Day 21: Under the weather, and completely over it.

I woke up this morning feeling absolutely horrible! I decided it was best not to go to my morning classes. So instead I slept in all morning until around 1:00pm. I felt a little guilty not going to class, and also missing the ribbon cutting of the new studio, but I also knew that I needed my rest and that I need to be careful that I don't wear myself out before the kids come. Besides, I am already doing so much- I think my body just needs to rest. 


With all the changing weather, it has become difficult for my body to adjust. It's a completely different weather environment down here. It's extremely hot, all the time and also very humid. And whenever you walk into a building it is just constant AC. Actually not ideal for my body, or a dancer's body in general. You prepare for a hot day so you wear not a lot of clothing. Then you walk into a room and its freezing cold. And then after you get warmed up you sweat, and then your body's sweat gets chilled by the cold AC air, and in turn makes you even colder then when you first walked in. It's pretty inefficient which is probably a main contribution as to why I am not feeling well. 


Anyways, I still made it to Repertory however. We didn't do much, but we did add a few sections to both groups' work. The showing is this Friday at 7:00PM. I want someone to tape it for me so I can put it on the blog. We'll see how that goes!


I then spent the rest of my evening watching Breaking Bad as well as walking over to Francesca's Dessert Cafe and having a delicious Chai Tea Latte- may be one of the best I have ever had and doing some cleaning of my email as well as writing this blog. Tomorrow will hopefully be a more productive day! And then on Wednesday is the 4th of July! I have big plans to go to Wilmington and stop by Wrightsville Beach! :)


Tootles 
<3

Day 19: If you can't take the heat, stop cooking.

Today was HOT. No exaggeration there. But luckily, I was in a room full of Air Conditioning for the majority of the day. This 106 degree weather with intense humidity is taking a toll on me... 


Anyways, I woke up late- probably because it was so hot - which makes me feel pretty tired in general and didn't make it to the Hubbard Street Master Class. I didn't feel too bad about it- they were teaching Ballet...which is pretty standard. I actually wasn't able to sign up for the class anyways because I was in class when they put up the sign up sheet ( now they are only allowing 50 people per class)...a little unfair. I could of gone early and tried to sneak in without anyone looking..but I decided to instead take advantage of the opportunity to sleep- something that can become a habit here at ADF, so I have tried to avoid..but I also don't think I should get too overwhelmed. 


Anyways, I went to Forsythe Rehearsal at 2:00PM in The Durham School of the Arts Stage. It was a nice space. We got there and immediately started to go over the Forsythe solo. I still have no idea what comes next in any of it. I didn't really take the time to go over it with other people in the class ( which was my fault ) which made it difficult for when we ran it. Elizabeth Corbett still doesn't remember my name! She was giving everyone individual corrections for a section of class- she gave me excellent corrections but still doesn't remember my name. The funny part is that she gave me a super silly nickname. She calls me "Olive" because there's another girl in the class who is named Olivia and she didn't want to confuse us..I told her it was okay to call me "Olive" but I never registered how odd that sounds.. ahah. The funny thing is that there are two "Christinas" in the Project and they have no differentiation. 


Anyways, she gave the class in general a lot of things to think about. Some of the popular things were: "freeing the head and neck", "elongation of spine in the movements", "to get deeper in the joints" and to "have differentiation in the weight of the steps". She also talked about the importance of thinking about "moving in the space behind you" when we performed the Improvisation Technologies exercise. Oftentimes, when doing the 9-point exercise and she brought up a point that actually made a lot of sense to me. She said, "If you feel like you are repeating yourself: slow down, let go, and copy others." She pointed out how differently everyone in the room is moving, but how it all looked like "Forsythe" work because we were thinking about the technologies. She said, if you copy someone in the room, you are most likely not identically copying them- but you are still accomplishing movements through Forsythe's ideas within the technologies. She also said that Forsythe's 9- point exercise, is just a form and from that form you can go out of the box and make it your own. After being "in the box" for so long- I began to identify what it felt like to skew outside of the box and create from the idea of being in the box- but to allow my movements to free themselves. Anyways, then we applied our studies from the box while including ballet technique as well as partnering in the mix. Me and Johnnie were partners and we created this scorching HOT Improvised duet. I wish we had taped that because it felt great and probably looked very interesting. 


This project has brought me so much insight- I am so thankful to be part of this project. ( Thanks Johnnie :) ) 


Tonight, William Forsythe is receiving the Scripps Award from ADF, which is an award that includes a $50,000 grant for a lifetime achievement of being a choreographic genius. 


More about the award: http://artsmeme.com/2012/02/14/the-great-dance-artist-william-forsythe-recognized-in-the-u-s-with-scrippsadf-award/




How awesome is that. Maybe to be me someday! haha.


Anyways, I then spent the rest of my night having a date night at Elmo's with Vincent and Emma. Oh how I love Durham, NC!

Day 18: A day full of surprises..

Today was really interesting and had a lot of unexpected events occur. So I woke up this morning, surprisingly feeling extra refreshed. Emma and I had our breakfast, got ready and made it on the bus to DSA. As soon as we arrive, we come to the door of the gym to see that DSA is on lockdown. Apparently the doors were locked and the fire alarm was going off. So we waited for quite a long time, outside in the hot sun ( even though it was only 8:00 AM...the temperature was probably in its 80's or 90's already.) Eventually, come 8:30AM, the maintenance people came to open the doors.  The alarm had stopped making sound, but the lights were still flashing. We came in and still had our usual lengthy warmup sequence of rolling, crawling, walking, standing, plies, tendues, partnering lunges, and across the floor sequencing. What made this portion of class nice was that we progressed through the entire warmup rapidly and all through the usage of our bodies and communication through body language. The entire class was asked to stay silent until we got through the whole thing. I really appreciated these moments. It really was a beautiful experience. Communicating with everyone just through the sensation of our bodies, it's really powerful stuff. It was refreshing to not have to speak to communicate. I wish that we could take more people to be a part of this experience everyday. 


Then we went into African, which we spent a lot of time today performing the Kassa, ( The Hunting Dance from Guinea). We practiced a new warm-up and spent time refining movements from Kassa as well as adding a few new ones in and stringing them together. I learned about putting accents on our dancing to help inform the musicians today. Something that I am admitting of making the mistake of doing is to follow the beat of the wrong drummer. In order to stay on beat- obviously you need to keep with the beat of the bass drum, instead of going along with the other individuals. Also, I learned today that it is unacceptable to follow off of the drummer. The drummer is often looking at the dancers to inspire the rhythms and beats. Kathryn and I also figured out that the only types of dance we need in our life are the ABC's... African, Ballet, and Contemporary! Haha. But seriously, we started thinking about the ABC's of ADF and decided to make one. As soon as I have put it all together I will be posting it- hopefully with some pictures!


