July 25, 2023 • 33 mins
Episode 5. Step into the dance-filled memories of my sister and me as we embark on a heartwarming conversation about our childhood dance adventures. From creative dancing to whale sounds in our creative dance classes to Margaret taking study breaks on the disco dance floor with our brother Kevin, her laughter-filled journey has been dotted with dance throughout her life.
Tune in to this special episode of "The Happy Sweat Life" as we share our most cherished dance memories, celebrate the joy of movement, and uncover the magic of World Groove that brought us closer together in a dance of love and happiness. Let's groove to the rhythm of our hearts and embrace the sweat of pure joy!
Contact me at happysweatlife@gmail.com for questions, suggestions, or to be put on the email list and be notified of new episodes.
Find my World Groove movement zoom class on Thursdays, under my name, at: https://theworldgroovemovement.com/virtual-search/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa (00:09):
Welcome to the Happy Sweat Life podcast.
My name is Lisa Rung and I'm soexcited today to actually be
talking to my sister Margaret.
Margaret is a professor and alsohas a teenage daughter and a
husband, so a very busy life.
So we're just gonna be talkingabout her experience with world
groove and how that fits intoher life.
(00:33):
So I think Margaret, I actuallyfirst ask you about just growing
up and whether you did any kindof dance things or What your
experience was with
Margaret (00:43):
sure, sure.
Well, first I just have to saythat I grew up in the shadow of
a dancer.
My older sister, Lisa, who wasthe actual dancer in the family,
and, and that left perhaps lefta, a little bit of a scar on me
in terms of dancing.
(01:04):
No, I'm just kidding.
Lisa (01:06):
I can see that happening
Margaret (01:07):
definitely happened, so I don't know why.
But our mom decided that weshould have dance lessons when
we were young.
I think we were probably in lateelementary school, and so she
enrolled us in a modern dancestudio.
(01:29):
And the, the dance teacher wasJane Shepherd.
And Jane.
She was a little bit.
Different from other people wholived in state college.
So she had a very stylish,short, blunt haircut.
She, she looked like she wasfrom Greenwich Village and
Lisa (01:49):
I didn't remember that about her
Margaret (01:51):
I think so.
She, I think she was a NewYorker.
And she had this studio in herhome where she taught modern
dance.
But you have to understand thatlike State College was not like
the hub of modern dance.
It was more of a square dancingkind of town.
Lisa (02:08):
Right.
Margaret (02:09):
And so Jane, Jane was just a little bit out of the
element there, and a lot of myfriends went to Ms.
Ditmar and I could, to this day,I cannot tell you what Ms.
Ditmars philosophy was, whatkind of dancing they did there.
I have no idea, but I justremember feeling like that was
the place to go.
(02:30):
We were, we were sort ofshuffled off to this avant-garde
person's house because our momwas more of a hippie and, you
know, so instead of getting likeOreos and Pop-Tarts as a snack,
you know, Jane would give ussome whole wheat bread and, I
don't know, hummus or something.
And some carrots.
(02:50):
So those were my earliestmemories of dance, but,
Lisa (02:57):
I never realized there was that dynamic
Margaret (02:59):
I don't know.
Lisa (02:59):
going on For you Margaret.
Margaret (03:00):
Yeah.
So the dancing at Jane's was youknow, they were lessons and I
remember she used to get reallyirritated with me because I
couldn't do like a flat back.
Like my back was never, it wasalways sort of rounded.
I didn't have scoliosis, but Idon't know.
She just, you know, she was allconstantly pushing it down when
(03:21):
we were like on the floor doingstuff.
Lisa (03:24):
Sounds like a bit of trauma happening here.
Margaret (03:26):
Yeah, I, I just feel like it was totally my thing,
you know?
I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the camaraderiebecause I was in, in dance class
with two of my friends Cassandraand Barb.
And Barb and I still, we stilltalk about Jane Shepherd and
(03:47):
dancing to whale music.
And so usually when when I andwith scarves Oh yeah, yeah.
I, and, so, you know, again,everybody else is dancing to
early seventies kind of pop androck and you know, and we're
dancing to whales woo.
And Barb and I, when we when wehave our, when we do our annual
(04:13):
happy birthday, it alwaysincludes some whale emojis.
Cause so cuz we just, you know,we have that bond.
Lisa (04:21):
That's hysterical
Margaret (04:22):
Yeah and then of course the big issue with Jane
was like that she had these,these dance recitals.
They weren't called that butthese kind of showcases that we
would do periodically and whichwe had to perform our own
dances.
And mine were always likeridiculous looking.
And then she would present to usat the end these pipe cleaners
(04:44):
that were shaped in the form ofdancers,
Lisa (04:46):
Oh, I forgot about those
Margaret (04:48):
yeah, they were on little styrofoam.
They were stuck onto thesestyrofoam bases.
So they were intended to be likelittle, you know, sort of
figurines you could put up onyour shelf, and so you could
collect them.
Each year you get one.
And I just remember, like, Iwould come up and, and your name
was on it and they were all onthe table, so you would look at
everybody else's, and Lisa'swould be this like, pastel
(05:12):
colors with these like reallybeautiful scarves kind of
flowing off of her.
And then I'd look at mine and itwas like, usually it was brown,
Lisa (05:21):
Oh no.
Margaret (05:22):
fall colors, a lot of fall colors, brown and orange
and just very drab.
And I, I guess at that point Ijust thought like, yes, this is
really telling and.
Yeah.
And, and, and even mom, youknow, when she would see my
(05:43):
dances and stuff, she would benice about it, but I could tell
she was like, I remember onetime, I don't know if it was mom
or somebody else telling me,well, it seems like more, a
little bit more like gymnasticsMargaret,
Lisa (05:55):
Oh
Margaret (05:56):
And then of course when my sister, Lisa, you
performed at your dance, therewas always like a standing
ovation at the end.
So so there a of whooping andhollering and, and and waving of
scarves.
A lot of whale noises in theaudience.
(06:18):
Yeah.
Anyway, so I, so I, yeah, thatwas sort of dancing as a child.
And then of course I wasinvolved in a lot of sports.
I've always been fairlyphysically active and toward the
end of high school, I startedrunning on my own just as a
exercise to get, you know, fitand, and it was mainly to stay
(06:39):
in shape for field hockey, whichhad become my kind of big sport
late in high school.
But to be honest, like thedancing part of my life didn't
really take off until college.
And then I went to Oberlin andit was you know, it was again a
kind of like be your own person.
(07:02):
Very open-minded place, verytolerant.
And that was reflected at thesco, which is what we called our
disco.
It was formally called Dionysus,and it was the place to go at
night, especially for me, aftera long night of studying.
So I would be in the library,mud library until really late.
(07:25):
Then you have to walk throughWilder Hall, which was the
student union.
And the disco was in thebasement of Wilder.
So it was really easy just to,to pop in and dance.
And they, nobody cared one figwhat you look like.
And of course this was dancemusic.
they were playing not whalesongs.
(07:46):
Not whales noises, but just as afootnote, the guy apparently who
discovered that whales can singjust died.
Lisa (07:55):
Oh,
Margaret (07:55):
Yeah, So so Jane was really, yeah, Jane was really on
forefront, I think of, of thewhale, whale song.
