Returning to Body

Tags

Ballet, begin again, beginners mind, choreograph, choreographer, choreography, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, creative process, Dance, gender, physicality, Soul to Soul

For this new moon I focused on setting my intentions and one of the things that I put out there was to find more ways in which I could alter my habitual patterning and find out what else I might be able to rekindle or ignite in terms of my creativity. There are a lot of things I would like to reawaken and reinspire myself to do. 

One of those things was to take risks creatively and to find myself in situations that will provide me an opportunity for greater exploration and discovery. Wonderfully I am one of six folks sharing and teaching for a queer creative workshop series. One of the things that is important to me is to support this series so as it can build momentum and a community. 

I have decided to not just teach but also to energetically and financially support this wonderful adventure. So, I have chosen a few of the workshops to attend and today was the first of them. It was rather exciting to sign up and get my energy focused and ready for this process. 

It was rather exciting to be a student again. Very exciting to not have to be the instructor or hold the space as I normally would. It wa such a luxury to just be and do in the ways of a person exploring the process and not driving it. 

I really enjoyed going through the creative process and being able to find a new way of making that was different from my own or at least inspired by a whole new perspective. I was also dancing so freely and with abandonment. Such a divine reverie that I have not felt in a long time. 

I was in my body again discovering in community. I was exploring and expanding movement possibilities with the focus on my quads as the inspiration or spark for how I was feeling about gender or feeling gender in my body. So good to fall back to the essence of my being simply by dropping down into my body. 

I realize how much I have missed this. I realized how much I would like to get back into the studios like this and just do and be to become all I can in my body. Time is wide long away and it would be nice to be in love with my moving body again and rekindle that passion and love of physicality and spirit. 

And so I found myself again. I remembered my physical being that I lost many years ago. I see him again. I feel him returning with every gesture, movement and phrasing. The light is retiring and there is a reanimation in process. Such a joy to return. 

Lifting Lines/Morphing Visions: Autumn 5

Tags

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.

The Magic of Merging with the White Horse

Tags

acceptance, allowing, artist, becoming, beleif, Believing, choreographer, Conscious Living, Courageous Vulnerability, craetivity, development, discovery, Dream, journey, light, merging, soul, spirit, time, travel, white horse, writer

I have welcomed the merging with the white horse. This is a journey of deep discovery and boundless creativity. I give way to the becoming of one leaving behind all that is unnecessary while embracing all possibilities. By weaving the tapestry of our spirits we do not lose ourselves but transform our being through the enhanced senses of one another’s hearts and dreams.

We ride to discover the endless blanket of ever expand light that reaches across unfathomable planes. The travel of eternity moves both forward and backwards in time. There is no fear direction as love moves in all dimensions.

We soar the oceans depths of spirit; immersing ourselves in the deepest states of creativity by releasing to the vacuum of the internal. We breathe water like air while swimming with the expansive wings of Pegasus. There is no fear of what is right when love knows no wrong.

This journey has no steps and yet we will travel distances only measured by the soul. There will be no quantifiable or empirical. There needs no measure when what is experienced is immeasurable. All that will be will be understood by the absorbing of all that there is.

Sing Your Truth

Tags

allowing, art, becoming, beleif, Believing, bliss, body knowledge, choreographer, Conscious Living, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, Creativity, Dance, development, EBAS, expressing, faith, forgiveness, sharing, sing, trusting

Sing your truth with passion and trust you will be guided by the spirits of the world. They will keep you, support you and wrap you in the ever evolving flow of knowledge and light. Remember you are a beautiful creature of the creative energy that is our existence and our physiology. You are the expression and reality of the universe.

Express without fear. Express with love. Express with light.

Sing your truth and let the song be heard by those  of open heart to hear it. Write your work and let it be read by those of open mind to understand it. Dance your heart and let it be felt by those of open vibration to absorb it. Radiate your energy and let the healers light be imprinted by those of open veins to channel it.

Express without fear. Express with love. Express with light.

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

Kinetic Process West

Tags

allowing, art, artist, body knowledge, choreographer, choreography, Creative Flow, creative process, Creativity, Dance

Underneath the eyes of the watchful mountains
Beneath the vast blue sky
Work is created with the vision of the heart

Movements mirroring the voice of mind
Imagery manifesting micro and macro
Dance is woven as a reflection of humanity

Dancers

Tags

a life well lived, artists, choreographer, Dance, dancers, devotion, honor, love, Magic, owe, passion, soul, spirit, teacher, the arts, Wonder

Dancers are a rare and beautiful thing. They tirelessly push themselves and their bodies to press back the boundaries of their physicality exhausting themselves simply for the love of movement. They willingly give themselves over to a dance to unselfishly submit to the voice of the work. They map the dance with their bodies so the audience can see, for one brief ephemeral moment at a time, the vision of the choreographer.

