Phrasing

I’ve been thinking a lot about my posing practice, especially while practicing, of course, but in general throughout the day, similar to how I spent a lot of time practicing music when I wasn’t actually playing. Mental practice. This is often the best practice because there is no physical hindrance such as lack of technique, excitement of senses other than the imagination, or even self-consciousness. This is the sort of practice that can flow freely and wildly. And this is the sort of practice where some of my most creative ideas are born. So, in regards to my posing practice, I’m applying the same technique. Now that I have learned my footwork, I’m starting to think about timing, grace, style – all of which is keenly related to musical phrasing.

Aha! Total lightbulb moment for me…

Phrasing

Phrasing is the way a statement is put together, particularly in matters of style and word choice. In music, phrasing is everything. It is the difference between a beginner accurately playing the notes and being drawn into the emotion of a professional level performance. The notes must be learned first, but the phrasing is where the magic happens. As both a student when I was younger, and a teacher after, once phrasing is introduced into a music practice, the student flies with everything else. Once there is a clear message, the technique, skills, motivation – all of it come together faster and better.

Applied to Posing

During my mental practice the other day, it occurred to me to apply this same idea to how I’m moving my body. My time on stage is a presentation that says something.

So, what do I want to say? How can I say that?

Sure, there are specific poses to strike and more technique than you’d believe in getting it right, but there is SO much room for individual expression. How can I be captivating, mesmerizing even? With the nuance of phrasing – the ebb and flow of pacing, the push and pull with movement, the art of living embodied in a few seconds on stage.

So now I’m going to bring these ideas to my posing and see what happens. I’ve been a bit frustrated with my practice and now I know why – it is the lack of phrasing that is deeply ingrained in me from all my years of music. A whole lot of “correct, but so what?”

Time to apply phrasing. Posing is much more than physical shapes. It is a full expression from the soul, a statement of my own choosing, created through phrasing.

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