Then we got to partnering after a lovely lunch with Vincent and Shanna :) I love Ming! He is great. He spent a lot of time on my trio with Raphael and Rachel today. It was excellent. I found myself really investigating and learning more about how to negotiate with my partners and their bodies. I just want to have a mini- sized Ming to put in my pocket and keep with me for when I have partnering issues. He is so great! We also decided our group name would be "the Swag Shop"...it used to be called "the Sweat Shop" because we were so sweaty...so this is definitely a step up. A lot of people in my group actually wanted the name Swag Shop mainly so that Ming would have to say Swag Shop anytime he wanted us to do anything! How funny. 


Then after Repertory, Shamar was nice enough to drive us back and get out of the HOT Durham sun. So Emma and I did a few errands and got Snowballs again! Delicious! And only $2. After we spent time getting ready we went to the Tobacco Campus with Vincent and Sam and ate at Cuban Revolution again- mainly because Tyler's Taproom was full and had a 20 minute wait...and because Cuban Revolution is super cheap with $3 drafts. After dinner we walked over to the Hubbard Street Performance and got an unexpected show.


We started the show off with Quintett, choreographed by William Forsythe. I was super excited before the show started for this piece, and as it progressed I got continually frusterated with it. The song was extremly repetitive and annoying. There were also props on the stage that the dancers barely touched or manipulated. In my opinion, if you are going to have props/set work you either need to forget about it and not acknowledge it or really build it in your repertory of movement to manipulate or pretend to manipulate. They failed to do so...it was just "eh". The movement however as beautiful and flowed together when the quintett was partnered up. But as far as being a quintett it really didn't feel like a cohesive quintett to me...maybe it wasn't supposed to feel that way- but the title is misleading, as well as the added props. 


Then we moved into a completely different piece. It was absolutely gorgeous and made sense to me. It was called Little Mortal Jump by Alejandro Cerrudo. It was brilliant. They actually used four square box walls that spin and move around stage and blend in with the background. The dancers in this piece utilized them really efficiently and well. It was a very thoughtful piece. I also appreciated the progression of the piece and the flow from group section to duet, so on and so forth. I also felt a connection to the music. Each piece, each duet, each group section..the movement in my opinion matched the musical sensation- which is something that I really want to try and capture in my work...so I think they accomplished that well. 


The final piece was tricky for me as far as feelings about it. It was called "Too Beaucoup"  or ( too too much). It was a piece with movements repreenting a "robotic" feel with everyone dressed in white unitards with different gels of light and patterns shining down onto their unitards. It was such a smart lighting/costume choice. I felt like the piece felt underrehearsed and oftentimes was rushed, sloppy in the footwork/speed, and was not in synchronization. I think that also this piece was extremely long and needed to be cut off in one of the six times earlier that I thought the piece was done. Ending the performance on that note was disappointing to me, especially since I was SO stoked to see them. But in all honesty the show was a good one- regardless of some of the choices they chose that I do not agree with. 




Anyways, tomorrow is a long day so off to bed I go! Yay for Forsythe....!

Day 17: The Rhythm of Life

Today was a pretty normal day. Nothing too exciting occurred. I had the hardest time waking up this morning though, I have no idea why. I have had a lot of sleeping problems while being here. I think a big portion of that has to do with the amount of caffeine intake I have been taking since I have been home. Every morning I have a cup, every night I have a cup of decaffeinated ( which still has some caffeine in it) and sometimes I have another cup during the day. Now I am drinking no coffee! It is a big change, my body really isn't used to it. Anyways...


So I woke up at 7:20 and hauled myself to the bus stop with Emma for Paul's class. The energy was especially low today. We spent 15 minutes doing our walking meditation. I tried really hard to focus more on the sensations of the feet rather than outside thoughts and plans. It was very therapeutic for my tired morning and overactive brain. I found that picking up the pace of my steps in my walk actually helped me to refocus my brain at times where it would wander. Another thing that we worked on was our combination phrase of the three combinations we had been working on. Today was our last day with the material. We worked on finding pliancy and working on the connection of "partnering with the floor", which is good mental imagery for making sure we stay pliant in our jumps and shifts of weight. I thought a lot about how I can still be dynamic but gently give my weight to the floor so that I am not tossing energy to the floor. 


Then we had African, which started out with a nice warmup stretch against the wall. At this point I was more awake so warming up became easier. I am somehow always being picked on by Sherone. I guess I am always right next to him right up in front, but he always finds something that I am doing wrong- which is great don't get me wrong, but the whole time I thought I was doing it right and then he comes up to me with a crooked smile. I need to think about having a closer relationship to the floor in my plie position and to find a way to bend farther down so that I can access my high knees more. The class as a whole is also still struggling with the rhythms and the counts. To be fair, a lot of times we miss the break in the music which is what informs us to when we should start a combination, but the acoustics in the room are terrible! Mainly because of it being a gymnasium and having weird shapes in the ceiling which don't echo back in an accurate way. However, a lot of people just can't even identify the "down" beat or the break in the music. I think that I know what it is, but I am having trouble identifying that within my own body, but at least I know what they are!


Then after lunch, I walked over to the Arts Warehouse in the hot Durham sun and had rehearsal with Ming. We started putting together the order of the piece based on the different trios, duets, quintets, etc. We spent a large majority of the time working on the trio between Raphael, Rachel and I. We clarified a lot of transitions and steps so it was helpful. 


Overall, it was a pretty standard day. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary. As soon as I got home I showered and fell asleep for like 4 hours. I think I am catching up on the lack of sleep I am getting at night. And I am for sure sleeping early tonight so that I can wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed instead of exhausted. Anyways, ttyl <3

Day 16: Brain Overload

Today was a very laid-back day, surprisingly. I woke up around 10:00, thinking that I had rehearsal at 10:15 at the Ark. In the WFSS schedule it didn't say we had rehearsal, but in the overall weekly schedule it said we did at that time. So, I showed up with Christina, waiting for rehearsal when in reality, we didn't have it. 


Then after a few minutes I left and went to Brodie Gym for a little bit to watch the Shen Wei Project audition. Shen Wei Dance Arts is doing a show at the North Carolina Mueseum of Art and was looking for 13 dancers to dance in the performance with the company. Because I am now in the Forsythe Project, I cannot be in the Shen Wei Project because of overlapping rehearsal times. My roommate, Emma auditioned but unfortunately got cut. The people from Shen Wei originally had said they were looking for 30 dancers, but all of a sudden, cut the number by more than half. And out of around 100 people auditioning, you have a 13% chance of making it in...not so good. Kind of disapointing though!


