Biomechanics nerds, perpetually injured dancers, and anyone who wants to be able to WCS well into their 90s unite: sports and orthopedic bodyworker and licensed massage therapist Megan Dupree is coming to Boston! We’ve all taken classes on how to dance, but when have you had a chance to learn how to really MOVE? Megan will take us on a three-hour deep-dive into the mechanics behind how to show up as the strongest, most efficient, and pain-free version of yourself on the dance floor.
For our new dance friends, please join Desirae & Matt for a special extended beginner WCS class- extra time means extra practice and extra fun!
SCHEDULE
4:00pm-7:00pm Total Connection intensive with Megan Dupree
7:00pm-9:00pm Dinner break
7:30pm-9:00pm Beginner WCS class (extended version!) with Desirae Vasquez & Matt Davis
9:00pm-12:00am Social dancing with DJ Alli Reese
ABOUT THE INTENSIVE
Total Connection: how to change the way your brain moves your body and the entire quality of your movement.
When you dance, do you have the control over your body, joints and movement that you wish you had? Do parts of your body hurt like your feet, ankles, knees, hips, low back, shoulders, neck or wrists and hands? Did you know the way your brain understands the map of your body controls all of this? This workshop is going to teach you how to properly map your body with your mind, using the principles of neurokinetic connection to create biomechanical movement ease.
Dancers have three jobs: connect with our bodies, connect with the floor, and connect with each other. We all want quality of movement, and we want to be able to mentally connect with our bodies in way that produce the movement results we are looking for.
The neurological basis of movement control comes from proprioception. Proprioception is the result of the mental map your brain has of your body. A map that is totally filled in, in your mind, allows for fluid and controlled movement without pain and discomfort. A map that hasn’t been properly detailed out and filled in up at the brain results in painful, inefficient, less controlled movement.
There’s an even more annoying side of this problem, as a lack of proprioception also leads to a sensory “hole” in the brain’s perception of that area of the body: this is the neurological root of pain as a sensation. Nociceptors are special nerve receptors that send warning signals to your brain that proprioception has been compromised in this area of the body, and requesting sensory reengagement for the purpose of re-establishing proprioception and motor control.
Boston dancers, in our Total Connection workshop we will be learning these 7 points of neurological body mapping:
1. What are the joints of our feet doing with the ground?
2. What are my ankles doing and how do they inform my pelvis, shoulder blades, back of my skull, and brain?
3. What are my hip sockets doing in relation to my pelvis?
4. How is a pelvis supposed to move and generate power in my breathing?
5. How do my ribcage sides and my metatarsals on each foot work together with my hip sockets?
6. How do I help my shoulder blades connect with my neck and head so that my shoulder sockets, arms, and hands can function correctly?
7. How do I use my breathing to control my spine and posture without thinking about them or having to hold them in place?