Advice from a Glacier pt 3

 

Trying new Trends

One of the things I teach is to try things out and not be afraid of making mistakes. 

Research suggests that young people are afraid of trying new things or making mistakes because so much gets posted online - sometimes without that person's consent. People are afraid of leaving a permanent record of their mistakes, of being canceled for saying something "wrong," or appearing to be less than... 

I try to demonstrate a willingness to try new things and be okay with making mistakes. So, I've been replicating some trends in the social media world. The JCWK Dance Lab artists humored me in making this "what's always in your bag" video. 

Because its fun and a bit silly. And we're always carrying a lot in our bags. 

What do you always have with you? 

Advice from a glacier pt 2

 

World Mental Health Day

Today's World Mental Health Day. 10/10!

The "W" in JCWK Dance Lab stands for "Wellness".

Mental and Physical Wellness. 

We embody mental wellness in rehearsal through: 

• Check in's at the beginning of rehearsal and Check out's at the end of rehearsal
• An agreement to not "keep the peace". If something is bothering someone or feels "sticky" we need to talk about it before it becomes a bigger issue. The Check in's provide us space to introduce any "stickiness" that we're feeling - whether its in the studio or in another part of our lives. We're whole-people and dance demands that we engage multiple aspects of ourselves. If we try to "shut off" one part of ourselves, we're not able to access our whole-selves. Now, also as whole people, we sometimes need to compartmentalize something(s) in order to function. But we need to acknowledge that, too. Sometimes, just admitting that something is off is helpful.  
• Honoring physical wellness. We had a performance tour, recently. Three weeks prior to the performance, one of our dancers was in a car accident and was injured so that she couldn't perform some of our material. So, we changed the material to make it work for her. Another dancer had a sprain. I'm still working with my broken foot. There's a way to get the work done while also honoring the needs of our physical bodies. It takes a bit of patience and creativity, but sometimes that's a benefit. I think the latest iteration of "Mourning Morning" is stronger, choreographically. More importantly, we found a way to keep the energy of the group focused on building and problem solving. 

One of our friends, Sharon Matthew, is a retired counselor. She shares her wisdom with us. Here's one of her quotes: 

The Review is in

In the past few years, written reflection of dance has drastically dwindled. Just like newspapers and old-school media have been cutting back, arts writers have also needed to find new ways to share ideas and build audiences. 

When I talk about the Village Voice, now, my students don't know to what I'm referring. But when my work was reviewed in it in 2005, it was one of the greatest joys. 

Thank you, thINKingDANCE, for continuing the tradition of dance writing! Thank you for taking the time to come to our Fringe show. 

Fringe is also a time that is very crowded with art and performance in Philly. It can be both overwhelming and exhausting. Thank you, for making sure our show was on your calendar! 

Click here to read the article about TORRENT: Dancing in the Churn. 

I created these images from anika's writing and Mike Herwitz's photos. 

Happy National Dance Day!

 Every day is a good day to dance, in my opinion. 

But, National Dance Day brings a special opportunity to celebrate the power of movement. 

I created a short of some of JCWK Dance Lab's photos. 

How are you celebrating dance today? 

Advice from a glacier

We can learn so much from nature if we pay attention. 

Movement and metaphor in glacial exploration

The dance artists of JCWK Dance Lab and I are building, sliding, folding, cracking, and breaking apart in our latest research exploring glaciers. 

September Slow Down

 There's a lot happening in our world right now and a lot of uncertainty. 

May we find moments throughout September to slow down. 

In a slight twist of irony that's not lost on me, I'm sharing this video: 7 minutes of movement condensed into 27 seconds. 

#JulyJoy happens In Nature

 It's July! That means we go to "In Nature's Studio" with Reading Theater Project and the Reading Public Museum. This is always a fun collaboration between a variety of artists and the curators of the Museum's galleries. 

Here's a little "block" of our research:

Explore Reading's Flamenco artist

 Last month on the Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange, I sat down with Berks native and Flamenco artist Amanda Pena. 

Check it out and let me know how you did with the rhythms:

The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange is produced by JCWK Dance Lab and airs on BCTV every Thursday at 7pm. It's also available to stream on BCTV's YouTube channel. 

Stories from the studio with Megan

 #TuesdayTip

A dance performance requires collaboration and clear communication among many different people. Veterinarians also have to work effectively with people AND animals. JCWK Dance Lab artist Megan shares some of the ways dance has influenced her role as a veterinarian. 

Stories from the studio with Cady

#TuesdayTip

Embodying a feeling or idea for a performance develops empathy. JCWK Dance Lab artist Cady shares some of the ways dance has helped her in her role as a mental health therapist. 

How has dance training benefited you outside of the studio? 

Auditions and Interviews: "Selling" your story

 "People buy the emotion (of a product)."

Business coaches report that "Stories sell". 

"Selling" always sounded short-sighted to me. But, storytelling - that's fun, engaging, and develops long-term relationships.  

Stories are ways that dancers can demonstrate the ways that our/ their training has prepared us/them for skills necessary in most any job market. Here are a few examples. Modify them to YOUR personal experience. Tell your next employer that the time you've spent in the studio and on the stage sets the groundwork for your success. 

Transferrable Skill 5: Flexibility 

Transferrable Skil 6: Creative Thinking

Transferrable Skill 7: Individual Time Management

Transferrable Skill 8: Attention to Detail

Stories connect the dots. The skills dancers gain in the studio and on stage are not always apparent from a line on a resume. We - dancers, educators, and parents - need to advocate for the benefits of dance training and make clear how dance transfers to an employable skill. 

