Positive Moves

I was complaining to one of my #1 women, Bamra, about some classic bs when she told me all I needed were positive moves. "Woman, I am full of positive moves!" I insisted.

"No." She said, very seriously.  "Not until you've seen this:"



Ummm. Yes.

She half joked that anyone who wants to date us needs to get on board with the awesomeness that is this video. I'm gonna go ahead and say that in addition to Robyn's Call Your Girlfriend, I agree.

Baies

This little candle. Sniff sniff. Is making. Sniff. My whole. Sniff. Apartment. Sniff. Smell Sososoooo lovely. I never want it to end. 

On A Roll

Trying to get support to produce my own choreographic work is a daunting task. For a year I applied for everything. It wasn't working out. I almost gave up.  And then my luck changed and the support came pouring in. Isn't that how it always happens? Yesterday I started rehearsals for my newest piece Londonderry, inspired by the historical figure Annie Londonderry and the role of bicycles in women's liberation. I am working with 3 brilliant dancers and I feel great about what we've been able to accomplish in our first two days. We're on a roll!

 Ha! Sorry, I had to.

Anyway. Aren't these bikes amazing? The ones with the big wheel are called Penny Farthings and my very own grandpa collects and RIDES them! I'm hoping I can use one or two as set pieces in the first production of the piece at the Dumbo Dance Festival on September 29th. 

Images from wikipedia, X-Treme X-Training, and  Shelly's Blog

Gelato in 4 Steps

Ciao bellas, greetings from Italia! Full disclosure I've been here 6 days and eaten gelato approximately twice that many times. It's just that good.

Step One: Regard Gelato With Wonder and Excitement

Step Two: Taste Said Gelato

Step Three: Become Inappropriately Ecstatic

Step 4: REPEAT

How I'd Celebrate Gold

If I won a gold medal at the Olympics, I'd want my victory reaction to be a super epic combo of these:

                                      

And I would prefer if my competitors reactions looked like this:

St. Lucia

I went to see a friend's band play a few weeks ago as part of the Northside Festival in Williamsburg. I was exhausted and thought I'd just catch their set and take off right after to put myself to bed like a good lil worker bee. Ahhh Brooklyn every time I go out you just make me wanna stay out all night! St. Lucia started playing as I deliberated staying for "just one more". Their energy was contagious and within 30 seconds of the set I knew I was gonna stay. It's pop-ey and 80's-ey and the album is solid start to finish.  I've pretty much been listening to them non stop for the last few weeks, and last night I saw them play again at Bowery Ballroom. 2 for 2! So, here's to staying out late in BK, hearing great bands live, and bopping around to St. Lucia in my room while intermittently surfing the internet when I should be sleeping or working or any other number of things! 

Improvising

Last weekend was the opening night of a show I’ve been rehearsing for since September, Emily Faulkner’s Wind Up Dances. Our little cast of six has become quite close over the months, and the rehearsal process has been one of the most enjoyable I’ve experienced. Emily is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, and I think we all gained a fair amount of body organization and awareness from the teachings. One especially fun and tangible way we got to see our own progress was through daily improvisation sessions, where we’d do some Alexander exercises and then take turns exploring whatever movement interested us without any real guidelines. This is a fairly common tool used in the modern dance world to generate new material for dances, but I hadn’t experienced a process that devoted so much time to improvising and to watching each dancer in a cast improvise. I learned a TON about my own movement patterns, habits, and I really enjoyed the challenge of breaking out of my defaults to explore and play, making way for movement to come out of me I didn’t realize was even in there! As the rehearsal process draws to a close and I anticipate the post show blues, I'd like to share some clips of my favorite improv sessions.