Eight months ago, if a student or an entire class asked if they could record the steps after class, my answer was ABSOLUTELY NOT. First off, for their own sake – it is a disservice to let them do [...]
Flamenco has community & dialogue built into its core. It’s always interesting to me to see the ways that modern dance contrives programs so that it builds community and dialogue. I deeply admire much of this type of work (think [...]
For those of us who don’t want to jump on the online train… As studios and dancers immediately adjusted to our world shifting online, I took a step back. I am teaching my college courses online, but instead of keeping [...]
Had you told me 15 years ago the dancer who is now Sugar Plum would have that role someday, I would not have believed you. As I have done most years since age ten, while home for the holidays, I [...]
Curiosity and Adaptability. Necessities for dance. And life. Curiosity I’ve taken yoga off-and-on for several years now. This past year, I’ve taken less off and more on—I’m in class at least a couple times a week at the local yoga [...]
No to compartmentalization. No to unsustainability. No to quick, meaningless ways of working. No to compartmentalization: In the past semester—as I planned a symposium, worked on a performance piece, started plans for a performance series in Cleveland, taught and [...]
Shortly after accepting a position at Oberlin, I was encouraged to put together a flamenco symposium. Although that’s a pretty broad request, I knew immediately the theme I wanted to explore. Ever since I started to discover that flamenco has [...]
Ten years ago, I was working through a relatively serious injury as a dancer—a stress fracture in L4 on the left side (my fourth lumbar vertebrae, lower back). I think it’s pretty common for dancers to encounter a serious injury [...]
Here are some basic leadership lessons I am slowly but surely learning the hard way, and go figure, they are all connected. I am not exactly a natural leader. I step in to leadership roles if need be, but it's [...]
No one person is the be-all end-all. Well, maybe your kids, or grandkids, or significant other are your world. But that's not what I'm talking about. In the dance world, I've seen dancers flock to a single person and talk about [...]
