DEEP AEROBICS
On December 3rd Amy and I took the final DEEP (Death Electric Emo Protest) AEROBICS class with Miguel Gutierrez. It was one of the defining nights of my life. I have documented the experience in my notebook, which I then transcribed - comparing notes with a girl I met at the event - into a google doc, which stands as a definitive document of my experience of how DEEP AEROBICS worked.
Once you take a single class with Miguel, you become a certified master teacher, so both Amy and I have certificates, encouraging us to “Spread the BOUNCE”. Because of this we have begun to tentatively look at venues where we could teach a DEEP AEROBICS class, in the coming semester.
Creating the document was also an interesting meditation on structure and process. The act of creating something, for me, is not often done this way, working backwards to a final product, but at the same time you must be thinking forward: “does this section work after this other section?”. Because our memories are imprecise my record of DEEP AEROBICS is as well, and I must try to make sense of the pieces that I have.
I have no words for how I feel about Miguel Gutierrez.
Taking DEEP AEROBICS with him was the most powerful experience of my life.
Because of this Amy and I taught Vermont’s first ever DEEP AEROBICS class on May 5th, 2018, at the Plainfield Town Hall.
The first thing to mention is how hard it is. Not just the physical act of DEEP AEROBICS, which is fairly challenging, but also preparing for the event mentally, conceptually, and practically. It took a ton of time and organisation to be ready to do DEEP AEROBICS, finding the right costume pieces, prepping lighting, doing publicity, etc. Event organising is a skill that I have been refining a little bit more every year, especially as a person who often does solo or very small group events. I have to make sure I’ve thought about everything, and how it will all work, so that I don’t run into any unsolvable roadblocks, and have to majorly change my plans.
Leading DEEP AEROBICS is an entirely different type of challenge, one that is very much like making theater. If I had invented the form, I wouldn’t have to think about it the same way, but because I am practicing a form that someone else invented, and teaching it to other people, I need to understand it.
I have read nearly everything about DEEP AEROBICS that there is on the internet. I made the script that Amy and I followed while teaching the class. I have considered the intentions of the sections and what their purpose is (ranging from dispelling self consciousness by being silly, to expressing your deepest rage or frustration, to just having fun). To the participant this is not at the forefront of their mind, but realizing that I needed to discover the intention of DEEP AEROBICS was the key to teaching it effectively.
On December 3rd Amy and I took the final DEEP (Death Electric Emo Protest) AEROBICS class with Miguel Gutierrez. It was one of the defining nights of my life. I have documented the experience in my notebook, which I then transcribed - comparing notes with a girl I met at the event - into a google doc, which stands as a definitive document of my experience of how DEEP AEROBICS worked.
Once you take a single class with Miguel, you become a certified master teacher, so both Amy and I have certificates, encouraging us to “Spread the BOUNCE”. Because of this we have begun to tentatively look at venues where we could teach a DEEP AEROBICS class, in the coming semester.
Creating the document was also an interesting meditation on structure and process. The act of creating something, for me, is not often done this way, working backwards to a final product, but at the same time you must be thinking forward: “does this section work after this other section?”. Because our memories are imprecise my record of DEEP AEROBICS is as well, and I must try to make sense of the pieces that I have.
I have no words for how I feel about Miguel Gutierrez.
Taking DEEP AEROBICS with him was the most powerful experience of my life.
Because of this Amy and I taught Vermont’s first ever DEEP AEROBICS class on May 5th, 2018, at the Plainfield Town Hall.
The first thing to mention is how hard it is. Not just the physical act of DEEP AEROBICS, which is fairly challenging, but also preparing for the event mentally, conceptually, and practically. It took a ton of time and organisation to be ready to do DEEP AEROBICS, finding the right costume pieces, prepping lighting, doing publicity, etc. Event organising is a skill that I have been refining a little bit more every year, especially as a person who often does solo or very small group events. I have to make sure I’ve thought about everything, and how it will all work, so that I don’t run into any unsolvable roadblocks, and have to majorly change my plans.
Leading DEEP AEROBICS is an entirely different type of challenge, one that is very much like making theater. If I had invented the form, I wouldn’t have to think about it the same way, but because I am practicing a form that someone else invented, and teaching it to other people, I need to understand it.
I have read nearly everything about DEEP AEROBICS that there is on the internet. I made the script that Amy and I followed while teaching the class. I have considered the intentions of the sections and what their purpose is (ranging from dispelling self consciousness by being silly, to expressing your deepest rage or frustration, to just having fun). To the participant this is not at the forefront of their mind, but realizing that I needed to discover the intention of DEEP AEROBICS was the key to teaching it effectively.