This Is What I Do.

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art, Ballet, contemporary ballet, contemporary dance, Dance, dancing, humanity, inspiration, lessons learned, space, truth, work

In my movement meditations I often return to the grateful mind space and acknowledge that I am so very fortunate to be here in this space and at this time. There have been countless times when life should have been taken from me save some miraculous cradling of the universe itself. Too many unexplainable events which should have erased me from this moment. And in those brief seconds of recollection, I am reminded to once again be grateful.

And so it is with this sensibility that I find myself in connection and concert with others bodies and their hearts. I have not chosen the path of the empath, but I certainly have learned how to embrace it as best I can. And still, I have much learning on how to be even better with these skills I have been given. With such skill comes a responsibility that known really knows how to prepare for.

I do what I do not for the same reasons others do this profession. Dance is not my life nor is the teaching of dance my life. Yes, I do make dances and I do shape dancers, but there is something far more profound that I take part in that often gets lost in the overall ego consuming work of this field. That work is the transformation of body and spirit through the bridge building of conscious sensation. One can never go back once one understands the power of synesthesia.

This moment of connected consciousness and the empowerment that happens for those individuals that understand the undeniable energy available to them is unquestionably the moment I live for. The moment of physical embodiment and enlightenment of the pure power of potential one possesses. It is this moment that transforms the spirit as it unravels the many untruths it has learned through fear and shame.

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Take the Moment to Remember. Take this Moment to Love.

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art, Ballet, changes, contemporary ballet, contemporary dance, faith, humanity, inspiration, lessons learned, life, me, modern dance, observations, truth

I picked up my phone last night to find a text from a very dear student of mine whom I have a very special place in my heart. He has become a truly amazing individual both as a human being as well as an artist thriving in the world. When I read his text I had to catch my breath for a moment and remember to be forever grateful for this incredible life I have been gifted.

Perhaps I was especially moved due to attending graduation this weekend as well. I looked at the faces of some of the most talented individuals one could know and marveled at their strength and their courage to set out in the world to follow their bliss. There they are at the precipice of forever and boldly moving forward to say “yes, I can do this!”. And boy, can they.

I am so proud of the students who go through our program. I am so lucky to be a part of their journey as well as to do so with the colleagues that I have. We work as a team to encourage and foster their skills and abilities as no one person can do such thing alone. Another remarkable opportunity to engage with colleagues that continue to teach me as well.

When I look through my feed on Facebook and see the tremendous achievements our students have I am astounded by the incredible changes they are making in the world and how much light and love they are bringing through the paths they have decided to take. Their success is not always in dance but in the work they choose to do that they come to through dance. Some of the successes are profound and are having an an amazing ripple effect in this world. There they are standing in the face of these turbulent times and they are solid, steadfast and brilliantly shining a light in the dark. I so marvel at their bravery and their hearts. Yes, all of their hearts.

This always reminds me that regardless of what somebody ends up doing or decides to do, the following of their hearts is the only success that truly matters. And I honestly believe that a degree in dance helps you to realize your bliss because not only does it train you to be able to do incredible things with your body, it fosters resiliency of the heart in addition to having the super power of creatively seeing the world to solve its problems. Yes, these dancing students are not civilians, they are super hero’s making their way in the world and a better place for all of us in it.

So when a text comes to saying they are thinking of me and that they love me, I am reminded to keep on loving. Even in the times when I am exhausted from fighting to share what it is I know or wondering if the information I have is relevant, I need to tell myself to hush up. Those issues are my insecurities. The love of what I do is worth the fight. The love learned through the art form is worth the fight. And yes, I am continually evolving so the work is more relevant than ever. So hush up. Look at all these brilliant students standing in the light and waving the sword of brilliance. If they can do it, the least you can do is reflect them and honor them and do it to. Be as good as you can so that perhaps they might be as proud of you as you are them.

Lifting Lines/Morphing Visions: Autumn 5

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acceptance, allowing, art, artist, Ballet, becoming, choreographer, choreography, contemporary dance, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, creative process, Creativity, Dance, modern dance, natural, natural beauty, nature, organic, process, wabi sabi

Of all the work I have created, nothing can compare to the majesty of natures creations. What comes from the flow of energetic creative cultivation can not come close to the magnificence of the natural and loving world. There is a timeless and universal beauty that is without comparison to what can be made of the human body.

Let us also not get caught in the confines of our ego as we participate in the creative process. Let us share in the joy of this kind of blissful flow without finding ourselves attaching our ego to the birth of that which we shape. We should not hold this ephemeral beauty hostage. Work needs to be set free just like the human spirit.

In the moment of unconditional sharing, this is the time when our work and its unique vibration of being is the closest it can get to the beauty within nature. This is the moment when the works speaks directly the the human heart which is the direct line to the nature of humanity and its link to the organic compounds of the universe itself.

Lifting Lines/Morphing Visions: Autumn 4

Tags

art, artist, Ballet, contemporary dance, creating, creative procss, creative spirit, Dance, life, meaning, Modern, Movement

As rare occurrence has shaped my life, I shape the movement of the dance space

As a physical language expresses the road I have traveled, I express the spectrum of emotion from my heart

As poetic imagery pools in the kinetic landscapes of my work, I remember my journey through metaphor

And So It Begins

Tags

art, athens, Ballet, Believing, bliss, body, body knowledge, conscious body, Conscious Living, contemporary ballet, Creative Flow, creative process, Creativity, Dance, development, dreams, EBAS, Energy, faith, modern dance, Paris, research, travel, VCU Dance

As I finish up my last day here in RIC for a while, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities that are opening up before me. Thankful for the freedom to move about the world and share my work and passions with people from all over the globe. I marvel at what dance has done for my life and for how it has carried me to places that I could have never dreamed of as a young man.