Then after I ran a few errands, I walked to rehearsal in Brodie Gym. When I got there Elizabeth Corbett was showing everyone how to create the "Laban Cube" on paper. It was a day of learning William Forsythe's "Improvisation Technologies" and how to use a system with 9 points in space. Ideally the cube looks like such:

Basically, the idea is that you are imagining yourself placed in a cube, and from there are making diagonal and straight lines from each of the 9 points. Here is my cube: 

The idea is that between these points, one should think about the connection between each relationship developed between the 9 points and 9 lines formed and then add different layers to each relationship. After we discovered the 9 points on paper, we explored them through movement sequences that soon got added with a sum of layers to make it naturally occuring movement, as opposed to a scientific exploration or collection of data. The different layers we added onto the 9-points are as follows:

• snapping fingers at each point
• extrusion of arms from point to point
• rotation of arms to iniation of a new pathway
• video scratches ( retrograde/reverse of a pathway)
• classical ballet arms form in each pathway as opposed to relaxed/contemporary arms
• broken limbs, cut off lines from exclusion of part of a limb ( ex. using only your elbow as opposed to the entire arm from shoulder to fingertip)
• residual swings in the arms/legs/torso ( shaping)
• challenging fronts, using your feet to define the points in space as well as the pattern and facing of the upper body
• low and high curves for placement of the feet

We then moved into a exercise where we applied all these layers with a partner. One person thought about inscribing the space, and utilizing the 9-point method while the other thought about avoiding the other person however they pleased. Then after switching roles, space was created in between the inscriber and the avoider, but a relationship between both peoples' movement remains. Eventually, there came an awareness where both partners would trade off each role of being either an avoider or an inscriber and a constant communication was being given. 

Anyways, after this intense class, my brain felt crazy.

Then Kathryn and I walked over to the Ark for Elisa Clark's class. She taught us Lar Lubovitch Repertory as well as Robert Battle Repertory. I had asked her a few days ago if she could teach us some Lar Rep, and of course the Rep she taught was from North Star, which is first of all, one of my favorite pieces, but second of all she taught Jenna's solo- which she now performs, but is the solo I remember from seeing her last year. That solo was crazy from what I remember. It was a dialogue between the left and right brain and the differences between the two. I remember being in love with that solo. Elisa showed it to us briefly while demonstrating, and of course was amazing doing it. Then we all gave it a go. I don't think I did a horrible job with it, I actually felt pretty good about it- but at first it did strike me as being something I could potentially feel uncomfortable or vulnerable with. The first part is excessive shaking, with sharp vibratory movements- something I am not typically comfortable with. Elisa talked to us when we were learning it and about to show it and basically told us that it's okay to feel vulnerable. She made an excellent point. She said that all artists have to be vulnerable sometimes, but she thinks that Dance is one of the hardest forms of art that you can accept yourself with. Not only do you have to feel and be vulnerable when giving the world your work, but its something you cannot escape. You can be a fantastic writer, and write ridiculous things and send it off and hide from the vulnerability, but as a dancer, the skin you are in is your medium. Whether you like it or not, people will know more about you from the moment they see you dance and they will of course know it is you. But then again you think about that, and how powerful is that? No other medium in art will ever be as personal. You are basically using your own flesh to express yourself.

She also made it a point to explain that artistry is not something you can force...a statement I really appreciate. So often, I see so many people force the artistry within them, when really it should just come naturally to those who are comfortable enough with themselves and their own body to then test it out and show who they are as a person. 

Then, after learning Lubovitch Rep, we learned some phrase from Battleworks ,a work commissioned by Juilliard in 2001. It was difficult because it focused on the intense rhythm and beat of the music. I have really enjoyed Elisa's classes at ADF. She is such an amazing person also. I really appreciate artists that I look up to, who end up being such great people in real life. I am hoping to cross roads with her again in the future sometime soon.

After class, Emma and I went to the bank and then went on adventure to try and find Walmart, and instead found an AMAZING snowball place. They have over 100 flavors of snowballs, and the shaved ice literally feels like ice cream soothing on my tongue. Ah. I got Pink Lemonade and Cranberry- I might have to go back tomorrow. It was only $1.50 for a Kid's Size! 

Then we came home and ate pizza and food that was bad for us and chilled. I love ADF. I never want to leave, I am so content.

Day 15: I Love to Move.

Today I spent most of my day admiring movement.


Living in a world where I can dance all day long as my career, how lucky am I?
I had Paul's class today. We didn't spend as much time warming up. We started class with a quote from Hokusai, a famous Japanese artist:


At seventy-three I learned a little about the real structure of animals, plants, birds, fishes and insects. Consequently when I am eighty I'll have made more progress. At ninety I'll have penetrated the mystery of things. At a hundred I shall have reached something marvellous, but when I am a hundred and ten everything I do, the smallest dot, will be alive. (Katsushika Hokusai)

This really resonated with me. It made me believe that a masterpiece only comes from progression and from working hard every single day of my life. We spent some time with our walking meditation. I have been thinking a lot about my life, and after Paul talked about having a daily practice, the more I want to implement some sort of daily practice in my life. I am a very impulsive and random person sometimes, but I don't think it would hurt to add some sort of daily routine to my life. Some sort of constant. 

Anyways, we worked on combining three of the combinations we have learned in class together. Stringing them together has been harder than I thought it would be. I need to think about how I can change the dynamics and energy between each individual phrase that's connected to connect all three together to make it a cohesive phrase instead of a chopped off block of random dynamic qualities thrown together. Also, Paul adjusted the speed of the phrase, so now it is on hyper speed. A lot of people in our class cannot count the beats also- so they are always off the beat, which can at times become frustrating, but hey what can you do?

Then we moved into African. I am trying SO hard to be successful in African, and it is just getting increasingly harder. I am not used to the different rhythms being produced by the 6-10 drummers present drumming for us. They are all amazing musicians, but with a ll those drums, it can become quite intimidating as well as confusing when there are so many different sounds in the room. One point that Sherone made, was to make sure that we give as much energy in our dancing as the drummers to do their drums. Like dancers, drummers face the same types of hand injuries/callouses/soreness/pain, etc. So to not take advantage of them. Then we began to learn parts of a new dance today. We are currently learning the "Kassa", which is a dance originating from Guinea which is about hunting/gathering. 