Performance Practice: 4 Wins for your next Employer

 "What are you going to do with that?

Dancers and parents of dancers, has this question ever made you stop short or feel defensive? Have you paused in reflection of all the time and energy you spent on dance training? 

Have you, as a non-dancer, asked this question to someone?

If so, READ ON!

There are documented physical, mental, and social benefits to taking dance classes. But this post is not about them. 

Training in dance has direct, employable benefits for job seekers. Here are four ways dance training is marketable outside of the studio. I use the term "transferrable skill" to build the bridge from dance training to other professional endeavors. 

Transferrable Skill 1: Ability to learn quickly and apply feedback. 

Dance students must immediately repeat physical and artistic movement phrases demonstrated by their instructor. This prepares the brain to take in, apply, and adjust given material quickly. In a job setting, dancers can transfer this competency to the skills of a specific profession. The employer benefits from a dancer's previous training: the dancer is already effective at learning which reduces job-specific training/ comprehension time and increases time focused on the employer's output. 

Transferrable Skill 2: Demonstrated presentation skills.

Dancers train to perform in front of an audience. Dancers are adept at being seen and appearing confident in front of other people. Performance practice and proficiency prepares dancers to address a group of people from center-stage or the center of a conference room. 

Transferrable Skill 3: Collaboration and cooperation to complete a project. 

Even when a dancer is preparing a solo, there is collaboration between the choreographer and dancer. Both need to work together to create the dance, or, in business terms, the final product or project. This is further demonstrated when a dancer is working within a group. The "product" is the performance with a specific process to completion and deadline. The success or completion of the performance provides immediate feedback to the dancers and choreographers. This feedback is then applied to the next product/ performance (see Transferrable Skill 1). 

Transferrable Skill 4: Interpersonal Effectiveness

Beyond just working together is working together well. Psychologists call this "interpersonal effectiveness." It is the ability to build and sustain positive relationships while maintaining a sense of self-awareness and emotional balance. Performance practice teaches dancers to "read a room" and adjust their energetic output accordingly. Slightly harder to describe than Transferrable Skills 1-3, interpersonal effectiveness is a skill that allows dancers to adapt and adjust to a variety of situations with a professional demeanor. 

Hiring a dancer means an organization is getting more than someone who can execute a series of steps. The company is employing someone with years of demonstrated success learning and applying new information, presenting, collaborating, and working well in a group. 

Dancers, parents, and educators can advocate for dance performance practice as valuable, work-ready training.  

So, next time someone asks "what are you going to do with dance?" You can proudly respond, "Anything!" 

Performance practice provides dancers with employable skills.
Alvernia University Dance Company performs my choreography at A Winter Concert, 2024. 

Students in my "Ballet for Athletes" at Alvernia report that dance practice and performance make them more aware of the people around them.

23 and Miller Gallery Exhibit

 "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." ~Helen Keller

How do you overcome grief? 

With art?

With stories? 

With sharing? 

I've been exploring the embodiment of grief through dance with JCWK Dance Lab, but we're also exploring grief and healing through other mediums. 

Visual art. 

Sculpture. 

Written reflection. 

Photography. 

Poetry. 

Check out The Miller Gallery in Alvernia University's Francis Hall to experience the diverse ways some people are sharing their grief and healing. The exhibit is up through March. 

Here's a short video I made - 

Thank you to the many folks who have shared their stories and vulnerabilities through this project! 

Wellness awareness

Our intellectual and physical bodies are connected. 

I love leading classes in dance technique and creativity to model this. Today is a mid-semester point and many of my students are deeply invested in their intellectual work. Mid-terms. 

I take time in class to remind them of their physical bodies through mindfulness and self-care practices. They reflect that using time to create physical space creates mental and emotional space for them. The picture below is of some of the tools we use - resistance bands for strength and stretching, tennis ball/ spikey ball for massage and tension release. I forgot to include my water bottle, but that's important too. 

In the "real world" this is also a stressful time. It's the end of the first quarter and tax season. How are you taking care of the different aspects of yourself and the ways that your bodies are interconnected? 

 

Pics from Mourning Morning and performance research

 "The truest expression of a people is in its dances and its music. Bodies never lie." ~Agnes de Mille

JCWK Dance Lab has spent the past 10 months unpacking grief and hope in our communities and in our bodies. 

We most recently shared part of the process at Reading Theater Project's 5-Minue Fringe. The theme of the festival was "Inspired by True Events" and our piece, "Mourning Morning" definitely was. 

Performance practice is creative research. 

I provide my dancers (professional and students) many opportunities to engage in this research. The performance process is like when a new product is in its final trials where it has a limited release. We learn and return to refine. 

When we're onstage, we're learning about how to "read" the aural and non-verbal cues of our audience, navigate variations of physical space, and work collaboratively to ensure the success of the performance. We "test" the impact of the story we're sharing. 

Dance performance and practice is a transferrable skill applicable to many other professional paths. 

Griffith Yeyna captured these moments and Marty Bonk continues to build the music for us. We take the stage with the full experience on March 28-29. 

Thank you, Reading Musical Foundation!

Thank you, Reading Musical Foundation, for your support of JCWK Dance Lab's The Grief Project!

We're collaborating with Berks-County based musician, Marty Bonk, to create original music for this work. Composer Dr. Stephen Grieco has also granted us permission to use a few selections from his album, Reflections. 

RMF awarded JCWK Dance Lab an Outreach Grant for The Grief Project.

This is our fifth project collaborating with Marty! 

Here are a few moments from behind the scenes..