The beauty of the artists I’m working with never ceases to amaze me. When I witness them, I witness the uniqueness of each person’s spirit, each person’s love and passion for her or his art, each person’s gift of giving deeply to the birth of this piece. This creative endeavor is bringing to life the histories stored within our bodies. We convey through movement, martial arts, Chinese lion dance, music, text, and video the depth of what cannot be translated
There is an unmistakable magic that occurs when a group of 16 artists fill a room and reveal their craft. 4 people transform into 2 majestic lions… the spirits and essence of the tradition. It’s hard to express the feeling of watching what is in your mind’s eye manifest in front of you, to the glory of your initial vision. Presence, compassion, love, and wisdom. You hear it. You feel it. You know what you are a part of is
This past Sunday was our final performance of, “Our Daily Bread” at CounterPULSE. After a two week run which included 8 sold out performances and one show for students from Mission High School, I am still feeling the overwhelm of such a wonderful, ass kicking, joyous and painful experience that was the making and performing of this work. It has been a journey that felt so right to complete it where it all began-at CounterPULSE. The process was magical in
Reflections on the opening weekend of "Our Daily Bread" This past Thursday, Our Daily Bread opened to very supportive and enthusiastic audiences. It was an amazing experience filled with love, food, exhaustion and the absolute commitment of all of the performers and creators who were integral to this experience. Laura Diamondstone created a magical environment in the lobby of CounterPULSE which really set the tone for the evenings experience. The first day I walked into the lobby while she was
I'm a big fan of fermented foods and drinks: sauerkraut, tempeh, kombucha, rejuvelac, kim chee, wine, beer and more. It's fascinating to me how completely new nutrients and beneficial bacteria develop when we let things settle for awhile. And then how new food and drink is created, not necessarily better than what was originally there, but different and fulfilling other needs. I'm realizing that I love fermented art too. When a project first appears to complete on closing night, I
Transitioning back to ordinary life after a performance run is difficult for me. And this particular transition out of performances of Dandelion's Friend has been particularly difficult. Ram Dass wrote and spoke about how as he began to get in touch with larger and more beautiful spiritual experiences--as he got "higher" each time--the accompanying falls afterwards became increasingly painful. These performances were especially "high" for me. I made some big breakthroughs artistically: editing more fiercely, trusting my inner feedback over
The food chain is only as strong as the weakest link and other thoughts leading up to this monster called, “Our Daily Bread” It has been a minute since my last post and sooooo much has happened. The artistic crew who are conjuring this work, Our Daily Bread celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women’s day and Mardi Gras this year by having an Eat-In in the middle of the afternoon of Tuesday, March 8th. MJ’s Brass Boppers kicked it
My current favorite definition of the word "dance" is: "Impermanence made visible." That seems to cover the immensity and the minutia of this slippery form. I'm particularly in touch with impermanence as Dandelion moves into our premiere of Friend tonight. It strikes me as odd how performance is what I pour my most extreme efforts and longings and strivings into--and then it's gone so quickly after it arises. This is particularly true in the experimental dance world wherein we often
The showings that Dandelion has been doing as part of our residency at CounterPULSE have taught me a lot. Here's an incomplete list of insights, reminders, clarifying moments that I've gathered so far from the three monthly public showings of our Friend project: 1. Public showings are crucial to the development of the kind of experimental performance we create. They force us to get things together on a deadline, to try them out and then to retreat and re-tool. There
It's been longer than I would have liked since my last post. I'm in the final stages of "birthing" our Friend project, and these past few weeks have felt like the major hump to get over. As I catch up with myself and the work, I'll be posting some eclectic reflections from the adrenaline-fueled final phase of this particular creation process. Here is a post I started two weeks ago, when I felt right in the middle of the fire,
I've often thought about what it means to come home to someone. When you come home to someone, there's comfort and consistency. A dog's tail wagging, rich smells from the kitchen and maybe a kid slamming the screen door to escape outside into the air and wilderness and unknown. But coming home feels like too many slices of other peoples dreams. I get lost in them. They're flip books from another era and a different group of people sitting around
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Nov. 23rd, 2024 @ 8:00PMEvent Detail Button
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