Active and open...

I asitting at my desk and vibrating with creativity. After seeing the Salvador Dali' exhibit at the High Museum today I have been invigorated. Of course having tattoos of several Dali' images you know that he is my favorite artist and today being surrounded by his work I felt connected even more. He was so prolific, so confident, so paranoid, so in love. And amazing. I went with my girls Jenny and Pam which brought an extra added layer of joy to the morning and afterward went to eat and had fun convo and of course laughs. This past couple months I've been busy doing many things. I turned another year riper, I've worked on a film, I've traveled out of state to teach, I've judge a singing competition, I've visited L.A., I've seen amazing performance art, I choreographed a video for Pink Magazine, I acted as consultant on a music video for Fallon and Felisha, I've finished a dance for 32 young dancers, I directed Celebrity Dance Challenge, I saw the Dalai Lama, I was on Better Mornings Atlanta, I connected with friends from my past, I started a dance for Gathering Wild Dance Company, I choreographed a wedding dance, and Friday I start rehearsal for an NFL halftime show for GA Lottery...I say all this cause at times I forget how full my life is and has been. My trip to L.A. was an eye opener to how I feel about living in Atlanta. I've lived here for 3 years and it's finally home to me. I do love L.A. for many reasons with the most important one being that my longest and deepest friendships remain there but Atlanta is home. I have many friendships here and am surrounded by loving and supportive people. I have taken root by tilling my soil and trying not to get root rot by being complacent or closed off (with varying levels of success). If I remain open, giving, and in forward motion without letting negativity creep in my mind or heart then I'm growing. I'm so grateful for all of the gifts that my life in Atlanta has given me and look forward to more being revealed.

Recycling life...and living again.

Here I sit in Starbucks on Santa Monica Bl. in West Hollywood. I decided to take a mini vacation which I've been putting off for several months. Since I've become an independent contractor again so much has been happening. The latest thing and probably the most out of left field was being direct booked on the remake of "Footloose". I ended up working in two scenes. One in a cowboy bar and one out on a farm at night. I got to work with Jamal Sims and Dondraiko Johnson and had a blast. These guys are so easy to work with. I can't express how grateful I am to them to have me be a part of "Footloose". From the fitting on it brought me in contact with people that I know from my life in L.A. The wardrobe assistant was Bob Mackie's assistant when I did the last Cher show in Vegas and was a treat to see his face again. As I was leaving the fitting I passed a wall of photos from the original "Footloose" which were of my friend Peter Tramm who was Kevin Bacon's dance double and who has since passed on...it gave me a sense of connection to my past and present at the same time. Life is truly cyclical. Then one of the dancers they hired from L.A. was in the movie to, Nanci Anderson. I've known her since she was 19 and we danced in Hysterica Dance Company together. So amazing and beautiful to see her in her womaness. Now here I am in L.A. visiting and enjoying the 90 degree weather, surrounded by screenwriter working on scripts. The sun is beaming through the window and casting intense stripes on the people standing in front of me. The energy of creation and hope is darting around the room. Familiar faces passing by, faces from my past and my future. Loving being connected to the life around me.

Sit. Wait. Seek.

So it's been revealed to me in the past few...that I am sitting, waiting, wondering. Not sure about where, for what or about what. I can say that it's not a comfortable place to be in and I am seeking. I've been stuffy headed for about a week now and hate it. Today is really bad. Sniffling. Blowing. Eyes bulging and glazed. Hate it. It's also been revealed to me that I really do want someone in my life to share myself with and to share in someone else's life experience. I am in a middle place. Looking forward and back. Needing to move but stuck to the ground. Wanting to create but uninspired. Fortunately I've been in this place before and know that it will change but it's not so fab while here. Today I went to craigslist and looked at the job listings. I have never had a "normal" job as I've said before but am in need of a cash flow. Teaching dance is not something that I am wanting to use to sustain life for my body rebels a bit with every class. My mind needs to step up to the plate and take up the slack. I've used my body to generate income since I was 22 and I am not 22 at the present moment. Good thing is that I am willing to open myself up to possibility and I welcome change. A dear friend of mine has recently made a decision that has caused huge change in her life and although she experienced a rough spot in her transition filled with fear and doubt, she has emerged with a new understanding of herself and a renewed outlook on her life. I have another close friend that is in a similar situation as I. Wanting change, needing to make decisions that will bring huge change to her life. What? Where? When? Now. I am grateful that I am not alone. I have learned over the years that making decisions based on emotions such as fear is not something that is recommended nor brings about healthy change. So I sit. Wait. Seek.

So You Think...

Here I sit at the Toronto airport at 7 am waiting to go back to Atlanta. I'm listening to Annie Lennox and am remarkably awake. The task of creating a Bollywood number for SYTYCD Canada is complete although I did less creating and more cleaning and clarifying which is something that I've done many year of in my career. Longinus' creative process is one of rapid ideas and concepts flying out onto the dancers with varying degrees of definitive information. He likes to create sections then go back and detail and there is a lot of detail. It was interesting and challenging considering his accent and the rapidity of his speech but once we got the entire dance finished it was easier to nail down those details he was looking for. The dancers did a great job adapting to any changes that were necessary including a major one of shifting positions when the Executive Producer Sandra Fair wanted the costumes arranged in a certain color pattern and performed the dance fantastically. The crew were so beautifully welcoming from the the drivers Julie, Tim, Alex to wardrobe Lee to producer Millan, an amazing man with the most gentle demeanor and kind spirit and loved the work we did. Longinus is an amazing man as well. So gracious, loving, supportive and funny. We had so much fun rehearsing, sharing dinner time, watching TV together and he gave me great advice and encouragement. Then yesterday toward the end of the day I was sitting in the break room waiting for the time to shoot and I see Sean Cheesman walk by. His name jumped from my mouth and flew across the room with almost embarrassing volume. I've known Sean for 20 years and to see him there was a super surprise. Sean was always an amazing dancer, working with MJ, Paula, Janet, Prince, the list goes on and on and he's a sweet person. Now he's a resident choreographer for SYTYCDC and also guests on the American version of the show. It's always great to see a familiar face and feel that common energy of having shared the same space, time and career. After the day was complete I got to share some time with Sean and Longi over dinner. Sean and I could not remember when or how we had first met each other...well it was 20 years ago, but Sean is one of those people that I've just always known. I find in the dance world that you intermingle with other dancers with such random lengths of time whether it's at an audition, a commercial or film shoot, a tour, or a club that it's like we just share space and time that has no beginning or end. After dinner Longi and I went back to watch the show and Sean had choreographed a musical theater piece set to a song from "Wicked" and let me tell you...It Was Wicked!!! His choreography, staging, and partnering elements were simply dynamic and amazing. It was by far the best piece of the evening. And then I went to bed and here I am about to board the plane back to Atlanta filled with gratitude, inspiration, and nostalgia.

