The Dance of Life...

Image: Argonne National Laboratory

The journey between who you once were

and who you are now becoming

is where the dance of life really takes place.

~ Barbara De Angelis

My dancing heart

Image: Steve Jurvetson

The singing voice you hear is the dancing heart you feel. ~Aline

So true!

Dancing makes me feel alive

Image: Robbert van der Steeg

Another workshop done. This was the first one I looked forward to, the first one I enjoyed and had fun at. Now I can't wait for the next one.

And there's no time to waste - I've got new goals:

- get a full split

- reach elementary

- make sure HAIR gets selected

Woo-hoo!

Dancing makes me feel alive.

Let the music guide you

Image: manuel MC

So many realizations, so little time...

The main one is probably that I've been dancing like a blind person these last three workshops, chasing steps and all the while ignoring the one guide that was always there: the music.

It's like that exercise we did with one person leading another with their eyes closed - that's what happens on stage: You surrender to the music, you trust it and you go with the flow, whatever is thrown at you.

Image: Tilemahos

I couldn't decide which image to use for this post - the giant boombox with the international group of dancers and the small boombox in front of it or the music box ballerina, so I posted them both.

I like the ballerina because though stuck in her box, she's forever tied to the music. She won't dance when the lid is closed, i.e. there's no music and she'll only stop when the music does. This one plays Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

Realizations are like seeds

Image: Joe Lipson

Realizations are like seeds: They need soil, water and sunshine to grow.

Sometimes, we have the soil, i.e. the right environment but sunshine and water are missing.

Sometimes, we have the soil and sunshine, i.e. the information but water is missing.

Sometimes, we have soil and water, i.e. reinforcement but sunshine is missing.

Sometimes, we have all three but still nothing is happening because the seed is not receptive.

Only when all three - soil, water and sunshine - are present and the timing is right, i.e. the seed is receptive, can real growth happen.

Done chasing steps

Image: doogierule

I hereby pledge not to chase steps again - not for the fourth workshop in a row. I've done it for three and looked overwhelmed, confused and scared in them but not like I had actually fun dancing.

Enough of chasing steps, I'm a better dancer than that and the music and routines deserve much more credit and respect than that. If I don't know the steps, I'll make up my own according to the feel of the song or I'll shimmy but I won't become a wooden doll again. And if I don't get it by the time showtime rolls around - too bad. I'll cheer the group from the wings but I will not go out there and look overwhelmed, confused or scared again.

RIP Step Chaser

"If I die before I wake, pray the Lord my soul to take."

Feel it, don't fake it

Image: sancocho.com webzine

Feel is everything! Feel it, don't fake it!

Workshop has started - woo-hoo! Go punk'd!