Then afterwards, I had a meeting for Dorm Counselors which was long and not necessary to write about in the blog. But I walked over to the Arts Warehouse with my Rep Partner, Rachel. We got there and spent most of our time working on our trio phrase. We had Ming look over it to see if he had any suggestions on how to make the transitions smoother. We have been working a lot of finding ways to partner one another without creating stress in each other. Ming is such a partnering genius. You give him any challenge and he's got it. He knows exactly how to handle it and what to do. He gives great suggestions without changing your ideas and thoughts about how you want the dance to be portrayed. 

After Repertory, Emma and I got ready form Kyle Abraham's show, which was indeed incredible. The show was called, The Radio Show. Kyle wanted to highlight how the Radio Show was a huge childhood memory and the fact that Pittsburgh got rid of his childhood radio station affected him, along with memories of his Grandfather suffering from Altzheimer's disease as well as a general note on how people listen to tragedies happen over the radio and never really understand the context of the situation. His work is so pungnent. It is first of all filled with exceptional dancers with such beautiful technique, but also with such great performing ability. There was not one moment during the show where I was bored or waiting for it to end. I loved the movement choices Kyle made as well as the audience interaction. Not only did Kyle have a "Pre-Show" where he picked out people in the audience to dance with him briefly, but he also had someone walk around in the audience with a telephone in the middle of the performance and asked fellow audience members questions a radio station would ask. It was a really engaging performance. Even eliminating the audience interaction, I think Kyle has a talent of attracting to the audience that doesn't understand dance as well as to the group fo dance artists who understand and appreciate it more than anyone. 

After we returned, Emma and I were bad and ordered Domino's and watched the Domino's tracker the entire time. It was crazy. We had a Parot/island theme, hahha. 

Anyways, that was all for today. Deucessss

Day 14: Daily Practices

Today was a pretty standard day. Nothing too exciting happened today. I woke up, went to Matteson's class. We started our day the same way we always do...rolling across the floor for a few minutes, then crawling back the other direction, which eventually led into our walking practice. It was nice to get back into routine after a crazy weekend! In the beginning of class Paul was talking a lot about daily practices, and told us his adventures about his silent retreats- which were basically meditation sessions and workshops, where he would literally sit and walk all day long and then go to sleep. I can't imagine doing that for seven days straight without anything else! I bet you really learn how to clear your mind and focus in on certain details. 


I have been thinking a lot about daily practice and daily routines, and what I would consider to be daily routines worth adding to my day. I already don't like having the same schedule or routine in life, because I think that it's fun to mix things up, however some consistency in my day might not hurt? A lot of people do things such as yoga, meditation, a walk, a trip to the gym, etc...and as a dancer this might be something I should consider, considering I need to keep my mind, body, and soul healthy for when I get out there in the real world and all sense of consistency will have escaped from my life. 


We also worked on our combination from across the floor. I was apparently tensing up my jaw which seemed to have an effect on the mobilization of my pelvis, according to Paul..you know he might have a good point. I think also that because of the way I have been feeling all weekend my daily mood and personal life, really have an effect on the way I act throughout my day.. 


African was good to get back into. We had felt like we didn't know what we were doing anymore because we had the whole weekend without African, so getting back into the steps felt sort of like a foreign language to us...but we made it through it. 


and Repertory was the usual except now we are located in the Arts Warehouse- which really sucks...we worked on our solos and then Ming gave us an assignment to put a trio together with Raphael and Rachel. He gave us instructions to manipulate my movements as I individually perform my solo. We made a lot of good choices, it was frustrating at first to figure out..but we even got some intense partnering moves in! I think we just need to go over it a lot. I am really excited for the showing!


Anyways, it was a good first day back after a long weekend- looking forward to what the rest of the week brings! 

Day 13: Forsythe? Oh Right, Forsythe.

So unexpectedly, after auditioning for everything and not getting into anything but a Repertory piece, an opportunity arose. 


Last night at the Improvisation Jam, my friend Johnnie came up to me and asked me if I wanted to be in the Forsythe project. Um of course! Who wouldn't, was my response. He was in the project currently, and apparently a few people dropped out. So, Johnnie and four other people in the project were asked to bring one person to replace people in project, and Johnnie picked me. How honored am I, that he would choose me to replace the people who weren't committed enough!? Such an honor. Of course I wanted to be involved. This just proves my point that auditioning is such a horrible process that isn't even effective, because most jobs don't come from auditions! However, I still need to improve my auditioning skills ( because like test taking, I suck at them.)


Anyways, After taking Amanda Miller's ballet class, which was an experience, let me tell you...I went straight into Forsythe Rehearsal from 2:00-5:30...and we got out early! We were supposed to go until 6:30. And I had to learn 3 days worht ( about 12 hours) of material that they had gone over previously. I learned a ~5 minute solo in 4 hours. Good experience. i love William Forsythe's movement. He is so ingenius. I am hoping to get more exposed to Forsythe and his style and intentions in this project. I am super excited. I just have a lot to catch up and learn about. We learned from a student who is performing this solo as part of a project or experiment for her studies, Ondine Geary. She was great. She really helped with the mental imagery for each step and the intention behind each step. I am happy I got the opportunity to work with her before she left ADF- which was literally right after the rehearsal ended. 


I am really enjoying my experience here at ADF. I couldn't ask for a better way to get exposed to all angles and aspects of dance. I am loving it. I really want to come back next year, and I wish I had been coming earlier in life.




<3

Day 12: Invigorating

Today was a lot of fun. It was a reminder of why I do what I do. 


I woke up and went to the Scottish Dance Theatre's Master class with James McGillivray. It was in Brodie gym, and although I absolutely HATE Brodie Gym, the class was not bad and I was pretty content even with the horrible atmosphere. To start, we had partners massage our bodies. Ryan was my partner, and it was a great way to wake up in the morning. Then we did a few center warm up combinations to release the spine and wake up the whole nervous system. We spent a lot of time thinking about our awareness with others in the room, which to some may not seem like a big deal- but in actuality, as a performer its a huge deal. Connecting with others around you, either in class, with your rehearsal director, or the audience- the people you perform for- making that connection is everything. He made such a big point about this that he actually made us do a few combinations in the center where we had to hold a conversation with the people around us. It was interesting how much we all loosened up when we became regular people doing dance moves as opposed to dancers trying to be perfect. 


Then afterwards I went to Elisa Clark's class, also in Brodie. It was her standard class warm up in the beginning, but halfway through class we started learning this Robert Battle phrase from Rush Hour. It was so much fun! I loved that piece of Repertory. It was all about being precise with the movements and counts ( what Robert Battle piece isn't about that). It was also a depiction of Robert's feelings when coming to New York from Florida. Elisa is such an amazing person. She is so genuine and she is so knowledgeable about dance, I mean she's practically danced for everyone out there. I'm glad I have the opportunity to learn more from her here at ADF.