Lost or found?

So here I sit outside of Starbucks at Midtown Promenade with the light of my Mac reflecting on my face. It's almost 10pm and there's a football game going on across the street at Grady High school. In the morning I leave for Toronto to assist the choreographer of "Slumdog Millionaire" and many other Bollywood films Longinus Fernandez on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. This past week I've had waves of fear come over me and then dissipate surrounding this trip. I know it's because I'm not going to be around people I know necessarily, although I have spent a bit of time with Longinus and he is a super sweet guy, it's still unfamiliar. This fear makes me miss Dori even more than I don't allow myself to on a normal basis. Since I left my position at the studio formerly known as my regular job, I've been going from gig to gig and though that is a life that I know well I'm still getting used to it. Without leaving that position I would have never gotten the opportunity to have the experiences I am having nor be able to have the experiences I am yet to have and for that I am grateful. But still there is the fear of the unfamiliar. I know I am talented enough, I know that I work well with people, I am confident that I will be able to carry out what Longinus needs me to do, so why the fear? I think it is what I've already stated as the unfamiliar but more over I have a hole in my life without Dori. She is and has been my rock for 24 years. That is a lifetime. She is my best friend. She is a mentor. She is my cheerleader. She is my biggest fan. I love her and miss her. The other day I was talking with my friend KiMayJ and realized that I am in the development phase of my identity in Atlanta. Lots of people know me but who am I? I am not the AD of a studio. I am not the A List dancer I was in L.A. I am not a legendary entertainers choreographer...all of that is behind me. Now what's next? If anyone has the quick answer please let me know but in the meantime I am going to remain open and willing, at times not so easy but, always necessary.

Let the sunshine out...

It's seeming these past few days that my perspective is opening up. I am able to see and appreciate more the people in my life and understand that they see and appreciate me. For a while I had closed the shutters, lowered the blinds, drawn the curtains in order to protect myself and others around me from what I was feeling. I did not want to expose myself even to my closest friends. Lately I have found myself willing to open back up and let the sunlight back into my life and in turn shine light onto others. I am in a place of growth and I need to allow myself to absorb the generous gift of love the people around me offer in order for me to be nourished and give love back. I am amazed at the beauty that surrounds me in human form. The gorgeous and loving blues eyes, the incredibly effervescent smile, the wiggle butt hugs, the sweaty embraces, the accepting and understanding gazes that pierce my heart and fill it with warmth and energy, the hugs with heart chakra's aligned, the unspoken agreements shot from one another with one glance, the invitations to enjoy time together. I am seeing and noticing these things more often and more vividly than before and I am grateful for this new awareness. I am becoming myself again and it feels great.

Grateful in Wonderland

This Tuesday night marked a very important day in my life here in Atlanta. The day I reconnected with myself and dance. I debuted my new class BMOVED. The first lyrical class I've taught. I've been wanting to add classes to my schedule but dealing with physical things and emotional things as well as Koru had kept me stuck. Earlier Tuesday I had been rehearsing a dance I'm making for a group of 30 kids in Norcross at a studio called Footnotes. I was there from 1130am til 330 pm then headed back into town. Since late last week I've been worrying about my new class and trying to focus on what people would want, is the warm up good enough, is the music right, is it...should it be...will it... blah blah blah. Then suddenly it was Tuesday. So here was the day that I had been postponing for months, the day that I needed to trust myself, the day I needed to surrender to the universe. I got to the studio to teach my first class Old School Jazz at 6pm, I love this class cause it is the style I learned and loved when I first moved to L.A. I love dancing hard, fast, and with lots of direction changes. In OSJ I have my regular students that come back every week and I am so grateful to see their faces. I know they want to be there and dance. After class I headed to grab something to eat across the parking lot and as I left I glanced at the sign in sheet for BMOVED and there were 11 people...I thought cool that's allot. I got back about 20minutes later and as I walked past the front desk I noticed that the sheet was full (35) and that they had taken it away so no one else could sign in. What? The amount of people didn't really register with me until I got in the room and at that moment I was overwhelmed with gratitude and nervousness. I looked around the room and saw so many faces that I have seen at various stages of my teaching here in Atlanta. Comforting smiles, accepting eyes, open hearts. I was elated. Humbled. I shared a bit of how I was feeling which helped take the edge off, welcomed everyone to the class and then got started. As I was leading the warm up I closed my eyes and trusted. I took deep breaths of gratitude in and exhaled fear. My skin was tingling with the feeling of movement and with the energy of the others in the room moving in harmony. Several times during the warm up I felt my breath get tight as though my lungs were about to burst, I felt the pressure of tears well up to just bellow my tear ducts as though they were waiting to explode forth but a bit too shy to show their true selves. It was at this moment that I knew I was back home in my body. As the class went on I felt more at ease and as we launched into the combination I trusted again, I allowed for what was to be the experience to form without judgement, I saw the dancers absorbing the movement and allowing their emotions to attach to it and extend into the room, I understood as I have my entire life that I am a dancer. It's what I do, it's who I am and will always be.

Metamorphic dermis...

The blister that I have acquired under my right foot over the past week and a half finally dried and decided to peel off yesterday. The skin underneath is so soft, smooth, and tender. It is very sensitive to the touch yet not painful, the feeling is more like a raw effervescence. I realized today that that is how I feel sometimes. I am in a transitionary place in my life. I am excited, fearful, in wonder, enthusiastic, inspired, hopeful, and grateful. I feel I can see clearer...I don't necessarily mean see with my eyes cause anyone who knows me and who has seen how far I have to extend my arm to read knows better. I mean my spirits vision is more open. It's periphery is wider. My nerve endings more aware. Much like the fresh skin that was being kept moist within the liquid inside the dome of my blister, my senses have been awakened with the removal of the hard worn layer that had grown over them. This layer although protective in one way eventually became an irritant to the fresh layer underneath causing much pain to me. As with most healing processes something must be removed whether physical, emotional, or mental in order for the remaining part to survive and thrive. The peeling of the one layer and exposure of another demonstrates to me how life keeps morphing, growing, moving forward even if it is painful and comes in the form of a blister underneath my right foot.

and then...

