I’m confident that it’s fair to say that the choreographer David Dorfman has taught and inspired many dancers. I always remember his classes being full of happy, eager students.
I once heard him say something to the effect that it is beautiful to see someone learning movement. I agree that the process and moment of learning is indeed special. It’s possible to see into the soul of a person as they try, as they learn, as they make mistakes that are unique to their mind, as they fix their mistakes, move forward, maybe fall and fail, but all the while their stumblings are unique expressions of that person’s feelings and thoughts.
Saying it’s beautiful to see the students learn is also a very encouraging thing to say to a class. I remember I would feel un-self-conscious in his classes, even though I was generally the rank-beginner among them all and somewhat clumsy to boot. That’s so important. How can you learn self-expression and dance if you feel self-conscious? David had called my learning process beautiful and maybe even dramatic. Wow. What a nice guy. Hey, look at me everyone.
OK, so evidence of a friendly universe: the beauty of transformation, the clumsiness of making mistakes, the beauty of seeing learning take place, the uniqueness each of us reveal as we make our own mistakes.
Here’s me, making mistakes, in the process of learning J.S. Bach’s Invention #6 in E Maj.
Q