finding the open door

I've gotten the chance to spend a few Friday mornings this summer in Angel's studio with a small group of classmates, about 4 or 6, in our FI Mentoring Class. Here's how it works. When we arrive, Angel gives us each a sheet of paper to fill out.

Do you want feedback?

_ During my practice _ After my practice _ Neither

What do you want to focus on today?

(As of yet, nobody's picked "Neither".)

Once we're settled, she gives us a lesson to practice with a classmate and explains that the idea behind the lesson on a piece of paper is that it's like an art class. There's a model or still life, but what you actually do is your interpretation of it. She checks in briefly with each of us about what we wrote on the small sheet of paper, we pair off, and are set free to explore the lesson.

Last Friday, a couple of exciting things happened. One, after watching the lesson I gave and seeing what had changed when my partner stood up to walk around, I got a high five from Angel. It was a truly successful lesson. The funny thing was, I felt pretty clueless most of the 45 minutes I was giving that lesson, and somehow it all worked out anyway. That's where the second exciting thing comes in...

I figured out the trick to a successful lesson!

I was extremely proud of myself for this. Working with my partner, there were lots of things that I couldn't figure out - unexpected reactions to what I did, indecipherable patterns in her movement... There was one thing though that I knew I could change and that I could tell needed to change for the movement I was trying to clarify in her to work. I found the "open door" (as we called it), focused on that, ignored all my confusion, and everything else fell into place.

This has certainly happened in other lessons I've given and received, but this was the first time I was able to put it into words and figure out what was actually going on. And as is always the case in almost anything you do, the trick is keep it simple. Find something that works and go with it.