Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 6

I choose to make it my responsibility to walk in light this day.

I desire to see beauty everywhere I look and in everyone I see.

I expect to immerse myself in joy and bask in the revery of happiness.

I will be grateful for the simplicity of peace and the quiet existence of love.

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 5

Thoughts on Teaching

Teaching is a collection of insights and research women together through the lens of experiential learning. It is from this platform that I design and share my perspective of the dance field through the “sensationlization” of technique, craft and pedagogy; Learning through the conscious connection of sensation rather than imitation rote learning.

Currently I am teaching by asking questions of myself and of my students about their bodies and their understanding of the physical sensations and conscious connections they are having in fulfilling moments and technical challenges. Some of the questions I am asking of myself are: What is what we have been taught is not the complete picture of how it all is supposed to happen? What if the physicality we currently understand is not in fact functional or supportive of exponential growth and development? What if there is so much more than we physically understand in how we access energy and space within our bodies? In asking these questions I am encouraging the students to begin an internal exploration of the individual physicality in order to map technical functionality and efficiency. In doing so the learner is able to take responsibility of their physical tool, training and education by empowering an engagement that is necessary for elite professional training in our field.

Asking questions and allowing time for reflection within the process of teaching technique is highly effective in seeing each other as individuals and accepting each and every students as unique individuals with their specific needs and perspectives being addressed and cared for. In terms of diversity within the classroom, seeing my students for who they are and welcoming their voice within the process helps to support and foster an environment of inclusion and empowerment. I am tremendously proud of the way in which my students are able to go within to honestly see themselves and their colleagues for who they are not what the expectation is that is outside of themselves or their experience.

This is the very core of how I approach teaching choreography. We need to embrace the creative process through deeper research into compositional and choreographic tools while physically discovering and developing unique and individual voices and movement languages that support individual ideas and stories by conjuring kinetic poetry and kinetic story telling. By understanding our physicality in technique in addition to our conscious connection to our feeling state and conceptual state we will discover deeper meaning through metaphor enhancing and enriching our choreographic vision and voice. This also supports the act of listening to the students voice and help them shape what THEY have to say in the most supportive way possible.

Another element in which I am folding into my work is for myself to be more sensitive to the students learning style and perspective. Being a student of dance who has come from a very singular approach to learning, I often find my teaching language and presentation does not represent a larger perspective unfamiliar with the more internal to external approaches layered with anatomy, energetic healing arts and eastern philosophies. I am finding myself search for new ways of expressing concepts and ideas in a myriad of ways in order to reach all students ways of learning The reflection process helps me to see and hear them in ways that traditional methods limit. I have found wonderful success this year in doing so and look forward to refining the ways in which I can utilize these skills.

Thirty Days of Thought: Day 4

Returning

I have found myself returning to Paris once again. Each time I do I am reminded how easy it is to get from here to there in such little time. In one moment I am at VCU and the next, I find myself walking through the Place des Vosges on my way to my flat. So easy and surreal being in the present moment of your life and then taken back in time to another aspect of your life. I am grateful to be able to have the support and freedom to live this amazing life.

This morning as I regained my sensibilities after travel, I find myself becoming very clear about the concert this coming fall in Denver. I have come to a place in my life where I am returning to places, people and times that have given me great joy as well as great pain. In doing so I am committing to reclaiming what I have lost as well as mending what my heart needs to. I am returning to heal, grieve and let go so as to let down the wall of regret and pain.

In a duet I am creating for myself and Nathan I will address a time in my life where I was not capable of letting open my heart due to the fear of losing it. Returning to apologize to myself and to him in order to let go of hurt and regret. For myself and for him. It will be a journey of vulnerable reconciliation.

I left that time in my life to return to school in order to run away from that loss as well as to find myself and fall back in love with dance. This decision led me to a place of rediscovery and rejuvenation that was most unexpected. It led me to a place of epiphany and utter ecstasy. It led me to a realization that I do in fact love this thing that has chosen me, dance.

I found myself amongst some amazing people and wonderful work. I landed on my feet in the most strangest of ways and found myself in the midst of people whom I admire and respect to this very day. One of those people is a partner I encountered during the re-staging of William Forsythe’s Artifact II. What we discovered in ourselves and with one another was life changing and inspiring to say the least. One of the most joyful times I have ever known in dance. I still feel the joy coursing through my veins as I recall the kinetic memories of that work. It is deep within me.