Brown University Performing Rush Hour:

Then after Elisa's class, we had a break and then I headed over to the Improvisation Jam at the Ark. It was PACKED. I got there 30 minutes late, and there were so many people there. The fans were on, if they weren't on, I'm positive it would of been some sort of "heat hazard" to everyone. I watched for a few minutes and then got integrated with the rest of the group. However, it was a lot different from the Improv Jams that I participate in with Deep Vision Dance. Because there were so many people there it became a little overwhelming for me. Sometimes I felt out of place, or felt like I needed to step back, but I also however made a lot of great dancing connections with those around me. Improv Jams to me are just so soothing. I love the feeling I get after just doing whatever it is I want to feel without judgement of others. It's such a liberating environment. I wish everyone in the world could participate in an Improvisation Jam. 

Day 11: Some call themselves dancers, others dance.

Today was a great second day of dance!


I started the day off right with Paul Matteson's class. We worked on our walking meditation sequence as well as our normal tendu and plie combination. Then we worked on our floor combination which was very broken up. I tried to focus on how to connect each step so that the flow of the movement never died. A question Paul addressed was how we could keep the essence of each step and the work in general without losing the integrity of each step, but also to condense it so that it felt more like a phrase instead of a combination with steps within it. I am really enjoying this class. I like the slow progression of the "waking up" rolling that then turns into walking, and then simple tendus and plies, and then eventually to phrase work. I don't know how easy it would be to wake up early to catch a bus and then get to class and do intense work- like a Horton class. That would definitely kill me. A lot of people complain that Paul's class is a little slower than they would like. And although, I somewhat agree with that statement, I think that the fact that it's a slower class- actually benefits my brain into easing into my day and slowing warming up my body, but in a proper way. I think that this is the best flowing class I have had in awhile. Paul really knows how to ease into the progression of a class, something I wish other teachers possessed. 


We then moved into African Technique. It was only technically the second day of us having an African, so we were still pretty slow. A special thing happened today however, the famous African Technique Master, Baba Chucj Davis came to observe class today. I got to shake his hand! This guy is in several dance history books- he is definitely an African legend, and you can tell he is a legend based on how everyone reacted when he walked in. He gave us a mini-"talk" basically telling us his views on African dance and drumming. Sherone also brought up the point that "sometimes there are dancers....and sometimes there are some who just simply dance." I thought this statement was extremly powerful. He was basically saying that you can call yourself a dancer, but are you actually feeling what the power of dance is? And are you portraying this energy while you dance. He said that those who simple just "dance" are the ones who are getting the most out of their experience, and can be seen by others as the "true dancers". 


Then after lunch, I walked over to Southgate. Today is the last day that we are staying in Southgate for Repertory unfortunately...Next week we move into the Arts Warehouse because Southgate is going to be under construction... and not only is Southgate right next to my dorm, but the Arts Warehouse is a good 15-20 minute walk. Just lovely. Anywho, Ming divided us into groups. I got placed in a duet with Raphael. We spent time making a phrase together where we manipulated each other's movement and mixed it together. It came out successful for the most part, there are a few kinks that we are hoping Ming can help clean up for us.


Then afterwards Emma, Vincent and I got ready and went to the Tobacco City Campus which is right next to DPAC ( Durham Performing Arts Center) and got drinks/appetizers before the Scottish Dance Theatre show. We went to this place called Cuban Revolution. They had 3$ drafts and cuban specialities. We order the appetizer sampler which had all sorts of Cuban specialties, including plantains ( YUM). And we order two rounds of drinks ( not by choice..) But I must say my Blue Moons were quite delicious. However, I guess I was a little more tipsy than I thought I was going to be after two beers. We got to the show and Vincent and I were a little loopy. Thank goodness we were though, because the first piece did not grab my attention right away. It was very long and overdone. It was confusing as to what the subject matter was also. But then. The second piece came on, and my appreciate for Scottish Dance Theatre, grew by about 100% of what it was before. The piece was called Drift and it was a duet done to heavy metal music, and it was incredible. The dancers threw one another across stage and fell on the floor for probably the majority of their time on stage. I swear it was them throwing one another, falling, and rolling..but it was captivating. I wish I could see that duet 100 times more. The elegance and sophistication of the way they handled on another's bodies was inexplainable. Just truly a majestic piece, and I honestly don't know how many times I have ever called a piece, majestic. 


Scottish Dance Theatre: Drift Excerpt ( Not good quality, and close up )

I am really enjoying all this exposure to so many different dance companies, professionals, teachers, dancers, types of dance...it is such a blessing to be here. I am going to continue to grow as much as possible, and just DANCE. 

Day 10: Let's get this party started!

Today was the beginning of the first day of classes, and let me tell you- I am so excited for the remainder of my time here at ADF! 


I woke up at 7:00AM and had breakfast and then rushed to the bus in the circle at 7:45. We took a bus to Durham School of the Arts, which is about a five minute drive from Duke East Campus. We got there and headed to the gym for my first class, Modern Level 4 with Paul Matteson. 


We started the class off saying each other's names and repeating it over a few times. We then proceeded to warm up slowly by rolling across the floor, crawling, and then walking. We experimented with shifting our weight between our feet slowly so that we could feel where our weight was being distributed on the soles of the feet. Then after that we slowly progressed into a partnering phrase that we had learned in the preview class. I really felt a lot of work being done in the hamstrings and in my core. Then after that we moved into two phrases. The first phrase was in the center and it focused a lot on floor work, and distribution of weight and directional changes. We also did a bunch of inversions in this sequence. The second sequence went across the floor and was focused on traveling across the floor while "floating like a gazelle"...however you are supposed to portray that, I'm not sure. The last combination proved to be very difficult for me, but there's always tomorrow. And then the class ended. Luckily, I have my next class in the same room, so I stayed in the room writing some notes, when Paul walked over to talk to me. Yeah, I was confused at first also,  but he came up to me and told me that I did fantastic work in class. He asked me if I was accepted into the Mark Morris Repertory, and I told him that I wasn't and that I was accepted into Ming's Repertory and that I was taking that in its place. He told me that he saw me in Elisa's class and he was really impressed with my work. He told me he thought my dancing was "sharp" and then said that he was happy to have me in class. What a compliment! Especially on the first day! I really appreciated his compliment, it definitely contributed to a great start of my day, paired with an excellent class!


Then my next class began, African Technique! We started the class by talking about the things that we would be accomplishing in class. We met the musicians and talked about the culture of African Technique. Sherone started the class off with giving us a warm-up. We did simple stretching and did a few arm patterns to get us going. We talked a lot about moving the arms efficiently without doing so much work in the shoulders. Sherone talked about using the hands to guide your arm instead of using your shoulder to help with the movement of the arms. This was like a revelation to me, why have I not thought about this before. Just like initiation movement from the distal ends of the feet, why not using the hands to help initiate movement without messing up the shoulders or spine? We then learned a warm-up series phrase involving a lot of arm movements that were mostly pressing, scooping, and flinging movements. Then we had a partnering section where we found a partner and had an arm-flinging dance battle. My partner was Marjani Forte from Urban Bush Women. We had a lot of fun with it. I  love how small and intimate the class is, and having the large ensemble of drummers makes it even more fun. We then reworked the dance we learned from the preview class which was the dance originating from Guinea, I think it was "the Sunu"- I could be wrong though..it was fun, but a lot of people ( maybe even myself) who couldn't hear the rhythms from the ensemble. Sherone got us all to sit down right next to the drums so that we could feel the rhythms vibrating within our bodies- so that we could feel it. Part of the problem is that we were placed in a Gymnasium and many times, the sounds given off from the drums bounce off the walls in a weird dynamic and make it hard for people to identify the sound, unless you are right next to the center of the drums. Ebo, one of the drummers also explained to us how he felt about rhythms and how a rhythm should be portrayed as a relationship, and that we should be building relationships to the rhythms like they are people we care about. We worked on trying to feel the rhythms in our body and process them in a way so that we can show music with our body as the music's instrument! How cool, huh! Anyways, I am really excited for what this class has to offer, and I cannot wait to get more invested in the culture and technique of West African!


Then after a great two classes, I got on the bus and found my long lost bff, Vincent. We decided to have lunch together in the dining hall- which presented itself to be a pretty nice dining hall ( Not nearly as delicious as Skidmore's though haha). 


After lunch I headed over to Southgate and had a Repertory class with Ming Yang. He first showed us the Repertory that we would be learning. He created this piece of Repertory at a Conservatory in Taiwan and he focused on the idea of "mopping a floor" and how he could translate that movement into movements within the body. He gave us a short phrase to learn and had us do it a few times. Then he asked us to create a our own "mopping" phrase to express our ideas and thoughts about the type of movement. We then shared our phrases with everyone. Of course, I forgot my phrase halfway through and starting making something up- I couldn't get my brain on track- it was weird!


Then after we all showed each other our phrases, we spent the last 45 minutes learning some partnering work that was featured in the Repertory. We learned 4 different moves that accumulated from learning just one and eventually flowed together in a partnering sequence. We first learned a handstand that rolled over our partner's back until we landed into a ledge. After that our partner did a rotating stomach turn on our sacrum. Then after they got into a position, I would wrap my left arm around my partner's back while my partner hoisted me into the air so that I was turning with my partner and I was horizontal to my partner's body. And then after getting out of that change of facing, my partner did a cartwheel, holding onto my legs and putting his head in between my legs, while I grabbed his torso as we cartwheeled across. Yes, it was intense. But it was so awesome! And I learned so much about negotiating my weight, timing, spacing with my partner, Shamar. We also figured out how to make the transitions smooth and look effortless. It almost began to start feeling effortless after awhile! Anyways, I am really excited for what this class has to offer, at least with Ming's 3 weeks of teaching. Who knows what Mark Dendy is going to bring the second three weeks!


Anyways, now I have the rest of the night to hang out and watch Breaking Bad!

Day 9: #Unproductivity

Hi.


Today was one of the most unproductive , lazy days I have had in awhile, and it was really needed. I did pretty much NOTHING today. I woke up, and went to auditions for the Forsythe and Jasperse Projects. The auditions ran from 10:15AM-12:15PM. These were the final auditions that I am going to be partaking in for a few weeks at least. There is one more potential audition that I foresee attending which is for the Shen Wei Dance Arts Company Audition for their Project that they will be showing at the North Carolina Museum of Art. I am guessing their performance will be some sort of installation in the art gallery?


Anyways, the auditions today were a lot more laid back which could mean that it could really go either way for me as far as results. The auditions were Improvisation-based. This means that the auditioners give you around 30 seconds per person to pretty much show the panel what you have to offer as an artist in whatever way you want. This means that you need to become smart and make sure that you do your research before showing up to an audition like this, so you know what they are looking for specifically, which I failed to do... I thought I had more knowledge about the styles, but I don't think I exactly knew what I should be showing them. The problem with doing an Improvisational structure for the audition is that what content you show them can become a problem if you do not know how to properly market yourself as an artist. Plus, doing this all in a matter of seconds can become hard. Improvisation is supposed to be something that comes from within and that can provide your body with a natural way of moving within your own shape flow ( or internal sense of movement patterns), but you also have to form to what people are looking for.


Anyways, after the audition I came back and had lunch and then went to the Ark to see if postings were listed. There was nothing posted at 1:30PM...The Forsythe Project Rehearsal began at 1:30PM but ended up being pushed back to 1:50PM...I didn't get in of course haha, but I also didn't expect to get in. Still don't know about Jasperse but If I don't get accepted it's not a huge deal. I am just trying to do as much as ADF will allow me to...Although you wouldn't know that if you saw me today.  


After I went to the Ark I came home and proceeded to spend my entire day watching Breaking Bad. Oh my goodness. That show is so addicting. I was going to: go to Hip-hop drop in class, potentially go to the gym, potentially go somewhere to tan on campus... No. What did I do? Sit in my bed for the remainder of the day and watch this show. I have watched almost 2.5 seasons in less than five days. This is an unhealthy habit all due to my wonderful boyfriend who introduced the show to me. Thank you Ben.... 


However, I do not feel guilty indulging in a day of rest and laziness, because the next five weeks are going to be up and active every day. I think after this crazy weekend, my roommate Emma and I deserve to sit on our butts all day and sleep and watch TV shows and eat fatty foods ( in specific Cookout). 


At least, that's what I'm telling myself. 


It's also that time of the month where mother nature likes to remind us how great it is to be a woman. So thank you mother nature for this wonderful excuse for a day off!


<3

Day 8: Registration Day

Today was the day we registered!

My class schedule is as follows:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday:

8AM-10AM: Modern Technique Level 4 with Paul Matteson

10:15AM-12:15PM: African Technique with Sherone Price

12:30PM-1:15PM: Break

1:30PM-3:30PM: Repertory with Ming Yang for the first 3 weeks/ Mark Dendy for the second three weeks

Wednesdays, Friday Nights, Saturdays, and Sundays are elective days where we have a continually altering schedule. We can take a range of classes from Pilates, Yoga, Samba, Gyrokinesis, Modern, Master Classes, Hip Hop, etc. They are on a drop in basis. There are also auditions being held by a few companies for projects and other works being held. 