Lisa (08:04):
Absolutely.
Margaret (08:04):
anyway, so yeah, so I loved dancing in college and I
went to the disco a lot.
I spent a lot of my weekendsthere and it was really fun
people watching place cuz againyou know, folks would just sort
of do their own thing.
(08:24):
And my freshman year, of course,our brother Kevin was a senior
and he was quite well known oncampus for his dancing at the
disco And so sometimes I'd goand just watch him cuz he was so
hilarious.
And yeah, I mean, so I, I'd sayin college I just kind of really
(08:46):
embraced the idea of dancing forjoy and exercise and, and stress
release.
You know, it was a huge stressrelease for me.
I was very intense about mystudies and
Lisa (08:58):
Yes.
Margaret (09:00):
so yeah, that's kind of why I fell in love with just
the idea of dancing just forfun.
Anyway, that's a long-windedanswer to your.
Lisa (09:09):
No, I actually had no idea that you were going to the disco
at your college and dancing.
Margaret (09:14):
Yeah.
It was huge.
Lisa (09:15):
Yeah.
Was there sort of a communityaspect as, as well?
Were you meeting people
Margaret (09:21):
Yeah.
Oftentimes you would run intopeople.
My, my best friend Lori and Iused to go all the time.
But if I was by myself,sometimes I'd see people there.
And yeah, no, it was, it was,there was definitely, you know,
groups, pods of people who wouldgo, but it was okay to go alone
too.
Lisa (09:39):
Yeah, that's, that's awesome.
Margaret (09:41):
yeah.
Yeah.
No, it was good.
It was good.
And, you know, different typesof music, some house music, some
pop, some rock.
So good DJs.
Lisa (09:52):
good DJs and good music.
Margaret (09:54):
Yeah, for sure.
Lisa (09:56):
So after college, did you seek out places to dance?
Were you dancing on your own
Margaret (10:03):
That's a good question.
I think that after college itwas a little less accessible to
me.
Lisa (10:08):
mm-hmm.
Margaret (10:09):
So because, you know, there'd be cover charges and so
I didn't really, I mean, I wouldgo out dancing that that
happened with friends.
But it was more of a productionand it had, you know, it, it was
a weekend thing.
I certainly wasn't doing itduring the week and or, you
know, you'd be at a party maybeand there'd be some dancing
(10:32):
there.
But I would say that yes, itfell off quite a bit, you know,
once I left college.
And I think, you know, it usedto be that, I don't know, maybe
back in like the dance hallcraze was like the turn of the
20th century, but it used to be,I think that people just went
out dancing a lot more than theydo now.
(10:54):
Like there were a lot of dancehalls and that was kind of a
thing to do.
But I mean, I would say one, onedifference maybe now is that
back then, like the dance hallsand stuff, I think was mostly
partner dancing.
I don't know that.
or you were dancing with people,you know, as just somebody
getting up and doing their ownthing on the dance floor.
Lisa (11:17):
I think that that convenience thing, like you were
saying, like the, the discoplace being, you know, on your
way home.
I, I remember when I was doingyoga really, really regularly,
it's because it was a subwaystop on my way home.
You know, I just would get off,do the yoga, get back on, and
That definitely helped me bemore consistent
Margaret (11:38):
Yeah.
It becomes part of your routineand,
Lisa (11:41):
Yes.
yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
So so not too much dancingbetween graduating and, and,
Margaret (11:52):
Not really.
Lisa (11:53):
yeah, no.
Margaret (11:54):
You know, and I, I mean, I, I married Andy who as
he would tell you, has all therhythm of a Northern European
male.
Lisa (12:05):
Oh, no.
Margaret (12:06):
I mean, he likes dance, but you know, not really
his thing.
Lisa (12:10):
You're not gonna be taking ballroom
Margaret (12:12):
well now we did, we did take ballroom lesson dancing
here in, in Evanston, and we didit through the city I think, or
maybe it was the senior center.
I can't remember, but it was a,it was kind of a reduced, you
know, reduced fare thing.
(12:34):
It wasn't like a privatelessons.
Lisa (12:37):
okay.
Margaret (12:38):
and I remember the, in one of the instructors, we had a
few different instructors causewe did different classes.
But one of'em was this guyRandy, who was pretty well known
as being very good.
he was, he was very good atexplaining how to do the steps
and.
You know, so we learned a bunchof different like ballroom
(12:58):
dances, some Latin dances whichI loved, I totally loved, and I
would've stayed doing that.
But he, he wasn't so much intoit I convinced him to do it
because supposedly we were gonnadance at our wedding,
Lisa (13:14):
Yes.
Margaret (13:15):
that didn't actually happen.
So
Lisa (13:16):
Oh no,
Margaret (13:17):
it was too hot, but But anyway So after we got
married, you know, there wasreally the excuse to do it sort
of evaporated Yeah, but I reallyenjoyed the ballroom dancing a
lot.
But again, it's, it's more of aproduction because you A, you
have to have a partner and youknow, B, you have to go
somewhere and then you havemusic.
(13:41):
I did notice there's a, I tellyou one thing, we, when we were
in Spain for our honeymoon, wewent to see flamenco.
I absolutely It.
Love, loved it.
And then we ended up beingthere, just coincidentally in
this town when they were havingan international guitar
festival.
So we went to severalperformances and they
(14:03):
incorporated flamenco into someof those as well.
And I noticed the other day whenI was driving down sort of South
Evanston, that there's aflamenco studio
Lisa (14:16):
Oh, no kidding.
Margaret (14:17):
And I was like, Hmm,
Lisa (14:18):
Maybe that's in your future there Marg
Margaret (14:21):
Yeah.
Stomp.
I stomp.
Lisa (14:24):
You like to stomp?
I think stomping great
Margaret (14:26):
Yeah, it's good.
Lisa (14:29):
Well, it's so funny because, you know, you're
talking about sort of the focuson me as a dancer growing up,
but I, I am hopeless at ballroomdancing and all
Margaret (14:38):
Oh, you've
Lisa (14:39):
partnering thing.
I have tried it a number oftimes
Margaret (14:42):
But we're always doing waltz steps in, in your body
Lisa (14:46):
Yeah, I'm okay if I'm alone, but
Margaret (14:49):
Well, let's think that
Lisa (14:52):
I know I want to be leading.
It's not a good thing inballroom dancing.
Margaret (14:59):
As it
Lisa (14:59):
I guess
Margaret (15:00):
should be.
Lisa (15:01):
maybe, I don't know, but
Margaret (15:04):
I think I like the concept of it.
I just don't know that I canactually execute
Lisa (15:09):
The, the ballroom or the flamenco or the
Margaret (15:12):
Yeah.
Lisa (15:13):
the ballroom.
Yeah.
I can see you as a
Margaret (15:15):
Oh, I can, yeah, I can totally see that.
You did, a Spanish or kind of aflamenco song one day recently,
in the last few weeks.
Lisa (15:26):
Yes.
Yes.
Groove does have some Spanishflamenco
Margaret (15:31):
was, I, you couldn't hear me, but I was pounding here
in my
Lisa (15:35):
Oh.
Margaret (15:37):
space.
Lisa (16:15):
So was I think you, let's see.
You came to one of my practiceclasses.