This ecstasy is what drives each and every dancer. This bliss is what carries dancers through a lifetime relationship their kinetic lover. It doesn’t matter what style or technique, what matters is a body in motion. This is what reminds the dancer time and time again that they are alive and well. This is what means the world to them and what they give themselves over to time and time again.

I admit I am partial to dancers. Perhaps because I fell in love with dance and changed my entire life to pursue the uncertainty of this lifestyle. When I say I chose it, I should really say I finally started listening to the omens that were there before me for so very long. But like most of us, we are not always listening to the voice of our hearts and our bodies and often miss our calling. I am grateful for my awakening and thankful for one of the most beautiful lives imaginable.

And so I cherish dancers. I do. They are to be admired, respected and revered. I owe dancers my life really. Because they need training, I have a job that I love. Because they need dances to immerse themselves in, I have a company. If it wasn’t for them, I would be lost as to how to express my kinetic vision and voice. For this, I am grateful.

I love my dancers. I trust my dancers. I believe in them fully to embody the concepts and humanity within the work I lay asleep at night contemplating. I believe in them enough to give them the dances we create knowing that they are the keepers of the ephemeral magic that is my work. I couldn’t imagine anything else as dances must be a shared responsibility of the community so as to honor the fullness and richness of the art form and the dance.

We need dancers in our communities, our cities, our culture. They bring to us a vast richness of being as they are an example of listening to their hearts and fulfilling their destiny. They are models of what it means to be fully human while giving themselves over to something larger than themselves with complete love and passion. They live life never apologizing for following their dreams and the fulfillment of that dream through the vehicle of a heavenly body in motion.

And it is this that we must remember. It is this kind of acknowledgment and support that we must remember. This is the reason why I believe we should honor a dancer this week. I would like to ask you to join me in helping to honor my dancers richness and beauty by helping me to support their energy and efforts in space and time. If you have ever marveled at these gorgeous creatures, wondered how they do it or stood in awe of their majesty; join me in my goal of raising $3000 this week to sponsor their performance fees.

Just 300 people donating at the Forerunner level of $10 can make this possible. If you do the math, the numbers diminish if the amounts go up. And even if you have never experienced much dance in your life, know that these beautiful beings are remarkable and inspiring and deserve to be paid what they are worth. Truth be told they are priceless, but being paid is a small way of honoring their being.

Thank you for letting me share these thoughts and this request. If you can’t support, please share. If you can’t share, send your love and kindness. Momentum comes in many ways. And lastly, be sure to mark your calendar for September 11-13 to see the magnificence of these kinetic beasts. They will steal your hearts as they have mine.

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

To Keep in Mind Today

Tags

abundance, artist, believing we can, choreographer, creative process, creative spirit, dance maker, education, educational process, gratitude, learning to fly, making art, making work, poet, poet of space, prosperity, teacher

May I extend the hand of love to those around me today who have the courage to be vulnerable in the act of learning? May I find compassion in my words helping them to release the gravity of information freeing their feet from the weight of knowledge and letting them know that they too can fly? May I also grow through the reflection of their process understanding more deeply the well of creativity that is inside of me? May I find the courage to absorb this information and translate it ever more efficiently folding it back into my process? May I be rewarded as a steward of the creative spirit acknowledging my role in society by being an artist able to continue sharing my work and my thoughts? May I speak of gratitude often today, as I am eternally thankful that I am able to walk the magical path of movement relishing in my abundance and prosperity as a poet of space?

Reflections on a Rehearsal

Tags

artists, Ballet, choreographer, choreography, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, creative process, dance makers, dance making, enchantment, friends, Grateful, heart path, Magic, Modern, process, Soul to Soul, thankful

There are times when moments are taking place and you realize time is slowing down a bit in order for you to see very clearly that all is well and right in your world. Yesterday during my day of class was very much like this. There was so much time to work so deeply that I was able to step back in my spirit and realize how glorious this all is.

I am grateful to be able to live such a luxurious life in the arts. It is not everyday that one gets to immerse themselves fully in all they love being surrounded by people who give themselves and their hearts so fully to the things they love also. It is an honor to be able to be allowed to make-work and walk the path of magic as dances reveal themselves for the first time or are reborn to speak again.

