Jan

Finding my NEW voice!

I haven’t been posting very often lately. I could say I’ve been really busy, or haven’t known what to write, or, or, or… Really I could easily come up with a HUGE list of all the reasons I haven’t posted a new blog post.

These past few months (really starting 11.11.11)

I have been finding my NEW VOICE!

Lots of BodyTalk sessions, physical, mental and emotional changes! Franklin Method (R) work to find my diaphragm and embody its movement and my lungs’ role in my breath. Lots of learning and building. Trust, trust, trust.

So many new, new, new things have been happening in my life.

Started a new job (which I LOVE more and more every day) that allowed me to quit the job I hated. Stopped dancing for the ballet company that wasn’t helping my health and wellness.

Had my birthday! Yay!

Flew across the country to go home for Christmas (a place I hadn’t been back to in a year). And had a BEAUTIFUL Christmas with my family.

And now it’s the new year! 2012! Happy new year! I actually started this year out by physically losing my voice, my throat hurt so much.

But now things are getting clearer and clearer one day at a time.

I have so many goals, dreams and visions for the coming year and my year on this beautiful planet earth.

Recently started to freak out about the fact that I currently have 6 jobs (My video!) and (Laura’s response!) …. And enter the fact I lost my voice at the beginning of 2012!

Trinity Church (interior), New York City

Inside Trinity Church

Then TODAY I went to church at Trinity Wall Street (shout out! ).

While singing “I, the Lord of sea and sky” and “Mine eyes have seen the glory” I founded my strong and powerful voice in a way I have NEVER in my life experienced before. (I’ve always been extremely shy, super quiet and soft-spoken and never could decide about anything!) I’ve also always been timid about my singing voice, yet felt a strong desire to SING!

