Update on the Project and Travel News!

Robyn and I have been talking about the project, and it's definitely going to be longterm. We are thinking about developing a book together first, to organize our independent research. The film is going to take a while, but we are collecting visuals and interviewing as many people as we can along the way.

Dance is starting to become a really important factor for my research. I decided to connect my identity journey with my IMS project, which means it's now part of my choreography piece Pieces of Her. A dance theater piece about my relationship to my grandmother, our distance through immigration, and what makes us individuals. It's a tall glass of water, but here I go diving in as much as I can.

I am currently in Berkeley, CA. I am in the process of moving in with my partner, and collaborating on various art projects with wonderful professionals in the Bay and outside. To say that I am overwhelmed is an understatement, but if I'm not doing something I might just shrivel up and die from boredom. It's just who I am.

I hope you are all well. I am looking forward to what the future holds.

More soon!

Upcoming Events: 

• IMS Session 3 (LMA/BF Participant) / Salt Lake City, Utah
• Dance Conference for Pieces of Her (Choreographer) / Riverside, CA
• Life Machine Play (Actor and Dancer) / Berkeley, CA
• Travel to Peru (Research and Short Film for Pieces of Her) / Lima, Peru
• Travel to Brazil (Research continued and Video work for Amara Tabor-Smith) / Salvador, Brazil

Check out my blog for more information!

Done with the Summer Intensive

Well as you can probably tell by the lack of posts on my end from this summer that the IMS Summer Intensive, was truly an intensive. I feel as though my brain and body have gone through a process of being mashed down into a substance that I am still trying to identify and piece together. I hardly had time to do other work, much less fit in time to film the beautiful landscape that Utah can provide. Thought I'll be back there in October (post Interim period), so I am not too worried.

The point is, my summer was difficult. Sure there was play, fun, down time, reflective moments, but overall the program has a lot information to take in about Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff. And rightly so! Their work, when they were on this earth, is monumental and still being practiced today. Okay, I don't want to paint the experience as gruesome either. I had a lot of fun finding new ways to create movement, express movement, and find healthier passages to allow my body to function in a powerful but thoughtful way. It's actually, now that I think about it, getting harder and harder to describe what the experience has been like. And I think it's because it's A LOT of things. I made new friends, I connected with my body in ways I never knew I could, I experienced the physical, spiritual, and emotional changes of self. I identified things about myself that I want to change. I realized how much I rely on assumptions when it comes to other people. So is this work going to help me in the process of  filmmaking, you betcha. So although this post is kind of vague, I plan on using the tools I am learning from Integrated Movement Studies to describe and develop the process of this film. Step by step, I will be sharing the language I've learned through the images we share.

A quick update on Robyn! She has little internet connection in Senegal, but will be on her way to Paris soon. She's going through a very transformative experience herself. Can't wait to see her next year so we can compact all our information and create something that is meaningful for us. For now, the travel continues!

I am in L.A. visiting family right now, but will be returning to the Bay on Monday. Wow. The summer went by so fast. Onward.

IMS: http://imsmovement.com

We drove her to the airport

                              

We celebrated alongside some of the most talented people in the Bay Area. We toasted and danced with the cast and crew of "He Moved Swiftly...". We laughed at each others' jokes. We snuck in strawberries and hummus between every hip roll. We witnessed a flowing rap artist freestyle to the beats of Mario Bros.' Nintendo music. We watched the disco lights twirl in the red room and light up the picture frames pinned on the yellow walls. Speckles of glittering teeth, art pieces that came to life, and hands holding onto red plastic cups holding onto secret desires and dreams. Shirtless men, limber women, hammocks being pushed by ghosts, and secret conversations about transitions and growing young. We embraced Amara Tabor-Smith, our dance teacher and mentor, and after a night of music, art, and spirits we left the house of sleepy artist and entered my little tic-tac car. We drove her to the airport. He was at the wheel because my eyes were slipping in and out of sleep from three days of driving and traveling. Our bodies stiffened from the Salt Lake City to the Bay car ride. We were on our way to SFO. She had all her bags in my car ready for her destination: Senegal! She should be there now, connecting with new people and learning about their dance world. I am so glad Robyn and I had one more chance to see each other before her trip. I am so happy that I was with her at the beginning of her adventure. This Sunday I return to my Summer Intensive training with Integrated Movement Studies. The more I think about this project, the more excited I get over the possibilities. Safe travels Robyn! Open heart, open mind, and open doors!

World Cup, Brazil, and her point of view

When I tell people I will be going to Brazil for research in dance they mention the World Cup. Of course! Who wouldn't? It's in everyone's mind. Well, everyone who likes or grew up watching soccer, like me. I was visiting a friends facebook page recently, and saw this video on her wall. I want to share it on our blog because it's a human being sharing her thoughts about the identity and representation of her country.