The Embodiment Project's Cyber Sharing Week 2

On The Embodiment Project's website we're sharing aspects of our journey with a weekly Cyber Sharing in celebration of this season of giving.

I'll be posting a snidbit of each week here. 

Cyber Sharing Week 1 kicked off with Giving Tuesday. 

Week two shared Embedded Layers, a piece from 2013. You can check out more of the process in the Archives and enjoy excerpts of the performance:

Articles about Conditioning

Below is a series I wrote for DanceAdvantage.net on Cross-Training and Conditioning for Dancers. Read about the different ways to prepare the body, try a few out, and let me know what your favs are in the comments below!  Need help finding a practitioner in your area? Let me know!

Gyrotonic Expansion System for Dance Cross-Training - with Evalina "Wally" Carbonell

Alexander Technique - with KC Chun-Manning

Pilates - with Jennifer "JMo" Morley

Yoga - with Erin Cella and Ashleigh Penrod

The Tracy Anderson Method - with Kelly Markos

Tabata Training - with Patti Bostick

Beach Body workouts - with Tara Fronczek

JMo demonstrating some fierce Pilates techniques at Drexel Pilates

Do some conditioing of your own at home with The Embodiment Project's Cyber Sharing Week 3.

#whydancematters - building bridges and community

What do you want the audience to know about this work? What have you learned from dance this semester? Why does dance matter to you? Why is sharing dance important?

Every semester, I ask my students to reflect and share their thoughts with the audience through written notes. I project these or add a page to the program. Here are a few of their meditations:

"Dance brings together all people of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds. The commenting thread allows for free expression and breaks down superficial barriers to help us understand the person behind the movement."

"Dance relieves a lot of my stress and anxiety. It never fails to put me in a good mood. Dance allows me to clear my head, and focus on only my body. I don't know what I would be without it."

"Dance not only expresses emotion but it also brings many people together. It creates a community and it can be used as an outlet for emotions, hard work, and bonding with others. This class has worked hard to do all of the above. We all have become a small family and this can hopefully be seen in some of our dancing. It is our hope that the audience feels connected with us while we do our pieces."

"Modern dance has taught me to grow as an individual dancers as well as collaborate with others. It has allowed me to express myself in a performance way and has led to an outlet from school for me. I have gained so many new experiences dancing this semester and I am more than excited to be able to share the stage with some of the greatest dancers and people I got the opportunity to know. I hope you enjoy the performance we put on for you and the pieces we collaboratively created with our teacher and dancers!"

"I have learned over the past could of weeks that dance is more than just for performance. It also has a great deal to do with self-expression. I dance because it makes me feel whole and I connect with my body. It brings me happiness whenever I need it. Dance can be used to bring peace and a sense of community because it is an art form seen almost everywhere. People can connect with each other because movement and expression of the body can often say more than words." 

"Dance is important because it acts as a release of emotions and stress that build up in everyone's life. It also acts as a medium to send a message through if there is something you feel you need to speak out about and are passionate about. Dance bring people together and builds bonds no matter who you are or your race or gender. It can be a way to send a message to the community about changes you think are important and need to be brought to attention. Educating the public is the first step to making change."

These quotes were originally published in the Widener University Chamber Music and Dance Fall Concert program, Dec. 2, 2016. 

#whydancematters was started by DanceAdvantage.net as a virtual rally for the dance community. Why does dance matter to you? (Add to the conversation by leaving a comment below!)

"NAME US PEACE" A Gift for You on #GivingTuesday

During this time of growing together, giving thanks, and celebrating our shared community, I want to share a gift with YOU.

Today's Giving Tuesday - following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. It's a day dedicated to not just getting things to give as gifts, but celebrating the intangible gifts that artists and non-profits provide year-round.

I'm offering this gift to you.

During the past few months, I've been collaborating with Michael Lancaster and Ellen Rosenberg. I'm sharing Michael's poetry and Ellen's photographs, based on Breach: Left Behind, performed at Lafayette College in September and October. Their encouragement, creativity, and support has been a constant gift to me.

May you enjoy this and the many gifts that you experience year-round this holiday season.

Name Us Peace

       

   ~

Name Us Lost

Desperate souls, deathly

discrete, seek life,

seek yet company, like

dancers sole along

walls of despair.

