http://www.creativedance.org/

http://www.sparkplugdance.org/

Paige has been helping to rebuild this already impoverished country for several years now.  Most recently, she developed EDUplus, a non- profit which enhances the Haitian economy through offering training and job development.
http://eduplushaiti.org/

Haiti needed our help so badly before the devastating Earthquake.  Now, Haiti needs our support more than ever.  Did you know that a donation of $100 sends one child to school for one year- including uniforms and supplies?  I urge you to do anything that you can to help.  Awareness is power- so please, spread the word about what Paige is doing to change Haiti.  Together, our efforts can change a country.

here is a piece of art that i came across yesterday.  it totally inspires me.  watch it before you read on to my opinion…

not only is this technologically amazing but i love everything else about it. the musicality and quirkiness of the choreography is great. the instrumentals, vocals, lyrics….all great…and the concept is just ingenious; this is what makes me want to create art- well,  things like this.  something inside of me just lights up when i watch this video. i would love to be doing something like this within the next decade. i think collaboration with other artists is going to be key, as well as taping in to the different artistic and creative qualities that i might have.  this is a transition point in my life. or i guess it’s a jumping-off point in my life.  i’m in the middle of the jump right now.  i haven’t quite landed.

highlights from l.e.h- direct from nyc.

1. gwen and i hosted thanksgiving.  we spent the day with my parents and sister and several of our mutal friends.  i made the house look pretty/ rooted gwen on while she cooked the turkey and most everything else.  it turned out fab.  we named the turkey harold.  it was my favorite thanksgivng, so far.
2. i have now experienced (and still currently am) what it’s like to live where it snows.  i think it’s beautiful.  i love the changing of the seasons.  the only thing that really stinks, is slipping on ice and falling.  yes, i’ve done it.
3. i saw a piano on wheels.  a man was pushing it through union square.
4. i did some home renovations after christmas, which i spent with nyc friends.
5. i am planning a trip back to az in may.  i will know within the next few weeks which days i’ll be in town.  i’ll keep you all posted.  until then…ciao!

1. my instrument is really rusty and needs a lot of tuning up
2. i may be old and out of shape, but i still kicked butt BECAUSE
3. i still have the passion AND
4. i understand how to use my instrument more now than ever before
5. i’m a dancer, yes, but first and foremost, i’m a creator and a teacher…this is just a hiatus for me- not a permanent change

so you’re probably wondering what class i took…? max stone’s int/adv contemporary jazz at Dance New Amsterdam…… http://www.dnadance.org … his movement was very organic and much like mine.  we didn’t do pirouettes, battements or leaps, and there was definitely no “stretching of the splits”.  the class was structured like many of the modern classes that i took in college.  we did an hour long warm-up and then learned and danced a combination for about an hour.  his movement, which was large and lyrically inspired, consisted of inversions, floor work, contractions, isolations, upper body spirals, huge port-de-bras and a few small jumps.although i did like a lot of things about the class, i didn’t feel very inspired when i left- which is what i was hoping for.  it was just a typical technique class and for most of the two hours, we did the same body rolls, contractions and arm movements over and over again.  the class was very much focused on alignment, technique and flow of movement- which is some of the important stuff- but there was a lack of focus on musicality, dynamics, expressiveness and artistry of movement…this was somewhat disappointing to me.  i really just wanted to take a “feel good” dance class…i think i just choose the wrong teacher.  either way, it was a good start in getting myself back into the swing of things as a dance artist.  today my body is quite sore, as i figured it would be.  the amount of soreness in my lower body and in the back of my limbs is much more severe than the soreness in my upper body and the front of my vessel.  i don’t like the imbalance.  all of the movement seemed to be initiated from our “wings” if you will (back/scapula) and our hamstrings.  we danced in our frontal space too much and didn’t use any of our backspace.  i wish my pecs were sore instead of just my scapula.  i wish my abs were sore instead of just the back of my ribcage…etc.  my quads and iliopsoas are are little sore, but not as sore as my gluts and hams.from here on out, i plan to take at least one dance class a week (as that’s all my schedule really permits time for) THAT DARN FULL-TIME JOB!   i also hope to start working on a choreographic project.  i’m putting my thoughts into writing so that people can check in with me and kick my butt if i’m not making things happen.so with all of that being said, i’m going to leave on this note:  ”The artist goes through states of fullness and emptiness, and that is all there is to the mystery of art.” -Pablo Picasso

gwen, tooty and i can all attest…

i have heard loud sounds coming from another room when no one else was home, tooty was chillin’ with me, a shelf did NOT fall off the wall.  gwen has seen shadows.  all three of us have experienced doors shutting and opening by themselves.  gwen and i have both felt tooty “jump” on the bed when she didn’t…

also, there are creatures living inside our walls…. gwen and i heard them scurry around when we hammered in to their home to hang the “peacock art”