When All is Lost, Sit.

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acceptance, allowing, becoming, beleif, Believing, Conscious Living, courage, courageous heart, Courageous Vulnerability, Creativity, Energy, faith, heart path, hope, humanity, inspiration, journey, lessons learned, love, meditation, sitting, Soul to Soul, spirit, spirituality, universal consciousness, universal heart, Vulnerable, well being

I believe I have about hit that wall where there is nothing much more to give, do or believe possible in this current reality. At several moments during this day I had to simply shut down in lieu of any other response. With nothing left, no answers to what to do next, I did the only thing I could think of; sit.

After all of the remembering to breathe. After all the forgiveness, the only thing left to do was to sit, close the eyes and let go. And so I did.

Even though I have been sitting in meditation for over 160 days, knowing it has been the only thing that has gotten me this far or kept me going; I still have not been able to embrace the kind of reality change necessary to find the freedom that my spirit desires and that my purpose matches.

I realize that if I am to really find what my heart and spirit is longing for and has been longing for, I have to find a new way of being and living in this world. It is time for a new way of participating in my life and to let go of the many habits and patterns that have not been serving me for some time. It is time for a dark night of the soul kind of change which will shift the understanding of myself and challenge the way others have perceived me for so very long. It’s time for a new life.

Do I know what this life is? No. Do I know how it is all going to happen? No. But what I do know is this current reality is not supportive of the peace my spirit craves and the love that my heart also craves to be in alignment with who I am. And in truth, who I have always been but have sacrificed for the past twenty years.

Do I regret the journey? No. Much has come from the path I have been on. And yet, at a very high price. Much has been accomplished. And yet, much has been lost. Much has been shared and many lives and bodies transformed. And yet, fighting to make that happen has been incongruent with who I really am.

And so I sit today to let go. I sit tomorrow to let go and listen. I sit the day after and beyond to quiet my mind, still the heart, forgive myself and wait for the whispers of the Universe to reach out and take hold of my hand. After all this time moving, sitting is really where the salvation is.

140 Days of Sitting

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acceptance, allowing, becoming, beleif, Believing, bliss, body, change, changes, compassion, Conscious Living, courage, courageous heart, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, Creativity, Dance, development, Energy, faith, health, heart, heart path, hope, humanity, inspiration, journey, learning, letting go, life, light, listening, love, Mindful Action, patience, peace, sharing, Soul to Soul, spirit, spirituality, Teaching, universal consciousness, universal heart, well being, Wonder

Today marks the 140th day of a meditation practice that I began as a 40 day challenge. To say that this time has been transformative would be completely denying the fullness of what sitting in peace has done for me. I am incredibly grateful for choosing to sit and practice my spiritual journey and do so with a commitment I have not had in decades.

Somewhere along the way of becoming I got lost in the going. Dreams, desires and societal and cultural expectations simply knocked me off balance. That of course is understandable when we succumb to the illusion of the busyness of being. We are sold that to be busy is to be successful. To be busy is to be validated. This is especially true in academia where I live to butter my bread.

Drifting through a sea of disillusionment it is easy to get lost when the goals are not congruent or in alignment with the true vibration of you. We think to know and yet what matters most is that we should feel to know and better yet, understand. And as the rocks tumble in this avalanche of despair we are seeing all around us, we see and feel how fear seems to be getting the best of us.

I made a conscious choice to heal while Covid ravaged our very existence. In a time of heightened fear, I chose freedom. In a time of chaos, I chose quietude. In a time of heartbreak, I chose healing. This is the key element in allowing ourselves the time and space to heal ourselves of the hurt, shame, trauma and fear that we have been collecting as well as spreading. For one can’t but help hurt others of in fact they are hurt themselves. Choosing to break the cycle of pain takes the courage to make the choice for change.

I realize not everyone believes in meditation nor is it part of many belief systems. Yet, what is part of all spiritual paths is the simple thread of the power of love that is woven through them all. For me, meditation has been a way to return to loving myself and therefore all those around me. Perhaps your path is different in the form of finding oneself, but regardless, sitting in meditation and opening the magnetic field of love that emanates from the heart is what allows for magic, wonderment and awe.

