Here are a few quotes that I spent the summer reflecting on...
"He who makes a mistake is still our friend; he who adds to, or shortens a melody is still our friend; but, he who violates a rhythm unawares can never be our friend." ~Arab Proverb
"We LEARN by GOING."
"It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey." ~Wendell Berry
"Sometimes attaining the deepest familiarity with a question is our best substitute for actually having the answer." ~Brian Greene The Elegant Universe
"'Being creative' is not something beyond us, nor do we have to become it. 'Creative' is an idea that compartmentalizes and limits our experience. When we start thinking about being creative, we break from the present. Our bodies are in one place (present) and our minds are in another (future)" ~Ruth Zaporah
"If people will go believing that they "know", it is impossible to eradicate anything - it makes it impossible to teach them." ~F.M. Alexander
"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It never was between you and them anyway." ~Mother Teresa
I hope that you gain inspiration or whatever it is that you are seeking from some thoughts by others....
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
African Dance and Diaspora
My first graduate class was a 5 day workshop in African Dance and Diaspora taught by Ferne Caulker Bronson. She has a company in Milwaukee, Ko Thi Dance Company. My first intellectual adventure at UWM was a journey into the expressions and experiences of African people throughout history. We spent our 9 AM - 5 PM day studying African culture, art, history, as well as numerous forms of dance. We studied dances from all over Africa and the Caribbean and barely scratched the surface of what there is to learn about this beautiful art form. We also studied and practiced the drumming text and had some amazing call and response singing. African chants and songs are beautiful and to learn, sing and experience the drums response to the songs and then the bodies response through the movement is very hard to describe. You have to feel it and experience the rhythms through out your body and interact with the drums and musicians and other dancers around you to have the full effect. I want everyone to take a class in African dance, it's so expressive and beautiful. This week's workshop was not just about African Dance, we were also given the opportunity to explore our own interior and discover a greater or perhaps clearer individual artistic vision. It was the perfect way to start my MFA experience!
There are about 25 MFA candidates in this program. I am so humbled to be in same room with such a range of experience. Every one of us brings a unique background to this program and it's great to already have a new family of dancers, teachers, and choreographers. From the first day I was already thinking about the collaborative possibilities and different ways I can offer opportunities for my own students from all of these amazing artists.
When thinking about my new friends, teachers, intellectual and creative opportunities along with the beauty of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan, I can't help but think this will be an incredible summer.
"Dance with bended knees, lest you be taken for a corpse." Kongo Proverb, Central Africa (One of the most important things to remember when learning African dance technique!)
There are about 25 MFA candidates in this program. I am so humbled to be in same room with such a range of experience. Every one of us brings a unique background to this program and it's great to already have a new family of dancers, teachers, and choreographers. From the first day I was already thinking about the collaborative possibilities and different ways I can offer opportunities for my own students from all of these amazing artists.
When thinking about my new friends, teachers, intellectual and creative opportunities along with the beauty of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan, I can't help but think this will be an incredible summer.
"Dance with bended knees, lest you be taken for a corpse." Kongo Proverb, Central Africa (One of the most important things to remember when learning African dance technique!)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Final Preparation
"Imagine ... a dance ... whose body dances in accordance with a music heard inwardly, in an expression of something out of another, a profounder world, So confident am I that the soul can be awakened, can completely possess the body, that when I have taken children into my schools I have aimed above all else to bring to them a consciousness of this power within themselves, of their relationship to the universal rhythm, to evoke from them the ecstasy, the beauty of this realization. The means to this awakening may be in part a revelation of the beauty of nature and it may be in part that sort of music ... that arises from and speaks to the soul." ~ Isadora Duncan
Another day of class has ended. Today we finished relatively on time and after a great conversation about embodying emotional sound to create movement with my improvisation instructor, I find myself thinking back to my first week here. It's hard to believe that I have been in class for almost three weeks, so much has been going on. Life has been filled with so many adventures the past couple of months that it's been hard to take time to decompress. I finished up the semester at UD and had an emotional end of the dance year at DDC, this is my first summer away from my DDC family. Those two things alone are hectic with the end of year meetings, evaluations, grades, extra rehearsals, auditions for next year, planning for next year and the list goes on and on. Add to it, finding a home for my dog and cat for seven weeks, a home for myself for seven weeks, packing for Milwaukee, moving out of my apartment, saying good bye to many dear friends, unloading a uhaul in the rain, getting little sleep, loading the car and driving 800 miles ... well, you can imagine the variety of emotions I was experiencing.
I met my Mom and Grandma in Milwaukee to give my Mom a crash course in Jonson-sitting and they helped me unload my stuff into my on campus housing. It was pouring rain the Sunday I moved in to Purin Hall. I have a student "apartment". It consists of two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and table. It was on this rainy Sunday while trying to get into my student housing after a long drive and exhausting emotional roller coaster that I first noticed the trend that undergrad students are the majority of the people who seem to work here during the summer. They assume that you, the new student, know everything there is to know about UWM. I was given an envelope full of keycards, keys of different sizes, a grey wand thing and a garage door opener from 1987 and was expected to just be on my way. I looked at him with my rain soaked head of hair and pulled out everything in the envelope like it was a game, asking "what's this?" "what does it do?" "where is the parking garage?""a panther card for laundry?...please explain" ... I think you get the idea.
