Dance Kid

One of my longtime, dance studio friends recently brought an article titled "27 Undeniable Signs You Were A Dancer" to my attention. The buzzfeed article instantly brought back so many memories and it was prefect timing to me personally for two reasons. 

First, this past Saturday I substituted at my dance studio, teaching a long sequence of Ballet Technique, Somatics & Stretching, Lyrical, and then hosting a CoEXISTdance Master Class. This ultimately meant that the young dancers and myself spent Saturday at the dance studio from 9:30am to 3pm! Almost a full school day! The most amazing part: I loved every second of it and so did they. I used to LIVE for Saturdays at my dance studio: Ballet Technique, Ballet Repertoire, Dance Composition, Lunch, Modern, Modern Competition. Talk about the glory days. I mean really, what could be better? It's Saturday, you spend 8 hours doing what you love, with the people who become your closest friends. 

Second, the exciting start of the CoEXISTdance Jr. Dance Company has ignited so many reminiscent thoughts for me. It is so refreshing to see such young and genuine dedication, commitment, and pure passion. These are dancers who simply want to dance and want to dance more. All of the Jr. dancers are so hungry for the art form and it is so evident in the studio at our rehearsals and master classes. From their professionalism to their detailed questions, the way they practice on the side of the performance space and watch each other dance, the respect they show to their teachers and their excitement about upcoming shows. 

As a professional, it has been such a rewarding process to touch base with my own roots in my dance training as I work closely with the Jr. Dance Company. The young dancers have inspired me to take a step back and look at my own dancing and choreographing in a much bigger way. Instead of thinking only about my work over the past few months or years, I am so much more inclined to look at my work over the decades, accounting for the past, the present, and the future. Also making me feel ancient, but that is a whole different blog. I feel so much more well-rounded as an artist and I have the Jr. Company to thank for that :) 

Anyway, looking back to the article, I must take a more humorous and personal route by sharing my favorite point. 

1. You and your friends would choreograph dances after school "for fun"
HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT! Me and my friends not only did this after school but at sleepovers, down the shore, at the studio, anytime and anywhere! We had rehearsals and mock performances. From the Lion King's "Hakuna Mata"to Britney Spears, "Tainted Love" to Annie the Musical, choreographing was clearly more than a passion from a really early age. Still is. 

There is no point to this blog other than the simple joy of looking back upon dance memories and laughing. I encourage readers to jump in and share a dance memory or two below in the comment section. There is a beauty to sharing past memories and reminiscing and it feels so good! 

If anyone would like to check out the full article… http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/27-undeniable-signs-you-were-a-dance-kid

Hope you enjoyed the read and I look forward to some great comments! 

Katie :) 

Music and Dance are Life

Ever believe in intense dream analysis? Yeah I have those amazing dreams where I can turn a billion times, do a billion flips and partner w/Matthew Powell or Sascha Radetesky (or just be Stella Abrera who is married to Sasha Radetesky and is a Filipina-American principal dancer w/ABT... One of us made it!). However I never really weighed in on them too heavily like the deep meanings of forgetting your shoes, being chased by dinosaurs, or having your teeth fall out... But occasionally I get these dreams where something profound happens - like I fall off my couch and into my glass coffee table because in my dream I was jumping out of a car to escape a bad situation.  That's an extreme example...

Luckily for me I also dream movement and choreography and if I'm able to wake I will get up and start recreating it or at least writing it down.  I always have a pen and paper on my bedside for when these things randomly happen. Words also come out that mean something to me and sometimes I can never forget them. 

About a month or so ago I dreamt the words in the picture above. I know where some of it came from. When I lived in NYC this summer I was sitting at a coffee shop in the east village when I looked out the window and saw a bunch of Asians who seemed to be doing a project w/their class. They were writing things on the sidewalks with chalk. I found it so interesting i followed them all the way to union square park. My favorite one was: 

I stood there and stared at it, music blasting in my ears about rooftops, never feeling alone in New York City, and the ed sheeran song my student sent me saying it made her think of me (aww!) When I went to NYC this summer I was kind of on a mission - to feel - to feel free, happy, and to refuel (amongst other things). I'd literally walk around, ear phones in, dancing around the streets, w/a silly smile on my face. I am first and foremost a dancer in life and the phrase "dance is life" has always been ingrained in my being. I'm single and live in a world where everyone's too busy to stop and just TAKE TIME (myself included). It occurred to me that music is just as important in life - if dance is life... So is music.  (Read my next blog on the importance of the dance-music connection!)