Recently I've been faced with making a difficult decision regarding my career. Do I trade myself for financial security or do I follow my heart and feed my soul? I've chosen the latter. I have danced for 36 years of my life so dance defines who I am. I've never had a "normal" job unless you count the 13 days I spent pushing french fries across the counter at McDonald's right out of high school, and then there was the month I worked concessions at the movie theatre at the Beverly Center in L.A. during the first few months of living there. Other than that I've made my living dancing. What a blessing. Many of those years I took for granted because my career came fairly easy to me. I moved to L.A. in 1984 when music video's were huge and all the awards shows were using dancers. I would go to an audition, dance my heart out, book the gig, then move on to the next one. During my career I've had some amazing experiences without even realizing that they were that at the time. Touring with MGM star Mitzi Gaynor was the first gig I got. I grew up watching Mitzi and loving her in movies and there I was touring the US and Canada dancing with her on stage. I was barely out of Alabama. Wow! When I moved to L.A. I wanted to achieve two things...to dance on Solid Gold which did not happen and dance on FAME which did. After three days of 8 hour auditions I was chosen out of 3000 dancers from around the country to be one of 8 core dancers on the show. What? Me, Bubba from Alabama? After that because of a scheduling conflict in jobs I was asked to dance for Jackie Slieght on Starsearch and went on to win 7 shows including the $100,000 Grand Prize as part of Boys Club. Then came the touchstone of my career, the legendary icon Cher. I got invited to an audition by Doriana Sanchez for a video that was being choreographed by Kenny Ortega who Dori was assisting at the time. Got there dressed appropriately in black jeans, black sleeveless shirt and black motorcycle boots. I danced my ass off of course cause Cher was sitting right in front of me and that night after the audition I received a call from Kenny's assistant saying that Cher wanted me to come out to her house in Bel Air to rehearse. What? I mean I grew up watching Sonny and Cher on TV. I arrived at her house the next day and there I was dirty dancing with her in her kitchen. Talk about surreal. That lead to 18 years of dirty dancing with the diva and some of my most fond memories. Just these four jobs were enough to fulfill my wildest dreams when I was in Alabama, considering that I really only realized I wanted to be a professional dancer when I saw Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video and noticed one of the dancers mess up and thought "If I got to dance with Michael Jackson I would never mess up." I never got to dance with MJ but later became friends with that very dancer who messed up Mr. Tony Fields, God rest his soul, he was an amazing dancer and super sweet person. I guess I'm writing all this because at this point in my life when I think back on the work that I've done, the people I've worked with, all the amazing dancers I've danced beside and have seen my choreography on, I do my history a disservice by taking the easy road. I need to use my experience to inspire young dancers to follow their dreams, I need to share my joy of dance with more mature dancers who want to dance just for the love of it, I need to honor my career by continuing to explore myself as an artist, I need to expand my periphery to see myself fully realized in many area's of my existence. I think I thought this was the end but now can see I have many more beginnings before the end. I am grateful for the opportunity that has been given me since I've moved to the A and will carry that experience forward to use in my next days. Life is interesting and then...

2 days with Diva

I can't say enough good things about my experience the past two days working on Drop Dead Diva. Today was shoot day and I arrived to the set at 930am in Peachtree City, which by the way should be moved closer to the freeway exit, I'm just sayin'! We started rehearsal around 10am to perfect the routine we were to shoot later in the day. Tyce Diorio created the flurry of cross hatching, swirling, jumping, pumping that whizzed us dancers through the set which was made to look like an upper scale restaurant. The 8 dancers which included Tyce were dressed as waiters...not from The Varsity but more like Ecco in midtown. Black Eddie Bower stretch jeans, gray H&M dress shirt, charcoal gray tie, black Vans...and a black apron is what the boys wore. So we danced from 10-1130am then waited for the director to come check out what was going on, he loved it so we took a break and by break I mean a nap in my trailer. Yay! We went back to set around 230p to eat lunch then got dressed around 4 to start shooting. When we got to the set it was filled with people posing as patrons of the restaurant, so that gave the room more energy. There were three camera's shooting the entire time plus a steady cam for several of the shots. It's always interesting as a dancer to maneuver around the dolly tracks, boom arms, and the steady cam guy moving around at will with no rehearsal. We must of done the entire routine 50 times so you know I was sweating but surprisingly my underarms did not. I mean for the the people who have worked with me on TV or movie sets before know that I am the sweater of all sweaters and not once did I have pits. It was amazing! Now my face and neck were different stories though...all sweat all the time. At any rate after the 50th time the director came out and said thank you to all of us and that was a wrap. I have to say that the cast (Brooke Elliot, Jackson Hurst, Jaime Ray Newman) and crew of Drop Dead Diva are some class A peeps. So gracious, so supportive, so talented, and with great senses of humor. I can't wait to see how it turned out. Tyce was pleased, the producers were ecstatic and the director was in awe. My body is super sore but my heart and mind are full of gratitude and good memories. I can't thank Tyce enough for the opportunity to once again work on a TV show. It was like being 23 again on the set of FAME. Not sure when the episode airs but will keep an eye out for it.

So I find myself sitting here in front of my computer on the third official day of my vacation and needing to go to bed to get up at 730am to drive to Peachtree City to rehearse for the TV show Drop Dead Diva. I'm excited about working on a TV show but most excited to be working with people from my L.A. life again. Tyce Diorio messaged me the other day on FB asking about dancers and asked if I'd want to dance...immediately followed by "It's easy". Lol. I've known Tyce since we were both on Starsearch many years ago and I appreciate the amendment to the offer, considering I've seen his work many times and know it can be quite rigorous. I'm honored to be working with him. Also coming to town is my dear friend Marlon Palayo who is one of the most amazing dancers in L.A. and perhaps the world. I first met Marlon when I choreographed for Hysterica Dance Company and then had the pleasure of working with him on Cher's Vegas show as well. Talented, humble, and super dooper sweet. Other Atlanta area dancers working on DDD are the one and only Elysandra Q, Joy Spears, and Corey Willis, all of whom are half my age. Oye! what have I gotten myself into.

and now I rest

Koru is over and now I can rest, but notice the time of this entry and you can see that I'm still a night owl. I've taken the week off to recoup some of the sleep I lost while editing, rehearsing, editing, sewing, editing, making lists, and editing. The show was a big success playing to capacity crowds at the 14th St. Playhouse. The dancers did a great job as did the choreographers, staff and crew. I have gotten amazing messages, texts, and even hand written letters expressing beautiful experiences that people had during the process of making and performing Koru. The words written in these touched my heart so much it made my eyes leak. It has always amazed me how dance affects people. Whether watching it or doing it, it can move the human spirit, elevate it, challenge it, excite it... Making this show did all of these things to me but receiving these expressions of emotions on how being involved in Koru affected people sent me to another level of respect of how dance touches. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to create, collaborate, encourage and be inspired.