Was that the first time you
Margaret (16:23):
first time I did the class was Thanksgiving 21.
Lisa (16:30):
Oh, okay.
The in person one.
Margaret (16:31):
So, yeah, when we came down, I'm pretty sure, yeah,
when we came down to visit andyou had the whole family there
in the studio.
And Andy was there
Lisa (16:42):
Yes.
Margaret (16:43):
Kevin of course, and Arianna and I and Anne.
No, Anne wasn't there.
Lisa (16:48):
No, Anne wasn't there.
Margaret (16:50):
But yeah, that was the first time, which I loved.
And
Lisa (16:55):
That was a lot of fun.
Margaret (16:56):
Yeah, it
Lisa (16:56):
It was fun to do it with the family.
Margaret (16:58):
It was a good, I mean, I think that's one thing I would
say about Groove is that, youknow, there's a community, even
though you're not dancing with apartner, There's still, you
still feel like you're dancingaround and with other people.
of course, the fact that it wasfamily made it easier because
then you were even lessself-conscious or less concerned
(17:18):
about, you know, bumping intosomebody.
Lisa (17:22):
Right, right.
I think we embrace the goofinessof some of our dancing too, so
that's helpful.
Margaret (17:29):
Elbow Kevin out way.
Lisa (17:32):
right.
Mom missed her chance to havehim be the dance star, but
Margaret (17:36):
Quick feet, that one.
Lisa (17:40):
yes, he does.
So now you've done on Zoom withme.
Margaret (17:45):
I have now that we, you know, now that we're
separated physically I do thezoom, I zoom in, which is nice,
you know, and that, thatprovides a certain, in a way,
it's nice because it provides acertain buffer for you.
You know, you don't have to.
If you don't really have tothink about other people.
If you want to, you can.
(18:06):
If you don't want to, you don'thave to because you're in your
own space and you know, it'sjust like the camera's on, but
you're doing your thing I likeboth, you know, being in person
and, but I, I definitely don'tsee the zoom as an issue or a
problem or inhibiting in anyway.
Lisa (18:25):
Oh, that's good.
Margaret (18:26):
And the, you know, the sound is pretty good, so that
helps.
I think that may be one issueif, you know, if the sound or
something and you can't reallyhear the music,
Lisa (18:35):
Mm,
Margaret (18:36):
the
Lisa (18:36):
that's true.
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (18:38):
might be a problem.
Just the technology.
But as long as that's workingand works for me.
Lisa (18:45):
So how how do you like groove?
Margaret (18:48):
I'd like it.
It's different.
I think that maybe at this stageof my life, which is a little
bit older you know, havingprescribed steps and moves that
you have to memorize or do insync with other people maybe
(19:09):
just a little bit more than Iwanna take on.
So I like the flexibility ofgroove that allows you to put
your own twist on whatever it isyou're doing.
And I'd say there's, you know,it's good because you're getting
some amount of instruction.
It's not just a free for all.
(19:31):
And you're instructed a littlebit on like the, the types of
steps you can do, or, you know,the, the songs are segmented
into to moves associated withdifferent, you know, parts of
the song associated withdifferent types of moves.
But again, even if you decidedyou didn't wanna do that, like
nobody would care.
It's not like you're gettinggraded
Lisa (19:52):
All right.
You know a lot about gradingother people.
Margaret (19:56):
Or you're not getting judged.
So yeah, I enjoy that.
I guess I would say, you know,that groove is kind of in the
parlance of today.
It's sort of a safe space.
It's a place where you can.
Feel free to do what, what feelsnatural and good for you and not
worry about what other peopleare thinking or doing.
(20:16):
And you, you know, unlike Jane,you know, they're not coming by
and pushing your back downgiving table, table.
Lisa (20:23):
Table.
Margaret (20:25):
It's it's a criticism free space.
Lisa (20:29):
Perhaps I should go back to the dolls, though, perhaps
the pipe cleaner dolls orsomething I should be awarding
to my
Margaret (20:36):
I, you know, Yeah.
I would not go there.
I, I will say that Jane didn'tmake those dolls.
They were made by this womannamed Eddie.
Do you remember Eddie?
Lisa (20:44):
Oh, yes, I remember Eddie
Margaret (20:46):
always incorporated a somersault into her dance
Lisa (20:50):
Oh, I forgot about that.
Margaret (20:52):
She was also an aspiring artist, I think.
Lisa (20:55):
Yes,
Margaret (20:56):
and so she, she's the one who make
Lisa (20:59):
Oh,
Margaret (21:00):
pipe cleaner figurines.
Lisa (21:03):
Oh my.
Well, coming back to your pointabout sort of aging and you know
how you're.
Want to move differently.
I've definitely experienced thatfor myself.
You know, I've did thetriathlons and that kind of more
physical stuff and my bodydoesn't really want that anymore
(21:24):
as much, Well, I think you haveto
Margaret (21:26):
find exercise that's easier on your joints is, is
Lisa (21:31):
Yes, yes.
Margaret (21:32):
I think groove allows you to accommodate your, your
aches and pains.
Lisa (21:39):
Right
Margaret (21:40):
You can decide, you know, how much you wanna jump,
you can decide how much youwanna go low or, or you know,
you could just stand there for40 minutes and nobody would
really care.
And.
right, right.
yeah, I think it, it's, it'sgood in that it is able to
accommodate people for, youknow, in their various bodily
(22:04):
needs.
Yeah, it's definitely adaptable.
Adaptable.
Lisa (22:08):
And I know you were kind of dealing with a foot injury
for a while, so how was thattrying to groove with that
Margaret (22:14):
Well, I still have it.
But yeah, I think that I, I amjust very careful about not
pounding on it too much when I'mdancing.
I took some time off to see if Icould just get it to heal, but
it's still, it's just thechronic kind of long-term
injury.
It, it definitely groove hasn'tmade it worse.
Lisa (22:36):
Oh, that's good.
Margaret (22:37):
yeah.
But it's also, I was justreading about it.
The, actually the injury forsome reason it popped up in the
New York Times.
I feel like your phone listensto you and so if you.
Lisa (22:48):
Definitely
Margaret (22:49):
Say something, it's suddenly you see a, an article
about it.
And, and it said that in thisparticular injury, it's actually
good to stretch it a lot andlike, like not doing anything
and being immobile is, is notgood for it because it tightens
up.
So I think, you know, as long asI'm careful, as I said, not to
(23:13):
do too much so.
Put too much pressure on it.
The, groove has been fine.
Yeah.
Lisa (23:20):
Good.
Do you find any other benefitsother than sort of the physical
parts of it?
Margaret (23:27):
Yeah, I mean, I think that first of all, you know,
it's nice to dance to music.
I think that's really fun.
And so it's, it's just a fun wayto exercise.
And then this, I would also sayit's pretty meditative.
I definitely like the end, youknow, where you get to just sort
(23:49):
of lie and, and breathe thatfeels very relaxing in a good
way to, to finish the, thesession.
So yeah, I think those are, youknow, it's both, both working up
a sweat and getting your.
Releasing your endorphins orwhat have you.
And then also, I said, kind ofrelaxing a bit.
Lisa (24:14):
Yeah.
For those that don't know,there's a, a stillness section
in the, at the end where youjust, yeah.
