Jeez, who knows anymore?

So training for the race has a new aspect-MY DAD IS COMING TO RUN WITH ME! Can you believe that? He ran a 1/2 marathon THIS MORNING and will be traveling to Brooklyn to come run with me for TURTLES! So good. My dad rocks the turtle shell like none other. 
pills
@ MOMA's Talk to Me exhibit. You should go, I did!
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baaaaa
The Jewish New Year has passed and I'll take any chance at new beginnings and sweetness. Apples and honey all around, please. Pass the maple syrup, too! 

Yesterday involved one Melissa West and Joshua Sotomeyor at the Stone Barns Center Harvest Fest. So we got to make pork sammiches and police the beer drinkers and hang with some piglets of both the hog and human variety. It was rad, smelled incredible and the kids running about provided endless smiles all around.

Jon Kinzel finished up his week at Movement Research and let me tell you what-WORTH IT. The NOT Festival is happening now-October 8th. Jon Kinzel is teaching as is Luis Lara Malvacias and Lindsey Dietz Merchant and MORE
CLICK FOR DETAILS

I am in the process of completing a new video with footage taken from over the summer. I traveled to Rochester and Boston, and visited friends and family. This is a compilation of that journey. It includes South Boston's experience of Hurricane Irene! I wish it was as fun everywhere as it was in Boston-but I know Vermont was particularly affected. 

Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime-subscribe to my videos on YouTube! YAY!

I don't think that was actually seven days-but whose counting? Autumn is here and my countdowns are finished, unless

 
Make a pledge to help me reach my fundraising goal of $250.00 to help the Wildlife Conservation Society preserve habitats for Turtles! 

Info here: 


Click the Turtle below to get to the donation page. 
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running is cool.
 
I'm tackling the autumn months with a new directive-running.
I used to run much more before I moved to NYC, and I'm taking up the habit again :) My father is a half marathon runner and it is my goal to be able to run with him in a half marathon next year. 

So, I found a local 5k race that focuses on TURTLES (and other sealife)! The turtle is my father's totem animal, so this is a dedications of beginnings to him.

Click for info on the Wildlife Conservation Society Run for the Wild!


I find that when I run more, I dance better, I feel better, I laugh more-it's kinda a panacea for health. 
Look for a new project this october-a dance video dedicated to NYC park running.

Believe me, it will be ridiculous and fun :) If you want to be a part of it, comment here or fill out the contact form on the site!

Happy running!
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I realize that it has been some time since I wrote in this blog. I have been looking...looking for so many things! What to do next how to move forward, and what direction to take. It's been a major thinking period in the choreography of life, and as a dancer and dance maker, I am forever constructing and deconstructing what I want and need to do in this life.

I have just returned from a two week trip. I'm not actually even home yet. I am sitting in a home in NJ, listening to my boyfriend play the piano as I make the decision-register for the yoga teacher training? Find work here and attend a local training? I'm not sure of the plan that is ahead-but I do know that I am making progress as my options become more specific and exact. Process can be a line, but more often, my process feels like a spiral. 

Everyone I meet is looking. Looking out or in, that is their journey-but I admire and respect the ways that we are all  finding and carving out our paths. One must act. One must make a decision. It may not be right, but hopefully we make it with the information and wisdom we have at the time. 

I believe very much in the intention of dance and life, and believe that no matter if your passion is gardening, computer sciences, or dance, it is your very intention that can begin whatever journey you are on. If you do not intend for something, will you be able to have any direction at all?

I hope your summer seeking is going well. 
Peace,
~M.E.
 
BUT WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?!


Hee hee! I love this time-it's full of spazzy productivity for me. I am awaiting the arrival of my parents here in my little Bushwick abode, and I am so excited to see them! 
In the meantime there are techologies to wrangle and kitties to groom. 

Please check out the upcoming performances section of my website for full details about the show this Saturday! 

Hula Hoops, Apples, Lipsticks, questions and answers, 
DOGS AND CATS, LIVING TOGETHER...
MASS HYSTERIA!
You get the picture. 48 HOURS TO SHOWTIME PEOPLE!
 
I <3 production week. Perhaps it's the kid in me, but hot dog does everything feel kinda magical when you have a show.

The bags under your eyes from editing video until 1:30am
The crack in your foot from that move you keep rehearsing because you keep thinking "oh my goodness if I fall..."
The trips to the store for another prop you need...

but really! it's magical, I swear! I've uploaded some photos by the wonderful Adam Jason from our most recent rehearsals, feel free to browse and check out Adam's site as well! Now, I'm off to sleep...for about 10 minutes. That's showbiz, kids :)

 
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Mariangela Lopez. Movement Mastermind.
At four pm today, I was sitting and chatting with Mariangela Lopez in the hallway outside Eden's Expressway. She was nice, petite, and full of smiles. Little did I know that this woman would soon TERRIFY ME.