I am very pleased with my schedule and I am hoping that I enjoy my classes as much as I am anticipating I will! But to be fair, so far I have enjoyed every class I have had here at ADF so far- even with the classes being preview classes. I am excited to finally normalize my schedule and begin taking classes on a more routine basis. 

Today we didn't do much other than go to advising, and register for our classes, but tonight we also had the opportunity to see Keigwin and Company perform at the Reynolds Theatre.


They were a pretty bad-ass company. I enjoyed the performance...particularly a lot more than the last show I saw, Stephen Petronio...gah!
Keigwin's company had a lot of interesting dances and they all had a very unique individual style to them. The last piece was definitely a highlight of the entire performance, and I know that many might think I am saying this because of the unexpected MIA-hip hop performance that was randomly embedded in the dance, but because the concept of forming a relationship between the fashion industry and insects; two completely opposing forces of nature to fuse together made an interesting relationship occur. I think that the idea that fashion icons sometimes hold qualities that can even remotely relate them to seeming like an insect almost makes sense to me in a sophisticated way that I cannot explain. It was truly exceptional work, and I am hoping to see more works like "Megalopolis" again in the future. 


And now it's time for bed! Or, an episode of Breaking Bad....


<3

Day 7: The Last Haul of Auditions...

Today was insane. How I am typing up this is confusing because I am sooo extremly exhausted and overwhelmed and just flat out ready to crash. Today was the conclusion of the preview weekend schedule as well as auditions for Footprints, MFA projects, and the Repertories. 


I woke up today very early for my 8:00AM class in Brodie Gym ( my favorite....) to have classes with Pam Pietro, Mark Haim, and Jesse Zarritt. We started the class with Jesse who taught us a very lucid, floating warmup sequence that was based on the balance between feelings and experiences that your body sees itself doing, as well as what it can already do. Jesse described this as the spectrum of the possible to the impossible and teaching your body to move with that sense of delicacy. Jesse teaches a sort of fusion of Modern dance technique paired with "Gaga" technique, which for those who do not know...No. It's not Lady Gaga technique, but nice try. Taken from Wikipedia: Gaga is a technique developed by  Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. The technique strives to establish a flow throughout the body that allows complete fluidity. In his technique, he has a series of words that signify particular ways to initiate movement and the parts of the body involved in initiating and feeling that movement. One example is “Luna.” When he says this, he is referring to the joint between the metacarpals and the proximal phalanges on the palm.

Gaga:




Then we took a class with Pam Pietro who taught a modern combination. It was good, nothing that I can see that stood out to me as being "especially different" or unique, but she sure is a little ball of fire, and I'm sure if there was more time, that I would be able to identify different types of her style. I then had the last part of class with Mark Haim, who is a character in itself. He taught us this phrase that I found pretty enjoyable, with a lot of focus on linear patterns, and traveling through space. 


After our final preview classes, I came back to the room to rest before our Repertory auditions. 


The first set of Repertory auditions were for Elisa Clark, Ursula Payne, and Paul Matteson. 


We started with auditions with Elisa. We learned a phrase from Mark Morris' Repertory.  I thought that the combination was a lot of fun. It was very musical and focused a lot on the counts and musicality of the steps. I think that overall I did a good job at nailing the combination. However, I think that my energy was low and that I did not present myself well throughout any of the Repertory auditions, however this first section was a highlight. Then came the Robert Battle Repertory audition with Ursula Payne. Oh my goodness. My arms hurt so bad from the phrase we learned from Primate. I don't know how anyone can perform Battle's work. It always makes me in pain! It was a fun combination though, although I doubt my body can handle this choreography yet. She also made us walk across the floor and pretend to throw up, while vocalizing the "hacking sound". Then was Paul's audition. Which ended up running late. It was a partnering audition. I was with one girl and one guy. We had to sense one another's weight and utilize the weight sharing to make a phrase that we perform as a soloist. It was actually really difficult to make phrase work out of partnering steps. I was impressed by other peoples' interpretations, although I don't think I made the cut for this audition.


The second set of auditions were for Mark Haim, Ming Yang, and Andrea Weber. 
At this point of the day, I was SO exhausted from the previous classes and auditions that I had just about had it at this point. The first audition was for Andrea Weber who ran the Cunningham audition. I thought that I did a good job at figuring out the complicated steps and quick footwork, but I really don't think I stood out at all to the panel. I was feeling very dry in these auditions. I think I was just "auditioned-out!" Then we had Ming Yang teach us a phrase for his Repertory that will be shared with Mark Dendy in a few weeks. His combination was full of power and strength and focused on eating up the space and moving efficiently through the body with the pelvis. After doing it a few times, I stopped caring and just started messing around with it. Then the final audition was with Mark Haim who literally made us walk, skip, and shuffle in different walking patterns with a Starbucks cup. He was looking for people to portray character and emotion in a subtle way without just "dumping" it on the audience. It was actually a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. 




After auditions I pretty much passed out as soon as I got back from them. Being in Brodie Gym all that time was exhausting and unhealthy for my body- specifically, my bones and joints. I am hoping I get called back for some audition, but if not it will not be the end of the world because at least I can dance. 

Day 6: Afro-whatttt?

Today was a lot less stressful than yesterday, but still nonetheless a stressful part of this hell-ish weekend of previews! Luckily, after my long day yesterday, I was able to sleep in until 9:00AM. My first class was at Southgate, so in close proximity, and I was able to make it to class on time. We had Marjani Forte, from Urban Bush Women as well as Roger Belman teach. This was definitely one of my favorite classes that I have taken so far! Seeing Marjani again was wonderful, since I had taken class from her at ACDFA at Muhlenberg College and have had class with her fellow company members, like Bennalldra Williams. Roger's combinations were so fluid, and made sense to me. I felt really comfortable and happy in class. This class is definitely one I will consider when finalizing my final schedule. 


Then afterwards, I went to my next class which was Afro-Modern with Michelle Gibson and Ballet with Elizabeth Corbett. We started with a 45 minute ballet barre from Corbett, which was different, but also a nice warm up for what we were about to encounter...Then Michelle came out and as soon as she walked in the room her ball of fire energy radiated onto the whole group as we learned this very challenging Afro-Modern fusion phrase. It was really intense, and she really pushes you to work hard. I mean, I don't think I have sweat so much this entire weekend until I got to her class! It was a really great class however, and she told us all to make sure that we take a class that we are uncomfortable in- because it will help us grow.