There have been many transformative, synchronistic and enchanted moments during these past 140 days. For this my heart is grateful. My body is also grateful. In addition, the energy I live in continues to make me giddy with ecstasy like I have not felt in years.

From where I sit now, all I can see is possibility. As I heal, I grow. As I grow, I become. As I become, I am able to welcome all that is in true alignment with the most beautiful vibration of me and the me that I can be. I accept and allow to do more good, no, more great in the world. I have it to give. And so I shall.

Sitting to Listen

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Believing, compassion, Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, faith, healing, heart knowledge, listening, listening to the body, listening to the heart, love, loving, Soul to Soul, spirit, well being, wellness

I have recently become aware of what my superpower is. In a Marvel Universe full of all the incredible beings saving everything in existence, I realize that in my marvelous reality I have none of the “powers” one would hope yet I possess the softest power of them all. After all of this time I am able to absorb, accept and be aware that my superpower is simply the ability to listen. 

I have been recognizing and becoming more aware of this quiet skill for some time now. It has taken a concerted effort to peel away the desire of our culture and society as a way of finally hearing the images, recognizing the omens and allowing for space to see my own truth. It has become clear to me that the notion of being a dancer, educator, choreographer, healer, singer and creative content provider are just simple reflections of what is actually within. 

Yes, I listen to what a dance needs when I am facilitating its creation so as to let it become what it needs and express what it needs to be. Yes, I hear with my eyes while looking at a sea of bodies in the studio while teaching so as to support the development and nurturing of bodies to become the vessel of the voices within. 

While healing, my hands become my ears as the body underneath them whispers what it needs and what is necessary to set free the energy to course correct and find harmony. The body’s ability to know what it needs and to be able to communicate this is crucial to its greatest health and well-being. 

I have been learning to sit in the company of others while emptying my mind of clutter and my heart of desire so that I might offer that space as a way of understanding and becoming keenly aware of what one’s heart needs. Similarly, I keep my heart open to hear who my dogs are and to allow them to share with me in their own ways what makes them safe, loved and appreciated. 

In my walking I have learned to hear what the earth has to say by letting her speak through my feet. With the mysteries of time she holds deeply within, each footfall unfolds it’s secrets and it’s heartache. Simultaneously, nature that surrounds me on these adventures also beckons to be heard so as to share its knowledge and magic as well. 

I have worked towards sitting in silence to open up my own heart so I can more deeply understand the darkness within and learn to untangle, unravel and “rewrite” a life lost in the quest to become an adult. Ironically I knew as a young boy I wanted to be an “idea guy”, someone who shared ideas and created things for companies. I didn’t have the words then or the awareness to realize at the time that I enjoyed listening and creating and doing so gave me so much joy. I instinctively knew my superpower but had no idea what that meant inside a world of noise full of the nonsense that strangles our hearts. 

So I have returned to being that child and to understand that what I knew deep within came from just being who I was and “naively” being true to what spoke to my heart and evoked joy. I strive to sit and listen in silence now so as to catch a whisper of the Divine as a way of recognizing the divine within. As I empty, I begin to glimpse the relationship of I AM. 

So what is your superpower? What is it that allows you to be the greatest you and an incredible contributor to a better life, a radiant love and a healer of this earth? Go ahead, I’m listening. 

A Little Space to Listen

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abundance, listening, listening to the body, listening to the heart, quiet, quiet heart, quiet mind, quieting the heart, quieting the mind, space, time and space

If I could share my secrets with you, I would do so. Yet these secrets I understand are not mine to tell. These whispers are there for all of us; every being that shares this earth. As a matter of fact, infinite wisdom is available to anyone and any being should they choose to quiet the mind in order to hear what the energies of the world have to say. 

What seems like magic to some is in fact truly science yet to be understood by a mind full of individual need. When there is no space in mind, there is no room for new. It’s awfully difficult to welcome change when there is no space for change to occur. 

