When we work in community (group classes, community environments,…) change happens on a larger scale. This sense of community cannot simply be more bodies in space. It means more bodies, with minds and intentions directed toward a shared experience, even if people do not interact with each other. It is a guided tour of what…
Read MoreFrom 50,000 feet
A few weeks ago a colleague kept using the phrase “from 50,000 feet”. Every time he said it, I nodded but over days and weeks I have really been HEARING it and trying to PRACTICE it. What does that mean? It means pulling back. Observing from a distance, letting be, and setting aside. It doesn’t…
Read MoreMad at Dance
For the last few years, I have been mad at dance. Recently, though, I used a different phrase. I was finally able to articulate that I am not really mad at dance. I am mad at the consumption of dance. For me, dance speaks to the human condition. It is a process by which we…
Read MoreMovement Connects
This week, I co-led MAEIA Re-Ignite!- a day-long Professional Learning event for the Michigan Arts Education and Instruction project (MAEIA). We used Simon Sinek‘s The Golden Circle as a lens to reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the arts-education community at large. Representatives from individual schools, school districts, local and state arts organizations, the Michigan…
Read MoreAction Items
I always feel better when I have a list of steps to complete. It is how I know my goals aren’t just wishes. This year is about branding and launching for me. Putting my work into tangible means to share with others and extend my reach in new directions and deeper folds. It has already…
Read MoreThe Year of Making It
A few years ago, I had a year of “Yes”. It was before Shonda Rhimes published her book. It was a time in my life where I needed to reorient my work to include MYSELF. I was giving so much to my students and my colleagues that I left myself out of the equation and soon…
Read MoreWhat are you making?
This weekend I had the luxury of conversation with a wide range of women. The organization I work for was celebrating our 40th anniversary. Some of the conversations happened verbally, some through movement, more through observation as the event was blocks away from the Women’s March in my state capitol. In one of the pieces…
Read MoreThe Truest Thing
I am humbled to have been a guest on Jenna Zaffino’s podcast, Pilates Unfiltered. Jenna is a force in the world and I am lucky to know her. She is inspiring because she does good work but more so because she MAKES THINGS HAPPEN. Here is the link to Jenna’s website, specifically to the Pilates…
Read MoreWhat you waiting for?
I keep finding myself in conversations with people who are telling me what they want to do, somehow not realizing they have the resources they need at their disposal right now. I have started saying, “What are you waiting for?” I have started saying it to myself, too. With the shifting of my career and…
Read MoreStop Shoulding
I would like to remove “should” from our vocabulary. There are so many better ways to make a point, suggest improvement, make an observation than “should.” Whenever “should” appears in a conversation, my guard tends to go up. Not all the time and not with everyone- but with many people, and always with specific people.…
Read More