After that I had a long break from 1:30-6:00PM where I spent most of my day lounging around, watching Breaking Bad and sleeping because they were the time slot for people who got callbacks for Footprints. But later I had MFA auditions, which were wack! They shoved 300+ people into a room for one hour and tried to audition people for 4 different MFA's works. Literally walked across the floor, turned around to look behind myself - with intent, and continued walking and got cut- with the rest of the 280 people. We learned a phrase for one MFA student who cut everyone except 20ish people who did a partnering section. And then just got completely cut at the end when they told us to go home...interesting. Not too upset about it considering how they picked people. Definitely a good experience, because now I can say I have been in an audition where they did a ridiculous experiment and cut people after not seeing any of our potential. It also was an unrealistic amount of time and people in one room to see everyone- so it was definitely all about luck, I guess I just didn't have any today! But no worries, you move on. 


Tomorrow I have one class in the morning and then I get to rest until Repertory auditions, which will be taking all day long! This weekend is almost over, thank the lord! I really need some stability in my life and schedule!


About a year ago I was at Lar Lubovitch, closing out my intensive with them! Here is a little reminder of my experience last summer, and inspiration for the next 5 weeks:

Love you all! Thanks for reading and continuing this journey with me! 

Day 5. Getting Intense...

Today was an interesting day to say the least.


This morning we had a massive set of auditions that went from 7:45AM to 12:30PM. We were auditioning for three different pieces that were for three separate choreographers to set new works on ADF students. The three choreographers were Reggie Wilson, Jodi Melnick, and Helen Simoneau. The first audition that my group had was with Helen. We had a five minute warm-up which then proceeded into an hour audition. She taught a "contemporary-esque" phrase that we repeated several times. There was a lot of weight changing and it played a lot with the shift of weight in the pelvis and how the rest of the body responded. I really enjoyed the sequence. We were in Southgate, which is a fairly small studio,with around 100 people however, making this a very intense and sweaty audition. 


We then proceeded to go to our next audition which was in Brodie Gym. This was the first time I had stepped foot in Brodie, and let me tell you- I hate that facility. It is not appropriate for dancers to be in, at all. The gym is first of all ALWAYS freezing. I had to put a jacket over my clothes the whole time. Also, it's annoying because there is a mini-marley set up that is on top of some wood to act as a separate flooring situation- but the wood isn't sprung, it's just like someone picked up a panel of wood and put it down on the floor that's already there and taped marley on top of it. For those of you who do not have any knowledge about the difference between flooring, it is actually an essential part of a dancer's priorities and worries. The other half of the gym is just gym flooring which means it is concrete, and is not ideal for dancers because it can cause a lot of injuries from the hard, un-malleable floor. Typically, dancers dance on wood-sprung floors, which are more flexible which can take some of the pressure off of dancers when they jump and have to land. Anyways, we learned a combination from this woman, Jodi Melnick who has a Trisha Brown background in dance, a style I am not particularly familiar with. I am not sure I liked it very much and didn't think that my audition process went well. 


Then, we arrive at the Ark, which is a beautiful facility in itself, but the facility is relatively small for an audition ( although not as small as Southgate) and is not air conditioned. However, we arrive there and find that Reggie Wilson, the choreographer of the third Footprints piece, doesn't really have much prepared because he isn't sure what he wants to produce as a new work. So he first makes us walk/run around the room for about 20 minutes just moving our bodies and getting all the kinks out. Then he teaches us this cha-cha phrase which then turns into the structure for his actual phrase, except he then embeds different movements of the body, while moving into the cha-cha sequence's spatial pattern.  This audition was definitely the WORST for me out of the three that I did. Me and Kyoko (sp?) were trying to figure out the other side, but we misinterpreted what Reggie meant when he told us to figure out the other side. Typically when a teacher tells you to do that you automatically think "reverse it", but since the cha-cha pattern goes in a counter-clockwise circle, the pattern never reverses, it just happens with a different facing, so while we are making it even more complicated for ourselves, the actual pattern is a lot more simple than we thought. So once it became time to show I was totally "lost" when it came to knowing what side I was facing. I tried my best and tried to accommodate and follow off of others when confused, but it was still a challenge because my body was now programmed to do something else than what my mind was telling myself to do. 


So then auditions were over for Footprints. It was a morning of sheer STRESS, so getting to my next two classes definitely was a relief. After a short lunch break, the Green Group headed over to the Ark to take a ballet class from Jeffrey Bullock, and a Limon based Modern class with Gerri Houlihan, the co-dean of ADF. Gerri's class is SO fun. I loved it so much, but it was not as technically difficult as I was craving, however her training in Jose Limon technique was apparent and embedded in each combination she did, however it wasn't a strict Limon class which was nice. Jeffrey's ballet class was also a good change- since we had ben taking mainly Modern Technique classes, it was a nice change of scenery. I actually did really well in my turns and approach to the class! 


At this point of the day, I was exhausted...but in a good way. However, our next location was in the Arts Warehouse- which is literally a 15 minute walk, uphill! It was like a trek to get there in time! I met a new friend and we talked for a while on the trek there and by the time we arrived, we were so exhausted- and we were about to take African and Hip-hop! Hip-hop was a challenge. The class was given by LaShawn Jones. She taught us about how to properly "pop" and "wave". It was challenging, and something I should work on- but definitely attainable. She said something in class that really stuck with me, she said: " You're not going to take 6 weeks of this and tell the world you are a master of hip-hop, but you will improve and get better and can at least say that everyday was a journey..."
Or something like that.. haha. Then we had African with Sherone Price. I don't even know what to say about this class. It was really difficult, something I didn't feel comfortable doing- but also was a thrill, because I found it to be a really informative and really fun class. I think if I took this class I would gain so much knowledge about the culture as well as gain so much power, stamina, and strength. This class is definitely going to kick my butt. 


Then after class we walked back to see the Teaching Tribute Award be presented to Ana Marie Forsythe, who is pretty much in charge of the Ailey School, and is also "The Master" of Lester Horton technique. Important people were there! Including but not limited to, Robert Battle, Melanie Person, and Clifton Brown...I feel special being only a few feet away from this beautiful people. The ceremony was a nice end to my long, tiring, day. It was a nice way to be inspired by these people and what they have brought to the dance world- a nice opening to the festival. 

After the ceremony was over, my roommate and I went to Whole Foods and got $3 bottles of wine! How crazy is that...and it was actually pretty decent! We went to see the Cast List posted for Footprints and she got a callback for Jodi's piece, and I didn't get any...but it was alright! Because the $3 wine and Ben And Jerry's Fro-yo made up for it! 


The thing I am loving most about this festival is all of the opportunities and all of the different people you meet here! Without trying I have met at least 10 new people today. It's crazy. And you know what, tomorrow is a new day and a whole other set of auditions for MFAs are tomorrow. And I get to sleep in :) !


<3