{"id":509,"date":"2024-10-02T20:09:18","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T20:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/?p=509"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T10:09:19","slug":"dancing-at-your-desk-mark-morris-dance-group-and-breakthru-create-dance-breaks-for-your-workday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/02\/dancing-at-your-desk-mark-morris-dance-group-and-breakthru-create-dance-breaks-for-your-workday\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancing at your desk: Mark Morris Dance Group and Breakthru create dance breaks for your workday"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve heard it before: most people don\u2019t move their bodies enough these days. Office workdays are long, and the television calls once they\u2019re done. (We all need to decompress, right?) Could the concert dance industry be part of making positive change there? Through initiatives like the partnership between Breakthru<\/a> and Mark Morris Dance Group<\/a> (MMDG), that\u2019s already happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breakthru creates two-minute movement breaks that anyone can do at their desk, at any point in their day. Their collection now includes multiple interactive breaks that lead participants in movement inspired by Mark Morris\u2019 vocabulary, anywhere they access the internet (with more breaks likely on the way). Dance Informa speaks with Mark Morris and Breakthru Founder Melissa Painter to learn more about the partnership, what it\u2019s already catalyzed, and where it all goes from here. Let\u2019s move!\u00a0<\/p>\n

A partnership comes to fruition<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why did Painter create Breakthru? \u201cThere\u2019s a slow-motion disaster happening all around us\u2026 our sedentary behavior is linked with every chronic condition out there. And technologists are creating things that make us more like robots and less human,\u201d she affirms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\"Breakthru's<\/a>
Breakthru\u2019s Joyful Freesia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Yes, there\u2019s been some resistance from the kind of people who \u201cthink that their bodies are for walking their brains around.\u201d She responds to it by noting how \u201ceveryone has had a good idea when taking a walk,\u201d for one. For two, she calls people to observe their breath while checking emails. For most, it\u2019s short and shallow \u2013 which established science tells us is not conducive to whole-person health (something Morris also emphasizes). Clearly, embodiment at work matters\u2026and is sadly in short supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breakthru seeks to meet that need: through bite-sized, science-backed movement breaks \u2013 those that people all over the world are now experiencing through Slack, Google Chrome and Microsoft Teams. Painter has also been a lover of Mark Morris\u2019 work since she first experienced it, when she was only a child. Yet, that personal passion and her professional mission only intersected when Breakthru\u2019s data showed that individuals working for MMDG were using the program. In an amazing synchronicity, just as people with Breakthru reached out to MMDC, the same happened vice-versa. The enthusiasm to partner was mutual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Morris notes that when COVID lockdowns hit, he certainly wasn\u2019t the first lining up to create dance films; \u201cI\u2019m a theater artist.\u201d The two dimensions of virtual meetings felt all too flat. Zoom rehearsals and classes could be plain \u201cdeflating.\u201d Yet, if the company wanted to keep its work and impact alive, it had no choice but to translate it to virtual media.<\/p>\n

The company pivoted to offer its Dance for Parkinson\u2019s Disease program virtually. People all over the globe participated, demonstrating what the scale of such an offering could be. The ground was fertile for something like the partnership with Breakthru, long after lockdowns lifted and we could move together in space once again. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing what Breakthru is after for a long time\u2026just in different media,\u201d Morris says with a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Painter agrees; as far as she sees it, the two companies have an aligned ethos of movement for all <\/em>\u2013 not<\/em> just the most thin, young, athletic and well-resourced among us<\/a>. \u201cAt Breakthru, we want to convey that there\u2019s no one <\/em>\u2018right\u2019 way to look while moving. Mark conveys that in his work,\u201d she says, with a smile of her own. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t about wanting to work with any dance company\u2026we specifically wanted to work with Mark\u2019s company, because of their philosophy of movement and spirit of accessibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dancing at desks<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

