“Espiral Principle” – a Method for Building Personalities.
(Part 2)
Training module and creation of a dance miniature according to the innovative dance methodology “Espiral Principle”
The “Espiral Principle” methodology is not just a topic that is the subject of my scientific interest. This is a method of work that I have been practising and researching for many years, and which was the primary focus of my doctoral dissertation, which is soon to be published as a monograph. Over the last two decades, dozens of students have been trained in the system created by Tsvetanka Gerginova – both in the field of dance and in sports, as well as individuals who have realised that this method helps them in their daily lives on both a physical and mental level.
The training module was held between 30 June and 6 July in the town of Ruse, included training in the Four Gates of the “Espiral Principle” and was free for all participants. Nearly 40 people from the region joined it; participants came from Ruse, Shumen, and Isperih. Along with the children and amateurs who joined, there were also rock leaders and choreographers from several groups, including Tantsuvalnya Dance School, Shumen; RELEASE Dance Formation, Isperih; Modern Ballet Dance School; and the Support Centre for Personal Development-Municipal Children Centre, Shumen. Reaching out to fellow teachers and choreographers from the region played a crucial role in establishing more lasting and fruitful partnerships. The search for new experiences and knowledge led these individuals to the training module in different ways, and they expressed their utmost gratitude for the opportunity, as well as the valuable experience and practical skills that they would be able to pass on to their own students. This again reinforces the thesis of all the material devoted to the topic of the relationship between teacher and student, and that knowledge needs to pave the way where there is none, and that travel happens when there is respect and trust on both sides for each other.
The one-week intensive ended with the presentation of a short educational dance miniature created according to the methodology of the “Espiral Principle”, which was presented at the Lyuben Karavelov Regional Library, Ruse. Entrance to the event was free, and all those who successfully completed the module received certificates for their participation in the project.
The leading lecturer and teacher was Tsvetanka Gerginova. The module was created to attract amateur groups of children and young people to the creation and distribution of the cultural product. By attracting this young audience to the classes and seminars, the aim was to increase their level of performance training. It is important to note that in this case, the participants were divided into several groups based on their age and experience. Along with students, fellow teachers who sought to enhance their teaching skills and become familiar with the “Espiral Principle” methodology also joined.
In an open conversation, Tsvetanka Gerginova shared her observation and analysis of this one-week intensive, but expanded the field of conversation to another plane, which, however, is directly related to dance training in the country. The host and coordinator of the project – Anita Asenova, also added to the conversation.
Tsvetanka Gerginova on the creation of the method “Espiral Principle” – a life gathered in the experience or the experience gathered in a life:
- We do not choose the “Espiral Principle”, but it chooses us, because it is not a commercial teaching. This is my life and my experience. Where I started, what I went through – from classical education at the State Choreographic School, training in modern dance techniques at Palucca Schule in Dresden, the Dance Academy in Cologne, work in Russia, work in Italy. My teachers, to whom I am grateful for every day they have given me and for shaping me into who I am. I am also thankful to those teachers whose names I do not mention, but I am incredibly grateful because I know what kind of teacher I should not be and will never be. Margarita Gradechlieva used to say – “Little Tsvetanka, you have such curiosity and desire to see, to know things!” My experience with aikido and boxing, my search to get to tensesgrity, as well as my love for books.
When I reached a certain age and the body began to change, I realised that all these things are the same, but expressed in a different way – or, as the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome”. Closest to my essence is the wisdom of the Toltecs and the warrior’s path. This is how the “Espiral Principle” was born – through the experiment in the hall and the work with the children. In this regard, when a 20-year-old colleague stands in front of me and says, ‘I have a methodology! – I ask them – Based on what? What have you taken, seen, compared or surpassed to have done something? You are currently experimenting, gaining experience.
On the responsibility of being a teacher:
- A distinction is made between pedagogical work – what the First and Second Portal are in the methodology, when in the hall you are a teacher at the feet of the children to teach them to write. The teacher is not a choreographer; their function is not to stand in front and show how good a dancer they are, but to teach children the alphabet, to know their body, to know which muscle controls what, and to work with intelligence/concentration. It’s not the time spent that’s the factor, but how you spent your time in the hall. My responsibility when working with colleagues is to empower their students to take responsibility for themselves, including their appearance, the qualities they develop, and how to work in the hall – all of which is the responsibility of the child. They will soon know that their body is their instrument, and it will go with them for a lifetime, and therefore, they must treat it with care and love. Here, in the module, there are only colleagues who think, who love what they do and treat themselves with love and gratitude – here and now. Without proving to the world how great they are. They live like mortals.
Anita Asenova, in conclusion for the module:
- It is important that the module includes teachers from other schools who can take this fire and bring it to their children and students. Hopefully, there will be subsequent modules in which Tsvetanka Gerginova can work with other teachers and schools. The energy she has, the way she loves children is vital, because sometimes it is good to draw knowledge from the source, because each of us with the different emotions and talent that we carry, somehow refracts through our own prism “Espiral Principle”, and sometimes it is better to draw knowledge from the source and that is why I think that the module should become traditional and have next editions and should not happen only in Ruse, but also in other cities in Bulgaria. The reason is that there are many things that choreographers think they know, but they need to learn.
This is the second edition of the training module. In 2022, the first was held in Sofia, and it was also successful, with a large number of students participating. This type of non-formal education contains an extensive knowledge base that can help unlock the potential of each learner. In this way, the student can develop not only the physical abilities in the field of dance, but also gain entirely new perspectives on how they perceive themselves and the world. The movement and the philosophy behind it, and in a synergistic flow intertwined in the “Espiral Principle” are what distinguish the method from any other dance methodology, technique or style – it is none of these, but can be part of each of them without changing them, but only to help.
The event was organised by Arts Developing Centre “G”; the host and coordinator is Anita Asenova, partners – World Move Ltd., Lyuben Karavelov Regional Library, town of Ruse; the visual identity and graphics are the work of arch. Petar Andreev / alttecture.com.
The project is funded by the National Culture Fund.
Video log from the module:
More about the “Espiral Principle” can be found at:
