'happiness does not wait"

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happiness does not wait

From the Festival of Contact Improvisation in Water and on Land
in Thailand, March 2016.

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Floating and Storytelling

On Saturday we had the final session of the Theatrical Interpreting Preparation Series (TIPS) Part I workshop I've been leading since December. This was a great session and the participants were great to work with. It was a very diverse group, in terms of experience in both theater and sign language, which led to some great discussions. I will miss our twice a month Saturday meetings and sharing four interpreted performances in five months with them. Thank you, all of you!

Saturday and Sunday I also interpreted/participated in "Sign Mudras," which the creator Jayanthi Raman calls "experimental dance theater using contemporary Indian dance and American Sign Language for storytelling." In this production I interpreted, and I crossed over that barrier (as Jayanthi intended!) to do storytelling in one piece which was entirely traditional Indian dance, with no spoken language. The first dance piece, there was a narrator reading different parts of the story between sections, which I interpreted. And the final piece, the narrator gave an overview of what was to happen in the dance, which I interpreted, and then I stood back and did not sign during that final fifteen minutes. We did have some signing audience members in attendance at both performances.

Saturday night after I arrived home from the performance, my partner and I went for floats at FloatOn. I was in the new ocean tank with the optional star system overhead. I turned off the tank light immediately - but I left the stars on for a couple of minutes, then those went away and I was in that relaxing, soothing, noise reducing darkness. My mind was still humming with thoughts and I let them bounce around for awhile; didn't try to force them to stop this time, just let them be. And they did finally quiet down. For a bit. Somewhere in those 90 minutes, I started getting some clarity for my writing. For two particular projects. One of them was the M-book and, while that's the one I don't remember as well, I know there was something there. The other project is a new one I'm not talking about yet. It is started and it has many parts. And I had a great idea for a new part, which I immediately started after we got in the car - even before driving home. I didn't want to lose that spark, so I wrote what I remembered with enough details to keep the thread going. I've continued that piece a little, though there is much more to do.

This is the second time I've experienced a writing inspiration from floating. Maybe there was a third time I don't remember right now. But this one seemed extra good because I wasn't even watching for it. The other one I remember, I was specifically hoping for some insight related to writing and I tried to steer my thoughts in that direction. But on Saturday, I let my thoughts wander. And there it was.

Good news!

Contact Improv

I was looking for a new contact improvisation video for the sidebar and came across this film. It is by Tina Speth and was submitted for the contact improvisation festival in Freiberg in May 2013. It will appear in the sidebar for awhile, but I wanted to give it more attention with its own post. Lovely. Contact improvisation in everyday life.

Sign Mudras - Two Free Performances

I will send reminders and updates as the performances approach; consider this a "save the date" notice.

Jayanthi Raman is working on a project combining East Indian dance, traditional Indian mythology, modern mythology, and American Sign Language. There will be two free performances in March 2014. The space is limited and Jayanthi Raman Dance Company performances are always well attended so you will want to plan on arriving early to get a seat.

Found Quote

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I ran across this quote today. I like it. Very much.

"Where the hand goes, the eye follows; where the eye goes, the mind goes; 

where the mind goes, is the heart; where the heart is, lies the reality of being."

- Bauhinia Adriana, The Mirror of the Gesture (ancient dance treatise)

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Challenge : I is for Inspiration

I is for Inspiration.

Of course it is; what else could it be? Yes, I had a few others, like Insightful, Imagination, Integration, Integral, Integer. Oh no, they just keep coming. So many I words that call out to me. That call out to, me, or I in other contexts. Perhaps I should write about the I is for I.

No.

Inspiration. That's the one which carries the strength for me as I type this. Because Inspiration can be so many things, depending on the viewer, the reader, the listener; on the intent of why a person might be seeking inspiration and what they are going to do with it.

Inspiration is not just one thing. It is many things and could be anything.

For example, watching dance is very - no, let me correct myself : can be very - inspirational for me. I am not a dancer. I've always liked to dance, I was on a dance team in junior high school, I went to school dances, I went to dances in bars when I was old enough (and a little before; I looked "older than my age" until I didn't any more, which was in my early 30s). So I never had any formal dance training - only the generic dance classes at school, or a square dance lesson or two, or dance instructions in aerobic classes (can that even qualify as "dance"?).

But there is something in watching skilled dancers which speaks to me in a language that is beyond words. And when the dancers interact and their bodies communicate - with each other, with the audience, with the space in which they are performing - I feel it. I know I've said this previously but perhaps you didn't see it: don't ask me to explain what a dance was "about" or "why" it was good or inspirational. I can't tell you. I know what speaks to me when it's there and I feel it in my body. I don't know if it's "good" or if they are technically very skilled. I only know that it works and it communicates and I'm there with them. And I leave changed in some way and my inspiration is sparked.

Sometimes it's a sound.
A name.
A smell can evoke a memory, a sense of something exciting or scary or sad or just is.
A series of musical notes.
A voice.
A flash of color out of the corner of my eye.
A tingle triggered by unknown factors.

Inspiration also works for people in business, scientists, doctors I suppose, inventors, dancers, visual artists, sculptors.

Inspiration is Invaluable.

Inspiration makes life Interesting.

I is for Inspiration.
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Creativity Flows in Two Directions

To be a creative person, whether it's writing or visual arts, creating or playing music, dance - I believe one commonality is that the creativity must go in two directions. We create our passions, our lives, our experiences and interpretations and those flow out into the world in whatever way is our own. But we also must have creativity flowing inward.

We must also be the audience, the reader, the viewer, the listener. We have to be refilled by things outside of us - by which I mean to be inspired and exposed and present in the world.

I know that some artists sometimes have to go inward or to retreat from the busy-ness which can consume our time and energy. But I also know that we have to go out and see what others are creating. It doesn't have to be in the same medium in which we create - but just to be witness to the process and product of others.

I believe it's good to step outside of only what we create and get inspiration from other mediums. To expose ourselves to, and sometimes to immerse ourselves in, something outside of our norm is good. It keeps us awake and aware.

And it keeps creativity flowing in as well as out.

On Friday I went to the final White Bird Uncaged performance of the season. I bought season tickets to all of the Uncaged series, as well as individual tickets to a couple of other shows. This performance was originally with a different group from outside of the US; but Visa and immigration issues cropped up which prevented them from being able to get here in time for the performances. White Bird tapped Illstyle & Peace Productions, a hip-hop dance company from Philadelphia as a replacement.

Even though hip-hop dance is something I've never done and never will, it was inspiring and, yes, creativity flowed inward. A couple of parts the movement and the energy was so strong that I had tears. Not crying because of narrative content or regret or anything negative - but tears of awe of the dance and the physicality and how the dancers worked together.

For me, watching dance can help to fill my creative tank. Often the most inspiring and the ones I respond to most are the ones I could never explain to another person; I don't even try. I respond to dance at a physical and emotional level - it's not something which passes through my logical brain. I may admire the skill and the movement - but I don't know what most of it is called and I don't even try to figure out the meaning. I react with my body and with my spirit. And my spirit is where my creativity lives.

What fills up your creativity? And where is the center of your creative response?

This is a video of Illstyle & Peace Produtions. I like that there are some pieces of performances, as well as information from the founder and choreographer. It does have captions, as well.

Enjoy!


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Creativity when the World Outside Feels Crazy

I realize that there are wars around the world. There are people who kidnap and kill and maim and torture on, probably, every day of the year, somewhere. Or nature releases another "event" which floods or carries away or explodes property and people and land. And I don't mean to say that it is only when terrible things happen near home that I notice. That is not true.

What is true is that sometimes, when horrible things happen and it's near home, I feel it at a different level or in a different way. Or I am struck with a renewed realization of the tentativeness of life, of the random possibility of something or someone outside disrupting life.

Whether it is grief I feel for completely unknown people in other countries or the knowledge, again, that the victim of a recent incident could have been a friend or neighbor or partner of someone I know - the feelings are powerful.


Yesterday there was a shooting at the Clackamas Town Center mall, which is a few miles from home. It is far enough away that I didn't feel my physical home nor neighborhood were in danger - and I was several miles in the opposite direction when I heard the news.

The shooting was one of the random acts. Because the shooter is dead, I don't suppose we'll ever know the real reasons. There will be speculation and guesses and experts putting together the pieces, trying to make sense of why two people were killed, another nearly killed (she is expected to survive, I read this morning), and unknown numbers hurts. The mall is closed today and people have important possessions left behind in the mall when it started and the police department assured people there will be a process for them to get back their belongings: baby strollers, medications, purses, purchases, and so on. But - unless the shooter left a note explaining everything, we will never know, really. And even with a note, there is probably more hidden away in his now dead brain.


A random act. People dead. More people hurt. Many more afraid and asking "why?"

Family and friends and employers/employees checking on each other. Police visibility is increased at all of the malls/major shopping areas now.

And this incident a couple of days after an 11-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy with a loaded gun tried to rob a woman in a pickup truck. The boys were initially returned to their parents. Why? One of them immediately ran away but was chased down and again returned to his parents. Again, why? Then the following day the boy was taken into protective custody and the father arrested. Okay.

And more. I'm not going to recount the stories in the news which have impacted me in this last week. After yesterday's situation at the mall, and when the police said the shooter had been "neutralized" - which also bothered me, just tell us he's dead or in custody or something, but "neutralized"?, c'mon - I had to talk to my partner. Not because I thought she was in danger or hurt, but just because I wanted to hear her voice, to talk, to say, wow. Random.


In thinking about this further, I realized that how we can get through these things - whether it's these types of incidents at or near home, or in a country we've never touched - is to connect and to create. It's good that we have feelings and react - in appropriate ways. And using the power of the emotions to create is one way.

I also wanted to update the contact improvisation link in the sidebar. The one I have has been there a while and it's time for a new one.

In my search for a new video, I found this. Even if all you do is watch the opening dance improvisation part and skip the TedTalk, I hope it at least gives you a smile. I enjoyed watching the dance and listening to the giggles. And I enjoyed the talk, as well, it's a wonderful description of contact improvisation dance, with a demonstration at the end, as well.

Connection. Creative flow. Being present and in the moment. These are the things we need to write or dance or paint - for any creative endeavor. For getting through the emotional times.



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Razor's Edge for 9/14/12

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Today's prompt starts with a video of a Contact Improvisation dance. Watch and listen to the dance and then read the prompt below the video.

And, go!




Prompt: Think about the people you've been closest to in your life. Make a list of the top five to seven. Look at the list and let an event come to mind with each of them. Which event feels strongest or evokes the most vivid images? Choose that one.

Tell me about this person. Start with the image which came first to mind and write. Write for 10 minutes.
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Razor's Edge for 8/31/12 : Sharing Space

Today's prompt is a video along with words. The words might be sentence starters, or the essence of a paragraph, or perhaps your writing takes you in a completely different direction. Don't feel compelled to use the exact words, though you can if you like.

The video is about 20 minutes long; it is pieces from a performance.

Watch the video for at least five minutes before you start writing. But I suggest waiting as long as you can to start unless you are pulled to start earlier.

Start by reading the word prompts. Then start the video. Write when you are ready. Write for about 10 minutes.

Go.


[1]  Before I forgot what I knew, I thought that ....


[2]  Her arms touching my arms felt like ...


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Razor's Edge for 7/20/12: Listening and Shadows

Today's prompt is a video and a sentence starter. As always, don't feel that you have to include the phrase, but you can, of course. It may spark a completely different direction or you may start writing towards it but never arrive; whatever you write is fine.

Of course.

This week, read the word prompt and then watch the video. You may feel drawn to write before the video is done, so go with it. This week is about listening to your writer voice inside. If you feel wrapped in the movement and/or music of the video and want to hold off putting words onto the space until it's done, that's fine, as well.

Listen in. Write. For 10 minutes.

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PROMPT:  Stepping back into my life I noticed . . .




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Razor's Edge 6/8/12

Today's prompt is silent. Wordless. It is the video below.

Today's prompt is visual.

Watch. Let yourself be drawn into it. Write for 8 minutes when the video is done. Or start if something comes to you before that.

Watch. Let it in, let the story flow.


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Razor's Edge for 5/25/12

Today's prompt is a dance performance - and then the choice of one of two sentence starters.

Watch the video and then choose one of the word prompts and write for eight minutes.

Or if you feel ready to write, if a character surfaces and flags you down while the video is playing, go with it. Follow your character into her experience, her life. And write.




word prompts:

Alone, in the darkened room, I wonder ...


As she stepped out into the sun, she felt ...

Of Standing Ovations and Performance

Last night I went to the Kidd Pivot performance of Crystal Pite's "Dark Matters." As with many dance performances, don't ask me, "what was it about?" because I can't really tell you. Which is less true with this than some dance performances, since there was a high theatrical element, especially in the first half. But my attempt to tell you what it was about would be my interpretation of what I experienced; not The Answer to What It Was.

They received a standing ovation, which I thought was appropriate and deserved. I'm not a fan of standing ovations as they are currently used: like big star musician's tour encores, they've become expected, rather than earned. Standing ovations have lost their meaning, almost. Or at least around here. I wonder if other places are experiencing the same phenomena or if this is another Pacific Northwest thing. Or maybe a Portlandia thing.

I can hear someone questioning who has the right to determine if an ovation is earned. I hear you. Or someone wondering if I'm supporting the idea of us all having to agree on what is or isn't good performance art/dance/theater. And if you know me then you know that's not what I mean, either. But there are questions for me about the validity of a standing ovation when 80% of the performances I go to get one. The value of it is lost if it happens all the time.

Have we lost the ability to know good art when we experience it? Or great art, skill, innovation, flow, and words? Or are we so starved for inspiration that "good enough" is enough; is experienced as exceptional because we are so worn down or yearning for cultural exposure that we want to uphold valiant efforts so we don't lose it all?

I don't have the answers and I know this may come off as snobbery. That is not my intention. However, the power of the standing ovation has been watered down when it happens almost all of the time. Like expecting the encore: you know there will be more so don't get upset when the band holds off on giving you their #1 classic/newest hit/signature song. You'll get it in the encore.

But Kidd Pivot's performance last night earned each pair of feet standing in the audience. Each clap of hands showed the power and skill and connection with the dancers. All of the performances I've seen in the White Bird Uncaged series have been good. This was exceptiontional. Immediately after the performance I posted a tweet: "It flowed, reaching into every cell, holding. Breath." Today that feeling remains.

This performance will stay with me. And I was happy to stand and applaud with my fellow traveler's on the "Dark Matters" journey.
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I know tomorrow people will be celebrating green beer and all things mint. But me? I'll be at a White Bird performance by Kidd Pivot. Below is a promo video of them for a different performance. I'm glad this is tomorrow because this is exactly what I need right now: a restorative and inspiring performance.




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Philip Glass is 75

Today is Philip Glass' birthday.

Philip Glass is an inspirational and inspired musician and his work crosses many genres. He has written operas, numerous film scores, theatrical pieces, and more. He has collaborated with many other well-known musicians; a few of my favorite collaborators are Ravi Shankar, Yoyo Ma, and Kronos Quartet.

His music has accompanied me on many creative pursuits, including silk paintings, pottery making, and his work is often playing when I write. I often drive with his music in my car sound system. I've set up a Philip Glass personal Pandora station.

Today I was driving and listening to NPR - which is where I learned that today is Glass' birthday. They also had an excerpt of an interview Ira Glass (his first cousin once removed) did with him in the late 90s, which you can listen to here. They also provide this link to listen to Movement I from his newest work, Symphony No. 9.

One other thing I learned from the NPR program is that I now have a new name for his style of music. Not that I've ever consciously tried to slot his music into any particular genre category. Anyway - NPR calls him "one of the fathers of minimalist music." That fits; I'll take it. But what I really liked is that his style is also called Pattern Music. I've never heard that style label before - but I am going to look into it. "Pattern music" seems to fit with some other things I like in terms of performance and I want to research it a little more and see where it all fits together. One example is a dance/choreography style (I'm not sure it's called "style" - dance is another area I want to learn more about) which is called scoring; also minimalist yet so effective and leaving so much room for creativity and inspiration. Pattern Music - I like it.

Thank you, Philip Glass, for all of your music.

And below are a few of my favorites, or excerpts from some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Einstein on the Beach Medley (Bed, Knee Play 4)

Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera (1984) - Part 1

Heart Beats / Naqoyqatsi

Ragas In Minor Scale

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Razor's Edge for Friday 10/14/11

It has been a week.

A week of changes and scary events and challenges to who I am. And yet - I'm still me. I'm still here.

And all across the United States of America cities are being Occupied. Protests. Arrests. Impromptu Camps. Marches without Permits.

Those doing the work, the average American, the non-Rich - the Not Top One Percent - have had enough and are marching. Are shouting. Saying - Enough.

And on the first day of the encampment in downtown Portland I passed out in the parking lot of the community college where I work part-time. Which led to a trip to the emergency room. Which led to hospitalization and a scary diagnosis which is being treated with a scary medication. And I'm getting better.

On the day of Occupation, things changed. And are still changing. It's not over.

Where were you when Occupation hit your town/city? Or the nearest city to you?

The video below is a performance of the Boris and Natasha Dancers. The dancers change - but the premise is the same. Linda Austin, dancer and choreographer, takes a few untrained males and teaches them a dance - to perform. This is a performance of one Boris and Natasha incarnation.

Watch the video. When it's done, think about where you were when Occupation came to your neighborhood. Place yourself - or a fictional character - with these dancers, during Occupation.

Write. For 10 minutes. Go!

Razor's Edge for 9/16/11

Today's prompt is a video of a performance by Carla Mann and Jim McGinn. The video is about 15 minutes in length.

Watch the performance. Then select one of the following and write for 10  minutes:

- who are these two characters and how did they meet?
- what was their conversation, if they had been talking? let it flow freely from your senses, don't go back and watch it scene by scene - capture the essence of their relationship, their movement, the discourse of the dance.
- start with "If you had told me ______" and write.




http://vimeo.com/12855950
from In The Can Productions on Vimeo.
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Another Reason to Follow Your Heart

I've been a little busy and realize I missed posting a Razor's Edge. And when I checked in here I see it has been a week tomorrow since I posted anything.

Too long.

And I have all the edits written for the memoir and am in the process of getting them into the electronic version because they're all written by hand. For a variety of reasons, that's how it's gone - and it's a good thing - but it's taking a little longer than I projected to get all of the edits in place. Coupled with computer issues, it's been really too long. But there it is. And I wrote an entirely new story, unrelated to the memoir for my Wayward Writers assignment last week. (Truthfully, it could go into the memoir with some additions and edits - but it won't. At least not for now. But it wasn't from the memoir.)

And PICA's TBA11 started and I've been hanging out at dance and music and theatrical performances whenever I can (which is one reason some edits are written by hand - when I was in line for a performance).

And work - busy and with many attached non-billable hours for many things I'm doing. Which is fine - those hours are for causes I believe in and worth it for the community and for my spirit.

So - too long since I've posted. Focusing inward on the memoir and all that it takes to get that written - emotionally and spiritually and even physically. And focusing on exciting new theatrical projects. Not excuses - but reasons and acknowledging that I have been absent from posts.

Today there was a quote that struck me in a post from Jessica Morrell's blog, which I wanted to share. And here I am, having written a post for today. Writing begets writing!

The quote - and thank you, Jessica!

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. — Steve Jobs

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Razor's Edge for 7/8/11: Falling and Flying

I've linked to a new contact improvisation performance today. This one is appropriately called "Falling and Flying."

I've been riding the ups and downs of my life recently. Some causes external, some causes internal. Flying high with submitting the book excerpt and accompanying information; stumbling into an emotional puddle with some unexpected news; recovering to explore and deepen my capacity for joy; being triggered by yet other news.

This is life - that's all. The wins and losses and breaking even. Laugh; cry; let it go and go on.

So - when I saw the title of this performance - it called to me.

And it's Friday - time for another Razor's Edge.

Two word prompts - choose one. Then watch the video. And write (paint, draw, dance, sing) for 10 minutes. Then let it sit for a while and return to it when you're ready - to add to, revise, or put away for even later.

Prompts:
- Through the window he saw ...
- I felt the power in my wings and ...




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