All of that is evident in the final microbreaks that they\u2019ve created. Motion capture technology recorded the dancers moving through adapted forms of Morris\u2019 choreography. As in all of Breakthru\u2019s breaks, the person is anonymous, only their physical outline legible \u2013 in the spirit of there being as many \u201cright\u201d ways to move as there are people moving. Morris, for his part, affirms that \u201cthat\u2019s just the way we work. I trust the dancers to extract and distill my movement\u201d in ways that resonate with their strengths and feel right in their body.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Mark<\/a>
Mark Morris. Photo by Beowulf Sheehan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Additionally, as with all Breakthru breaks, \u201cusers choose the break based on how they want to feel at the end,\u201d Painter explains. The Grand Duo<\/em> breaks is a \u201cCentered Microbreak,\u201d L\u2019Allegro<\/em> a \u201cConfident Microbreak,\u201d and The Look of Love <\/em>a \u201cJoyful Microbreak.\u201d Part of that aim toward a particular mood is a specific color palette \u2013 also part of each Breakthru break. With the Look of Love<\/em><\/a> <\/em>breaks, for example, Breakthru graphic artists converted the warm colors of the costumes for the work (by Isaac Mizrahi) into the break\u2019s design.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are many lush flowers that shine in those colors. The soundscape is filled with bird calls, strong winds, and flowing water. That\u2019s all quite intentional, too. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to give people a connection to nature during their workday,\u201d Painter says \u2013 which, she argues, is another thing sorely lacking in modern professionals\u2019 lives, to detrimental effects on whole-person health. Morris and Painter underscore how concert dance and dance pedagogy reflect such connection to nature: through imagery, kinetic qualities and more.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why it matters\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Morris couldn\u2019t be clearer about why what Breakthru is doing matters. \u201cWe\u2019re on our phone all day long, and it\u2019s physically dangerous, the way we curve over for hours\u2026not to mention the isolation and loneliness.<\/a>\u201d Yes, movement and embodiment matter. Above and beyond that, can dance-inspired movement offer something which push-ups and sit-ups can\u2019t?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our research, we spoke with thousands of movement experts. They were clear that the lack of creative, generative movement in people\u2019s lives is extreme,\u201d Painter notes. \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere near enough folk dancing, social dancing, dancing in community\u2026and free play!\u201d<\/p>\n

No, people moving along with these breaks aren\u2019t necessarily going to get the \u201ctechnique\u201d right, she affirms. Yet, what they are <\/em>doing is creating something \u2014 their own version of the movement, according to their <\/em>body\u2019s capacities and needs. That is a form of play in and of itself, Painter believes. The testimonials from worldwide users validate that; \u201cthey\u2019re saying things like \u2018I feel like I\u2019m on the playground again!,’\u201d Painter adds. We may think that, as adults, we don\u2019t need that in our lives \u2013 yet our daily experience can be much <\/em>richer for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\"Melissa<\/a>
Melissa Painter of Breakthru. Photo courtesy of Painter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAfter such incredible reception from the first set of breaks, we hope to deepen this collaboration,\u201d Painter shares. As part of her \u201cmassive dreams and visions\u201d for the company, she shares, she\u2019d love to explore longer classes and group formats \u2013 perhaps something that MMDG could be part of. \u201cWe\u2019d also love to stretch into serving more generations, all ages of people\u2026which reflects what Mark has done with his company.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Painter maintains that the hunger for what they offer is <\/em>out there. \u201cPeople have an innate desire to express themselves through movement and to connect with other people. We see it across the globe, throughout time, and through human development,\u201d she believes. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge reason why all of these social media platforms, for all of their harms, went viral in the first place\u2026people shared dance<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Morris highlights the place of creativity without judgment, without unnecessary expectations. \u201cWe can let go of the idea that it\u2019s \u2018serious\u2019 or \u2018frivolous\u2019, \u2018hard\u2019 or \u2018easy\u2019\u2026.that doesn\u2019t have to matter.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information, visit breakthru.me<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathryn Boland of Dance Informa.<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Dancing at your desk: Mark Morris Dance Group and Breakthru create dance breaks for your workday<\/a> appeared first on Dance Informa Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve heard it before: most people don\u2019t move their bodies enough these days. Office workdays are long, and the television calls once they\u2019re done. (We all need to decompress, right?) Could the concert dance industry be part of making positive change there? Through initiatives like the partnership between Breakthru and Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":521,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions\/521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}