This can often be seen in the training of the body as well. When we miss the opportunity to find space within our body, we miss the greatest chance we have to open up from within in order to truly understand how miraculous our elegant body can perform. Instead we force, manipulate and violently demand from our body what is not functionally supportive of a body in the act of healing and congruent with a body in the state of movement wellness.

The through line here is the need and craving for space, both physically and energetically, to be able to function from the voice of the heart and the breath of quietude. Both the body and the mind need space and time to quietly open us up to listen with the fullness of our being. 

Is it possible for you to press open time to slow the mind and to sit with yourself? Small moments strung together create larger moments and create greater energy. Slowly and deliberately our choices become actions that allow deeper connections and deeper listening. 

It is possible to listen even when living within the chaos. It is possible to listen even when we are within pain. It is possible to be at our lowest point and still make the decision to be, to still and to listen. These in fact difficult times are often the greatest gift we could ever be given. Perhaps we could see these moments as a map for the bridge of transformation spoken only in the ways we so stubbornly cling to in order to move us to a place where we finally let go and give ourselves over to those whispers of time. 

Welcome space and time into small moments of your life on a daily basis and the secrets you crave will be lovingly shared. This abundance is yours just as it is every living thing. 

A Return to the Realignment of the Creative Process

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Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Creativity, Dance, dance maker, dance makers, dance making, dancers, LGBTQIA+, queer, queer champion, queer creativity, Queer spirit, Soul to Soul, spirit

The journey of a creative spirit is unique to each individual who embraces their true nature and walks the path that is congruent with their hearts and their essence. Every person is creative and is a part of the overall creative energy that is life itself. To the degree we embrace the creative elements of our being is up to us and the choices we make to live our lives in line with our authentic selves. 

I knew from a young age I was creative but had no idea what that meant or that one could even live a life as a creative being. Growing up in a traditional and conservative home where creativity was not a part of our everyday lives, one never realizes that living in that way that is congruent is even possible. It is much like growing up in a home that is heteronormative and not seeing that there are people out there that think and feel the way you do. When the world is created for a particular group of people or an idealized ideology that excludes anything “different”, one never realizes that who they really are can be a beautiful way of being; truly being oneself. 

I went through a childhood of posing. I played all kinds of sports from baseball to basketball from football to wrestling and even gymnastics. I was not very good at any of them although I did have the most success in wrestling and gymnastics. The clear thing looking back on all of that was the throughline of movement. I was a mover and excellent when I was physically in my body and in a constant state of flow regardless of the quality or energy of that movement. 

I had always secretly wanted to sing and act while I was doing all of this posing. When I finally got to high school I met others who wanted similar things and realized there is a whole world out there who wanted similar things as me. I began exploring the idea of acting when taking theatre classes and getting involved in plays and eventually musicals. This was a shift towards that alignment with creativity and felt incredibly freeing. Was it possible to do something you really loved and it all be ok? 

And so began the journey of uncovering the creative spirit. I had the opportunity to be able to be in many different shows throughout the remainder of my high school experience and beyond. I followed the path of voice lessons, auditions and professional engagements. The career began to grow and the circles of opportunity kept expanding. Even so, there always seemed to be something missing that was not quite fulfilled. Until I realized how much dance was necessary for the next level of success. 

Once I had this realization I found myself drawn into the creative process of physical and energetic transformation. I was exposed to modern dance for the first time and felt like I was finally “home”. I was able to be in body and in spirit while I was exploring the fullness of my creative voice and simultaneously the fullness of my spirit. What was lacking in my spiritual practice was tied directly to my body moving in ways that revealed so much more about myself than I could have ever imagined. 

The introduction of Tai Chi as a physical manifestation of Taoism was a significant connection for me. So as I grew deeper within my dance training I also grew deeper in my spiritual practice. The evolution of me as a physical being was in line with my evolution as a spiritual being. I finally had a vehicle as a way to more fully understand my true creative nature and they wonderfully went hand and hand. 

