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.

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

Misplaced Bag

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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.

 

Shaping and Framing

Tags

Ballet, choreography, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, courage, Dance, EBAS, Energy, joy, Modern, modern dance, Teaching, universal heart

Suspended points in space framing the blue

Shaping the circumference

 

The relationship of the internal referencing the vast

Experiencing the divine

 

It is not for the body to know more than it feels

Simplicity in the act of a movement

 

Bringing the mind into consciousness

Seeing things as they are

 

Comprehending limitless possibilities

Presented by potential space

 

It is not a mistake that we move to be moved

Unconditional joy in being

 

I AM…

Tags

Ballet, choreography, Conscious Living, contemporary dance, Creative Flow, Dance, Modern, modern dance, Teaching, Technique, universal heart, Wonder

I am a maker of dance, both the ephemeral imagery in space as well as the physical beings who transcribe them. The shape of the space in which the physical reality of a work exists is where I feel at home in my skin. It is this transparency and manifestation of concept that thrills me most.

 

I like to speak with movement and express the desires of my heart through the physical articulation of bone and blood. As the body traces space, hitting point by point the architectural blue prints of choreography, the soul revels in ecstasy as it etches each work.

 

I like to listen to the world with my feet hearing the subtle churning and shifting of its rotation and the chaos of its populations. When the foot becomes receiver, the heart becomes the poet allowing for the majesty of imagery to create the kinetic hologram of dance.

 

I am a maker of dance. I am a shaper of space. I am a poet of kinetic proportions penning movement into magic and mystery.

 

Words for the dancers of “Blind Sight”

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Believing, choreography, contemporary dance, courage, Courageous Vulnerability, Creative Flow, Dance, faith, heart, journey, joy, light, love, Mindful Action, modern dance, Soul to Soul, Teaching, Technique, training

Blind Sight

 

If you were to possess the ability to see, that which does not exist, you would most clearly understand the depth and expanse of your immediate reality. You would understand that there are things that surround you, carry you, and support the very vibration that is you.

 

If you could allow yourself to trust in the Universe to guide you, humble yourself in faith so deep you would radiate the light, you would believe that underneath it all, you already possess the wings to fly.

 

What you do not know does not mean it is not already there. You already embody what is needed to soar beyond your wildest imaginings and the question now is whether you will be able to see it inside yourself and in those that surround you at this present moment.

 

There is a great animal inside of you. Let it be free. Let it be your companion on this journey tonight. You have built a relationship with it to no longer fear it. Wild does not mean without heart, it means living with an enchanted abandonment that our hearts hunger to express. Run alongside that animal, for it is the very embodiment of the spirit within.

 

These are the spirits I see with my blind sight; the spirit of your true nature in all of its glory. Do you have the courage to see it yourself while allowing for a moment, others to see it in you, too?

 

Addressing You

Tags

becoming, communicating, from love, love, reaching out, Teaching, Two of us

Honesty does not have to hurt if it is spoken out of love

Truth does not have to hinder the development of love, if in fact; it is the truth of the heart

When I speak to you, I do so because I care for you

When I smile at you, it is because I see the light of love that you are

When I laugh with you, I feel safe in our joy

When I touch you, I wish to bridge the energetic pathways of our spirits

There needs not be any misunderstanding when light guides our interaction

We are simply  souls vibrating on the same frequency resonating with the light of the universe

 

Questioning an Ephemeral Life

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artistic, Ballet, choreography, contemporary ballet, creative process, Dance, ephemeral, heart knowledge, kinetic imagery, modern dance, sharing work, Soul to Soul, spirit, Teaching, teaching dance

As an artist and a teacher of ephemeral kinetics, I often wonder what it is my work amounts to. There is no tangible structure, thing or product to behold. All that is left of my work is what remains in the hearts of those that experience it.  Yes, there are videos of work or photos of moments in work, but really, the work as it is meant to be experienced, does not exist in any kind of totality.

 

Recently I created a very large work and left that work with the company. When I say left the work, I really mean leave behind the spirit of the work inside the movements of the hearts and minds of the dancers. They are the keepers of this energy and of this spirit. They are the guardians of the kinetic imagery and are truly the only ones that can translate the visions of my heart mind.

 

I left this work behind in the hands of many beautiful dancers and had to give away any control or tangible ownership. I sat quietly the evening of its premier knowing, that several states away, my vision was being revealed, moment-by-moment, in a space so very, far from where I sat.

 

This got me to thinking more deeply about what it is I do. How is it I have managed to make a life out of sharing the unknown or unseen? How is it that I have managed to build a body of work that really only exists in the moment? Even in teaching, once the class has ended, one can only know with ones heart what the body is feeling. One cannot really point to a book and say, I know this. Tests do not reflect the body’s knowledge when the heart is the only thing that truly understands this kinetic knowledge.

 

Does the work I do have value? Does what I share within the context of a concert or classroom matter in the scope of things? I know my heart has been moved and my life changed by my own process, and for that there is much value as my life is larger than I ever dreamed possible. Yet, what does it mean and how does one share that with people in the world who are so desperately needed to help support this kind of illusive artistic expression?

