Getting ready to head out to NYC!

So I taught a master class down in San Diego today... it was great. Fantastic hosts (Malashock Dance), beautiful studio (Dance Place), and wonderful students. In prep to go down there, I wrote a little blurb for their blog and I thought what the heck.. I'll post it here too. It seems appropriate given that we are about to start our last week of rehearsal before heading out for New York- and I am finishing up excerpts from our new work, Incandescent. Its going to be a long and busy week... here is what keeps me going in times like this....

When thinking about what to write for this blog I wondered why have I stayed with this art form for as long as I have. What about being a dancer and choreographer makes sense to my life and why am I so passionate about encouraging other people to explore it either as an active participant or as an audience member?  I realized that I have many reasons that keep me walking into the studio everyday… so here is a short list …

I love to move through space

            With abandon

            With grace

            With aggression

            With purpose

I love to shift

            Directions

            Energy

            Style

            Perspective

I love to challenge

            Physicality

            Technique

            Comfort

            Minds           

I love to engage

            Space around me

Energy of other dancers

            Audiences

            Students

I love to design

            Movement

            Energy

            Bodies

            Relationships

Somehow all of this finds its way into my class.  It can be through a tendu combination, an improv exercise, or rolling around on the floor. The process of walking into a dance studio and opening yourself up to new ways of moving and understanding is exciting. It is transformative, it is brave, and it is fun. Going on that journey with students or dancers in my company keeps me motivated and pushes me to grow in directions that I would never discover alone. It makes me feel alive and present. It’s my hope that I am able to share that with the people around me. Dance is hard and the dance business is even more difficult to navigate at times. Reminding myself of why I do what I do is important and helps keep me walking into that empty studio day after day.