And so the creative journey has always been the harmony of movement and spirit. All of my creative work is always deeply rooted in eastern esoteric traditions translated through contemporary creative explorations. Energy has alway been a part of my philosophy and is how I see choreography. For me, choreography is the art of shaping energy in space creating three dimensional visceral worlds as a way of exploring concepts and ideas of the heart. 

It is another reason that I rarely focus my work on gender or sexuality despite being a queer memeber of the LGBTQIA+ community. In my work I focus on the beings in the work and not so much those folks trying to portray something or someone. We work through the energy of the individuals within the landscape of the world and build from there. It has always been about being a dancer’s choreographer and helping the dancer feel comfortable in their own skin within the worlds they inhabit. 

I see the spectrum of yin and yang in all of my work. Not the western understanding of opposites or binary limitations, but rather the true nature of both yin and yang as a part of one another and that are within one another to even exist. It is always a reminder that we are all genders and all energies and elements. We are constantly finding our own harmony that is congruent with who we are and the energies of our body and our spirit. It is from this place, being in our own alignment, that we find the true nature of our voice and the ability to express its creative nature to its fullest. 

So even if I am not expressing my viewpoint as a queer body in motion, not being the perceived activist, I am artfully sharing a quiet viewpoint of a spectrum of love through a non-traditional approach to movement and creative expression.  Creativity is in and of itself activism at it’s best. The art of making and becoming, creating and expressing despite living in a world obsessed with money, success and fame is a revolutionary way of existing. 

Although I came out as gay when I was beginning my creative process, I feel as if I have not always come out or been honost with my creative career often hiding the ritualistic nature of my work or even the deep spiritual connection within my work. Yes, it has always been there, but I have not really allowed folks to fully see the depth of that information and how it is so significant in all of my teaching as well. Even in the EBAS work I have hidden a lot of the information away out of the fear of making folks uncomfortable with something foreign or unknown to them. And now it is time to let go of that and tell the story. 

It is time to tell the story of how I have come to this place in my life through a creative process alongside a spiritual journey. It is time to bring all three aspects of my being into harmony, not feeling the need to isolate the parts of myself for others’ comfortability. It is time for my comfortability and my peace finally after all of these years. Time to release the fullness of the creative spirit and embrace the multidimensional creative, energetic and sexual being that I am. Time to share that process and time to let go of the shame and fear of rejection or acceptance. I have fully accepted myself and now it is time to just be that in every way I am capable. After all, doing that is allowing myself to be present and visible for those that were never able to see it in their worlds before. It’s a way of being that champion so someone else can be the champion for themselves. 

Returning to (W)right

Tags

Believing, Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Soul to Soul, spirit, writer, Writing, writing as a practice

It was nice to take a breath yesterday and just focus on my presentation for the Corps de Ballet International conference yesterday. It was such a nice sharing and such a wonderful deepening of my practice through sharing.

However, I did miss spending the time letting my thoughts turn into visible words. Yes, I think writing is righting me and I am so grateful for that transformation and development of that skill for myself. I have for so long been afraid and ashamed of being dyslexic that I tried to hide rather than tried to overcome. Fear and shame do a number on us especially when we let them keep a grip on so many aspects of ourselves.

What became very clear in my sharing yesterday was that the information lives deeply within me. Through writing extensively about my research I found myself so aware of the details, the arcs and the flow of my work that I did it all without relying on my notes or the “script”. It was incredibly freeing and inspiring. When you write you learn and you know.

I presented again today and found myself in the same way. Breaking free and finding oneself sitting in the center of ones being is incredibly exhilarating. I was in practice both as a presenter but also as the practitioner. I could breathe with my students as well as direct my students. I could deepen with them and simultaneously guide them to work or go even deeper. It is such a joy to see transformation and joy being lived and experience in front of your eyes and in real time.

I think that is one of the beautiful things about the EBAS work is that it allows us the time and space we need for transformation. Imagine if we allowed time and space for ourselves in all aspects of our lives? Imagine if we listened to the language of our bodies and our gut instincts more to see how we might do so?