Long time no blog...

So I've been busy like nobodies bizness for sure. I am approaching the final week of production on Koru which marks my third annual production with dance 101. Can't believe it's been almost three years. Show is coming along...I just finished editing the opening video which I love. As I do editing. This time I'm dabbling in Final Cut Express version and have completed two videos on it with the rest of the stuff on iMovie. I got to know iMovie while on the road with Cher. It really help pass the time from city to city and is a fantastic mode of creative escape. I am accepting work as an editor...FYI. Also for connecting videos I've researched and downloaded some wonderful clips from the early 1900's of dancers and other vaudevillian acts and set them to various tunes of that era. It really ads a nice flavor to the flow. I am also choreographing two pieces for Koru, one a group dance derived from my Old School Jazz class mixed with my Latin Jazz class, the dance is set to a Jethro Tull song and goes into The Salsa Kings "Salsa Brava". My dancers range from mid 20's to mid "not 20's" and are of varying levels. I love my students and love seeing the smiles on their faces when they dance. It's coming together nicely and is lots of fun. My second dance is a contemporary duet set to Thom Yorke's "Atoms for Peace", love it. It shows a relationship growing, healing, rebirth...some fun partnering bits and playful energy. This show has a vast array of dance styles and should be really entertaining. I'm proud of the efforts the students are putting into this production, some of which have never been on stage before. How cool is that?! Lot's of life has been happening to. I've been surrounded by it and trying to keep it at bay without fully rejecting it for I am human and do pay attention to what others are going through. It's difficult to control my compassion, to not give so much energy to it and have none left over for myself. I'm successful for the most part, sometimes, and not at all....in varying degrees. At any rate, I am still breathing, still loving and still dancing.

Curious apples morph...

So last night I finally mustered the nerve to rent "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". You know, the three hour "curious case". I didn't start it til after 1am because I was working on KORU. I have to say that I've put off getting this movie also because I know several of the dancers in it and didn't want to get jealous watching them participate in the life I used to lead. Ok there I said it. Anyway, the movie started and I could not stop. I loved it. The story, the cinematography, the production design, Brad Pitt half naked looking like he did in "Thelma & Louise". My only criticism is that Benjamin didn't seem to be as young as he was supposed to be in the early years, so it was confusing some of the situations he would be in and not act more naive. But this did not keep me from loving the film. The three hours flew by and I didn't even doze off. Like I did tonight in "Robin Hood" which I almost walked out of. Anyway, "TCCoBB" touched me in a special way. I loved the final scene when he fully regresses. The story is amazing. Loved it.

This morning I went to meet a friend at Starbucks. I ordered my drink...Iced Venti Sweetened Green Tea and as I got it I noticed this handsome man, I know...shocker. He was sitting with his family. His wife and daughter were talking which didn't hold my attention so much but I couldn't help but notice his son playing with his fathers adams apple. The father had the most gentle smile on his face as if he was in future reflective thought of remembering that moment forever. It was so touching and real. I used to be in awe of my dads adams apple and wondered if I would ever have one. Well I do and I know that if I were that father today, I would remember the exact moment my son fiddled with it and how it made me feel, the unconditional love that can exist between a father and a son is a beautiful thing.

Later today I went out to Spelman College to witness the culmination of T. Lang's "Sweat Shop" summer intensive. There were about 8 dancers and they showed what they had been working for the whole week. These girls were amazing. T. Lang set an excerpt of the piece that she and Spelman Dance Theatre are taking to Lincoln Center in NYC, where they have been invited to perform next week, CONGRATULATIONS. In addition to that piece they ran through five others, one being full length at over five minutes and the others, more lengthened phrases. T. Lang's choreography is challenging, inspired, intricate, and something that she is now incorporating...gestural. I love seeing artists evolve and that is what T. Lang has done over the past year. The young dancers moved as though they had absorbed an alien energy and was using it as fuel to morph their bodies into different shapes with varying speeds and emotions. A great way to spend an afternoon.

Everything at once...

Wowzers...so many things happening I don't have time to take a moment unless it's early or too late. I'm gonna grab a quick one right now. So the show is in full swing now so that means I'm choreographing, editing video, editing music, making more lists, doing program stuff, teaching, and trying to stay sane and serene. This past weekend was the Urban Couture Senior Collection fashion show in which myself and Elaina Whitehead created something for. I also did the costumes for my piece and by do I mean make. 7 shirts made, 100 mirrors glued, one headdress revamped but it was all worth it cause it rocked the house. I mixed contemporary dance with hip hop set to a track by Brooklyn String Quartet, an awesome young ensemble. Then Elaina did her part to a mix of Sam Sparro and T Pain. By the end of the 3.5 minute piece the crowd was screaming, they loved it. Yay, mission accomplished. The audience was sprinkled with local celebs including Suchita Vadlamani host of Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta, Bill Hallman local clothing guru, and Dwight Eubanks from Real Housewives of Atlanta. it was a fun and exciting night with dance and fashion by the senior designers of Grady High School. These young adults led by Vincent Martinez really have amazing talent. The designs were sophisticated, edgy, well thought out and absolutely wearable. Fabulous work.

Tonight at the studio there were three rehearsals going on at the same time. David, Barry and Rachel and I must say that the dances are looking good. Some still rough around the edges but nothing that some good thorough cleaning will not take care of. My Old School/Latin Jazz dance is finish cept for the very end and I really like it. My dancers are working hard and really showing up for the piece. I'm doing a duet also set on my muse Ashley Lewis and a newbie Travis Barron. I love the dance and it's quirky style of budding romance. It's visual, endearing, and choreographically interesting. Starting to formulate the opening video montage that is going to be the most challenging to date and I'm super excited about it. Finally purchase Final Cut but probably am going to use iMovie cause I don't have the time to experiment and learn.

