Dreaming at the Waterford Public Library

Over the past couple days, I have been working with the Waterford Public Library on two separate events - "Dancing Dreams" for kids ages around 4 and 5 and "In your Dreams Workshop" for ages 10 and up. It's been a wild couple of days, and these two events have been a lot of fun.

Hard, Hard, Hard work.... I learned a lot from the Dancing Dreams workshop. It is incredible how much children can teach us, and with over 50 participants, I had a lot of teachers. Never did I anticipate that many children attending, and if I had another group as large as that one, I would do things a little differently.

For instance, when you ask a group of 20 children to go around the circle and share a movement to introduce themselves it doesn't take nearly as long as it does for a group of over 50. I had a lot of help and support from librarian Tricia Cox who kept me on track and who always keeps up my confidence. The kids did great, and they stayed with me. They shared with me some of their dreams about being princesses, swimming with sharks and other animals, being transformers, seeing aliens, and future goals of being police officers and firemen.

But I might try a different approach. In the future, I will start with the reading of the story "Waking Up is Hard to Do" by Neil Sadaka then go into a warm up. Honestly, I think the kids were really excited to be read a story. Also, I wouldn't have them in a circle, but in lines facing me with enough space to move. The circle made it difficult to move freely with such a large group of young ones. Then I would probably have some of my own choreography about dreams to lead them with, and then ask for volunteers to make up some extra choreography about what their dreams may be.

OVER 50 participants!!!!! Even with a few difficulties, the kids really seemed to have a good time dancing and reading at the library.

Now with my other event for the teen program, I had a lot of fun as a guest in the workshop. I helped open their dream interpretation workshop with some breathing exercises which were a lot of fun. And I was surprised at all the laughing, and how it really opened up the group to relax and feel comfortable.

We then did some steps for relaxation that I picked up from my T'ai Chi class last semester with Tom Ryan. I got them to focus on themselves, and take some tools with them on how to deal with stress. Afterwards, the Librarian Emily Scherrer took charge as we all built our own dream journals, made dream pillows, and were introduced to books on how to interpret dreams.

The Waterford Public Library never fails to amaze me. Over the years, I have always been impressed, but have come to realize that even more so the library has never ceased to inspire me along with others.

Wild Space performance Past Present

Last night I took a trip in time with Wild Space Dance Company at the Milwaukee County Historical Society in their performance "Past Present". Beautiful architecture encompassed beautiful dancing. The space located at 910 N. Old World 3rd St. was originally a bank building that has been restored to showcase it's past  for the use of a present museum. Artistic Director, Deb Loewen, delivered a very intimate look into the building's history, architecture, and function.



It is sometimes difficult to watch Wild Space because the movement isn't your typical approach to dance. The movement is filled with repetition, simplicity, and character. Often dance is approached with the purpose of entertaining; Wild Space stretches the capabilities of dance to really inform and leave an impression.







Photo Taken from Wild Space on Facebook



I love how Wild Space tends to take the audience on a tour in most of their performances. We as audience members got the chance to adventure around the building in groups to different installation pieces performed throughout the museum. It was a great way to see the building, but also a wonderful exhibition to get a taste of the different characters that come out of it's history. The dancing really seemed to involve even the ghostly spirits of the structures past. It was a treat to see Wild Space Dance. I left feeling that my thoughts on dance had been challenged, and with insights to a historical monument that I otherwise would have never had the opportunity to see.

Here Comes Trouble 2011

I'm on a roll at the moment with my blogging; I hope I can keep it up.



Photo taken by Mark Frohna



Well, I wanted to talk a moment about a production called "Here Comes Trouble" that I helped with by choreographing a piece, "Zillas". It took place at Danceworks this past weekend, and was a blast! It was a huge honor to have had the opportunity to put on a piece with three amazing dancers (Nastassja Bates, Emilie Rabbitt, and Janel Weeks). The piece was a collaboration of some of my crazy ideas about movement along with the dancers'. I tried hard to create a piece that really expressed the characters and drama that come out of a wedding in reference to all the wedding reality TV shows I have become addicted to.... "Bridezilla", "My Fair Wedding", "Rich Bride Poor Bride", and soooo many more. I find it to be a huge guilty pleasure to watch other weddings, and I also find it really hard because I'm planning my own wedding. It's hard to see all these lavish, beautiful ideas, and not salavate at the mouth! I really hope to one day take this short piece, and make it into an evening length work filled with my voice and opinions on the subject. (There are many. Most are in reference to how expensive everything seems to be along with how unfair it is that not everyone can legally marry the person they love based on gender)

I really loved that in the piece I could definately see myself portrayed in small amounts by the three dancers who I told specifically to portray very different characters from a little lost and confused to a bit ditsy and optomistic to just being controlling and a diva. If I had the chance to produce the piece again, I would love to see it with more dancers because these characters are just the beginning. It would be really wonderful to get a chance to see the piece progress, and I need to give a huge thank you to Sarah Wallish who directed the show for "Here Comes Trouble". Sarah along with Danceworks DanceLAB director Liz Tesch made a large effort to make the show possible from taking care of the lighting and sound along with promoting and really giving us a space and an audience to test out our work. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.



