hang shape swing thrust

when i was studying interplay, i learned about the four coordination patterns from my interplay teacher cynthia winton-henry. these are neuromuscular tension patterns that link body, mind, and emotions. the primary interplay application is in movement.

these patterns are swing, shape, thrust, and hang.

today at the 5rhythms peer group dance i noticed a lot of swing in my dance. (by the way, we're dancing every sunday from 10 to 12:30 at the khabele studio on west seventh and rio grande.)

i'm grateful for the swing because it's fun, and also, it's a sign that my locked-up lumbar area, which has been a focus of awareness, chiropractic care, and exercise since last summer after realizing i had minor scoliosis, is finally freeing up.

later i looked up swing in my interplay secrets book, which includes an article by cynthia, "the primary colors of movement: swing, thrust, shape, and hang."

cynthia wrote that SWING relates us to the ebb and flow of our weight. swinging is moving side to side, through or around the center. swing takes in all sides and lets momentum and gravity do a lot of the work.

to me, swing is about hips, and to a lesser extent, chest and head. it's about moving the center of gravity from side to side like a pendulum. when you've really got it, there is a swinging feeling that makes it a really fun way to move!

we all recognize when a piece of music swings. if music swings, movement follows quickly! swing is very fun and playful. there's a bounciness to it.

...and while i'm writing about swing, let me add something about the other movement patterns, to provide this fascinating information in the same place.

THRUST, according to cynthia, is about energy inside that needs to move out. thrusting is jabbing, pointing, pushing. it focuses and directs energy outward. it catalyzes and makes things happen, intensifies, articulates, creates energy through expending it.

to me, thrust is linear one-way movement. thrusting is directed. thrust is running, karate, marching, kicking, boxing. heil hitler! it often has some force to it, but it can be a small movement, i.e., flicking your fingers.

SHAPE, cynthia says, is about gathering and containing energy to our center. it's about boundaries, dimensions, differences. you shape when you sit still, hold a position, contain yourself, place things in order, and are aware of being in your place and being centered. shaping forms, composes, balances, sorts, and proceeds one step at a time.

to me, shaping is about moving from the center and returning to the center. shaping is namaste, yoga, chakras. it is about being separate, self-contained, centered in one's own body/being. shaping is like stillness in gabrielle roth's 5 rhythms--move. be still. move. be still.

HANG is being at one with flow and the energy field, according to cynthia. it doesn't have a direction. it's being acutely aware of mystery, sensing connections between disparate realities. it's flowing, following, meandering, falling into things, floating, improvising. it enjoys physical contact. it accepts the body on its own terms. it's tai chi, snorkeling, contact improv.

hanging is slow. it's feeling the weight, letting it drift. it doesn't have a center, a direction, repetition. hanging floats and drifts.

readers can google these pattern names for more information, if desired. there are personality attributes associated with these patterns. a choreographer, betsy wetzig, has discovered that shape, swing, and thrust have different centers of gravity in the body, while hang has a moving center of gravity. she associates these with personality characteristics: thrust = the driver, shape = the organizer, swing = the collaborator, and hang = the visionary.

in fact, here's a great chart that explains more about these patterns as archetypes: http://www.moves4greatness.com/mainchart.htm