I have to say that my life is full at the moment and for that I'm grateful. I just need to get my sleep a bit more consistent and all will be well.

ergo needles and ruffles

Went to bed having sewn and woke up and back to sewing. If you went to see "Shorts" last night you would have seen my piece "ergo" half costumed. I did not use my very limited time management skills well enough to complete the costumes for the dancers in time for the dress rehearsal/preview Thursday night. So there I was Wednesday afternoon and part of Thursday morning running from the studio to Michael's to Hancock Fabrics then back to the studio then to my storage unit then to Gayle K then back to the studio. All of this in order to get these three tops made complete with ruffle bib. Well, two days of running around with one night and one morning of sewing and they were complete. Yay. They turned out nicely and looked great on the dancers and onstage. Tonight's performance of "Shorts" had something for everyone. Although mostly modern or contemporary the program had such a wide range of emotional and structural approaches that each piece had it's own thing going on. Stand out pieces for me were "Is That All There Is" from Adele Myers and Dancers which was mostly a solo with the incredible Diana Deaver then Adele joined her onstage for the second portion of the piece. This dance had most everything you can imagine. Humor, remorse, suspense, bewilderment, compassion. Ms. Deaver is an amazing technician with beautiful lines, incredible control and remarkable sense of timing. The other stand out piece for me was performed by Good Moves Consort lead by Annette Lewis. This group of five young dancers, and when I say young I mean 11 and 12, performed a piece that was structurally complex and was full emotion and energy with the maturity and focus of much older dancers. They did an amazing job and hold lots of promise for a future in dance. My dance "ergo" turned out nicely...my three dancers Rose Shields, Jena Kovash and Stephanie Johnson busted their butts. The piece was quite fast and extensive. "ergo" begins with a murder scene as we see Rose laying on the ground with a ribbon of blood flowing from her dead body and Jena standing still with her back to the audience as she reveals a knife from behind her body. As the music builds we see Jena's body produce a multi layered full body contraction of emotion. She drops the knife and falls to the floor and straight into a headstand showing complete confusion. Stephanie enters the scene to find a sight she never expected with one of her dead and the other upside down. As the tension builds we see Stephanie try to devour the evidence as Jena starts to come to and see what she has done. At this point I decided to reverse the story to show the scene that led up to the murder. I did this by having Jena pull the ribbon from Rose's body as Stephanie was in the process of removing the evidence even more by way of disposing the body. From this point on there was explosive dance involving rapid foot work, long extended lines and pattern changes onstage. We see the three exchanging aggressive control of passive martyrdom and then betrayal in that. By the end Rose and Jena are in a waltz duel for final destruction. The piece ends with Rose begging for mercy which is actually Jena begging for mercy from herself and ultimately killing herself using Rose as the martyr. Not sure if it all makes since but I found it interesting. I have to give it up to Joanna Brooks for curating this event. She is consistently active in and for the Atlanta dance community and Shorts is yet another testament that dance is alive and well in the city.

Improvisations and other movements

Friday and Saturday night I had the opportunity to create spontaneously in a show called Anthology. It was held at Studio 900 on Dekalb Ave. in Inman Park area of Atlanta. The studio is a photography studio and an art gallery as well with an amazing vibe. I collaborated with Travis Barron as he beat boxed I moved. Complete improvisation entitled "id"and a completely satisfying experience. We performed in a white corner usually reserved for photo shoots which served as a stark contrast for our mostly black clothing. Travis wore a tux and I wore black pants, black short sleeve t and had a mask that completely engulfed my head. I made this one so that it would look a bit like the outside of the Disney Music Hall in downtown L.A. with panels of black foam which began and ended with points. The back of the mask flowed up into a plume much like a sinister rooster and the front of the mask had spikes and a strip of human hair flowing down. Once I completed it it reminded me of a Stealth Bomber combined with a lobster. Very Dali'. The lighting for the piece was up light which forced shadows onto the walls that created another level of dimension which at times superseded the 3 dimensional action that was going on in the foreground. I love that people looked at it through different eyes and each experience was unique and valid without us telling the audience what to think or how to react. The first of two nights was cool but the second night I really felt a connection to Travis and he locked into my motion. I could almost anticipate his sound and felt like he was doing the same with my movement. I am planning to do this again as I feel like we only peeled the first layer off of what we could offer each other in inspiration and collaboration. Thank you to Zerina Serulle and Beth Del Nero for curating this event.

Tonight I went to see the Spelman Dance Theatre's Spring Concert. The concert was made up of choreography by student and faculty as well. Stand out pieces were the solo by Isaac Rose and of course the one and only T. Lang. Isaac began his piece laying face down as his fingers ran along the floor like separate creatures as the drug his body to the center of the stage. His movement was weighted at times then at others light an lifted. He has a super long body so that made the movement more pronounced in it's various manners. The finale of the show was a new work named "Wii Play" by choreographer extraordinaire T. Lang. The piece began with a single dancer in siloette center stage winding her right arm slowly. The music was "Year of the Dragon" by Osso & Sufjan Stevens a violin piece that had intensity and texture. As the single dancer was spinning her arm for a while the other 16 dancers entered from stage left claiming the space. They were wearing bright colored leggings and various shaped tops as they arrived to their positions and faced front staring down the audience with an invitation to play. The single dancer still spinning her arm began a phrase of movement that went shooting through the entire cast and began the game. Spelman dancers are strong, determined and engaged and attacked this piece with a vengeance. Structurally speaking the piece kept unfolding into new sections breathing a fresh breath into the dance with each new phrase. There was a long bench spanning the entire back of the stage which served as a launching point for much of the dance and which T. Lang used quite creatively using it as a backdrop for movement as dance phrases were performe downstage. "Wii Play" ended with an explosion of energy and color that personally drew me to the edge of my seat then propelled me to my feet with applause. This piece marked the end of 7 dancers involvement with Spelman and T. Lang which with roses and tears T. Lang introduced them one by one as they took their final bows on the Baldwin Burroughs Theatre stage. I got to speak with a few of the dancers afterward to see what they had in the future and whether they are going to New York, San Francisco, or Italy these dancers have amazing futures ahead of them and I hope that performing in Atlanta is part of it.

