so nice to see others with the same worries as yourself. It makes you feel less lonely and also acknowledge you belong somewhere. Thaks for sharing!
 
For me, the mirror is like a drug......... can be helpful when used the right way and not overused, but can become addicting to the point where it's harmful.

I agree- the mirror can show you a caricature of yourself, which is not objective and unbiased.
 
Coach had me come up with an imaginary familiar -- a specific animal that sits on my shoulder, watches in the mirror, and gives objective unemotional feedback. It really helps, because it removes ego from the equation.
 
The inner smartass in me would totally eat that up, but we'd have to have a totem ceremony and name it and everything. Jest aside, it makes sense- pick something friendly and pleasant that can say something that needs to be said without judging you critically and harshly like Ghost-Issues on the OTHER shoulder does in your ear. And then they can have a death-match. Then again, it's me, so... there you go.
 
I find the practical limitations of mirrors to be frustrating. The big one is having to face or look at the mirror while I'm executing whatever it is that I want to see causes problems with the execution -- it's sort of a dancing Heisenburg thing. :rolleyes: The other day my instructor and I were polishing a mambo rueda step. I noticed that as we kicked through, she was turning her head to face in the direction of the kick, so I started doing that too. She corrected me, saying that I needed to remain facing her as I did the kick. "But you are looking that way!" "Oh, I'm only doing that so I can see us in the mirror!" :p
 
cornutt said:
I find the practical limitations of mirrors to be frustrating. The big one is having to face or look at the mirror while I'm executing whatever it is that I want to see causes problems with the execution -- it's sort of a dancing Heisenburg thing. :rolleyes: The other day my instructor and I were polishing a mambo rueda step. I noticed that as we kicked through, she was turning her head to face in the direction of the kick, so I started doing that too. She corrected me, saying that I needed to remain facing her as I did the kick. "But you are looking that way!" "Oh, I'm only doing that so I can see us in the mirror!" :p
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I have this happen all the time! So many standard and smooth line figures have been stewed up over the years by me looking in the mirror to check it out...
 
chomsky said:
Learning to look at the mirror when once I was so afraid of it is a learning experience for me as far as life or dance goes...
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My instructor accepts my oddities about myself and mirrors ("oddities" is a nice way of putting it), but he has gently told me that it will improve my dancing for me to get to where I can accept using it as a tool under some circumstances. I am gradually getting better at it.
 
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