What is What

ABOVE: The "Crossed Lean" freeze position from THE SHANNON TECHNIQUE photo by DAEMON, ATLANTA 1994

The "Crossed Lean" is one of those moves that I have had around for a long time that exemplifies the complex angular shapes my dancing explores in a very "aerial" way. I posted this image because I was thinking more about my past work with the Atherton Twins and how my dance is aerial by necessity.

The reason I was given that choreographic role in the first place was because I approached the producer and director with the argument that dancing on crutches is for the most part a weightless dance that involves creating shapes with the body while it hangs in the air. This blurry photo is a really good example of the aesthetic I was passing on to the aerial act in Varekai.

ABOVE: Another arm variation and emotive flavor of The "Crossed Lean" freeze position from THE SHANNON TECHNIQUE photo unknown 1995

On a technical note regarding the two images of the Crossed Lean. The details of my hips are such that I execute this move much cleaner with my left (strong) leg holding and threading the crutch with my (weak) right leg draped over it. Because I am able to get into postion more effectively with my strong leg underneath I do not have any photgraphs of a Crossed Lean with a right leg lead. I am able to do a crossed Lean to the right. also I now almost always spin executing the Spinning Crossed Lean. The way I would perform this move as a combination would be to perform first the left leading Crossed Lean, then immediately go into the less controllable and aesthetically weaker right leading Spinning Crossed Lean then a repeat of the left leading Spinning Crossed Lean but with a variation on the end of the move where I stop the spin with my left toe then push hard and reverse the spin while threading out of it. .HMM I think I will need to ad some video of this when I get back into compressing for this to make any sense ot anyone. BLAH. but you get the idea.