 

Our culture puts a great deal of value on product. We are constantly thinking about producing and providing outcomes. Even if those outcomes are really, just place cards to help people assign value to something unseen or unknown. Many times, I wonder why it is we are forced to justify ourselves through sales and seats when we should be spending more time crafting and exploring the value of our hearts.

 

Yet, with all of these unanswered questions, I retreat to the land of kinetic images. I give my time and my energy to creating worlds within worlds that only those that have the courage to walk through, will understand. I choose to spend my time working in the ephemeral world because what has brought goodness and light into my own life, may in fact, be felt by someone else. Moreover, the simple heart exchange, the moment when one basks in the energy and light of the universe through the transference of kinetic heart energy, is the most immeasurable yet profound moment of all.  This is the moment I choose.

 

Cycles of Giving and Receiving

Tags

Ballet, choreography, craft, Dance, development, growth, Modern, process, Shaping Space, sharing, spirit, Teaching

As I watched the students of DSA move through 7 minutes of choreography that we have systematically developed over three days, I realized how lucky I am to be able to be having these experiences as a choreographer, teacher and dancer. It is an honor to be in my position of sharing what it is I have come to know for myself, and then share that in the process of making a new work. I consider myself very fortunate to have these experiences and opportunities.

I have been doing this at DSA for 7 years now. It has been a ever growing and developing event that has become what it is today. Amaranth comes out and sets three new pieces on the students along with presenting several works in a shared culminating concert at the end of our residency. This year we have also folded in a few works of our great friends, The Island Moving Company. So here we are, in a place of sharing and enhance that I could not have imagined 7 years ago.

What has become apparent is the honesty and integrity through the sharing and building of new work which in turn opens a window of compassion and understanding for ultimate learning experiences. This learning experience is not just happening for the students, but it is also happening for choreographers and dancers alike.

I realized for myself that my craftsmanship as a dance maker and teacher has grown and blossomed because of this exchange as well. Artists need to create a practice of making what they make and doing what they do. Denver has been a part of my practice and the energies of the students through all of the works that I have made here have been a part of my growth and development. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here and making work acknowledging that I too am growing alongside my dancers moving towards the kind of artists we all aspire to be, working in the energies of our spirits making the kind of work that speaks from our hearts.

Thank you Denver School of the Arts for opening your lives to Amaranth. We are grateful and look forward to whatever our paths unfold for us.

Something To Be Grateful For

Tags

adult dance, art, Ballet, contemporary dance, creative bliss, creative energy, Dance, Energy, gratefulness, Modern, Movement, pedagogy, Soul to Soul, spirit, spirituality, Teaching, Technique

Recently I was asked to share my thoughts on what I might be grateful for with the participants of an adult dance camp that I had the opportunity teaching at. What came to mind was the moments you see a student realize that they have the power to make physical changes and be conscious of a technical application. This moment is a tremendous light that is reflected throughout the body and radiates such joy that one cannot help but be grateful to be participating in such a wondrous event.

 

I think this moment is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching so much. In all honesty, I never wanted to teach in my life. I had a very different vision of what I would be doing, but for some reason, my path has created an opportunity to be in the act of sharing information that helps people to find their kinetic potential and realize the magic of dance that I so love myself. Watching students fall in love with movement and their development of a conscious relationship with their body and their moving spirit really is something to be grateful for.

 

Another reason why this moment is so significant for me is that it allows the learner to release their walls of insecurity and fear. In doing so, it empowers them to understand the meaning and purity of movement. It encourages a confidence in them that they too, for all these collective moments, experience the great joy and magic of dance. It is truly a wonderful world to be able to live in. I am grateful that I am blessed with the opportunity to live it on a daily basis and share it. What brings me continued joy is that those that are able to glimpse that magic for a brief amount of time are experiencing it.

 

It is so very important that we as human beings understand intimately the power of magic in our lives. It is incredibly significant that we allow opportunities for ourselves to be in a state of creative bliss no matter how small or expansive those times may be. We, at our very core of our existence, are pure creative energy. We need to be congruent with that so that we can be at peace with our mind and body while inhabiting the creative energy of our very being.  All too often, we are held hostage to ways of existing that are not sustainable to our souls, our environment and one another.

 

Therefore, I am grateful. Grateful for the opportunities when I can see people stand with incredible courage in front of themselves and watch themselves dig deep within their potential and make shifts in their physical being. These very shifts will offer a magnitude of ripples in the rest of their lives. I hope that when they are faced with incongruence, they will remember the joy and magic of what they felt making changes in their bodies and realize they have the power to make changes in every part of their lives.

 

It is my hope that my students, whatever the age they may be, realize that in the end, learning how to dance is really learning how to navigate this wondrous life. The educational process of dancing is really a metaphor for our lives. We must daily put into practice a rigorous training so that we may pay attention to our physical being and our creative spiritual being understanding their balance and letting them be a partner in realizing our dreams.  If we are to truly understand life, we must reveal our souls to the process of living and the process of learning. I can think of no better way to do them both than the art of dancing, or rather, the art of gracefully falling through space being carried by the spirit of the work and the magic of dance.

Photo Credit: Doug Roark

Amaranth Contemporary Dance: “Transcending Chronology”

Choreography: Scott Putman

Dancers: Katie Contessa and Scott Putman