Get to just lay still.
That's really nice.
Margaret (24:24):
Meditate a bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lisa (24:27):
So any challenges that you have with with doing the groove
other, not physical, but arethere any emotional
Margaret (24:38):
I don't so.
I mean, I think that, as I said,I mean one issue might be just
the degree to which you are, I.
Self-conscious and how do peoplefeel about either being in a
room with others or beingonline.
But I, as I said, I find thatonline, like I don't really
(25:00):
watch other people.
I don't interact much withfolks.
Lisa (25:06):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (25:07):
but that's, and that's okay.
Like I don't, I don't feel likeI need to.
And kind of, kind of helps me.
I just.
I just prefer to be in my own,kind of my doing my own thing.
And in my own space, I, I, Idon't know if you remember, but
the way that my space is laidout, I can't really get the
(25:29):
camera to see the whole room.
So there are times when I'mdancing off side and off
Lisa (25:35):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (25:37):
So sometimes I'm not even visible at all.
or you'll see like hand come in.
Right.
So, yeah.
Lisa (25:46):
And as a facilitator I'm also dancing.
So oftentimes I'm not aware, youknow, if somebody's not doing
the right move or whatever itis, even though that's not part
of it.
But yeah.
Margaret (26:01):
Well, you seem like you're, you're aware of, I mean,
you're interacting with thegroup and you're aware of so I
don't feel disconnected at all.
Lisa (26:10):
Oh, that's
Margaret (26:11):
Yeah, it's not bad.
It's just.
Maybe like I feel that the, inyou as the instructor are
helping me, or you know, you'reguiding me along, but I don't
feel like I need to interactwith the other people who are on
the screen.
Yeah.
Lisa (26:28):
Yeah, I mean, that is the sort of the training of
facilitation that they teach youis to, is to be observant and
try to lend words that willencourage people but not, you
know not be, yeah, not benegative about anything anybody
is doing, but.
Margaret (26:48):
Right.
Not, not some way inhibit them.
Lisa (26:51):
Right, right.
Yeah.
Actually to encourage them tomore fully embrace either the
style or the steps is kind ofwhat we're, yeah, Taught to do.
Margaret (27:01):
yeah.
I have to say, I mean, I, what Ireally like about the way you
teach is that you're, you havereally great song lists and, and
they change.
So I, I never feel like it's,oh, we're doing this again.
Not that I would mind, you know,doing things over and over, but.
I think you have a really goodear for how the songs and the
(27:22):
dances fit together.
And so
Lisa (27:24):
Oh, thank you.
Margaret (27:25):
like a relatively seamless, you know, usually a
seamless session and yeah, Ilike that.
And, and each week it's a littlesomething a little different.
As you know, I,
Lisa (27:38):
Yeah.
Margaret (27:38):
I, as you know, I definitely enjoy the punching.
Lisa (27:43):
The punching.
I like that too.
Margaret (27:45):
You know, I enjoy the punching and now you know that I
like the flamenco too.
Lisa (27:49):
Oh, okay.
Good to know.
Good to know.
Yes.
I think one one thing I reallyactually enjoy is listening to
the various song options andputting together a playlist
Margaret (28:00):
Yeah.
Lisa (28:00):
you know, learning new, new ones I can present to the
group.
Margaret (28:05):
Yeah, I think that I think that really plays into
your strengths in terms of yourcreativity because it, it does
allow you to bring your ownpersonality and your own, you
know, sort of and imagination tothe, the session.
Lisa (28:21):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Oh my goodness.
Well, any, if somebody wasinterested in trying Groove, do
you have any advice for them?
Margaret (28:30):
Oh, I think it's a, it's the kind of dance you can
just jump right into.
I don't think you need anybackground or any preparation
for it.
I think you should just sign onand start doing it.
Lisa (28:47):
I like it.
just take action.
Margaret (28:49):
action.
I mean, because you'll get,you'll get a little bit of
instruction about, you know, thephilosophy of the, of world
groove and the, a little bit ofinstruction about what kinds of
dance steps you might be doingcould do, but it doesn't really
require a lot of study orpreparation or just, just a, a
(29:13):
love of movement and, you know,Music.
Lisa (29:18):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I mean, groove is allabout just presenting like a
couple steps.
Nothing, you know, nothing toocomplicated in terms of a
choreographed routine oranything.
Track 1 (29:29):
Exactly.
Lisa (29:30):
I had some other thought there that I've lost, but You
can, oh, the,
Margaret (29:34):
get a good workout if you want it.
Lisa (29:36):
mm-hmm.
Margaret (29:36):
want that's okay too.
Lisa (29:39):
Right, right.
Yeah.
That's another thing aboutGroove is yeah, you can adapt it
to whatever level you wanna do.
If you wanna put a lot of energyinto it, great.
If you don't, that's fine too.
Margaret (29:50):
Yeah.
Lisa (29:52):
I was just gonna, I think the other thing I was thinking
about is I, I've often thoughtabout maybe doing a session
where nobody is on screen, likeit's just a blank, you know, you
just block off.
But I would say that, you know,that is definitely always an
option.
Like if you're feelingself-conscious and you're,
(30:12):
you're.
Doing a Zoom class, you, you canturn the camera off.
Like there's no requirement toreally have it on.
I mean, it does help from afacilitator point to see what
people are doing, so you cankind of adjust your directions,
but it doesn't really matter.
Margaret (30:31):
Yeah.
I mean, I, I think that is agreat option.
I'm not that self-conscious, butI think for people who are,
yeah, that is an,
Lisa (30:37):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (30:37):
definitely a benefit.
Lisa (30:39):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I like that.
Well, anything else you'd wannaadd about Groove or your
experience with it?
Margaret (30:49):
No, I don't think so.
I think we, we kind of coveredthe, the gamut.
I, I think it's, as I said, Ithink it's a good, it's a good
way to exercise, get a littleworkout.
And it doesn't require a lot ofmental.
Heavy lifting.
(31:09):
That's another aspect of it thatI like sometimes with running, I
enjoy, I, I don't necessarilyleave my day behind.
I'm kind of thinking about whatI have to do, you know?
Or I'm, I'm hashing oversomething that happened that day
or the other day.
(31:31):
But when you're dancing, that's,you don't really have room in
your head for.
Thinking about other things,you're just kind of thinking
about your moves and the musicand so I like that part of it.
It's a mental break as well as aphysical workout.
Lisa (31:49):
That's so true.
I'm glad you brought that up.
That's a good part of, yeah.
Doing groove.
Margaret (31:54):
Yeah.
Lisa (31:56):
Well, thank you Margaret, so much for sharing your story
and your experience Groove.
Margaret (32:01):
head out to my therapy session so I can talk about my.
Childhood
Lisa (32:06):
childhood.
I know
Margaret (32:07):
Jane's Dance Studio.
Lisa (32:09):
definitely.
I'm so
Margaret (32:12):
It's okay.
You know
Lisa (32:16):
I didn't know I was very self-involved.
to say in my own experience,
Margaret (32:20):
You're exalting in your own.
Yeah.
Being one the chosen people.
Oh, you're Lisa's sister.
I have a name.