Photo Taken by Mark Frohna



  

It was so exciting to choreograph a piece on others for the first time, and have it be performed at Danceworks. I am always greatful for the Danceworks support and contribution to dance in the Milwaukee area, and hope to see them around for a long time.



New Dancemakers: In the Flesh

Another opportunity I had last semester was to perform in the New Dancemakers: In the Flesh show at UW-Milwaukee. I had the pleasure of working with two choreographers Nastassja Bates and Beth Mudroch. They were each very different in the ways that they make dances, and I learned so much from these two ladies. The overall process for the show was crazy because there were about 26 choreographers and three programs; it was bound to be a little stressful. I found the show weekend to be hard and hectic with long hours and lots of costume changes, but it was also really exciting too.

Nastassja Bates choreographed a dance inspired by women in the military called "Lady Machine". It took a lot of sweat and timing from myself and Rachel Elliot, my partner in the dance, to really perform this piece to it's true strength and unison. For me, the dance really stretched my capabilities because I definitely prefer smaller more intimate movements in my body over the large, stronger choreography that Bates put together. There were drills and jumping jacks, but also inner battles with ourselves and each other. Her eye and ear made for an exhausting, exhilarating dance. In rehearsals, there was never a need for a warm-up because it was installed in the piece. We wore fatigues on stage, and that just made me sweat even more! I have not served in the military, but I most certainly am thankful for the service of the men and women who do come together to protect and support our country.

In "You will never understand me" choreographed by Beth Mudroch, I had a chance to enter into a different culture -- the Deaf culture. The dance took us to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf where we saw a High School homecoming game, and got to experience what it felt to be in an environment where we didn't understand what was going on. I am actually quite familiar with the feeling since my study abroad in Morocco, and my travels to France. The dance made me more sure that being deaf is like being French or German; it is  a community and a culture rather than an ailment or disease. I will never fully understand, but I can sure try. Mudroch used film and dance to try and convey her message. With the help of four dancers including myself, Nadia Whitley, Bianca Ware, and Chris MacGregor along with film maker Daniel Kelly, the piece was a lot of hard work. I thought Mudroch did a wonderful job giving a peek into Deaf Culture in her piece, and it was a pleasure to participate in a piece that could be the start of something huge. I know now that I have a greater appreciation for the Deaf community, and perhaps there will be more people who saw the piece who have a better understanding or desire to better understand Deaf culture.

If you missed the show, I'm sorry because the overall event was phenomenal. It's truly amazing that all the pieces were performed and organized so well with so many choreographers presenting. Professor Luc Vanier, Music Director Seth Warren-Crow, Production Manager Iain Court, Stage Manager Colin Gawronski, and Program Manager Kayla Premeau had much to do with the organization and the success of the show. It could not have been done without them, and the stage assistants who aided them.


One final note to Nastassja and Beth -- A huge thank you to you both for making me apart of your pieces. I will remember the experience for the rest of my life.

Movement & Media Collaboration

I've got some catching up to do because there were a few performances this past semester that I didn't get a chance to write about.

Starting with a performance I had at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The show for MAM after Dark on November 19, 2010 was an explosion of media and dance being used in different ways during the exhibition of the Museum's European Design, the Chakaia Booker installation, Art of the Table event, and the Robert Therrien installation in Windhover Hall. It's a mouthful to say, but it was exciting to participate. The performance happened in cooridination with a class called Movement & Media Collaboration taught by Luc Vanier (Dance) and Cecelia Condit (Film). Both professors have some intresting takes in both the fields of film and dance. They took charge of our participation in the event, and were our guides.

It was very stressfull, and I found it difficult to keep in mind all the elements of dance along with the use of media. I collaborated with a film major Joe Calamia who was willing to work with movement and dance, and he jumped right in. It gave me a chance to play with some video shooting and editing as well. His movement preference were very different from my own, and we used the contrast within the piece. It was essentially an improv game where we were two individuals stuck in an elevator with specific rules as to what movement game was taking place, and it focused on our relationship within the space and with eachother. We had projections outside of the elevator that we had hoped would draw people in that would portray our different movement characters. If I were to do the piece again, I would make a point to find a way to integrate the media within the space. It would have added an extra extrodinary dynamic to the piece.


