Week 7

Well, it's getting quite close. I feel like there isn't enough time to practice Black Butterfly. It is such a complex and interesting piece and I want to do it justice. Conflicting schedules really make it difficult to have more frequent practices. Not to mention the 5 other classes I am taking - I really don't have much time myself.

I am still enjoying the routine of having a regularly scheduled dance class again. Knowing that I have it and I must attend is wonderful. I get to move, to stretch and use parts of my body and mind that have been sitting unused since I had to quit dance many years ago. It feels good - this uniquely physical method of learning and knowing. I feel so much more at home communicating through dance than with words. Even though I can talk all day long about anything, there is something for me about dance. I think it is that with the concentration on the physical body, I finally feel centered. As opposed to thinking about theory and academia, where one thought spawns another until it is utter chaos in my head. But using body parts independently and together creates a focus and clarity that allows me to calm down and slow down so that my brain isn't whirling. I didn't realize how much I used that in my daily life until this semester. I have been dealing without dance for so long, that I didn't realize the loss of it had such a huge impact on me.

Breathe. Focus. Emote. Move. Hold. Pause. Breathe.