Feelings are intense. Yesterday I got up and went to a meeting then headed went to lunch with a friend then headed to the studio to watch Kevin's rehearsal for Koru. First of all let me say that Kevin's dance is going to be hot. But what I like most about it is his cast of dancers. They come in all shapes, sizes, gender, ethnicity, experience level...they could not be a more diverse group of people. It is what the studio is about and what the show is about. Yay! Kevin and his A-Town dancers aka know as students at dance 101. From there I headed home for a disco nap and a shower. I had tickets to Trey McIntyre Project and could not wait to see them. When I got to the Rialto I felt uneasy for some reason and then it dawned on me. I was nervous. The 18 dancers that were to be performing in the show had had rehearsal that day I knew that they were ready but I was still nervous. I looked around and they appeared out of every angle of my periphery. All dressed in black as requested and possessing an energy of excitement. I was met with my date's and we proceeded into the theatre. Ran into Bren Herrara, chef extraordinaire and aspiring dancer I found to last night. The lights went down and after the usual theatre announcements the red curtain upend to reveal a female dancer mid stage with the mounds rising up to the sky from her chest. Goldfrapp started playing and with the words "Only clowns would play with those balloons" the dance began. First of all I love Golfrapp and secondly I love that song. The dancer was join by two others a female holding two balloons in her hands and a male with a balloon attached to his head. By the end of the piece that was filled with humor with choreography that was fluid and quirky the dancer with the balloon breasts released her implants into the sky. It was a fun way to end the piece. The second piece was entitled "Ten Pin Episodes" and involved 6 dancers. It began with a solo dancer Jason Hartley slowly dancing around the bowling pin as he also manipulated it. He is a strong dancer with amazing control and focus. He was joined onstage by Brett Perry as they danced side by side as one. I mean they were so in sinc it was as though they were the same person. As the piece went on, one by one the dancers joined the dance. At times they would just walk on and place bowling pins in various places then walk off and others they would stay on and dance. Trey McIntyre has a wonderful way of transitioning from one section of the dance to another seamlessly. Ten Pin Episodes I have to say was not my favorite. Mainly because I am so incredibly drawn to the dancers dancing Trey McIntyre's choreography and want to see that but this piece had long moments of very little movement and I was a bit frustrated waiting to see them dance. A lesson in patience I guess...thank you Mr. McIntyre. Now finally the moment I was really waiting for was coming. After intermission came "Wild Sweet Love", the piece that involved the dance 101 peeps. The music began and I was waiting in anticipation for them to have their first entrance. At the moment they were supposed to enter I was so on the edge of my seat I couldn't stand it. Mind you they were mostly only either walking or running across the stage but some of these folks had never even been on stage. The first entrance went great and with each subsequent entrance they did exactly what we had rehearsed and what had gotten them the title of "best group we've had all tour" by some of the TMP dancers. Then was the one entrance where 9 of the dancers had to stand onstage while one of the TMP dancers did a solo. This dance was set to Roberta Flack singing "Do What You Gotta Do" one of my all time favorites. The choreography was heart wrinching and awkward at times which was juxtapose to the music and worked so well together. The dance 101 dancers were to begin with a lead foot type shuffle downstage and then stand there for most of the solo then at one point when the dancer comes toward them move back into a semi circle and watch her for the rest of the dance. I have to say I got misty eyed. I was in awe of their focus and emotional attachment to the dance while just standing there. They did a great job and I was so proud. After the show I was leaving the theatre and saw Trey McIntyre standing across the lobby. Of course I went over an introduced myself and he to said that our dancers did a fantastic job. I have to say that I was a bit starstruck. First of all he's like 6' 5" so that was one things but I was just drawn into his calming energy.He is a true artist and that is something that I have not been around that much while living in Atlanta and that is one thing that I miss about L.A. I of course awkwardly ask for a picture with him and he graciously obliged. Ran into Rose and Travis outside and noshed at Landmark Diner across the street. Headed home for sleep.

Today I went to an early meeting then to breakfast then headed to the studio before I was to go to a memorial service for a friend of mine who lost her partner to cancer. I got there just in time for the start and sat there looking at my friend and feeling her loss. At one point in the service the woman who was leading invited people to speak about the Jimmie, the woman who passed away. I didn't know her well at all but have met her a couple of times. I was sitting there and my chest was full of pressure. My heart was aching for Ann's loss. I had to speak. I said that I was there in support of Ann and that I hadn't know Jimmie really at all but that what their relationship was had created part of what Ann was and that I cherished. I sat down and my chest was back to normal. I guess the feeling I was feeling was emotion building up pressure and needing release. I didn't make either one of my grandparents funerals nor my great aunt Baby Sis. I've only been to one funeral in my life and that was for a high school friend who killed himself. It's amazing to experience the loss of someone through other peoples expression of love for that person. On the way home I got a call from a friend in L.A. and he said hey I have a special someone who wants to say hi. I said OK not having a clue who it might be but excited to find out. The voice said Hello Bubba? It's Giovanni. OMG Giaovanni!!! This is a man that I haven't heard from in over 15 years whom I fell in love with in Rome when I was over there working on a TV show. Amazing. he sounded the same and my heart melted. I cannot wait to speak to him again when we have more time to talk. So needless to say today was an emotional roller coaster. I was exhausted and came home and took a nap. So like I say emotions are intense and I wouldn't live without them. I was so grateful that I could look into Ann's eyes and have my heart speak to her and I am grateful that life has gotten me back in touch with someone that my heart has felt such intensely for. This weekend is, was, and will be.

Went into rehearsal with BCD at 11:30am this morning. Almost finished my piece which now goes by the name of "ergo" which means "therefore". Not sure why but that's what it is. Almost finished with the dance with about :30 to go. I'm still unsure whether I like it or not but not putting too much pressure on it. The dancers are working hard and dancing fast. The timing is falling into place. Costume ideas are brewing and of course in about a week I will have my sewing machine fully puncturing fabric in a frenzy to get three costumes done in time. Tonight was also the night for Trey McIntyre Project masterclass. Around 5:45pm as I was standing at the front desk and doing what one does when at the front desk which was many things tonight, I notice a white van pull up outside the studio and as I look inside the van I recognize Jason from the instructional video that we rehearsed to last weekend in order to train extra dancers to provide transitions during the show tomorrow night. I quickly and perhaps too eagerly whisked around the front desk to meet them at the door to welcome them. It was Jason Hartley, Brett Perry, and Annali Rose who were to lead the dancers through the class and the rehearsal. They were so cute and gracious and oh so amazing. The class was in studio 2 and began with a 45 minute ballet bar lead by Annali with her incredible feet and line, then went to the dance lead by Brett with his amazing energy and rather slender body as he moved with amazing abandon and precise control at the same time. The students were attentive and accepting and worked their butts off. It was funny because the intense ballet barre set up the class to be quite classical but when Brett lead into the first 8 of choreography it was extremely not classical. Quirky, angular, rapid, would some words to describe this Trey McIntyre choreography. Much of his work is just that which actually does take a tremendous amount of technique and control. TMP dancers are amazing technicians but possess the control enough to throw it away in order to execute Mr. McIntyre's movement. After the class the rehearsal with Jason began. Eighteen students I selected from dance 101 made me proud and impressed Jason. The rehearsal went smoothly and we were out of there within hour. I am so looking forward to the show tomorrow night. Three new pieces and getting to see our own dance 101 students onstage with the world class Trey McIntyre Project, who could ask for more.

