Where the heck did this week go?  I honestly am amazed it is already Saturday...ah well.
So, this was the second week of classes at Eden's with Luis, however my jaunts to Sleepy Hollow and then some sight seeing I did with my dear friend Karen and her parents sent my left foot to a place called swollen town. :( 

So I had to force myself to sit out, and I did not attend friday morning class. On a "sad but trying not to be sad" note, Karen has returned to Ireland. I miss her very much, but we are connecting on skype and she has wonderful dance news up and coming in her own neck of the woods. To keep up with Karen, check out her site here

However, this week Melissa West resumed rehearsals for Pretty Little Things, set to debut on June 18th in Staten Island (also-That is my fathers birthday! Just like old times, isn't it Dad? I was always dancing in my childhood school recitals  on his birthday!) 
Melissa's rehearsals are like trips into your inner childhood happy impulses. The five of us (Melissa West, Laura Brandel, Kat Gorsuch, and Melissa Knestaut) hula hoop, sing, gogo dance, and dance like bugs to our hearts content. I believe we will have an amazing show, and I'll be sure to keep the information available here. Check out Melissa's site here

In addition to Pretty Little Things, Melissa will be restaging People in the Sun, an excerpt from Pictures her senior choreographic project at Hunter College which I had the pleasure of dancing in it's original creation and casting. Kat Gorsuch will be joining in this duet. 

Melissa has invited me onto the bill as a guest artist, and I will be debuting a solo, When Was the Last Time you Danced? based on my current film work of the same title. I'll incorporate quotes, video, and audience participation to give an interesting glimpse of my present research.

Speaking of my film-I am scheduling my final interviews, most notably with one Ruth E. Grauert, also known as Reg. Reg is the director of Bearnstow in Mt. Vernon, Maine. It was there that I have been influenced and transformed by the invaluable lessons of the environment of people, dance, and work. I cannot wait to interview Reg this Thursday-look out for a preview!

I am a current intern at Movement Research and for the next three weeks I get to take morning class with this amazing man, Luis Lara Malvacias. He is so goal oriented but so playful and clear that you can't help but have a really focused and fun time while dancing. We had 15 students pre-register for todays class from The School of Dance in Ottawa, so we had quite a packed house! 29 total students in little old Eden's Expressway! It was interesting to see the type of training in their bodies I used to think was so desirable. They were absolutely well trained, but absolutely over trained; and they absolutely gave a huge effort in class to get it RIGHT. 
It was kind of lovely to see that energy again, and to know that the precision in weight I seek and see in dancers I admire comes from understanding the body in motion and it's weight and not from muscling it around to force it do to what you insist. I love how much enthusiasm younger dancers have, and though I'm only 29, I can begin to feel my maturity and always developing passion. I don't think i'm quite conveying this the right way, but the sort of hyperactive nature they possess makes me nostalgic and grateful that I'm not quite that way anymore all at the same time. 

Luis is a smart teacher, and is confident without pushing into arrogance. He is open and makes you want to dance smarter. 

I stayed for the Alexander Technique class with Cori Olinhouse of Trisha Brown. She has a private practice in brooklyn and has her B.A. from Bennington. She really had a vivid and logical way of explaining Alexander Technique. I find that most Alexander classes can be so abstract, I'm not even sure what I'm meant to focus on. I can feel changes in my body, but I'm unsure of what my job as a student is while in class. She really helped me find some patterns I might have and discussed the possibilities of directional pathways with us. I really recommend her classes. 

Karen and I are going to brave another night at Yankee Stadium. Hopefully the weather will hold out and they will play!! 

For a complete guide to Movement Research classes, and for upcoming performance dates and applications, please visit www.movementresearch.org. 

This is my new personal blog. I want to keep this simple, personal, and daily. It's my online record of daily events-usually related to dance, but not necessarily. If you are reading this, you probably know me. 
For example, today I went with my friend Karen to a Yankees game. They were meant to play the Orioles, and we had really killer seats (such an amazing view!) and we woofed down hot dogs and garlic cheese fries. It was gross, but they are the things that I would never eat anywhere else other than at a baseball game, so it really gets you in the mood for 'experiencing', and that includes the food. After we marveled at the field, dried our seats, and licked our fingers clean-the game was cancelled. Ah well. Hopefully we can make the rain date, but Karen leaves on the 20th to go back to Ireland. I am not looking forward to that day.

See? None of that was about dance :)