I am the brown orange pipecleaner.
lisa_6_06-16-2023_140425 (32:32):
I wish I was exalting, but
unfortunately I wasn't a missedopportunity.
Oh, well,
Margaret (32:37):
You didn't, know.
Oh,
Lisa (32:40):
Oh, well thanks again, mark.
I really appreciate it.
And also just for your supportof me as a facilitator has meant
a lot to me.
I really appreciate it.
Margaret (32:51):
my pleasure.
All right, bye.
Welcome to the Happy Sweat Life podcast.
My name is Lisa Rung and I'm soexcited today to actually be
talking to my sister Margaret.
Margaret is a professor and alsohas a teenage daughter and a
husband, so a very busy life.
So we're just gonna be talkingabout her experience with world
groove and how that fits intoher life.
(00:33):
So I think Margaret, I actuallyfirst ask you about just growing
up and whether you did any kindof dance things or What your
experience was with
Margaret (00:43):
sure, sure.
Well, first I just have to saythat I grew up in the shadow of
a dancer.
My older sister, Lisa, who wasthe actual dancer in the family,
and, and that left perhaps lefta, a little bit of a scar on me
in terms of dancing.
(01:04):
No, I'm just kidding.
Lisa (01:06):
I can see that happening
Margaret (01:07):
definitely happened, so I don't know why.
But our mom decided that weshould have dance lessons when
we were young.
I think we were probably in lateelementary school, and so she
enrolled us in a modern dancestudio.
(01:29):
And the, the dance teacher wasJane Shepherd.
And Jane.
She was a little bit.
Different from other people wholived in state college.
So she had a very stylish,short, blunt haircut.
She, she looked like she wasfrom Greenwich Village and
Lisa (01:49):
I didn't remember that about her
Margaret (01:51):
I think so.
She, I think she was a NewYorker.
And she had this studio in herhome where she taught modern
dance.
But you have to understand thatlike State College was not like
the hub of modern dance.
It was more of a square dancingkind of town.
Lisa (02:08):
Right.
Margaret (02:09):
And so Jane, Jane was just a little bit out of the
element there, and a lot of myfriends went to Ms.
Ditmar and I could, to this day,I cannot tell you what Ms.
Ditmars philosophy was, whatkind of dancing they did there.
I have no idea, but I justremember feeling like that was
the place to go.
(02:30):
We were, we were sort ofshuffled off to this avant-garde
person's house because our momwas more of a hippie and, you
know, so instead of getting likeOreos and Pop-Tarts as a snack,
you know, Jane would give ussome whole wheat bread and, I
don't know, hummus or something.
And some carrots.
(02:50):
So those were my earliestmemories of dance, but,
Lisa (02:57):
I never realized there was that dynamic
Margaret (02:59):
I don't know.
Lisa (02:59):
going on For you Margaret.
Margaret (03:00):
Yeah.
So the dancing at Jane's was youknow, they were lessons and I
remember she used to get reallyirritated with me because I
couldn't do like a flat back.
Like my back was never, it wasalways sort of rounded.
I didn't have scoliosis, but Idon't know.
She just, you know, she was allconstantly pushing it down when
(03:21):
we were like on the floor doingstuff.
Lisa (03:24):
Sounds like a bit of trauma happening here.
Margaret (03:26):
Yeah, I, I just feel like it was totally my thing,
you know?
I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the camaraderiebecause I was in, in dance class
with two of my friends Cassandraand Barb.
And Barb and I still, we stilltalk about Jane Shepherd and
(03:47):
dancing to whale music.
And so usually when when I andwith scarves Oh yeah, yeah.
I, and, so, you know, again,everybody else is dancing to
early seventies kind of pop androck and you know, and we're
dancing to whales woo.
And Barb and I, when we when wehave our, when we do our annual
(04:13):
happy birthday, it alwaysincludes some whale emojis.
Cause so cuz we just, you know,we have that bond.
Lisa (04:21):
That's hysterical
Margaret (04:22):
Yeah and then of course the big issue with Jane
was like that she had these,these dance recitals.
They weren't called that butthese kind of showcases that we
would do periodically and whichwe had to perform our own
dances.
And mine were always likeridiculous looking.
And then she would present to usat the end these pipe cleaners
(04:44):
that were shaped in the form ofdancers,
Lisa (04:46):
Oh, I forgot about those
Margaret (04:48):
yeah, they were on little styrofoam.
They were stuck onto thesestyrofoam bases.
So they were intended to be likelittle, you know, sort of
figurines you could put up onyour shelf, and so you could
collect them.
Each year you get one.
And I just remember, like, Iwould come up and, and your name
was on it and they were all onthe table, so you would look at
everybody else's, and Lisa'swould be this like, pastel
(05:12):
colors with these like reallybeautiful scarves kind of
flowing off of her.
And then I'd look at mine and itwas like, usually it was brown,
Lisa (05:21):
Oh no.
Margaret (05:22):
fall colors, a lot of fall colors, brown and orange
and just very drab.
And I, I guess at that point Ijust thought like, yes, this is
really telling and.
Yeah.
And, and, and even mom, youknow, when she would see my
(05:43):
dances and stuff, she would benice about it, but I could tell
she was like, I remember onetime, I don't know if it was mom
or somebody else telling me,well, it seems like more, a
little bit more like gymnasticsMargaret,
Lisa (05:55):
Oh
Margaret (05:56):
And then of course when my sister, Lisa, you
performed at your dance, therewas always like a standing
ovation at the end.
So so there a of whooping andhollering and, and and waving of
scarves.
A lot of whale noises in theaudience.
(06:18):
Yeah.
Anyway, so I, so I, yeah, thatwas sort of dancing as a child.
And then of course I wasinvolved in a lot of sports.
I've always been fairlyphysically active and toward the
end of high school, I startedrunning on my own just as a
exercise to get, you know, fitand, and it was mainly to stay
(06:39):
in shape for field hockey, whichhad become my kind of big sport
late in high school.
But to be honest, like thedancing part of my life didn't
really take off until college.
And then I went to Oberlin andit was you know, it was again a
kind of like be your own person.
(07:02):
Very open-minded place, verytolerant.
And that was reflected at thesco, which is what we called our
disco.
It was formally called Dionysus,and it was the place to go at
night, especially for me, aftera long night of studying.
So I would be in the library,mud library until really late.
(07:25):
Then you have to walk throughWilder Hall, which was the
student union.
And the disco was in thebasement of Wilder.
So it was really easy just to,to pop in and dance.
And they, nobody cared one figwhat you look like.
And of course this was dancemusic.
they were playing not whalesongs.
(07:46):
Not whales noises, but just as afootnote, the guy apparently who
discovered that whales can singjust died.
Lisa (07:55):
Oh,
Margaret (07:55):
Yeah, So so Jane was really, yeah, Jane was really on
forefront, I think of, of thewhale, whale song.
Lisa (08:04):
Absolutely.
Margaret (08:04):
anyway, so yeah, so I loved dancing in college and I
went to the disco a lot.
I spent a lot of my weekendsthere and it was really fun
people watching place cuz againyou know, folks would just sort
of do their own thing.
(08:24):
And my freshman year, of course,our brother Kevin was a senior
and he was quite well known oncampus for his dancing at the
disco And so sometimes I'd goand just watch him cuz he was so
hilarious.