Several writings back I spoke of making a conscious choice to not do so much or feel a push to do creative projects during the pandemic but to rather take the time I needed to go inward for the research. It worked in ways that I am still seeing benefits in. We are writing long before we put pen to paper or type our actual first word. We need to honor that and honor the ways in which research looks very different for all of us.

The same is true of work. As a professor and an artist it may appear that I am not working because I do not hold a nine to five job, but oddly, I am really working whenever I am awake and wonderfully when my dreams are making all kinds of sense out of those profound connections during the waking hours.

This another reminder that we can’t all follow one particular value system. It just doesn’t work. Work looks different just like we all look different. Different work happens differently for different people. And it’s this realization that has helped me to relearn what my work looks like as I re(w)right my life and find great acceptance of the ways I work best and make my best work.

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 30

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Ballet, Believing, choreography, completion, Composition, Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Dance, faith, freedom, goals met, improvisation, love, modern dance, partnering, Soul to Soul, spirit, success

Well here we are, day thirty! I get to write my last entry into this thirty day challenge. I get to complete an arc and let go of this practice. For now. 

It has been delightful to write on a regular basis even if I fell short of the thirty consecutive days. I still feel very satisfied with the work and my progress on so many levels. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we still can succeed even if our attempts are not perfect. And that right there is a reminder of having humility in our work so that if we falter, we know we can still succeed. 

What I do find wonderfully fortuitous is that tomorrow I begin a wonderful sharing of my research in the Corps de Ballet International Conference. I am fortunate to be sharing my work on how I use the Five Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine as a framework for teaching EBAS, ballet and all other creative aspects of my pedagogy arsenal. 

This sharing will start off with a more conceptual approach to the physical practice so folks can conceptualize the overarching principles and begin to see how they relate to the actual physical practice of EBAS as a bridge for the traditional form of ballet. This reimagining of how we animate the body to inhabit the practice of ballet might be helpful for those who are looking for support with bringing in new people and interest into the form. It is especially supportive of being inclusive due to its individual body centered approach. 

It is my hope that I am able to encourage a shift from a linear cognitive aesthetic approach to the art and to open a more multidimensional visceral imagistic opportunity for senatorial learning. This shift allows the body to be honored for its wisdom allowing it to be the focus and guide to the archeology of technique. As we excavate, revealing the heart of our moving spirit, we are cautiously aware of all that will be uncovered and revealed through its process. 

Part of the many difficulties in the training of folks is that we forget that the body houses trauma and that there are blockages, incongruencies and conflicts hidden in the depths of our physical being. Conscious or not. And if we are trying to transform the body we cannot forget that we too have to transform our spirit. We cannot forget that movement is in fact the only way to fully release and heal from our trauma. 

This approach focusing on the Five Elements allows us that collaborative and holistic approach to integrating the body bringing it back to its true nature and in harmony or symphony with its energetic self. This is incredibly inspiring to me and I am most excited to share it with folks from all aspects of the field. 

Now mind you, in working in these ways we do not diminish the training protocol and the necessity for neuromuscular repatterning. I’m fact, this kind of work increases the speed at which you are able to train dancers as they become conscious of their bodies in ways that support greater senatorial and neural connections to their work and their practice. 

Imagine an environment that is training awareness of body, mind and spirit so as to also be training voice and agency in one’s own relationship to their practice? Imagine also diminishing pain and also injuries as dancers are more aware of how to execute movements and choreography more wisely and judiciously?

Wonderfully, this way of working helps dancers find deeper connections to the creative process of making work as well. The elements are a support system as they all correspond to one another as well as have yin and yang organ relationships in addition to governing emotion, seasons, qualities, dynamics and above all; energies. You can see having this kind of awareness allows folks to tap into creative connections within their bodies and within the framework of a piece that are trying to create. 

As you can see I am super excited to share all of this with the conference and to share with you all that it is precisely this connection that has made the pathway for writing my books come into clarity. Yes, there will be a series of books related to this topic that points to technique, improvisation, composition, choreography and partnering. 

