Practice Makes Geisha

The very word geisha means artist;

and to be a geisha is to be judged

as a moving work of art.

~Mameha in Memoirs of a Geisha

The very first day I began practicing the art of movement, I repeated this refrain in my head several times. It was important to have a clear intention in mind, so my body would cooperate. Although I would not say walking artfully was easy that day, I did experience some success. The days immediately after, I practiced poised movements and the poised pause.

Until I forgot.

I remember learning to play the flute many years ago. I learned the fingering and embouchure required for each note and practiced them several times. Sometimes hours a day. Weaving the individual notes into basic songs required still more practice. When I played a sour note, I made the correction, practiced the note in isolation, and replayed the phrase again.

In very short order, I went from never having held a flute, to playing first chair alongside flautists with several years more experience. Although it was only a few months, it was not overnight, nor was it effortless.

To be a master craftswoman in any area requires practice, patience, and persistence.

Becoming a geisha is no different than mastering the art of the flute. I grew up a tomboy who gradually shifted into more feminine ways of being. Feminine, but hurried. Comfortable in my own body, perhaps even graceful (except when I’m clumsy), but not a moving work of art.

Up until now, my movement has always been purposeful. My purpose? To get somewhere; not to get there beautifully. My stride ensured arrival; not artful arrival. And so I have to practice. I have to be patient with myself and allow myself time to form a new way of being in the world. I must be persistent if I am truly going to transform from a mortal woman into a geisha.

And so tomorrow, I practice.