DCDanceBlog

well, i’m relaxing at home in north carolina and trying to figure out what i have to say today about dance. there isn’t much. the american dance festival is taking place about 20 mins away from here and there was a photo of a german dancer in the paper this morning (unfortunately i can’t find it online–had hoped to post it), moving to an ipod in the green of the duke campus. i was jealous. i participated in adf one summer and it was amazing. so much dance, 24/7–workshops and performances and discussions and classes and chances to share work and ideas…ahh, the best, a chance to dive in and completely indulge my interest.

but right now i’m not dancing much–mostly am recovering from the performances last weekend. i’m glad to be done! but also sad that it’s over, in a way. theatre runs last weeks or even months, but dancers get only a couple days onstage, at best. it’s a real shame, because it takes a performance or two to get used to the lights, the audience, the new stage, everything. and therefore dancers are frequently not at the their best when we see them performing, because they’re still in the process of adjusting.

what i loved the most about performing that piece was the crazy, thrilling realization that it was just me there onstage being watched by everyone–without the distraction of music or anything else. it stimulated my sense of presence, whatever ability i might have to hold the space and be completely there, only there. i love that challenge and the way everything is heightened in that 10 mins, more than at almost any other time.