What's in a Name?

For the title of my business and my senior project at UWM, I came up with Pilgrimage Dance. It was inspired by various places that I perform in with this business including: libraries, schools, senior centers, and community centers. I find that I myself am on a journey not only to these places, but to share and encourage dance within many communities and learn something about myself at the same time. A pilgrimage for me is a search for knowledge, and at times, it is a spiritual search as well. In many religions, people often make a pilgrimage to a holy land.

Now, I'm not sure there is any particular place that is the holy land for dance! It seems to me that every place has inspiration from it's history to it's people to dance and create dance.

When I was coming up with the title, I also thought about how dance moves and a pilgrimage is specifically locomotor movement from one place to another. In my mind, I find it interesting that a pilgrimage is actually one really long dance! It's an abstract thought, but I think it describes my work. I am a nerdy dancer who interrelates dance with all areas of life and community. They are not interchangeable! There can be no growth without the freedom to move. There can be no life without growth. And there can be no dance without life.

Surviving my classes!

I have started to freak out that I'm in over my head with my senior project, but I am excited about my other courses. This semester I am taking...
Laban I which can be described as an analyses of how and why the body moves in connection to mind and emotions  Link to the Laban Institute of Movement Studies
Dance and the Digital Arts: a class that focuses on collaboration of movement and media that works towards a show at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Digital Media Portfolio for Dancers: a class that teaches how to put together a dvd resume along with a wordpress.com web page that has all our information for future employers to view
T'ai Chi Ch'uan: I feel that this class is going to be very difficult for me because I'm going to really have to break some of the bad habits I have physically picked up over the years to be able to move in the proper form. I was told the first day to watch Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

So between dancing, filming, making a detailed dance resume, and T'ai Chi, I will be trying to start a business that involves dance, literature, and the community.

We shall see....