So today I picked myself up from the wreckage of my self-esteem and started over again...sort of. In fact, my "dancing" today consisted of nothing but lying down, but it was one of the best kinds of lying down there is: cloud watching.
It was an absolutely glorious day today. The sun was hot, there was enough of a breeze to keep the bugs off, and there were beautiful fluffy clouds drifting across the sky. So while Xander played in the gravel I stretched out in the driveway and watched the clouds drift by. It was perfect. I felt my breath flow in and out. I felt the sunshine warming my skin. And I watched the edges of the clouds shift and melt. So peaceful. Just perfect.
Sometimes the best way to dance is not to move at all.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Day 20: May 20, 2010
Oof. Mental note: when dancing, never stand in front of a reflective door. Or, rather, never stand in front of a reflective door with the intention of checking out your reflection. Seriously, WHAT WAS I THINKING?! That was terrible!
On the plus side, it has reaffirmed me in my intention to never ever have mirrors in my dance studio. Not ever. Not even for ballet classes. Nope. Not happening.
That is all. Urgh.
On the plus side, it has reaffirmed me in my intention to never ever have mirrors in my dance studio. Not ever. Not even for ballet classes. Nope. Not happening.
That is all. Urgh.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Day 19: May 19 2010
Ew. Ewewewewewewewew. Ew. My dance room is being invaded by wee creepy crawlies. I want to say they're millipedes, since they look like little many-legged worms, but they also appear to be eating the door to the lower deck....do millipedes eat wood? I cleared out the nest in the doorway with a stick and a spray bottle of teatree oil. And that's all good, but now I feel like I have crawling things ALL over me. So disgusting.
Anyway, in between doing that I did manage to dance. I tried the audiobook thing again, using a passage from Striding Folly by Dorothy L Sayers where a character has a bad dream. It was really fun, but I couldn't shake the creepy feeling. On the whole, though, it was a good session. Very promising. I think dancing to spoken word sometimes helps me move in unfamiliar ways. I like it!
Going to go try to shake the "buggy" feeling. UGH. So gross.
Anyway, in between doing that I did manage to dance. I tried the audiobook thing again, using a passage from Striding Folly by Dorothy L Sayers where a character has a bad dream. It was really fun, but I couldn't shake the creepy feeling. On the whole, though, it was a good session. Very promising. I think dancing to spoken word sometimes helps me move in unfamiliar ways. I like it!
Going to go try to shake the "buggy" feeling. UGH. So gross.
Day 18: May 18, 2010
DAMN! I didn't post yesterday. I danced and everything! GAH. Stupid brain.
Yesterday's dancing session was a 15-minute romp in the basement with the little one. Soundtrack was VNV Nation's "Arclight" played twice, and then another song or two afterward. While I admit that a lot of the "dancing" was running around with the boy and bouncing off the walls (literally), the beginning was actually very baby-free thanks to strawberries and art supplies (not used in conjunction, although that can happen).
I think what stood out about this dance session was that my brain really didn't get in the way that much. I danced, and I LIKED what I danced and I FELT GOOD. Thank goodness. And, since I was listening to songs I had originally planned to choreograph pieces to and had actually started working on years ago, there was a certain element of "Oh my, how my movements have changed!"....but in a good way. Last time around things were still too balletic in my choreography. It looks like once I'm ready to start again it's going to be very different. And that makes me extremely happy.
Yesterday's dancing session was a 15-minute romp in the basement with the little one. Soundtrack was VNV Nation's "Arclight" played twice, and then another song or two afterward. While I admit that a lot of the "dancing" was running around with the boy and bouncing off the walls (literally), the beginning was actually very baby-free thanks to strawberries and art supplies (not used in conjunction, although that can happen).
I think what stood out about this dance session was that my brain really didn't get in the way that much. I danced, and I LIKED what I danced and I FELT GOOD. Thank goodness. And, since I was listening to songs I had originally planned to choreograph pieces to and had actually started working on years ago, there was a certain element of "Oh my, how my movements have changed!"....but in a good way. Last time around things were still too balletic in my choreography. It looks like once I'm ready to start again it's going to be very different. And that makes me extremely happy.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Day 17: May 17, 2010
Tonight, just for fun, I tried improvising to five minutes of an audiobook. The book in question was An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, one of my favourite authors, and tied for second place with Neil Gaiman in my all-time nerdcrush hall of fame (yes, I have one. Doesn't everyone?).
I have done a lot of improvisational movement in my life, but never have I ever danced to an audiobook. It was fascinating! I found myself being goofy and graceful and awkward and odd all in a five-minute period. Such an interesting exercise because there are so many ways you can play it: do you dance to the cadence of the voice, to the characters, or do you act out the actual words? I imagine that it would change with every story -next time I might try, say, Twilight, or Doctor Who: The Last Voyage, or one of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and it will be totally different. I love it! I'm adding this to my mental list of exercises. So glad I tried it!
I have done a lot of improvisational movement in my life, but never have I ever danced to an audiobook. It was fascinating! I found myself being goofy and graceful and awkward and odd all in a five-minute period. Such an interesting exercise because there are so many ways you can play it: do you dance to the cadence of the voice, to the characters, or do you act out the actual words? I imagine that it would change with every story -next time I might try, say, Twilight, or Doctor Who: The Last Voyage, or one of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and it will be totally different. I love it! I'm adding this to my mental list of exercises. So glad I tried it!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Day 16: May 16, 2010
Sometimes cleaning and dancing go together. I imagine that when Xander is older I'll be using this tactic to encourage him to help me clean up, a la Mary Poppins. But tonight it was a matter of me looking at the clock and thinking "CRAP. It's 11 and I haven't danced or cleaned yet." So I put some music on and I did BOTH.
I'm going to be honest, by the end of it I was so dog tired that it was 99% "clean" and only about 1% "dance"....but whatever. Have you ever tried to dance while loading a dishwasher? Not easy when you're energetic, and I am NOT energetic. I'm SO TIRED.
Time for bed. More dancing tomorrow.
I'm going to be honest, by the end of it I was so dog tired that it was 99% "clean" and only about 1% "dance"....but whatever. Have you ever tried to dance while loading a dishwasher? Not easy when you're energetic, and I am NOT energetic. I'm SO TIRED.
Time for bed. More dancing tomorrow.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Day 15: May 15, 2010
If I had to pick one of the past 15 dance sessions to replicate over and over for the rest of my life it would be today's.
Picture this: In the beautiful dance room with my toddler. Gorgeous, upbeat drumming music playing. We're dancing with scarves, swirling them over our heads and playing peekaboo. And then we're running all around the space, smacking into walls, and I catch him up in my arms and twirl with him and his head is thrown back in joy and he's laughing and screeching with delight. I don't even know how long we did it for because we just kept going and it felt like no time at all, only there were about 6 songs playing in a row. It was perfect.
So, yes. If I had to keep just one moment from the past 15 days, this would be it.
Picture this: In the beautiful dance room with my toddler. Gorgeous, upbeat drumming music playing. We're dancing with scarves, swirling them over our heads and playing peekaboo. And then we're running all around the space, smacking into walls, and I catch him up in my arms and twirl with him and his head is thrown back in joy and he's laughing and screeching with delight. I don't even know how long we did it for because we just kept going and it felt like no time at all, only there were about 6 songs playing in a row. It was perfect.
So, yes. If I had to keep just one moment from the past 15 days, this would be it.
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