This morning was a moment, an experience that I’ll always remember and will allow me a powerful memory to tap into to find my strong and powerful voice that knows.

~~~~~~~~~~

I feel so blessed to be living my life, surround by the people I am, in the place where I am!

Thank you all! All YOU people of the internet!

Sending out waves of light ~ PEACE, HOPE, JOY and LOVE!

Looking forward to the coming year of dancing, inspiring and healing!

Please leave a comment below with your thoughts, inspirations, dreams, goals….

I’d LOVE to hear it all, everything and anything.

489 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Church/Dance/Franklin Method/New York City

beautiful christmas/beautiful planet/Dance/dreams and visions/Franklin Method (R)/God/sea and sky/Singing/trinity church/Trinity Church (New York City)/Voice

Nov

I am a dancer…

I am a dancer, but that is not all that I am.

I have been a dancer my whole life, from the age of three when I first put on a pair of tap shoes and my mom took me crying to my first dance class.

I discovered ballet officially at nine years old when my combo tap/ballet teacher saw my flexible feet and hyper extended knees. She convinced my mom to put me in ballet lessons.

I loved ballet from the moment I started. I had found the dance form for me! Years have gone by since then and I’ve learned other styles but ballet and especially pointe work has stayed my favorite.

This past year I moved to New York City via a one way plane ticket and two suitcases from the west coast.

Also in the past year I got certified as an educator of the Franklin Method. Basically a year-long process that involved three weeks throughout the year of intensive training in Boulder, Colorado. In-between weeks I had homework to complete, practice workshops to teach , studying and practicing to do with the Franklin Method. [The Franklin Method was formed by Eric Franklin partly from his own experience as a dancer. It uses science, bone models and current mind body research to teach in a student centered way how the bones, muscles and organs move in all bodily motions. Then dynamic imagery is incorporated to encourage movement and translate the motion between the mind and body.] Learning the Franklin Method has changed the way I approach dance. I continue daily to teach my body it’s true movement potential in every moment, enhancing my movement with anatomically correct imagery.

One of my most recent discoveries in ballet class…

It truly is a really powerful thing when you realize that in any moment you can DECIDE how you want to do a step. That kind of control I always interpreted to be the skill only of a professional dancer. But, I was never sure how they got it. I assumed years if practice and HARD work. But then even when i became a professional dancer i still wondered and was actually rather disappointed I did not suddenly have this skill…

But then, ding! Last week in class I discovered it and I had my answer! The Franklin Method! Embodying the Franklin Method in ballet classes allows one to DECIDE how you want to do a step.

I plan to be a strong, brilliant, inspiring Franklin Method educator, enabling me to help tons of people - dancers and lay people alike to move and dance in the healthiest, most beautiful way reaching their highest potential.

557 days ago Short URL Comments

Ballet/Dance/Franklin Method/New York City

ballet/Dance/Eric Franklin/Franklin Method/New York City

Oct

Breathe

Ahhhh…

Theme of this Sunday for me. Came from a guy after church this morning. He asked me about my plans for the day and I said, “nothing!” which is a shocker for me.

For the past forever my Sundays have been busy, culminating last Sunday when I went to church, a discovery class, an audition then had the big performance of Pinkpig Ballet that night.

Taken me awhile to recover from that day, since not really “recovered” a week later….

But… back to the guy at church this morning. After relating my feeling of recovery to him, he suggested going to a park and just breathing. What an excellent idea! Had been battling with what to do today, always have so much work to do. But… it’s Sunday which I quite sincerely believe should be a day of rest.

but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work… ~ Exodus 20:10

That is good enough for me!

Rest, sitting and just being is not something that comes easily for me. I’m a rather high-strung person, think it runs in my family…

Have learned to trust myself and actually listen to my body and what it needs since moving here, learning BodyTalk Access and the Franklin Method.

Focusing especially today on what I learned from the Franklin breathing class, in and out of nose – in and up my back then out and down my front.

I feel so much joy and contentment living in the city and just surrendering to that feeling.

So, here I am in Prospect Park, surrendering to the feelings, the emotions and breathing.

Final note..

Have no desire to be fake in this blog, have enough of that in my “pink life” Reached a point that I am really tired of that, it’s exhausting!

578 days ago Short URL Comments

Ballet/Church/Franklin Method/New York City

ballet/Breathing/Church/Dance/Franklin Method/Pinkpig Ballet/Prospect Park/Sunday

Oct

Dance… and other things.

Went to a dance performance last Friday. All the pieces seemed so morbid!

I remember when I saw Vienna Teng live in concert, one thing she said was how it is much easier to write sad songs than happy songs. The words and music for sad songs came easier to her.

I wonder if it is the same with choreographing dances….

This train of thought turns me to the Franklin Method (as everything in my life does anymore) Something I’ve learned, that is so incredibly true (think about it for yourself!) is: Negative imagery is way easier and much more prevalent in our culture. It also elicits a stronger somatic response than positive imagery usually! Positive, good, dynamic imagery you have to practice.

“Learning imaging is akin to learning a language?” ~ Eric Franklin (via @FranklinMethod)

But! …. Back to choreographing dances…

The dance I choreographed for my composition class in college was rather bleak.. But, the dances I choreographed for church services always had their abundantly joyful moments as the songs were praise songs or had moments of BREAKING through the DARKNESS.

Pieces choreographed on me have been a mixture. I have a rather spunky cute demeanor so perhaps that is why I am able to dance cute, quick, fun pieces…

Also, I wonder if ballet is an easier genre to make happy pieces for. I’ve always felt like ballet was a joyful dance form. Most of the classics are generally joyful and happy with some melodrama underneath and sad moments. Many of the plots are bleak, with happy moments…
Sleeping Beauty (my favorite classic): Aurora has a spell casted on her that when she pricks her finger she goes to sleep. BUT is awakened my her true love’s kiss! And there is a happy wedding ceremony!
The Nutcracker (the ballet I’ve done the most): Clara has her favorite toy nutcracker broke this Nutcracker comes to life and battles a huge rat king. But she kills the rat king with her shoe and her nutcracker turns into a prince and they go on a magical journey and see lots of beautiful dances.

Interesting, but really I guess full-length ballets need happy as well as sad moments or else the evening would be one-dimensional and the audience would get bored…

Do you have any thoughts on this?! I’d LOVE to hear them! Post your comment below!

582 days ago Short URL Comments

Ballet/Church/Dance/Franklin Method/New York City

Aurora/ballet/Dance/Performing Arts/Sleeping Beauty/Vienna Teng

Sep

“Try to see this tension, this knot, this pain as a friend and not as an enemy – a friend who has come to draw your attention to something; a friend who will not go away just because you are in a bad mood, one that takes the time to help you uncover the root of the problem.” ~ Eric Franklin

596 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Ballet/Dance/Franklin Method

ballet/Dance/favorite/Franklin Method/quote

Sep

Walking… and other random-ness

Awesome day!

Morning: Did Franklin BandMoves in my room as well as Franklin crunches and attempted once again to embody my psoas.

Then, I spent part of my day walking the streets of Manhattan.

Introducing my left foot

I find a strange type of peace walking in the city.

There is isolation yet a sense of community, independence yet dependence within the masses of people walking the sidewalks of NYC.

What I get from roaming the city seems similar to what some people get from being out in nature.

The ability to reconnect to themselves.

And my right foot!

This is probably one of the reasons I moved to New York City (among many, many, many reasons )

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE nature and am constantly amazed by God’s creation. But I think our man-made creation is pretty cool!

I like people too. Like being around them and feeling their energy. And absolutely LOVE connections!!!

Also, I have fun walking with Franklin Method imagery. Since the last week of the Franklin Method teacher training my favorite image for walking (which I now realize, was me misunderstanding an image Eric gave, haha) is my foot as the log on the ride “Splash Mountain” in Disneyland. At the end of the ride, all this water splashes up all around the log that you are riding in! With every step you take water is splashing up all around your foot!

I loved this ride at Disneyland, it had exactly the right about of excitement and scariness! Also I went on it with many wonderful people. That is exactly why this image works so well for me, I am connected to it on so many levels – emotional, all the senses (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, touch, gustatory, olfactory)… The image is dynamic! That is the benefit of personal imagery!