Sylwestrak Manifesto

March 27, 2011

Brittany Sylwestrak, a senior dance major at the University of Illinois, wrote an in-class manifesto on her views of dance technique. We wrote for nearly 5-7 minutes, and the original truth of her short paragraph was worth sharing.

“Do what they say. My body is yours for this hour and a half. Go to the center. Go to the left. Curl in. Stand up. Stand with your legs further apart. No together. Sit down. Think. Just let it go. Use your psoas. Just let it happen. Concentrate. Remember when you were a baby- how efficiently you moved. How you led with your eyes-do that but do it count five. Don’t judge yourself even if they are judging you. Just be yourself- just a better more efficient version. Watch others. Copy. Don’t get injured-if you do you are holding yourself wrong-not wrong there is no such thing as right and wrong – just better and not so much. Be here in this space right now.”