Practice is what you do alone.
Rehearsal is with other people.
–Tim Klotz
So let’s talk about Rehearsal (tomorrow is Practice).
When you rehearse –when you are with a partner– they are gifting their time to you, just as you are to them. Communicate with them. Connect with them. Make a habit of being present at all times. Even when words are not coming out of your mouth, be absolutely clear with what you are “saying”. Your physical actions (your choreography) must be as clear as you can currently manage. You and your classmates are essentially learning a new language, one that is spoken with movement. Therefore, be specific with how you move, so that you are both being clear in your communication. Make it worth your while, for both of you.
Be present for your partner in all your success and failures, and you both succeed. If you’re only there for yourself, you’ll both fail the partnership, and the scene will suffer. There is no way the two of you will achieve full potential if you don’t seek to find your middle ground. This does not mean that you compromise your technique. It means that you do your best, while still seeking each and every opportunity to connect with your partner, by talking, by working at a speed that is good for both partners, by being sure that you are doing the appropriate sequences of stimulus and response, not just moving your weapon around and hoping that you and your partner end up in the right space and time together. Your partner is the most important person to you. Their success is your first priority, and yours is theirs.