And yeah, I mean, so I, I'd sayin college I just kind of really
(08:46):
embraced the idea of dancing forjoy and exercise and, and stress
release.
You know, it was a huge stressrelease for me.
I was very intense about mystudies and
Lisa (08:58):
Yes.
Margaret (09:00):
so yeah, that's kind of why I fell in love with just
the idea of dancing just forfun.
Anyway, that's a long-windedanswer to your.
Lisa (09:09):
No, I actually had no idea that you were going to the disco
at your college and dancing.
Margaret (09:14):
Yeah.
It was huge.
Lisa (09:15):
Yeah.
Was there sort of a communityaspect as, as well?
Were you meeting people
Margaret (09:21):
Yeah.
Oftentimes you would run intopeople.
My, my best friend Lori and Iused to go all the time.
But if I was by myself,sometimes I'd see people there.
And yeah, no, it was, it was,there was definitely, you know,
groups, pods of people who wouldgo, but it was okay to go alone
too.
Lisa (09:39):
Yeah, that's, that's awesome.
Margaret (09:41):
yeah.
Yeah.
No, it was good.
It was good.
And, you know, different typesof music, some house music, some
pop, some rock.
So good DJs.
Lisa (09:52):
good DJs and good music.
Margaret (09:54):
Yeah, for sure.
Lisa (09:56):
So after college, did you seek out places to dance?
Were you dancing on your own
Margaret (10:03):
That's a good question.
I think that after college itwas a little less accessible to
me.
Lisa (10:08):
mm-hmm.
Margaret (10:09):
So because, you know, there'd be cover charges and so
I didn't really, I mean, I wouldgo out dancing that that
happened with friends.
But it was more of a productionand it had, you know, it, it was
a weekend thing.
I certainly wasn't doing itduring the week and or, you
know, you'd be at a party maybeand there'd be some dancing
(10:32):
there.
But I would say that yes, itfell off quite a bit, you know,
once I left college.
And I think, you know, it usedto be that, I don't know, maybe
back in like the dance hallcraze was like the turn of the
20th century, but it used to be,I think that people just went
out dancing a lot more than theydo now.
(10:54):
Like there were a lot of dancehalls and that was kind of a
thing to do.
But I mean, I would say one, onedifference maybe now is that
back then, like the dance hallsand stuff, I think was mostly
partner dancing.
I don't know that.
or you were dancing with people,you know, as just somebody
getting up and doing their ownthing on the dance floor.
Lisa (11:17):
I think that that convenience thing, like you were
saying, like the, the discoplace being, you know, on your
way home.
I, I remember when I was doingyoga really, really regularly,
it's because it was a subwaystop on my way home.
You know, I just would get off,do the yoga, get back on, and
That definitely helped me bemore consistent
Margaret (11:38):
Yeah.
It becomes part of your routineand,
Lisa (11:41):
Yes.
yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
So so not too much dancingbetween graduating and, and,
Margaret (11:52):
Not really.
Lisa (11:53):
yeah, no.
Margaret (11:54):
You know, and I, I mean, I, I married Andy who as
he would tell you, has all therhythm of a Northern European
male.
Lisa (12:05):
Oh, no.
Margaret (12:06):
I mean, he likes dance, but you know, not really
his thing.
Lisa (12:10):
You're not gonna be taking ballroom
Margaret (12:12):
well now we did, we did take ballroom lesson dancing
here in, in Evanston, and we didit through the city I think, or
maybe it was the senior center.
I can't remember, but it was a,it was kind of a reduced, you
know, reduced fare thing.
(12:34):
It wasn't like a privatelessons.
Lisa (12:37):
okay.
Margaret (12:38):
and I remember the, in one of the instructors, we had a
few different instructors causewe did different classes.
But one of'em was this guyRandy, who was pretty well known
as being very good.
he was, he was very good atexplaining how to do the steps
and.
You know, so we learned a bunchof different like ballroom
(12:58):
dances, some Latin dances whichI loved, I totally loved, and I
would've stayed doing that.
But he, he wasn't so much intoit I convinced him to do it
because supposedly we were gonnadance at our wedding,
Lisa (13:14):
Yes.
Margaret (13:15):
that didn't actually happen.
So
Lisa (13:16):
Oh no,
Margaret (13:17):
it was too hot, but But anyway So after we got
married, you know, there wasreally the excuse to do it sort
of evaporated Yeah, but I reallyenjoyed the ballroom dancing a
lot.
But again, it's, it's more of aproduction because you A, you
have to have a partner and youknow, B, you have to go
somewhere and then you havemusic.
(13:41):
I did notice there's a, I tellyou one thing, we, when we were
in Spain for our honeymoon, wewent to see flamenco.
I absolutely It.
Love, loved it.
And then we ended up beingthere, just coincidentally in
this town when they were havingan international guitar
festival.
So we went to severalperformances and they
(14:03):
incorporated flamenco into someof those as well.
And I noticed the other day whenI was driving down sort of South
Evanston, that there's aflamenco studio
Lisa (14:16):
Oh, no kidding.
Margaret (14:17):
And I was like, Hmm,
Lisa (14:18):
Maybe that's in your future there Marg
Margaret (14:21):
Yeah.
Stomp.
I stomp.
Lisa (14:24):
You like to stomp?
I think stomping great
Margaret (14:26):
Yeah, it's good.
Lisa (14:29):
Well, it's so funny because, you know, you're
talking about sort of the focuson me as a dancer growing up,
but I, I am hopeless at ballroomdancing and all
Margaret (14:38):
Oh, you've
Lisa (14:39):
partnering thing.
I have tried it a number oftimes
Margaret (14:42):
But we're always doing waltz steps in, in your body
Lisa (14:46):
Yeah, I'm okay if I'm alone, but
Margaret (14:49):
Well, let's think that
Lisa (14:52):
I know I want to be leading.
It's not a good thing inballroom dancing.
Margaret (14:59):
As it
Lisa (14:59):
I guess
Margaret (15:00):
should be.
Lisa (15:01):
maybe, I don't know, but
Margaret (15:04):
I think I like the concept of it.
I just don't know that I canactually execute
Lisa (15:09):
The, the ballroom or the flamenco or the
Margaret (15:12):
Yeah.
Lisa (15:13):
the ballroom.
Yeah.
I can see you as a
Margaret (15:15):
Oh, I can, yeah, I can totally see that.
You did, a Spanish or kind of aflamenco song one day recently,
in the last few weeks.
Lisa (15:26):
Yes.
Yes.
Groove does have some Spanishflamenco
Margaret (15:31):
was, I, you couldn't hear me, but I was pounding here
in my
Lisa (15:35):
Oh.
Margaret (15:37):
space.
Lisa (16:15):
So was I think you, let's see.
You came to one of my practiceclasses.
Was that the first time you
Margaret (16:23):
first time I did the class was Thanksgiving 21.
Lisa (16:30):
Oh, okay.
The in person one.
Margaret (16:31):
So, yeah, when we came down, I'm pretty sure, yeah,
when we came down to visit andyou had the whole family there
in the studio.
And Andy was there
Lisa (16:42):
Yes.
Margaret (16:43):
Kevin of course, and Arianna and I and Anne.