To distract myself from being nervous on the first day of my new adventure and already missing my dog who had been gone a total of 30 minutes, I nested. While organizing my new home I discovered that the internet didn't work. It's a little difficult to find a place to get cleaning supplies and extra long twin sheets in a town that is foreign to you with no internet, phone books, maps, or helpful undergraduate students ... but eventually I did discover a Target. I ended up walking around that Target for about two hours. It was nice to be in a familiar place. I had started to discover that I was feeling pretty lonely. I had been going a million miles an hour for a couple weeks with a either a person or a pet with me 24/7 to realize that I was now in a new place, completely alone, and about to embark on a new adventure. But while having that thought in Target, all I could think about was that I really just wanted internet so I could watch my Netflix on instant watch .... little did I know that the urge to watch netflix on the internet would haunt me for the next week and a half when the internet was finally fixed.
Another day of class has ended. Today we finished relatively on time and after a great conversation about embodying emotional sound to create movement with my improvisation instructor, I find myself thinking back to my first week here. It's hard to believe that I have been in class for almost three weeks, so much has been going on. Life has been filled with so many adventures the past couple of months that it's been hard to take time to decompress. I finished up the semester at UD and had an emotional end of the dance year at DDC, this is my first summer away from my DDC family. Those two things alone are hectic with the end of year meetings, evaluations, grades, extra rehearsals, auditions for next year, planning for next year and the list goes on and on. Add to it, finding a home for my dog and cat for seven weeks, a home for myself for seven weeks, packing for Milwaukee, moving out of my apartment, saying good bye to many dear friends, unloading a uhaul in the rain, getting little sleep, loading the car and driving 800 miles ... well, you can imagine the variety of emotions I was experiencing.
I met my Mom and Grandma in Milwaukee to give my Mom a crash course in Jonson-sitting and they helped me unload my stuff into my on campus housing. It was pouring rain the Sunday I moved in to Purin Hall. I have a student "apartment". It consists of two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and table. It was on this rainy Sunday while trying to get into my student housing after a long drive and exhausting emotional roller coaster that I first noticed the trend that undergrad students are the majority of the people who seem to work here during the summer. They assume that you, the new student, know everything there is to know about UWM. I was given an envelope full of keycards, keys of different sizes, a grey wand thing and a garage door opener from 1987 and was expected to just be on my way. I looked at him with my rain soaked head of hair and pulled out everything in the envelope like it was a game, asking "what's this?" "what does it do?" "where is the parking garage?""a panther card for laundry?...please explain" ... I think you get the idea.
To distract myself from being nervous on the first day of my new adventure and already missing my dog who had been gone a total of 30 minutes, I nested. While organizing my new home I discovered that the internet didn't work. It's a little difficult to find a place to get cleaning supplies and extra long twin sheets in a town that is foreign to you with no internet, phone books, maps, or helpful undergraduate students ... but eventually I did discover a Target. I ended up walking around that Target for about two hours. It was nice to be in a familiar place. I had started to discover that I was feeling pretty lonely. I had been going a million miles an hour for a couple weeks with a either a person or a pet with me 24/7 to realize that I was now in a new place, completely alone, and about to embark on a new adventure. But while having that thought in Target, all I could think about was that I really just wanted internet so I could watch my Netflix on instant watch .... little did I know that the urge to watch netflix on the internet would haunt me for the next week and a half when the internet was finally fixed.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Movement, Milwaukee and More
Well, I have been meaning to do this for about 3 weeks but with the schedule I have been keeping...it's been a little difficult to make time for things. I wanted to start a blog for friends and students who wanted me to keep in touch with them this summer. I thought it would be a good way to share all of my thoughts, experiences and the incredible things I am learning.
Of course, I had to come up with the perfect name. I thought that since I was starting work on my MFA in dance, using those letters for my title would be creative. Let's just say it took a long time to come up with something that made sense and wasn't filled with inappropriate language. But with the help of a dear friend and some emotional first days in Milwaukee...Motion Filled Adventure became the title.
For those of you who actually take the time to follow, thanks! I hope to share my new adventure in dance, creativity, life and much more. You'll have to bear with me because I have to play catch up on the first 2 and a 1/2 weeks of UWM life! Also, feel free to leave feedback, ask questions and share things with me. I miss my east coast family ... and everyone else and can't wait to know about you too :)
Of course, I had to come up with the perfect name. I thought that since I was starting work on my MFA in dance, using those letters for my title would be creative. Let's just say it took a long time to come up with something that made sense and wasn't filled with inappropriate language. But with the help of a dear friend and some emotional first days in Milwaukee...Motion Filled Adventure became the title.
For those of you who actually take the time to follow, thanks! I hope to share my new adventure in dance, creativity, life and much more. You'll have to bear with me because I have to play catch up on the first 2 and a 1/2 weeks of UWM life! Also, feel free to leave feedback, ask questions and share things with me. I miss my east coast family ... and everyone else and can't wait to know about you too :)
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