Drifting, finding, joining

dancers together in

a simple singularity

of giddy relief, soon

rearranging in beauty. 

Name Us Love

Hands, arms, cores, backs, 

limbs secure each by each. 

Bodies meet in recognition,

recognition and hope, 

reuniting a savaged 

communion; dance,

silent music, lovely

faces name its goodness.

Form protecting love, and

a moment of exquisite peace. 

Name Us Dance

~Michael Lancaster, Oct 2016

Women's Entrepreneurship Day

Today (and yesterday... and everyday) is a day to celebrate women.

I don't need to go into the social and political attacks on women in the past few days, weeks, (oh... years, centuries...)

But today, I'm choosing to celebrate.

Today is Women's Entrepreneurship Day! (It was celebrated in NYC and the United Nations yesterday... and I also celebrated yesterday by performing for Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet).

Today, I'm celebrating by launching the website for The Embodiment Project.

I think that artists, by nature, have an entrepreneurial spirit. We're constantly creating, revising, revisiting, sharing, crafting, and doing it all again. The "product" might be a show, a photo, a sculpture, a costume, a poem, a story... we are constantly taking in information and responding and creating.

Today, I want to celebrate by sharing other businesses created and powered by women. Are you a female entrepreneur? Please share your business in the comments so we can all support each other!

Thank you, Veterans. Especially today...

It's been a rough week in America-land.

Tuesday was a historic election with historic results - both the results of the president elect and the resulting reactions of many different parts of the country.

Thursday was the Marine Corps birthday. Happy 241st Birthday, Marines!

Today is Veterans' Day.

For some, this is a day off from work and for discounted pricing on commercial goods. For many others, this is a time of remembering some very good times and some very bad times. Our military is made up of representatives from every corner of this country - color, race, creed, social and economic background, geographic background, upbringing, belief system... Each individual brings his and/or her own story to the fabric of the military and each of them has written a blank check to the United States of America for up to and including one (their) life.

These individuals are willing to serve, protect, and die for people that they have never met because they believe that America is a very special place and deserves their best; that the people who make up these United States are very special. In return, don't our veterans and members of our military deserve our best? Not only today, but everyday?

I am grateful for having the (perceived) freedom and constitutional right to profess my truths without fear of terror. [(While I myself have been the victim of violence because of my gender and religion, I also recognize that I have many privileges (that have not yet been violated)]. I am grateful to be able to create and share works of art that may challenge and question. I am grateful to be able to converse with people who believe differently than I do - because of the protection of our men and women in uniform.

Recent events have made me question how long these freedoms and rights will continue, but that's a reflection for another time. At the core, I believe that there is a deep love that our veterans and military demonstrate when they sign their name on the dotted line. It is this love that we need to respect, honor, and reciprocate.

"Thank you" will never be enough. Welcome home.

A dear friend, and veteran himself, created and shared this poem for today. Thank you, Michael, for the permission to repost:

"When a veteran falls,
A young man or woman,
At ripe age often still wounded,
Or in their prime in sacrifice
For their friends and nation,
As their bodies fall soft
To the ground or the sea,
A space opens gentle finally
For them to be filled by
Our love, honor, respect.
A great spirit passes thru it
Leaving us to consider the
Better, gentler days in golden
Sunshine, sea grasses flowing,
To remember a great soul and
Dearest friend as an eagle flies
To honor that respectful space.
Be at peace all this day.
Remember, know the best.

-Michael Lancaster 101st Abn RVN.
Veterans's Day 2016

November Dates

Click the links for more information

November 5 - KYL/D's FUN-Raiser from 5-8pm

November 6 - KYL/D at The Barnes Foundation for First Free Sunday - performances at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00




November 11 - Veterans' Day. Please remember our Veterans.

November 12 - KYL/D at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center

November 18 - NGCB at Lafayette as part of Choreographers on Campus

Photo by Frank Bicking

November 24 - Thanksgiving! For what will you be giving thanks this year?

November 29 - Giving Tuesday. The Embodiment Project has received fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas. Share your gifts with us by clicking this link (to be directed to the official donation page).

Photo by Ellen Rosenberg

December 2 - Widener University's Chamber Music and Dance Concert, 7pm.