I hear “That was magic! Your session was magic. This moment
was magical. What you do is magic.”
Magic… What does magic really mean? -Something that takes
your breath away?
This dance is magical,
this play is magical, this moment is magical, being able to move after a
naprapat fixes you is magic, this conversation is magical, this training
session is magical… a goal, a smile, a joy… the joyful moment. It is something you will never forget.
Magic: Definition
Noun
1. The
power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural
powers or art.
2.
Wonderful;
exciting
3.
Any extraordinary
or mystical influence, charm or power. Special Power, influence or skill
4.
Mysteriously
enchanting
5.
A
power that allows people to do impossible things by special words, tricks or
performing special actions
Verb
1.
Move,
change, transform or create by or as if by magic
Perform: Definition
1.
To
carry out, to execute, to do.
2.
To carry
into effect, to accomplish any action involving skill or ability.
3.
To
fulfill a command, promise. To entertain.
I danced for 9 years. The dance company in my town,
Hackworth School of Performing arts is one of the best! My friend Teddy Forance
and his family are dancers and they are basically doing what I do with fotboll
but with dance…
I was thinking about these two words Performance and Magic
and my mind went back in a time where I was watching a performance and I felt
the “magic”… My mom and I were watching a dance recital; Teddy came on stage… I
have not seen him perform in awhile and when he started to move I became lost
in it, lost deeper and deeper within every movement… He made time freeze and I
lost my breath. This was breathtaking.
He made me completely disappear where all that existed was him on the stage. It
was absolutely incredible!!
I went on YouTube and I watched one of my favorite
performances from him. After, I had
training with a focus on possession in the midfield and then I thought of
Teddy, this performance, when I danced, what my dance teachers have said to me,
and how they set up and created a choreography.
It clicked…. I found a key…
Creating a
Choreography
When you are creating a dance within a group the teachers
talk about finding the “windows”, with these windows every dancer is seen at
all times.
I think… The player with the ball is now the “audience” and
the rest of the team needs to find the different “windows” (space) to be seen.
I watch this stand by me performance again and I see it so
clearly……
Stand By Me
These three guys
“attack in three” -My team attacks in three or more and defends in these
attacking triangles I call the Bermuda triangle.
They have “Happy
feet”-Their feet are always moving. My players’ feet are always moving. There
are no “sad feet”
Positioning- They
have different positions whether it is group/team positioning or individual positioning
and they interchange just as we do in fotboll.
Spacing- They
focus on spacing- the distance between the player (or ‘dancer’) attacking and
defensively, whether it be in triangles, diamonds etc.
They have a game plan-
a choreography where they attack, defend and have different movement transitions
from attacking to defending and defending to attacking.
Special Skills-
Each dancer, each player has a special skill and their stage or the field
serves as a place for “self expression” They use their special skill and
strength to make everyone look good and make each other better.
Balance- There is
a balance between “improvisation and structure” They have a structure they follow
but they have the freedom to “Improvise” within the structure.
Windows-No one is
hiding everyone has a role within the performance. Everyone has a role on the
team. If your friend is hiding you have to catch her, help her up so she finds
her window again. HELP YOUR TEAMMATE UP!!
Audience- They
are not only there for themselves and their teammates but they are also there
for the audience… To PERFORM! You have
to be “there” and be ‘support’ for the player with the ball.
The Audience also becomes the support to the players, dancers or team.
The crowd- In the
great words of the gladiator “Win the crowd and you shall gain your freedom.
Win the hearts of the mob” “ I will win the crowd. I will give them something
they have never seen before” They not only win but they PERFORM!
What does it mean to truly win???
-I win but don’t play well and I am not happy or satisfied…
-I lose and play well but I am satisfied?
-What would you rather??
-But to achieve excellence and become a ‘champion’ do you
need to find a way to win when you don’t play well?
-To play well you win?
To win and play well is the ultimate victory!!
Work, Trust,
Commitment- I base my team’s philosophy on these three things. In this
dance performance you need a lot of trust
and commitment in oneself,
teammate, coach and plan and you need to work
to perfect it. Outwork every opponent even if that opponent is your self. Just
as in this dance, trust to jump into
your partners arms knowing fully that they are there to catch you. That they
are there for you, to do everything in their power to make you look good
because they know that you are doing the same for them!
ONE- They become
one in this performance but they keep their individuality. They use their
individuality to create “ONE” They are the same but have a plan to use their
individuality to lift the group and the performance. They put their strengths together to perform
or reach a common goal (like scoring in fotboll) or creating an unbelievable
show to not just be great but really really great!!
Freedom- create
an environment where you give the game back to the players or the stage back to
the performers, where they have the freedom to express themselves. How do you
find your freedom?
Relating to football.
The player with the ball is the audience; the players off
the ball are the performers and need to find the “windows” where everyone is
seen. My players have FREEDOM within the
plan/ choreography where they are free to express themselves. They use their
strengths to lift the team and the team lifts their strengths! Everyone has a
role in the victory and to make the performance great. No one hides.
Why be there if you hide? Take the responsibility to have
the courage to be seen.
I see that everything that has happened to me, every
experience and every person that I have met (friends, family, professors, old
dance teachers, and coaches) has helped me create my philosophy! I keep adding, adapting and creating to come
to that magical moment.
You see just tiny glimpses of magic from time to time. I think of a magical time and magical moments
and want to bring that to this great game not only win but also perform and
create MAGIC. Something so great that it makes you disappear!