Went into the studio early today to rehearse my piece I'm doing for SHORTS, Brooks and Company's yearly dance event with dances created by guest choreographers as well as BCD dancers. Before I launched into rehearsal I got a visit from my girl SV for a huge hug and some tomfoolery as only she can deliver. Once we said goodbye it was down to business. I've decided on the working title of "Strohs Gnol" as I'm still having trouble deciding a name for this piece. Usually the name is one of the first things that comes to mind but not this time. The dance is inching along and yesterday that kinda worried me because I only get one rehearsal a week with these three dancers. I know it will come together and I do like how it is shaping up so far. It's seeming like an outer inner conflict with one persons ego so that is interesting for me to see being revealed. Just after that rehearsal and at the beginning of my second quad venti soy latte, I began rehearsal with 18 dancers for Trey McIntyre Project. The Rialto Theatre approached the studio with the collaborative portion of TMP's "Wild Sweet Love" to be performed April 10th at the historic theatre at Georgia State University. Of course I am super excited about the opportunity although the work involves mostly walking. They are using these dancers as transitions between pieces and what a cool thing to be doing in each city they are visiting. I have chosen dancers from first year adults to teens to 30 something and even one 11 year old. Love that there are so many different bodies and experience levels. Rehearsal got off to a crazy start because after explaining and teaching the first section, I go to turn on the music and the CD is blank...uh oh! I call my contact and they think the same...uh oh! Oh well not to worry we just ran it off the instructional DVD although some of the cues were hard to hear for the audience's applause overlapping. At any rate we pushed through and all was well. I cannot wait to see TMP again this year. It is not to be missed...HINT HINT!!! The studio then opened for business and A-Town Funk ruled the house. I'm so busy these days and that feels good although I could use a complete day off with nothing and no one but for now I am grateful.

p.s. The picture above is of Trey McIntyre dancer John Michael Shert. AMAZING!!!

Dance is going on...

So I'm sitting here at the studio and all four studio's are still going. In Studio 1 Rose is rehearsing for Anthology, in Studio 2 David is work shopping movement for an upcoming show called LIFT, in 3 T.P. is rehearsing for a film called "Step Sister" and in Studio 4 Barry is rehearsing his dance for KORU. The studio is actually closed but there is dancing still going on. Amazing the dedication that dancers have.

This weekend I was going to take off...I even typed in my phone "TAKE WEEKEND OFF", well that didn't happen. Friday I went to work as usual at 3pm then left to go to Philips Arena to rehearse with 100 and something dancers for a GA Lottery event. There we were on the basket ball court working out steps and spacing it's strange working with that many dancers specially when you're talking over a microphone. The next day was the same. Went to the Philips at 10am and started right where we had left off. It'm working with Steven Jones, Quincey Lamar, and CiCi Kelley three of Atlanta's heavy hitters in the dance community. I have to say I love working with these people. They are talented, professional, and respectful. We work really well together. We stayed there til 2pm then I headed to grab a bite to eat and then went home and crashed for a bit. Luckily I did get some work done around my place, as in unpacking some boxes and hanging some things on the wall. Then at 9:30p I headed out for snacks and games with Suchita and the gang at Michael's house. Many laughs had, as well as some yelling and argueing because some people, who shall remain nameless, were not neccesarily playing farely. But none the less we had fun. The next day I had a couple of meetings then headed over to the studio to have a meeting with the choreographers of KORU. The meeting went well and so far the show seems like a good one. The Dames Aflame were holding an audition for new girls and I got to see a little of that, there was some good talent there, specially the young and ever so cute Candace Maxwell who did exceptionally well.

So here I am at the studio and getting ready to go home realizing that dance is alive and well around me.

All movement.

I've been inspired. Tonight in my class I realized something. I create movement. No matter what style set to what music if any at all, I create movement. I can see dance in anything. The simplest of gesture to the largest dive roll, we are surrounded by movement. Before my class tonight Beth Lewis of Pilobolus was showing us a video of a commercial they did where they all rolled in as Pilobolus will and formed the bones of an upper arm and forearm with a hand. I mean it looked so real. So amazing. All movement. By the way they are coming to town March 25th at the Ferst Center. I will definitely be there since I haven't seen them live in years. In class I started to make the combination and it flowed out of me and into the air and settled in my students bodies. All movement. After my class I was watching Kevin Tyson's A-Town Funk class and they were hitting it so hard and loving it. All movement. I then watched some of Barry Thomas' tap rehearsal for KORU and it was dynamic, gonna be a fantastic moment in the show. All movement. Then I watched some of Rose Sheilds' rehearsal and she had non contemporary dancers doing contemporary movement and they look really good. All movement. The studio has so much going on right now. So much creation. Tonight I'm checking out video's on YouTube and ran up on Alonso Kings Lines Ballet which is based in San Francisco and let me say that they are amazing. I got to see them about three years ago when our own Kathryne Van Asche was doing their summer intensive program. She was beautiful in the show and the whole show was amazing. The particular piece I was watching on Youtube was a duet set to live African singing where the traditionally dress singers sat on stage while the dance happened. The female dancer had the extension of the God's and the male dance was languid and had beautiful movement quality as well. The dance was a continuous string of slow moving leg extensions, sensitive and wary plies that intertwined the two dancers arms as if they were passing through one another. There were moments where the dancers would separate then come together again as if they could not breath without the other. The choreography show extreme control, beautiful vulnerability, intense strength, intimate connection, immense trust and sensuality. Incredible and all movement.

All in a week and a day...

Life is interesting. Sounds so cliche' but at times that's all I can say. It amazes be the resilience of people. The self critism that we possess. The ability we have to move through things. The ability we have to get stuck in a rut and be fearful of using our ability to move through things. As I sit here listening to Mae West singing I am aware that I've experienced all of the above in the past week...one of the longest weeks of my life. For no particular reason was it the longest but just felt that way. Could be for the fact that I haven't had a true day off in almost two weeks. In that time as well, I've become aware of two people in my circle that have cancer and dealing with both living with it and dying from it. I remember when I was a kid I knew noone with this disease, it was something that other people had it was so foreign. I guess that's part of life as well. If you live long enough you are bound to have people close to you get diseases. Never knew I'd still be around at 46. Recently I've hear somone say "Im such an idiot". I get it but feel it's sad if people really do feel that way about themselves and when you say it, it's just like someone else saying it. I used to beat up on myself alot and it got me nowhere except for in a deep pit of self pitty. I do much bretter these days without the boxing gloves and a mirror. I've alos seen pople this week after having been in a rut of fear, uncertainty, sadness, who's lives in one day have turned around and given them new perspective and hope. Love that.

