Candlemas Countdown - The "Real New Year" Starts Now!

Dear Ones --

Early in the morning, with the light just turning tree branches into lacy silhouettes. We've resumed classes, just in time to have class schedules interrupted by the sleet/snow/ice that comes to Northern Virginia during late January and throughout February each year.

Officially, our "New Year" began January 1st -- following "twelve days of Solstice." (Count it -- Dec. 21st to the end of December is 12 days, then we start the new year!)

Energetically, our "New Year" begins right about now.

How do we know that it's new?

We start feeling it in our bodies.

If we were very internal over the Christmas holidays and early part of the new year, we find ourselves less internal now -- more energy, more extroversion, more desire to get out, no matter what the weather is doing.

Those of us that just wanted to cocoon during the "darkest days" of winter are now saying, "When does class start again? I've just GOT to get back to class!"

And my inbox starts filling up with new inquiries.

Even the nature of our workouts change.

During the Christmas holidays, I worked out -- but mostly mat work -- floor work of various sorts. Everything from pushups to Pilates, from oblique crunches to yoga. But now, my body is also aching for much more active and expressive movement. In fact, I'm heading into the studio in the next few minutes.

But that leaves us with the occasional quandary: We want to move, we're ready to move, and classes are fully started -- but weather gets in the way. The kind of weather where we are really and truly "snowed in," or sleeted in, or whatever have you.

So -- over the next few days, I'll share with you some extracts from what we're doing to build up a "study at home" core curriculum for dancers, both at Beginner and Early Intermediate levels.

Until then, happy dancing!