No, Anne wasn't there.
Lisa (16:48):
No, Anne wasn't there.
Margaret (16:50):
But yeah, that was the first time, which I loved.
And
Lisa (16:55):
That was a lot of fun.
Margaret (16:56):
Yeah, it
Lisa (16:56):
It was fun to do it with the family.
Margaret (16:58):
It was a good, I mean, I think that's one thing I would
say about Groove is that, youknow, there's a community, even
though you're not dancing with apartner, There's still, you
still feel like you're dancingaround and with other people.
of course, the fact that it wasfamily made it easier because
then you were even lessself-conscious or less concerned
(17:18):
about, you know, bumping intosomebody.
Lisa (17:22):
Right, right.
I think we embrace the goofinessof some of our dancing too, so
that's helpful.
Margaret (17:29):
Elbow Kevin out way.
Lisa (17:32):
right.
Mom missed her chance to havehim be the dance star, but
Margaret (17:36):
Quick feet, that one.
Lisa (17:40):
yes, he does.
So now you've done on Zoom withme.
Margaret (17:45):
I have now that we, you know, now that we're
separated physically I do thezoom, I zoom in, which is nice,
you know, and that, thatprovides a certain, in a way,
it's nice because it provides acertain buffer for you.
You know, you don't have to.
If you don't really have tothink about other people.
If you want to, you can.
(18:06):
If you don't want to, you don'thave to because you're in your
own space and you know, it'sjust like the camera's on, but
you're doing your thing I likeboth, you know, being in person
and, but I, I definitely don'tsee the zoom as an issue or a
problem or inhibiting in anyway.
Lisa (18:25):
Oh, that's good.
Margaret (18:26):
And the, you know, the sound is pretty good, so that
helps.
I think that may be one issueif, you know, if the sound or
something and you can't reallyhear the music,
Lisa (18:35):
Mm,
Margaret (18:36):
the
Lisa (18:36):
that's true.
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (18:38):
might be a problem.
Just the technology.
But as long as that's workingand works for me.
Lisa (18:45):
So how how do you like groove?
Margaret (18:48):
I'd like it.
It's different.
I think that maybe at this stageof my life, which is a little
bit older you know, havingprescribed steps and moves that
you have to memorize or do insync with other people maybe
(19:09):
just a little bit more than Iwanna take on.
So I like the flexibility ofgroove that allows you to put
your own twist on whatever it isyou're doing.
And I'd say there's, you know,it's good because you're getting
some amount of instruction.
It's not just a free for all.
(19:31):
And you're instructed a littlebit on like the, the types of
steps you can do, or, you know,the, the songs are segmented
into to moves associated withdifferent, you know, parts of
the song associated withdifferent types of moves.
But again, even if you decidedyou didn't wanna do that, like
nobody would care.
It's not like you're gettinggraded
Lisa (19:52):
All right.
You know a lot about gradingother people.
Margaret (19:56):
Or you're not getting judged.
So yeah, I enjoy that.
I guess I would say, you know,that groove is kind of in the
parlance of today.
It's sort of a safe space.
It's a place where you can.
Feel free to do what, what feelsnatural and good for you and not
worry about what other peopleare thinking or doing.
(20:16):
And you, you know, unlike Jane,you know, they're not coming by
and pushing your back downgiving table, table.
Lisa (20:23):
Table.
Margaret (20:25):
It's it's a criticism free space.
Lisa (20:29):
Perhaps I should go back to the dolls, though, perhaps
the pipe cleaner dolls orsomething I should be awarding
to my
Margaret (20:36):
I, you know, Yeah.
I would not go there.
I, I will say that Jane didn'tmake those dolls.
They were made by this womannamed Eddie.
Do you remember Eddie?
Lisa (20:44):
Oh, yes, I remember Eddie
Margaret (20:46):
always incorporated a somersault into her dance
Lisa (20:50):
Oh, I forgot about that.
Margaret (20:52):
She was also an aspiring artist, I think.
Lisa (20:55):
Yes,
Margaret (20:56):
and so she, she's the one who make
Lisa (20:59):
Oh,
Margaret (21:00):
pipe cleaner figurines.
Lisa (21:03):
Oh my.
Well, coming back to your pointabout sort of aging and you know
how you're.
Want to move differently.
I've definitely experienced thatfor myself.
You know, I've did thetriathlons and that kind of more
physical stuff and my bodydoesn't really want that anymore
(21:24):
as much, Well, I think you haveto
Margaret (21:26):
find exercise that's easier on your joints is, is
Lisa (21:31):
Yes, yes.
Margaret (21:32):
I think groove allows you to accommodate your, your
aches and pains.
Lisa (21:39):
Right
Margaret (21:40):
You can decide, you know, how much you wanna jump,
you can decide how much youwanna go low or, or you know,
you could just stand there for40 minutes and nobody would
really care.
And.
right, right.
yeah, I think it, it's, it'sgood in that it is able to
accommodate people for, youknow, in their various bodily
(22:04):
needs.
Yeah, it's definitely adaptable.
Adaptable.
Lisa (22:08):
And I know you were kind of dealing with a foot injury
for a while, so how was thattrying to groove with that
Margaret (22:14):
Well, I still have it.
But yeah, I think that I, I amjust very careful about not
pounding on it too much when I'mdancing.
I took some time off to see if Icould just get it to heal, but
it's still, it's just thechronic kind of long-term
injury.
It, it definitely groove hasn'tmade it worse.
Lisa (22:36):
Oh, that's good.
Margaret (22:37):
yeah.
But it's also, I was justreading about it.
The, actually the injury forsome reason it popped up in the
New York Times.
I feel like your phone listensto you and so if you.
Lisa (22:48):
Definitely
Margaret (22:49):
Say something, it's suddenly you see a, an article
about it.
And, and it said that in thisparticular injury, it's actually
good to stretch it a lot andlike, like not doing anything
and being immobile is, is notgood for it because it tightens
up.
So I think, you know, as long asI'm careful, as I said, not to
(23:13):
do too much so.
Put too much pressure on it.
The, groove has been fine.
Yeah.
Lisa (23:20):
Good.
Do you find any other benefitsother than sort of the physical
parts of it?
Margaret (23:27):
Yeah, I mean, I think that first of all, you know,
it's nice to dance to music.
I think that's really fun.
And so it's, it's just a fun wayto exercise.
And then this, I would also sayit's pretty meditative.
I definitely like the end, youknow, where you get to just sort
(23:49):
of lie and, and breathe thatfeels very relaxing in a good
way to, to finish the, thesession.
So yeah, I think those are, youknow, it's both, both working up
a sweat and getting your.
Releasing your endorphins orwhat have you.
And then also, I said, kind ofrelaxing a bit.
Lisa (24:14):
Yeah.
For those that don't know,there's a, a stillness section
in the, at the end where youjust, yeah.
Get to just lay still.
That's really nice.
Margaret (24:24):
Meditate a bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lisa (24:27):
So any challenges that you have with with doing the groove
other, not physical, but arethere any emotional
Margaret (24:38):
I don't so.
I mean, I think that, as I said,I mean one issue might be just
the degree to which you are, I.
Self-conscious and how do peoplefeel about either being in a
room with others or beingonline.