It has been this challenge that has given me the space to listen to what was being shared with me all along. It is this opportunity of doing that has sparked the flame and shown me how to go about sharing all of this. Even in this writing I have been inspired to write the other things and have been making wonderfully joyful progress. 

Even if this is the end of this particular cycle, it is the beginning of another. I get to share the next one with you as well and am looking forward to dropping little sections of it so you can taste it with me. 

Thank you for walking with me through these thirty entries and days! Thank you for your energy and your compassion. Whether you knew you were sharing it or not, it has been felt and appreciated. Thank you for letting me share and being a part of this transformational journey! 

Love and Light

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 28

Tags

Ballet, Believing, choreography, Conscious Living, courage, Dance, Dance Appreciation, Dance Forms, dance makers, dance making, dancers, destiny, faith, improvisation, manifest, modern dance

I was reminded of a memory from four years ago when I was in Arezzo, Italy teaching a EBAS Level I teachers certification workshop. I used to love going there on a regular basis to teach dance and to spend about 6-8 weeks there at a time. It was such a gift to settle into such a lovely place surrounded by folks who wanted to be submerged in the arts and in Italian culture. 

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Academia del Arte’s summer arts program for about 6 years and then to continue a collaborative relationship with their program by returning to teach certification courses off and on for the next four years. It was such a delight and certainly a creative luxury. 

Now that we are on this side of the pandemic and there are openings happening, it’s time to open the heart for the next European opportunity. I am not quite sure where that will be or even how it will come about, but I am putting it out there that I am ready to collaborate in ways that combine dance and being in beautiful places with engaged and passionate people. 

And now it is out there. Time to give space to it so it travels to where it needs to land. It has worked many times before and with an open heart, it will connect again. 

Oddly this is how all of my study abroad relationships began. Having conversations with the universe opened conversations with people. First was the lighting and dance program in Costa Rica that created so many wonderful opportunities and was the seed for creating my project based company, Amaranth. The unfolding and work that evolved from that has been mind blowing. 

The second opportunity was the Arezzo one where I was searching for places to host a new study abroad program in Rome. I sent an email to request information about spaces and would you know I ended up on the summer arts faculty at the Academia. As I mentioned before that unfolded into a ten year relationship that was simply magical. 

Most recently, after the shift and changes of Italy I was sitting at a recruitment table for VCU when I was approached by Michael Foley to see if I would be interested in working with him and USF to build the semester study abroad program. He was taking his brilliant summer program and blowing it up to create the larger semester program. It was brilliant and began a lovely collaborative relationship that is still unfolding. I am so grateful to him and all of our students who get to have this incredible experience. 

Another delightful experience has been a six year relationship with Perth, Australia where I have had the incredible opportunity to build a relationship with that community in ways I never imagined possible. Teaching Master Class workshops, EBAS teachers certifications and setting work on three colleges and companies has been delightful. It will be nice to return in 2022 for certifications and hopefully a creative opportunity as well. It would be glorious to open a relationship with folks in Sydney to share the work there as well. 

And so now, I open my heart to the next opportunity to share EBAS, Fundamental Conscious Movement and many creative projects wherever there is the space and willingness. I release this into the universe to connect and engage folks that are hungry to connect through these unique ways of holistically training the body and creatively engaging one’s voice. It will be a delight to see where these energies take me. 

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 18

Tags

Ballet, Believing, change, Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Dance, modern dance, Soul to Soul, spirit, teaching dance, training, transformation

I missed two days of postings this weekend but oddly the work I have been doing over the last two days has been incredibly insightful and supportive of the work I will be presenting at the Corps de Ballet International Conference July 6-9. It has been a flurry of connections and linking of many aspects of my research. Super excited about sharing the work and welcoming folks into the history of the form in addition to the theories that inhabit the Elemental Body Alignment System. 