When I am in the studio, I am in church. I am in a sacred place of worship with the divine dreaming of all that a body can do, become and realize in choreography.  This is such an enchanted space, a mystical foray into the heart and mind of the creative energetic river. How grateful I am to be able to be a dream keeper of dance in this way. I am honored to be one of many who dive deeply into the ocean, swimming with the currents and riding the tides of this creative universe.

I also find myself fortunate enough to be on my heart path with some very remarkably talented and spirited people. We all walk our own ways merging with one another in the work while supporting one another’s individual voices and gifts. It is not often that one gets to be fulfilled by the magic their friends bring to the process, in both physicality and the richness of their hearts.

I was so moved in rehearsal yesterday by the enchanted ways in which the work seemed to pour out of the deep muscle memory of the dancers. It was as if the work lingered in the well of their musculature as they conjured up the kinetic imagery inside of themselves that collectively is being reborn as “Creek Walkers under a Waning Moon”.

I look forward to when the dance emerges once again to inhabit the space energetically kept by the dancers and absorbed into the hearts and mind of the audience. This makes me wonder if dance is as ephemeral as we all think it is. I think the dances I help to bring to life have physicality to them kept alive in the bodies of dancers and the souls of the people who have let the work be absorbed into the fibers of their beings.

This is my goal is as a dance maker; to make the kind of work that resonates as a meaningful experience opening a doorway to consciousness that bridges the spirit to walk more deeply into the center of our beings. It is important to actualize work that is humanity in motion and dance alchemy speaking to our enchanted hearts.

Answering a question

Tags

artist, choreographer, Creativity, Dance, Dream, dreams, following your bliss, hope, passion, w, Writing

I was asked this morning by a former student how my life was and if I was living the dream. I stopped for a moment and considered this question and responded that teaching at VCU was never the dream but it is my life. My life is the dream in all actuality. My entire existence is the dream that I believed it would be. I am, in fact, living the dream of my life.

This kind of question puts us in a place of having to justify or categorize our success. Asking it of others and feeling like we need to somehow justify this very moment always creates a conflict of our own spirit. I suggest we stop asking these kinds of questions and ask the simple question of “are you finding happiness?”. I suggest this because many of us are never where we hoped or desired. Many of us are in process. To judge another on a process or one that is not their own is to force someone to be someone they are not and limit their greatest potential.

I have found, not until recently, that I understand  my path has taken time and that there is much more unfolding needed to get me to where my full potential is. I am only just beginning in many ways because I have been letting go and unlearning so much of what has been extra baggage or weight on both my heart and my art. It is only now that I feel I am beginning my journey with a sense of freedom and humility that I have never had before. Releasing my heart into the action of the direction along with my body. There is true freedom and release here. For this I am grateful.

Now, for those of you VCU people reading this, I am where I need to be. I am happy where I am teaching and fulfilling much of what I have been put on this earth to be. I am a teacher among many other things and I am not ashamed of this. I am proud of it. Proud because I do good work and I share the love and passion of the art form in a way that is unique to me and adds to the overall educational process of the dancers. I work as a team member to participate with my colleagues embracing the multifaceted process that working as a team brings to the development of a holistic and amazing dancer.

What embracing this does mean is that it adds to my sense of being and my sense of being an incredible artist as well. Teaching does not diminish my existence as an artist. Being in the studio only enhances and deepens the process of growing as a choreographer. I am an excellent choreographer and on my own path of discovery and deepening of my own choreographic integrity. One does not need to be in a place, with a certain company or written about in certain publications to be good or to justify your ability. What makes you a choreographer is the action of making work. We must move in the direction of making work to claim who we are. So we make. I make and therefor I am. It is with time and discovery that I grow and I become.

This is the same with my writing. I am writing and therefore I am a writer. I may not be the best writer or a fully published writer, but I am writing. I am growing through my work and sharing through each word just as I place each image on the stage. We are who we are in the presence of our actions. Take action!

Having said all of this please know that in taking action you do not take for granted the need to do so with integrity, respect for the form or the deepening of your skills. We must always remember to remind ourselves to continue to reach for our best, to be our best and hold ourselves to the standards of growth and expansion. Doing this with integrity and diligent process is what makes us artists, choreographers, writers and whatever else our hearts dream of. This alone is living the dream. This is our dream.

Now for those of you who have everyday jobs and want to live more creative lives, this applies to you to. You are creative every day in every thing you do. Do not think that because you don’t work in the arts that there is no way you could ever be an artist. If art is in your heart, art is in you. Make! Make away! Find what your heart is drawn to and do. Find your heart begin to sing when you do what you love. Make art a part of your every day being and art will be your life. And when. Someone asks you what you are doing and if you are living the dream you say” why yes, I am! I am living my dream!”