And so I have chosen to return to her to cultivate and share what it means to reunite with a human being who was a part of one of the most informative and influential moments and works of my life. What is it like to return to someone with whom you have incredible respect and admiration for who walked a path of joy and ecstasy with you? What does it mean to reenter a world in which memory minds the heart? And this is what the premise is of our duet, returning to the joy of the heart and the ecstasy of spirit share between two people.

And so I return; to myself, the people I love and the experiences we shared. I return because I wish to honor, to mend to heal and to express gratitude for all that those experiences have given me. To honor all those moments have helped to sculpt and create in all of the work and teaching I do. We are but the mere experiences of our lives and I am grateful for each and everyone. No matter the cost.

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 3

Finding the Space to Breathe

In my quest to conquer this challenge I see that the schedule I keep has created a break in my momentum. I began my challenge and was so proud to be on my way, and then my life happened. It seems to be the theme for me this past year. Begin and begin and begin again.

And so I begin again. This time facing the challenge head on and continuing to put my focus forward into the wind just as a plane does to find the lift to take off. As I find myself traveling yet again, slicing the clouds to fulfill my grateful obligations, I begin again.

I am not apologizing for not having a moment to breathe, sit and write, rather I am taking ownership of my place and my life choices and acknowledging that I have to do better. I have to make better choices with my schedule and with how much work I am doing and use the power within me to simply say NO to doing so much.

I have often felt as if I have been doing wonderfully fulfilling work on many levels, but at the same time not doing the deep heartfelt work that my spirit desires. Doing for the sake of doing in order to build a CV or the appearance of success is no longer an option for me. I choose beautifully light filled work saturated with passion and love. I choose to honor the creative process for myself as well as for those around me. Especially my students.

I feel as if I have not been able to have the space and time to give to them what it is they need and what it is they need of me. I possess a special gift and skill set that is unique to me which allows for students to make incredible, mature and artful transformations. I see it all the time, but with a little more space to breathe with them, I wonder what might be even more possible?

So on this day three of my challenge, I challenge us all to rise up to face each of our own wind, create space within our hearts and within our bodies to allow ourselves the opportunity to push into and lean into the wind of our hearts desire and take flight. There is no stopping any one of us to fulfill our spirits need to become, create and live a life of magic. Go ahead, lean into the wind with me!

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 2

The wonderful thing about movement is that it carries with it the breath and spirit of humanity. It is honest and elegant while at the same time incredibly vulnerable and ferocious. A body in motion is a healthy body. It is necessary for our physical temples to be in motion at all times so as to support the ever changing shifts and developments of the inner workings of our growth, restoration and repair. It is only through movement that the healing process is possible.

No matter what the movement is; style, technique, form, practice training, it is always allowing the brain a moment to quiet and the central nervous system space to let go of the conversation one has with oneself that is driven by doubt, ego and fear. Movement quiets the mind we know and allows the soul to take over bringing clarity and comfort through silence. Movement is necessary to create the stillness within.

When you are training, let go of comment and judgement. Learn to simply feel what something is rather than manufacture or force a shape or form. Imagery is best received when it blossoms out of sensation and the authenticity of conceptual physical realization. It is this place of purity that the audience experiences the humanity of the work. This is where the magic of movement speaks the secrets of the universe.

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 1

When the Warrior Chooses a Weapon

When you take up the challenge of becoming a warrior, one of the decisions to eventually come to in your training is which weapon is going to be your vehicle of transformation. It is a necessary choice in the process of becoming as one must specialize in its arts and in its magic. A weapon is a partner, a friend and a wand. It represents the voice in which you speak with and the power in which you yield. It is a decision of utter importance as it will become you.

The first choice is light. To yield this weapon one must be able to become, channel and radiate light so as to reveal it in the darkest of places leading the way for oneself and others to see.

The second is water. To yield this weapon one must be able to become, direct and flow water so as to be the likeness of fluidity and change reminding oneself and others that everything is a ever flowing event with no ends and no beginnings.

The third is earth. To yield this weapon one must be able to become, anchor and equalize so as to be the likeness of stability reminding oneself and others that one must always have a foundation grounding ones convictions for the well being of their spirit.

The fourth is sound. To yield this weapon one must be able to become, vibrate and ripple so as to engage the world in waves of joy and ecstasy reminding oneself and others that there is always time and space for love and laughter.

When you consider that these are the weapons with which to go to battle over all that causes suffering, you realize that life has so much more potential and enjoyment than one ever thought possible. And if choosing a single weapon is not enough, choose them all. Just be aware that the burden in battle weighs more but the ferocity of your power exponentially increases.

Choose well on this journey and you will become the warrior that lives within.