Today I had the final rehearsal for the Drum Cafe Atlanta gig and it was a bit frustrating. People late and people not knowing what they are doing. Dressing...undressing. Time constraints. Worry. Crying baby. Pounding drums. It was karazee but just when I took my fists and drew them to my eyes and rub in frustration, fear, anger, confusion...I looked up and saw another take a deep breath with eyes closed and exhale. "Thank god I'm not alone" is what I thought. After that my mood lightened and I moved on in gratitude and the rehearsal ended nicely. Went about my day at work making phone calls, returning emails, researching instructors, contacting dancers for Trey McEntyre Project colaboration, setting rehearsal schedule for that same project, etc. Taught class...Latin Jazz which I love. I think I was born with several drops of latin blood in me although you can't tell with my lilly white complexion. Stayed at the studio and finished up some stuff I was working on. Watched an excerpt from Hysterica Dance Company's last performance "CRUST", odd, alluring, sensual, psychotic...all the things I love and nothing that I did not expect from my loves Kitty McNamee and Ryan Heffington check them out. I truly love dance and sharing that love of dance with other people who love dance. Speaking of dance, more thoughts are coming for Anthology, the show dance/art show curated byt Zerina Serulle and Beth del Nero at studio/ninehundred. My collaboration with Travis Barron will be more art than dance.

Tonight I was going to start editing but I feel the need to rest. So I will. I look forward to tomorrow and what it has in store. I can't believe those words actually come out of my mouth or in this case from the tips of my fingers with nails that need clipping. But they do...and now I go clip and sleep.

One heart, one celeb, lot's of laughs...

Two days of go go go. Yesterday started off with a bang litterally. Banging on drums that is. Had rehearsal for Drum Cafe Atlanta out at their home base in Scottsdale, GA and when I say out there I mean it. I get there late after taking an out of the way iMap route and find the dancers just arriving as well. Kisses all around and away we go into the drum barn and upstairs. At the top of the stairs is a door that opens into a wood covered room which will serve as our rehearsal space for the following three hours. I have to say it was one of the most efficient rehearsals I've ever had. Everyone was focused and we got alot done BUT...by the end of the rehearsal I was ready to not hear a drum for a hot minute. I mean I love percussion and all but the space was a bit small for my rock n roll tainted ears. I think I have a bit of hearing damage from all those years of touring and dancing onstage with huge stacks of speakers blaring. Left the rehearsal and headed to get a bite to eat. Got back to my place around 5:30p and started doing stuff I needed to get done around the apt. It's been a month and a bit and I'm still not all the way moved in. Frustrating. Anyway, got some of it done and then headed downtown to meet Aris and visit some friends at The Pulse dance convention. I love it when dancer folks from my L.A. life come into town cause it's wonderful to be around their energy. So familiar and comforting. Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Cris Judd, Wade Robson, Gil (with the last name I've never been able to pronounce much less spell) and Tyce Diorio. I've known some of these guys for 20 years. Amazing talents, fun people, beautiful souls. It also makes me a bit off center when I leave them. Almost like leaving home in a way. I miss that creative energy. The showcase was nice and I have to say that Rhythm Dance Center and Project 7 did wonderfully. I also ran into my dance teacher from when I was about 16-17 Tracy Soloman and that was a trip. Her girls from Dothan School of Dance did a fantastic job as well.

Today I filled in for Jennifer (Happy Birthday) at work so had to be to the studio at 11:30a and stayed til three. Later in the day I got to see a couple rehearsals for the show and can tell KORU is going to be a good one. Whitney's piece, set to a cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" is interesting and has nice flow to it and Ray's piece, although just started, has a beautifully diverse group of dancers and within the first 4/8's I can tell it's going to say alot. Left work and headed toward Grant Park to see The D.A.I.R. Project perform "Barriers" but with a late start and murderous traffic, ended up aborting mission to turn around and go home. I had another invitation by Suchita to go to the Laughing Skull located in the Vortex Midtown to see Jennifer Coolidge who played Stifler's mom in "American Pie" do stand-up. She was hilarious. We went backstage after and got to meet her and talk a bit. She was so cool and gorgeous. AND funny. She said she's thinking about moving to Atlanta and I hope she does cause she'd be super fun to hang out with. Also there was Reggie Aqui whom I haven't seen in forever and it was nice to hug his neck and catch up a bit. After the show we headed over to Apre Diem for a bite. I had the most amazing pasta I've ever had. Penne Aru....I can't remember the name of it but it was incredible. Suchita, David and I hung out for a good 2.5 hours lounging on the couches and taking in the atmosphere. Apre Diem is really a nice place to relax. There was a fantastic DJ as well.

So now I'm home and ready to end this day. I wish there was more days in a weekend. Specially when I have things to do on the first two days it would be nice to have another just to rest. But, I am not complaining. I am grateful for the full life I have. I remember back some years in L.A. when I was like "what the hell am I gonna do today" I couldn't figure out how to fill 24 hours. Now I'd like 30 hours in a day...WELL... at least on weekends.

In progress, not perfection...

In the studio with BCD members Jena Kovash and Stephanie Johnson as well as another beautifully gifted dancer Rose Shields. The dance is set to three tracks from the Venetian Snares soundtrack for "My Downfall". All synthesized string instruments, very kinetic and dramatic. I have to say the piece is flowing very slowly mostly in part to me not having choreographed contemporary movement in a while. I am enjoying the process though and trying to trust what's happening. The dancers seem to enjoy it so that pleases me. Still working on a title because my idea and music changed after the first rehearsal. Keep you posted on that one.

Continuing work on Drum Cafe Atlanta Flashmob happening in DC this next week. Incorporating contemporary movement with African dance has been amazing. I'm working with six dancers two of which are African dancers. I am trying to weave their movement in amongst the contemporary movement as well as have the contemporary dancers learn some African dance moves and the African dancers learn contemporary moves. Drum Cafe Atlanta is run by Jo-Ann and Alain Eagle. They use the act of drumming to transform, inspire and motivate corporations to work together and think outside the box. I have to say dancing to live drums creates an entirely different energy in my body and pushes the dancers in a different way than when using a CD or iPod. They are such lovely and positive people as well and the energy that is created in the room is inspiring to me.

Work is underway on KORU as well. Lot's of students signing up to be a part of Dance 101's next show, the third directed by me. Ideas are formulating in my head as to how I want to go about creating this new show. I researched hours of music and am starting to compile the walk-in and intermission soundtracks. I'm using sounds of Vaudeville acts from the early 1900's. From Mae West to Jelly Roll Morton. The texture of the music of that era is amazing. Such richness in it's simplicity. Something you don't find these days in music. Looking forward to the unfurling of KORU in the weeks to come.