Masters of Dance with Holly Johnston
By Maria Lebedev | Staff Writer
A workshop designed to teach dance majors feel at peace with their physique
On Thursday, Oct. 26, Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Department held its Masters of Dance workshop. Masters of Dance is a series of three master classes the department holds every semester.
“Every semester we bring in three artists who often pertain to something that we don’t have in our curriculum or something that we feel our students really need and would benefit from,” said chair of the dance department, Mark Tomasic.
Thursday, the special guest hosting the event was Holly Johnston. Johnston is a “The Joyce A.W.A.R.D.S.! Show” finalist, the creator of a social movement and body liberation practice titled Responsive Body, a podcast host, and a professor of several academic institutions in California.
During her workshop, Johnson shared several techniques on how to love and feel more in tune with one’s body. “This workshop is an opportunity for SMC students who are interested in performing arts, particularly dance and choreography, to engage with somebody who is working in that field,” said Johnston. She believes that everyone should be aware of how to be amicable with one’s body as well as with each other. “I think it’s time for a revolution. And that revolution begins with our bodies; it grows as we connect.”
The workshop was a series of exercises that focused on moving freely, in a way that feels most natural. The purpose of the practice was to listen to one’s body, and accept it as it is. First, Johnston had everyone lie down on the floor and just move around in one spot to the beat of a banging drum. Next, the drill evolved into the students breaking down into four separate groups and moving across the dance floor, letting their bodies move openly.
The last portion involved every participant mimicking their teammates’ movements, trying to feel at one with each other. In between the exercises, Johnston gathered the students in a big group and gave a speech on the importance of dance therapy and loving and accepting one’s physique.
Business major Michelle Michlewicz believes that “music and therapeutic dance is going to be the future of medicine.”
Dance major Sophia Aponte agrees. “It was very validating to just be able to connect with my own body and to receive so much love and energy from Holly and everyone else in the room. The people here are so welcoming, and it was great to receive such support at this hectic time in my life,” said Aponte.
The next Masters of Dance class will be held on Feb. 27 2024, at the Core Performance Center, Room 304, at 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405.
