the studio maui: a template for a successful studio

i got to dance the 5 rhythms at the studio maui several times in december. in fact, that was the original reason for making the trip to maui. lori smullin, formerly of austin's sweat your prayers, was the guest 5 rhythms teacher at the studio maui from early december 2007 to early january 2008. in february 2007, she invited participants at her austin 5R workshop to come dance with her in maui. maui + 5R = ecstasy! several of her california dancers came as well.

at the studio maui, lori taught a 5 rhythms class on tuesday nights and facilitated sweat your prayers on thursday nights and sunday mornings. interestingly, the largest crowd came on thursday nights. the average for that night was 85; 150 came for lori's last SYP on jan 3.

i want to share information about the studio maui, because i was very impressed with the quality of the facility, teachers, programming, and professional way it is run. i wondered, why isn't there something like this in austin? austin could easily support it. so i'm putting it out there to get a discussion going and to see if i can generate an intent for it to happen in enough people that it CAN happen!

the studio maui is in haiku, a spectacularly beautiful area in the northeast part of maui. haiku is near ho'okipa, the beach renowned for its windsurfing, and pe'ahi, the wave nicknamed "jaws" by surfers, who must be towed out to surf it. haiku is inland a few miles, where it's rainy and green and rainbows and moonbows are common. the town isn't large, but there are a lot of rural residents in the haiku and paia and makawao and hali'imaile areas. maui being not a very large island, it's in driving distance for anyone who lives central, which is the majority of the population.

the studio maui has a website that you can check out. www.thestudiomaui.com. you can get a 360-degree view of the studios on the website. yes, there are multiple studios. the floors are fantastic, the sound system is great, the whole design is lovely, with niches for sound equipment and altars, cubbies for purses and water near the entrance, and plenty of in-wall storage for chairs, etc. (they do satsang, deeksha, and kirtan there too.)

the entrance lobby is well-designed, with a desk and attendant, a seating area, a counter with stools, a cooler with water and local raw chocolates, and a store selling clothing, CDs, books, etc. you can see it on the website.

i loved dancing the 5 rhythms there! i have long danced with a small 5R peer group in austin a couple of times a month on sunday mornings. it was lovely to experience a crowd all dancing the rhythms. no one sitting out, no one lying on the floor until stillness, everyone dancing the rhythms with great presence. no flying leaps or running. it was too crowded for that, anyway.

in fact, lori was adamant that in her 5R classes and SYP, she expected dancers' feet to be on the floor. two or three men voiced objections, and she pointed out that they had paid for a 5R class or SYP, and that was what she was going to provide, not to mention that it hurt her feelings to have something she's committed her life to teaching slammed like that, in a place where she'd been invited to teach. that effectively shut them up, and they stayed and danced the rhythms.

one of the sweetest customs at the studio maui was the basket of washcloths. in one corner of the big studio, there was an attractive lined basket filled with rolled-up clean white washcloths. they were for wiping the sweat off. next to it was a different shaped basket for depositing used ones. many dancers tucked one into their waistband as they danced.

i'd never seen anything like it and asked geordie (jahner, the visionary, co-investor, managing director, and 5R teacher who created the studio maui, and whose architect husband designed it) about it. she said that because maui is so humid and often warm, it just made sense.

it seems like an eminently adoptable custom to adopt in austin. in fact, since i returned, i bought 4 dozen white washcloths and a couple of containers to use at 5R and lakshmi's dance events.

i hope body choir would consider adopting this custom, seeing as how some grievous injuries have occurred there on sweat-laden floors, when the number of dancers overwhelms the HVAC capacity, particularly in the warm seasons. i'm not volunteering since i don't attend regularly. i just want to put the idea out there.

the studio maui's website lists its mission as one of facilitating the growth of "conscious movement." i like that term! it includes yoga of all types, pilates, 5R, soul motion, qi gong, belly dance, nia, tango, hip hop, dance jam, and feldenkrais classes, and workshops in all those areas plus continuum and authentic movement and areas so on the cutting edge, they aren't known yet.

the studio maui also serves as a community center for spiritual gatherings, such as satsang with ram dass and others, kirtan with jai uttal and others, and deeksha.

so...if anyone has a will to create something like this in austin, please get in touch with me.