Well, not really terrify me, but really challenge my comfort zones in a really productive and wonderful way. Mari focused on movement-the movement that we do as children, full of curiosity and wonder, and completely void of judgement. 

This is harder than it sounds. Leaving judgement behind to revert to former childlike bliss sounds wonderful, and I feel like I caught it in moments, but it was all together just really...scary!

Dance can be like that. Completely terrifying. I think that lots of people are terrified by dance because they don't think they can dance, or they don't think they look good while dancing. I know I can dance, and I think I look just fine doing it, but what was scary was suspending judgement of my own towards what I really wanted to do-rather than just popping out what I was 'supposed' to do. Because while dancers are used to taking risks, we are also used to being very very obedient. 

The workshop is still open, and runs for the next three Sundays in May. Registration can be found here. I cannot be in attendance this Sunday due to work, but I will see Mari and everyone else for the remaining two workshops. Please come join us! Many of the registrants are not dancers, but rather people interested in movement experiences. Come join the fun!
 
TODAY WAS HUGE!!!

First, I met Karen and her parents and aunts at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market around 12 or so. We didn't stay long, and Karen and I had a bigger goal in mind: GET OUT OF NEW YORK CITY. One day. Nature. Spooky Things. These elements, of course add up to taking the Metro-North to Sleepy Hollow. 

So, we traipsed off to grand central, caught the 1:20 towards Croton-Harmon, and basked in our take off. I was making a video along the way (soon to be edited) about our excursion and we were H U N G R Y, with no time to eat before departure. 

40 minutes later, we are in Sleepy Hollow, and it begins to rain. We walked on the highway, smelling the grass (I miss that smell here in Bushwick), and trying to to get hit by cars. We clearly didn't look at the map correctly, but you know what? It was fun. We saw daffodils and beautiful homes and found the cemetery quite easily.  Like I said, Karen and I were really hungry, so we walked a bit further to the Horseman Diner for a Burger and a Rueben. 

Full up, we walked back out into the wind and rain. Our umbrellas were bending shields, but we were still all smiles. We explored Philpsburg Manor  and heard some stories from the actors, checked out the sheep, and got an in-depth tour of the manor house. We crossed the street into the cemetery to check out Irvings grave, but it was 5pm and completely pouring. We shortened our trek, walked the correct route to the train station, and put some more images to video. 

After a lovely orange cream Magnolia's cupcake in grand central compliments of Karen, we parted ways. I headed to Hunter College to see "Sharing the Legacy, Alwin Nikolais" It was the last event in a year long celebration of Nikolais centennial. An enormous tribute to his creativity and foresight, the event was filled with works such as Pond, Tensile Involvement, Mechanical Organ, Water Studies, Imago, and Gallery, reconstructed by Alberto Del Saz

The really special moment of the night for me was of course Aviary. Only performed once before, Aviary was restaged and reconstructed by Gerald Otte. Otte is a Professor at Hunter College and danced with Nik for many years. I loved seeing my classmates perform such a rare and beautiful work, and of course I was so sad I didn't audition last fall. Ah, well. We win some, we lose some. It was excellent to have the moment to be an audience member and really be influenced by the art form in it's final presentation, rather than the process. I think seeing shows is just as important as going to class. It keeps your eye on the prize, reminding you that while the journey is and can feel paramount, the audience sees the final destination. 

If you ever can, please see any Nikolais work. It won't disappoint you with it's amazing mind bending creativity, and before it's time total visual theater. 

I admit I'd like to write more, but the day-oh the day, it gets away from me. 
 
This morning I decided to sleep in and really relax. I didn't budge out of bed until 10:00 am. What a rebel, I know! It's inventory day in the Carafice Bushwick abode. I'm detailing my resumes, and applying to performance opportunities and generally taking an office day to manage my life. Every artist needs to take stock, and make sure they are on the right track! I am going for a Thai Yoga massage later, and I'm really curious about it. I've heard quite a bit, but never really anything with lots of detail. All I know is that I have been opening up my joints more and I feel looser and more vulnerable, so I want to take extra care that I don't get hurt. 


I've added some of my past videos to the video section of this site, so please check them out. I am also currently working on a film titled "When was the Last Time You Danced?" 
If you'd like to be interviewed for my film, please contact me and we can set up an interview date. The usual interview takes approximately 5-15 minutes, unless you are really jazzed about talking about dance (like I am).

I am also in collaboration with Mark Ince, a fellow student and artist at Hunter College for a film project currently titled "Pablo" exploring the creativity of the three Pablos: Nerauda, Picasso, Casals. Each a master of their art, I will be exploring Picasso through dance. Updates and video studies to come!