Thirty Days of Thoughts: Day 30

Tags

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 2

Tags

choreography, Dance, dance makers, dance making, heart, heart path, modern dance, spiritual, spirituality

There is a sweetness of awareness that has been happening over the past few months that have really been such a beautiful experience. As I dive deeper into the Five Element Theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I am finding so many wonderful connections with all of the work I have been doing for the past thirty years creatively as well as spiritually. It’s nice to feel a sense of return in addition to the confirmation of what I have known and felt all along.

Coincidently my spiritual practice was revealed through my decision to dance. Back when I first started I was introduced to various movement practices through a seminar class that was required for our curriculum. It was through this coursework that Tai Chi and Qi Gong was introduced to my life.

Since then my creative and spiritual journey have been interwoven through the works I made and the philosophies that were the inspiration for that work. It seems there has always been a parallel of physicality and well-being throughout my early training practices.

dues to starting dance at a very late age all of this work and playing catch-up influenced the way I grew and developed my thinking and in many ways how I perceived dance and technique. I was never trained through the aesthetics of various forms but rather encouraged to explore, discover and play with how my body felt in motion. I felt ecstasy in movement and fell deeply in love with my soulful connection to my body.

Clearly the path I chose had a big influence on the rest of my life. I made choices to stay in motion even if there were “objects” interacting at times to thwart my momentum. The laws of motion somehow kept me moving and moving through me to allow for opportunities to keep diving deeper. It is this wonderful appreciation of fate that I owe a deep gratitude to for dance giving me the life it has. And what a life it has been!!

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

Tags

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

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.

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.

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.

Misplaced Bag

Tags

Believing, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, Creativity, Dance, Energy, heart path, journey, Magic, Mindful Action, modern dance, Teaching, universal consciousness, universal heart

I made it to Paris with only one hitch. My bag somehow took a flight to Charlotte instead of Philly with me. As I was the last one standing at CDG, I soon realized I had an issue. All my clothes and toiletries were still in the states as I stood at carousel 3 waiting for my bag. Calmly. I waited.

I then went to the baggage claim area attendant to make a report and file the missing luggage. This was when I was told that someone in Richmond put my bag on a plane to where I was not. Isn’t that against TSA regulations? I digress.

Anyway, on a positive note, I only had my bags on my shoulders to carry on the RER and Metro to find my apartment. So I started my journey a little lighter than expected. The good thing was that if all went well, someone would hand deliver my outfits,  unmentionables and toiletries directly to my door. Yet, I admit I was nervous that there was no real way to contact me and since I was staying in an apartment rather than a hotel, it would be a little more difficult to actually get the bad delivered.

At present I sit waiting in my apartment. I do know the bag made it to Paris and is supposedly on its way to being delivered. I have stayed at the apartment save the time I went out shopping for coffee, breakfast goodies and a few other nash items. Still no word or call. They do have the land line, but I know they didn’t call while I was gone as there were no messages left and no record of incoming calls.

The rest of the day has been full of classical music wafting throughout the apartment with much writing and reading on my part. I have been forced to take a day of quiet contemplation and rest. Much needed rest and much desired quiet time as well. I often forget how much I like quiet and alone time. As I mentioned before in my writing, I do like embracing my introvert behaviors and often do not honor them enough. Clearly someone at RIC decided I needed to get reacquainted with that part of myself.

None the less, I am here and in perfect bliss. Staying in an apartment in the 3rd Arr. in Paris while I have time to think and to expand my current understanding of time, I am in a Scott heaven. It is so nice to be back here and in a place that is congruent with my pace of life and with the workings and wirings of my being.

I am often in a position where I question myself within the confines of my culture and feel as if the way in which my brain works, I process, and desire to walk the path of my life is somehow not as good as others. Yes, I often feel as if the way in which I am put together is oddly enough not acknowledged or honored.

Living a non-western life within a western culture is a little difficult at times. Being an introvert in an extrovert world is also challenging as introverts are seldom recognized for their thought process or quiet and contemplative ways. As if it wasn’t enough being a second class citizen who is a dancer and gay at that. Adding up all the marks against me I often wonder why I haven’t given up all together?

Yet, I know the answer to that. I do. I realize that I am making choices in my life that are right for me. I have taken the heat for it over and over again, but still make the choices that are congruent with my heart speak. In doing so, one is often labeled as the mean one or the one who speaks out when he shouldn’t. Even though it needs to be said and everyone knows it, still the ass for saying it. Which is also odd being that I prefer not to speak in the first place. I hate public speaking.

But is it any wonder that I prefer the art of dance where I do not have to speak in public at all? Not at all. I like the abstract world of contemporary imagistic ephemeral moments that take people deep within their own reality to suggest questions that sometimes do not get asked. Yes, I like to pose a question without speaking words but by merely crafting an image to plant the seed of thought. Even if it needs attending to or gets trampled on, I like that way of communicating the best.

And now that I have found the confidence to share my thoughts and ideas through words, it is no wonder that the words are on a page or screen that still keep me at a safe distance in a way that allows a reader to absorb it in the ways in which are best or most appropriate for them. I am finding that communicating in this form is helping me to find the right ways in which to read a different audience than a dance audience. As well as it helps me to even crystalize and create my three dimensional story telling in space.

I have always had a dream that I whispered to the universe of wanting to write a book. And this I am doing. It is taking me time, but I write daily the meanderings of my thoughts on technique and choreography. They are not traditional thoughts by any means. They are rooted in very eastern practices with clearly more unique ways of attending to the art of listening to the process rather than manufacturing a product. I am embracing this as I have embraced the time a lost bag can help a lost heart.