*Lauren

Looking Closer

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
-Aristotle

This reminds me of geodes, which are amazingly beautiful, but encompassed in rough, dull-colored rocks.  They are hidden not far from sight, but to one who may not have the patience to consider taking a deeper look, the geodes are easily overpassed.  

Art endures a magnified study of one topic, idea, area of interest.  At first glance, this topic may seem easily understood from simple facts and a superficial perspective.  Art, though, digs deeper, then offers that insight to the human race.

Zip-Lining and Dancing

on Sunday i ventured to a zip-lining trail in Delaware with my family. i will describe with short phrases....

exhilarating
ADRENALINE
shaky
30 ft. above ground
do not look down
stay attached
strength
jump through the hoops
balance
screaming
Tarzan jumps
climbing rope
trees
rough landing
extreme sport
small steps
water
ladders

it was such a beneficial experience for all of us to do together. we were all able to bond over how different of an activity this was, the scare factor, and how we all pulled through and finished the course!

what surprised me the most, as a mover, was how foreign it felt to step onto unstable and/or shaky objects. Examples: standing on platforms in swaying trees, jumping from one swinging platform to another, or placing my foot through swinging metal hoops (while holding on for dear life). my muscles seemed to have no idea how to handle this sort of challenge, my legs felt useless, shaky and jello-like. although exhausting and scary, this challenge was so good, so outside of the box, for my body.

it was just another reminder to me about how comfortable we often get by DOING THE SAME. everyday, we step, and we know it will be solid ground. shocking my body by doing the opposite was so thrilling. we all know in order to be fit, we must shock the body; keep changing workouts, adding new challenges, etc. as dancers, the more we make ourselves uncomfortable, the more strength, confidence, and dynamics we gain. but as human beings, we need change, to grow, to be reminded, and most importantly so that we do not become complacent. that is when time, energy, ideas, and so much potential is unconsciously tossed to the wayside.

so, although i will definitely be zip-lining again, there are so so many different ways to throw a zig-zag in a daily routine. find them and insert them! into your dance, into your life :)

- kathleen

Dance is food. Dance is life.

As a dancer, I realize that every dancer tries to categorize what type of dancer they are. Contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop are just a few genres of dance and we ask ourselves which one am I? Try something different and compare yourself to food. If my dancing were a food, it would be eggs. There are so many different ways to make them. Scrambled, over easy, sunny side up are just a few and I feel that is who I am as a dancer. All the genres of dance are a part of me and have shaped me into the dancer I am today. No need to categorize yourself. We can be any food we want to be. Most importantly, we can be any type of dancer we shape ourselves into being.

Sara

Dancing Under Water

If I could dance like any aquatic animal it would be an…

Energy proliferating from every direction

Lingering in silence until the prime moment to strike

Elongated motions, moving through a journey

Capturing its beauty is a rarity

Tampering with it is risky, but exciting

Rising to the top for new breath

Initiating power through movement

Coping with power through control

Elegantly shifting between deep-sea waves

Eerily hidden until the proper time arises

Lifting hopes to advancement through self experimentation

Love Whitney

marriage!

for today's blog I want to share a poem I wrote about my relationship with my best friend and my fiance and this exciting time in our lives!!! I have translated the poem into movement and the dancers are currently working in pairs to create a beautiful piece :)

I hope individuals and couples of all ages and at all different places in their lives can take something from the poem and/or the dance piece! enjoy :)

marriage

we twirl

carefully, spontaneously.

racing minds, 

hearts intertwined. 

carry me

catch you,

belong here.

we understand

transparently, purely.

soothing words,

forgiveness deserved.

lean on me

listen to you,

discover us. 

we soar

courageously, deliriously.

beautifully high,

home's the sky.

flight with me

follow you

move as one.

we love

honestly, unconditionally,

building together,

fighting for happily ever.

accept me

adore you

adventures of our own. 

- kathleen