Social Workout

Not To Be Missed

Alvin Ailey Extension: Intro Horton

Alvin Ailey dancers are stunning. I've never left an Ailey performance without feeling a sense of awe for the human body. (If you haven't seen an Ailey performance, buy tickets now.) Note that I said awe for "the body," and not for "my body." My body isn't a fluid cascade of muscles. My dance experience is limited to bopping around while cleaning. Which is why I pretty much freaked out in the hallway before the start of my first class at the Ailey Extension.  

Alvin Ailey Extension offers "real classes for real people" with the goal of "making dance accessible to everyone." Reassuring in theory, but the first time I went, the other people in the hallway did not seem quite as "real" as me. They looked like Broadway dancers on their day off. I considered pretending to get an urgent phone call. I considering hiding out in the bathroom till class started, then sneaking out of the building. But I stayed. And my first Ailey class, Intro Horton, was beyond worth it. It's one of the best classes I've ever taken.

New York

Wheee!

The Circus Comes to the Gym

From the ceiling hang about twenty trapeze bars, secured by thick ropes with cloth hooks. It's Tuesday, and I am trying "Jukari Fit to Fly" at the 19th Street Equinox -- the new trapeze-style class developed by Reebok and Cirque de Soleil. Fear and love brought me here: I fear heights, but I love being in the air (I know, the irony....) At the 19th Street Equinox, there are no spotlights or platforms 30 feet high, just, for the moment, a trapeze bar hanging down in front of me about chest high. Things start normally enough: When I do stretches, I hold on to the bar. When I do side lunges, the instructor makes me swipe my hands beneath the bar to make sure I’m getting low enough. Then it gets interesting: I walk forward and back, holding on to the bar. As I walk, the bar lifts from my chest over my head. When I walk back and the bar is almost over my head, the instructor says, “Now add a little jump.” And I do, and it is fun my friends. Soon I’m jumping even higher, pulling my knees into my chest. Then I’m hopping in large circles, holding on to the bar and not even thinking as I lift off into the air. People are whooping, smiling, giggling even though we are all out of breath. I am sweating, but I don’t even think about it. I want to keep jumping and swinging on that bar. Then the fun stops....

New York

Trampoline Effect

Adventures in Shen Tao

How to describe Shen Tao? Imagine a three hour ballet class, conducted on a trampoline, and featuring pullies and 20 lb weights strapped to your ankles. Or don't imagine that, and just know that I've had long term relationships that asked less of me than this class. And maybe given me less too...

Shen Tao combines ballet, urban rebounding, and Pilates. It's extra physical, and yet also has a yogic touchy-feely, finding-a-connection-with-your-emotional-center element.

"Three-hours is intense," I remarked the first time I walked into Shen Tao Studios. Bill Hedber, Shen Tao's creator, looked at me with pity. Over time, I learned that Bill sees S.T. less as a fitness class and more as mind-body "practice" akin to yoga. He's so dedicated, that he has started giving away the classes for free: Starting this week classes are by donation only....

New York