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As you often say to me, “You took the words right out of my mouth”!Sitting, standing or kneeling on plinths is a pet subject of mine too. One which until now I have not really discussed with anyone.I have done all of these today, the standing, the kneeling and the sitting on plinths. Not because of my age, although I do now belong to the older generation of conductors, but because of what you described as “health and safety” regulations. It was the only way to do my work so I could stay in one piece. The only way to do my work so the client felt safe too.The broader issue here however is giving consideration to the private space which is our client’s. Whether they are on a plinth or on a chair, standing or walking, they have a space around them which we need to respect. We must respect the fact that although we enter that space to help clients achieve their goals we must be careful not to encroach on their personal space unnecessarily.There is a very fine balance between keeping our own bodies healthy while giving the help needed for our clients to achieve their aims and at the same time keeping our distance. This is what we learn through experience.Yes, we had a rigid training at the Petö Institute. We were told not to sit on plinths. We were told lots of other things too which took us a long time to understand and interpret in our own individual ways.Years of experience allow us to become flexible. The experiences give us confidence in our movements and behaviour in the presence of our clients. Through experience and observation we learn when we can enter that personal space and when we can not, and we also learn how best to do it.If I need to sit on a plinth to do my work properly I will do it, respectfully keeping my distance.If I want to sit down because I am tired, or because I want to talk to my clients at the same level, the plinth isn’t the place for me. I can pull up a ladder back chair for these purposes, there are always plenty of them about.Thanks for this posting Laci, it gave me lots to think about at work this week and opened up some interesting discussions with my clients. I expect I will report on them at a later date on my own blog.Susie
22 June 2009