But I, as I said, I find thatonline, like I don't really
(25:00):
watch other people.
I don't interact much withfolks.
Lisa (25:06):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (25:07):
but that's, and that's okay.
Like I don't, I don't feel likeI need to.
And kind of, kind of helps me.
I just.
I just prefer to be in my own,kind of my doing my own thing.
And in my own space, I, I, Idon't know if you remember, but
the way that my space is laidout, I can't really get the
(25:29):
camera to see the whole room.
So there are times when I'mdancing off side and off
Lisa (25:35):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (25:37):
So sometimes I'm not even visible at all.
or you'll see like hand come in.
Right.
So, yeah.
Lisa (25:46):
And as a facilitator I'm also dancing.
So oftentimes I'm not aware, youknow, if somebody's not doing
the right move or whatever itis, even though that's not part
of it.
But yeah.
Margaret (26:01):
Well, you seem like you're, you're aware of, I mean,
you're interacting with thegroup and you're aware of so I
don't feel disconnected at all.
Lisa (26:10):
Oh, that's
Margaret (26:11):
Yeah, it's not bad.
It's just.
Maybe like I feel that the, inyou as the instructor are
helping me, or you know, you'reguiding me along, but I don't
feel like I need to interactwith the other people who are on
the screen.
Yeah.
Lisa (26:28):
Yeah, I mean, that is the sort of the training of
facilitation that they teach youis to, is to be observant and
try to lend words that willencourage people but not, you
know not be, yeah, not benegative about anything anybody
is doing, but.
Margaret (26:48):
Right.
Not, not some way inhibit them.
Lisa (26:51):
Right, right.
Yeah.
Actually to encourage them tomore fully embrace either the
style or the steps is kind ofwhat we're, yeah, Taught to do.
Margaret (27:01):
yeah.
I have to say, I mean, I, what Ireally like about the way you
teach is that you're, you havereally great song lists and, and
they change.
So I, I never feel like it's,oh, we're doing this again.
Not that I would mind, you know,doing things over and over, but.
I think you have a really goodear for how the songs and the
(27:22):
dances fit together.
And so
Lisa (27:24):
Oh, thank you.
Margaret (27:25):
like a relatively seamless, you know, usually a
seamless session and yeah, Ilike that.
And, and each week it's a littlesomething a little different.
As you know, I,
Lisa (27:38):
Yeah.
Margaret (27:38):
I, as you know, I definitely enjoy the punching.
Lisa (27:43):
The punching.
I like that too.
Margaret (27:45):
You know, I enjoy the punching and now you know that I
like the flamenco too.
Lisa (27:49):
Oh, okay.
Good to know.
Good to know.
Yes.
I think one one thing I reallyactually enjoy is listening to
the various song options andputting together a playlist
Margaret (28:00):
Yeah.
Lisa (28:00):
you know, learning new, new ones I can present to the
group.
Margaret (28:05):
Yeah, I think that I think that really plays into
your strengths in terms of yourcreativity because it, it does
allow you to bring your ownpersonality and your own, you
know, sort of and imagination tothe, the session.
Lisa (28:21):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Oh my goodness.
Well, any, if somebody wasinterested in trying Groove, do
you have any advice for them?
Margaret (28:30):
Oh, I think it's a, it's the kind of dance you can
just jump right into.
I don't think you need anybackground or any preparation
for it.
I think you should just sign onand start doing it.
Lisa (28:47):
I like it.
just take action.
Margaret (28:49):
action.
I mean, because you'll get,you'll get a little bit of
instruction about, you know, thephilosophy of the, of world
groove and the, a little bit ofinstruction about what kinds of
dance steps you might be doingcould do, but it doesn't really
require a lot of study orpreparation or just, just a, a
(29:13):
love of movement and, you know,Music.
Lisa (29:18):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I mean, groove is allabout just presenting like a
couple steps.
Nothing, you know, nothing toocomplicated in terms of a
choreographed routine oranything.
Track 1 (29:29):
Exactly.
Lisa (29:30):
I had some other thought there that I've lost, but You
can, oh, the,
Margaret (29:34):
get a good workout if you want it.
Lisa (29:36):
mm-hmm.
Margaret (29:36):
want that's okay too.
Lisa (29:39):
Right, right.
Yeah.
That's another thing aboutGroove is yeah, you can adapt it
to whatever level you wanna do.
If you wanna put a lot of energyinto it, great.
If you don't, that's fine too.
Margaret (29:50):
Yeah.
Lisa (29:52):
I was just gonna, I think the other thing I was thinking
about is I, I've often thoughtabout maybe doing a session
where nobody is on screen, likeit's just a blank, you know, you
just block off.
But I would say that, you know,that is definitely always an
option.
Like if you're feelingself-conscious and you're,
(30:12):
you're.
Doing a Zoom class, you, you canturn the camera off.
Like there's no requirement toreally have it on.
I mean, it does help from afacilitator point to see what
people are doing, so you cankind of adjust your directions,
but it doesn't really matter.
Margaret (30:31):
Yeah.
I mean, I, I think that is agreat option.
I'm not that self-conscious, butI think for people who are,
yeah, that is an,
Lisa (30:37):
Mm-hmm.
Margaret (30:37):
definitely a benefit.
Lisa (30:39):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I like that.
Well, anything else you'd wannaadd about Groove or your
experience with it?
Margaret (30:49):
No, I don't think so.
I think we, we kind of coveredthe, the gamut.
I, I think it's, as I said, Ithink it's a good, it's a good
way to exercise, get a littleworkout.
And it doesn't require a lot ofmental.
Heavy lifting.
(31:09):
That's another aspect of it thatI like sometimes with running, I
enjoy, I, I don't necessarilyleave my day behind.
I'm kind of thinking about whatI have to do, you know?
Or I'm, I'm hashing oversomething that happened that day
or the other day.
(31:31):
But when you're dancing, that's,you don't really have room in
your head for.
Thinking about other things,you're just kind of thinking
about your moves and the musicand so I like that part of it.
It's a mental break as well as aphysical workout.
Lisa (31:49):
That's so true.
I'm glad you brought that up.
That's a good part of, yeah.
Doing groove.
Margaret (31:54):
Yeah.
Lisa (31:56):
Well, thank you Margaret, so much for sharing your story
and your experience Groove.
Margaret (32:01):
head out to my therapy session so I can talk about my.
Childhood
Lisa (32:06):
childhood.
I know
Margaret (32:07):
Jane's Dance Studio.
Lisa (32:09):
definitely.
I'm so
Margaret (32:12):
It's okay.
You know
Lisa (32:16):
I didn't know I was very self-involved.
to say in my own experience,
Margaret (32:20):
You're exalting in your own.
Yeah.
Being one the chosen people.
Oh, you're Lisa's sister.
I have a name.
I am the brown orange pipecleaner.
lisa_6_06-16-2023_140425 (32:32):
I wish I was exalting, but
unfortunately I wasn't a missedopportunity.
Oh, well,
Margaret (32:37):
You didn't, know.
Oh,
Lisa (32:40):
Oh, well thanks again, mark.
I really appreciate it.
And also just for your supportof me as a facilitator has meant
a lot to me.
I really appreciate it.
Margaret (32:51):
my pleasure.
All right, bye.
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