Video of our MAM After Dark piece


Overall, the Art Museum was an unbelievable place to perform, and I would love for the opportunity in the future to make pieces for another event.

Read Around the Christmas Tree at the Waterford Public Library

I had a great time once again at the Waterford Public Library with about 17 kids ages 3-10 and their families. It was a wonderful scene of children telling, listening, and becoming apart of holiday stories.

Now, I had a lot of help from Tricia Cox and Bridget Urban who are the children's librarians at the WPL. They approached me in September with the idea of joining them for their annual "Read Around the Christmas Tree" where everyone sits by a beautifully decorated tree all cozy to listen to Christmas tales. It was their idea to include myself and dance in the plot! Absolutely amazed by the opportunity, I told them of course, and gave them all my ideas for the event. My goal was to have it be something fun for the whole family. Of course the outcome was that the kids jumped right into every activity while the parents sat back and watched. Thinking back even though I really would have loved for the parents to get involved in the dance, I can definitely respect that they probably worked hard all day, and it was a treat for them to relax for a minute while they watched their kids sharing with other kids in dance and storytelling.

These kids impressed me so much!!!! They were attentive when I told them a little about ballet and dance, and they were quick to try the warm up exercises. We stretch and grooved for 15 minutes, and we were warm. Then the kids had such imaginative minds when I asked them to share their favorite holiday traditions, and they really did a fine job coming up with movement on their own for all their favorites. The dance was filled with cookies being made, ice fishing, snowball fights and forts rectified out of snow, HOT CHOCOLATE, sledding and snowmen, along with toys, presents, and Christmas cards. Finally, we wrapped the dance up by spending time with family, and it was so sweet to see these kids run and give their families hugs. We spent 15 minutes creating this dance, and had rehearsed it once before we changed locations and danced in front of the Christmas tree. For next year, I would like 10 more minutes to pretend how we marched in to the library, and where we would all stand in front of the Christmas tree. The space we practiced in was much larger than the space around the tree, but nobody ran into anybody or knocked the tree down so I think it was a successful transition. It was a little disorderly, but it was entertaining!




Once we finished our dancing around the tree, then the kids were all ready to sit and listen to some stories told by Tricia and Bridget who included some more dancing along with singing and acting out the tales. It was most certainly a treat, and I hope to make it a tradition that I can participate in for years to come.

I thank Bridget and Tricia for all their faith in me, and for the wonderful opportunity it was to join them for the library's annual "Read Around the Christmas Tree"! Next year, we need some hot chocolate!

For more information about past and upcoming events at the Waterford Public Library you can also visit them on facebook or their webpage.

Waterford Public Library on Facebook

Movement Memories Adventures in Morocco

Last month, I performed a workshop at St. John's on the Lake in Milwaukee, WI. called Movement Memories Adventures in Morocco. It consisted of about 15 participants from that community, and we all contributed stories and dreams to a dance piece about traveling. We began with a comforting warm up that got our bodies and minds connected in the activity with music from Camille who is a singer from France that uses movements to change the sound she is creating. I find her music to be playful and edgy while with a sense of calm. It certainly brought our warm-up to a different place and time.
Then I asked them to share their experiences traveling or dreams to travel. We then created an adventurous dance that went from France to Soviet Russia, Morocco to Hawaii, and our own back yard. The stories were fascinating, and the movement that grew from them was hilarious and sometimes touching. I got so caught up in all of this that I lost track of time completely. I think I could have improved different timing because after we did the dance then I also did a brief presentation on Morocco and my adventures. I don't know. I have mixed feelings because I did enjoy hearing all of their stories and wishes. Also, It is a pleasure to share and relive my memories of Morocco. I had a blast, and even got to do a little belly dancing to the music of Samira Said whose music I was introduced to during my time in Morocco.

The biggest challenge was seeing everyone in the group because they all had different abilities. St. John's has a large community of people who can live freely on their own with little assistance and then people who need a little more care. In the future, I think it would be helpful if I switch where I'm sitting throughout the workshop so different areas have equal attention.

Photo Taken from St. John's website

It was a little nerve racking, but I had great assistance from St. John's staff especially Angela Crimmings who I worked with closely. She had great advice including having a little more volume. I tend to be soft spoken at times, and it doesn't work! Crimmings was very encouraging though, and said a comfortable volume will come with experience. It's kind of funny though because I generally like to talk a lot, but in important situations I become all quiet.

I hope to present again at St. John's. The community environment is friendly, respectful, and open. I enjoy their company with their abundance of knowledge and experience.