As a matter of fact, I had no clue I was a dancer. No clue that I would end up where I am creating three dimensional visceral landscapes, teaching how to create internal space and design external realities or bringing consciousness to the energetic pathways of our technique. I often wonder how I turned down this road.

Yet, I am on this journey. Happily and gratefully on this journey.

This trip to Athens is to present my perspective on teaching by sharing my  research, Training a Conscious Body: Redefining Pedagogy Practices in Contemporary Dance Technique for Increased Architectural Support and Physical Integrity. I am excited to share these examinations and talk about learning through sensation rather than imitation and the reexamining of time within the classroom.

The travel that follows will be to teach and to collaborate on the Paris Semester Abroad program for our students at VCU to take part in Spring 2016. I am excited to meet up with Michael Foley as well as Colleen Thomas-Young to share and organize all of this goodness. What amazing people to walk that journey with. Very grateful to Michael for his brilliance.

In addition, I will be meeting up with my dear friends Keith Bell and Josh Sessions to have a writing retreat. Both myself and Keith are working on books and we are going to spend our time writing in the cafes for even greater inspiration. A little fantasy come true I guess.

And one of the most synchronistic events will be having breakfast with Linda Kohanov. I have long admired her research and work with horses and had the luxury of participating in one of her leadership workshops this spring. She is an inspiration to me and I am tickled to be able to meet with her and hear her stories of the wonderful sharing she is doing with her work and the release of her book Power of the Herd in French.

I am truly grateful!!

And so, this begins the journey.

Sacred Science

Tags

allowing, Balance, Ballet, becoming, beleif, Believing, body, body knowledge, choreographer, choreography, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, Creative Flow, Dance, Energy, faith

Accomplishing impossible

Discovery of fields

One responds to light at the center

Elegant orientation

Corresponding all orientations

One suggests singularities of calculation

Enhanced causation

Mapping patters of pathways

One experiences the intention and origin of all movement

Thoughts in the Morning

Tags

allowing, artist, Balance, Ballet, becoming, beleif, Believing, bliss, body knowledge, change, choreography, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, EBAS, Energy, faith, Grateful

In my meditations this morning I was reminded of an image I share when I am teaching dance. I was also reminded that this thought process is very present in all of my work. That made me take a moment and enjoy how wonderful my work is and how grateful I am for being able to do the work I do. I thought I might share this with you and see if in fact it touches you today.

This entry is from Stephen Mitchell’s The Second Book of Tao. I am pulling out a part of the writing to direct my thoughts more clearly.

“Between the joints there are spaces, and the blade has no thickness. It slips right through; there is more than enough room for it. And when I come to a difficult part, I slow down, I focus my attention, I barely move, the knife finds its way until suddenly the flesh falls apart on its own. I stand there and let the joy of the work fill me. Then I wipe the blade clean and put it away.”

This reminds me a lot of how I share my thoughts about dance. I speak a lot about the space between gravity. The image is to remind people that we are not defying gravity, but moving through it with the rising energy of the earth that moves freely through our bodies. When we are training and learning new skills, it is imperative to take a moment to slow down and truly learn the movement by focusing on the sensation and feeling of each molecule of our being. When we do this we can feel the transformation of physicality as the unknown becomes felt and the difficulty falls away. It is as if we peel away the layer of confusion by quieting the mind and letting the mind of the body figure out the work. And when all is said and felt, we honor the work by thanking ourselves for taking the time and allowing the space to express our courage and vulnerability of the journey of not knowing to knowing.

Amaranth Arts Fall 2014 Season

Tags

Ballet, Believing, choreography, compassion, contemporary dance, Courageous Vulnerability, Dance, gratitude, love, Modern, modern dance, Teaching, thankful, universal heart

Reaching out across space and time in support of Amaranth Arts and the beautiful fall season of sharing exquisite dance work to the Richmond and Denver Audiences. Please consider a small gift in support of the arts and sharing of that work by mentorship. Even more important, please join us at the performance of Falling Back to Grace at the Grace Street Theatre September 11-13, 2014 in Richmond, VA.

Please feel free to spread the word and the love!!!

Gratitude and light,

Scott

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/amaranth-arts-2014-fall-season/x/8298622

EBAS Pondering

Tags

alignment, Ballet, contemporary dance, Dance, Modern, modern dance, spirit, well being

Knowing how to artfully and gracefully fall through space, one becomes more aware of the value of the stillness of standing tall. When we honor the rising and falling energy of our center line we are able to appreciate the magnitude of place. Simplicity of standing is the dynamic springboard for expressing the poetic heart.

Palermo Palermo

Tags

Ballet, breaking down walls, choreography, culture, Dance, modern dance, opening, pina bausch, seeing as we need, society, space, spirit, time

A wall crumbles breaking down barriers and opening space so as to reveal what we are unable to reveal on our own terms. I am washed over and over and over with imagery smothered by layer upon layer of expression. I am not smothered in the sense that I can no longer breathe, but it is a complete immersion as if to encourage more deep and heartfelt breathes so as to understand the plight of humanity. We require time that no longer is encouraged in our culture and by being lovingly forced to expand my own boundaries of space and time, I am able to participate in the artistic adventure of the soul as its evolution “holds my hand’, “hugs me”, “kisses me”, and fills my breath with a new perspective of my own participation in this very life. 

I was reminded how important it is for myself as a choreographer to express the desires I hear from the work and to allow myself time for the evolution of my own work and expression of my own voice. We culturally get caught up on trying to make work that is like others and unlike ourselves. Tonights inspiration is a reminder to “make the work that speaks from your heart”. This was my gift of many this evening. One of many that will reveal themselves on this path of Paris.

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