SWEATY SUNDAYS – FIND YOUR INNER SOLID GOLD DANCER
By Jessica Hanna
Producing Director, Bootleg
Photo by Eric Schwabel
A year ago I went to a dance class. Sweaty Sundays taught by Ryan Heffington. I’d been a fan of Mr. Heffington’s dance company Hysterica and I got to work with them briefly on Terence McFarland’s week of 365 Days/365 Plays in 2006. So I was a fan first. Then I became a student. When I first went to Sweaty Sundays I was terrified: there were so many people (and I immediately assumed they all were trained dancers), I hadn’t taken an actual dance class since college and the studio had a mirror running across the whole room so I couldn’t get away from seeing myself…terrifying. Then the music started up and Mr. Heffington pranced to the front of the room top knot bouncing and all of the sudden the whole room just started following what he was doing. He “hupp”-ed and the people around me stretched to the other leg. I followed what everyone was doing and nobody scowled at me for not knowing what came next. I followed the group and figured it out…not so terrifying. A warm-up combining yoga and stretching and aerobics (real aerobics – the kind I did with my Mom & Jane Fonda in 1984 in my living room. Yes, this is a place where a headband and leg-warmers are welcome.) A few grapevines (who doesn’t love “step back, clap”?!), a couple of basic steps and then some core strengthening.
Heffington teaches those basic steps in the simplest of ways, breaking it down and then putting it together quickly so before you can really think about it and get in your own way – you’re dancing! After working your passe releve (or as I prefer to call it: the super hero flying pose), Heffington shouts out “Let’s go across the floor!” And the whole class moves to one side of the room and follows a basic pattern he sets up across the floor. This is when the community of the class kicks in, everyone claps and cheers you on as you cross the floor as the runway model or Solid Gold Dancer you’ve always known you were. That five minutes is pure fun, both to do and to watch. Exhilarated from crossing the floor, and everyone is decidedly sweaty by this point, the room fills up behind Heffington as he teaches the week’s combination. The first section of the combination is taught without knowing what the music is – the anticipation is tangible; what will this dance turn out to be?!
One of my favorite moments in class last year was when I was deep in my obsession with Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies” (I was literally thrusting my iPhone in people’s faces saying “You HAVE to watch this video!”), and we learned the first dance section sans music as usual and I didn’t even realize what it meant as we would step touch to the left while twisting our right hand font and back in the air…and then he turned on the music and I lost my s*&% – I get to be Beyonce! Put a ring on it, indeed! Even if it’s only for three minutes in this studio in Silverlake and I get half the steps wrong – I am going to feel like Beyonce. Yes, there are other dancers in the room who are better than I am, far better and so wonderful and inspiring to watch but I never feel judged (by anyone but myself) and there is freedom within the group – freedom to move how I move and feel supported to go for it and fail and then get back on the groove and hit the next three moves perfectly…if I’m lucky.
There is a feeling of safety in the whole room moving through the routine together, if I get lost I look around for the answer. How does that girl in the blue sparkly leggings do it? What’s the boy in the headband doing on that move? Oooo I’m going to try to throw my shoulders back like that woman in the cheerleader skirt. Oh, that’s me in the mirror! We’re all working on our dance together. That feeling, of moving my body in unison with a big group of people is amazing.
It’s energizing. This class is hard, it is truly sweaty, and yet I always walk away glowing and feeling like I can move through the rest of the day with style and rhythm and maybe even a little grace. And hey, it’s the best cardio workout I’ve found. I’m in better shape than I was in college. And now I know for sure I’m a Solid Gold Dancer…I am…the one with all the hair. Darcel was her name, I believe.
I go to this class whenever I can, I try to build my schedule around it. Sweaty Sundays 12-1pm & 1:30-2:30pm and Wet Wednesdays 8-9pm. When I was running front of house for Stranger last June at Bootleg I would come in for the 3pm matinee just toweled off and bubbling with the day’s dance. The community of dancers, artists, body workers and movers and all kinds of people who take this class is vast, amazing and growing. To support this growth – this spreading of the joy of moving your body to a beat – Sir Heffington and friends are throwing a benefit show December 10-13 at Bootleg Theater (2220 Beverly Blvd. LA 90057), doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and tickets are $20. Full disclaimer: I am a performer and a producer of this event and I think it’s going to kickass and you should go.
There will be performances by Hysterica Dance Co., The Fingered Dancers and Sweaty Sundays students. Plus musical guests and DJs and drinks. All choreographed by Sir Ryan Heffington. There are over 40 people participating in the performance. One of the many things that I admire about Heffington is how he brings large groups together. If you weren’t one of the 200+ people who got to see Sex on a String last August, you missed out on one of the most creative performance pieces in LA this year. A site-specific dance/art/music walking tour through Elysian Park, it was an amazing thing to see and to perform in. And it was amazing to watch Heffington and his producers and designers and collaborators manage the piece that was spread out over 1/4 a mile, with numerous hurdles to overcome, while communicating over walkie-talkies. These folks know how to put on a show. Don’t miss the next site-specific work from Sir Heffington. For that matter don’t miss any work Sir Heffington does. Seriously. Don’t. His work is exciting, provocative, specific, gorgeous and inspiring. Come get a taste of it at the Bootleg next weekend, I think you’ll find that your palate will be dazzled with the many flavors of movement, music and performance that Sir Heffington is serving up. And it’s not fattening…not when you sweat this much. Eat as much of the deliciousness as you want!
The SWEATY SUNDAYS benefit
Benefiting future endeavors of Sweaty Sundays
Choreography by Ryan Heffington, Kitty McNamee (Hysterica Dance Company + guest choreographer) plus Special Musical Guest
December 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th
Doors 7pm / show 8pm-10pm
@ The Bootleg Theater
2220 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90057
Tickets $20 or buy online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/89576
This event will sell out.
Sweat from your seats with Ryan Heffington, The Fingered Dancers, Hysterica Dance Company, and The SWEATY SUNDAYS Dancers
An evening of dance to benefit the future of SWEATY SUNDAYS, the eastside dance class phenomenon lead by LA choreographer Ryan Heffington. Combining the skill and precision of accomplished professional dancers with the wild joyous abandon of local misfits, this series of pieces will showcase Heffington’s choreography in both worlds with over 45 performers. Come support the dance world and the ever growing cult of SWEATY SUNDAYS dancers…who knows, you may even pick up a few steps.
(Editor’s note/full disclosure: Executive Director of LA Stage Alliance Terence McFarland is a student of Heffington and will be a performer at the event.)