I have shared this work with my students of course and have shared the form but I have often only shared the pedagogy perspective with students of the teacher training courses I host. Even there I have not shared a lot of the foundational work as there has not been enough time during our course to really get into that or from a feeling that it might be too controversial or  too esoteric for folks simply wanting to embed the form into their training schools. I have not presented this material in a conference setting nor have found the right voice or theme to connect to. I am excited that this conference offers this opportunity and am very grateful to be invited to do so. 

It has been an awfully long time trying to figure out how to share this information without it feeling like I am condemning the way ballet or technique has been taught. The work does ask us to reexamine how we present our material and what our values are behind our training practices. This in and of itself is a challenge especially in a form that historically focuses on the end aesthetic results and values a limited range of what constitutes success. 

There have been folks in the field who have been practicing and teaching in a certain way for so long that to challenge that in any way might seem an affront or conflict for them. I often see this reflected in students who are reluctant to explore and experiment with different ways of doing material they have learned a certain way. Even if they are in pain or are uncomfortable with what it is they are doing. Ironically students don’t even know the how of what they are doing rather they just try and match a picture of what has been presented. Students mostly learn through imitation rather than sensation. 

You can see that shifting the way in which they have participated in class or have been evaluated and praised is difficult for students. Even if they are interested in getting better at what it is they love to do, when they are challenged with change, they find it difficult. However, as soon as they “feel” movement from a different perspective which offers them more freedom of movement and range of motion and gives them the legs, feet, turns and jumps they want; the student begins to open up and explore how much more is possible for them. They are now empowered through this new vehicle and begin a new relationship with the form as well as with themselves as creative beings. 

I am really excited to share this with folks who are the teachers of students from across so many demographics and am hoping this will be a bridge builder opportunity for more sharing and creative relationships. It is exciting to see the new ways that will be available for folks to access and dive into the information in new ways. The connections and layering of both eastern and western sciences and theories is clearer than ever and will hopefully make it easier for people to understand the how of EBAS and the fundamental concepts and principles of ballet. 

Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 10

Tags

Ballet, Believing, choreography, conscious body, Conscious Living, conscious movement, contemporary ballet, contemporary dance, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Dance, EBAS, inclusion, love, Movement, movement meditation, movement wellness, Soul to Soul, spirit

6/11/21

I am looking forward to presenting at the annual Corps de Ballet conference coming up at the beginning of July. I was invited to share my research with them through the lens of the Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS) connecting the work with their theme; Suspended in Grand Renversé: Embracing the “Big Upset” and Ballet’s Relationship to Liberatory Practices. 

I am excited about this particular sharing as I will be making the connection with The Five Element System of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and EBAS to the ballet form and how this time of return might be the right time for rewiring our practice and welcoming more folks into the form through a sensorial approach to the form rather than the traditional aesthetic approach which has isolated so many from the fold. 

In this sharing I will be turning our focus to the sensations and imagery the elements offer as a new window into the experiential discovery from the inside out, rather than the outside in. Since the five elements of: winter, spring, summer, late summer and fall correspond to yin and yang organs, emotions and energies; this shift will allow access to an internalized visioning as well as emotional connection and qualitative correlation to qualitative dynamics. 

By referencing the actions and movements in EBAS like the Spinal Awakening Series, we will be able to see how the kidneys are connected to the contraction as the first articulation and movement in awakening our practice in EBAS. Winter is the first element of the wheel just as the contraction is the first articulation of EBAS. Wonderfully, the plié is the first exercise in the ballet form as well. Looking at how the kidneys rise and fall or rather descend and ascend in the “waters” of the form, helps us to feel or sense the buoyancy of the floating vertical pelvic bowl and the animating of our backspace through the kidneys. 

This is just an example of the kind of information we will be swimming in as we explore how layering and weaving all these concepts through the somatic lens and the experiential body practice opens the floor to all bodies who wish to explore the movements of ballet through their own perspective and potential. The practice becomes one of internal connection rather than external manufacturing and manipulation. Imagine the freedom of sensing and then reflecting then ultimately radiating that imagery and energy through movement and spirit?