AscenDance is presenting its first Home Season, arriving in a Berkeley near you this coming March!

You can even buy tickets now. (Is that crazy, or what?)

(Pretty pictures advertising said event are still in the making. In the meantime, I have lots of other things (also known as applications) to work on, so back to work for me!)

We're looking for some new music to choreograph to, and it'd be great to widen our search beyond what we already have / know.

So, if you have any favorite songs / musical pieces which have no (English) lyrics, which you really enjoy or which touches you emotionally or challenges you in some way, please leave a comment!

Date:	2009-11-07 13:06
Subject:	Admiration
Security:	Public
Mood:	inspired

Oh, Pilobolus, I love your ability to distinguish between taking yourselves seriously and taking your art (and innovation therein) seriously!!

Another fabulous show last night at the Marin Civic Center, including a wonderfully whimsical shadow piece (Dog * ID), some incredible assisted tumbling (Redline), a bevy of fascinating means of human locomotion (Day Two), a study in topology (albeit, with some uber-discrete cheating; Duet Not Yet Titled), and a host of the smoothest, most fluid weight transitions I've seen (Gnomen) wrapped up in a story of humanity, including how dark but also how beautiful it can be.

(Halloween redux on the way.)

More lastingly, teaching AscenDance classes has been and continues to be a wonderful experience. It's exciting to introduce students to the various aspects of the wall, and it's been a great pleasure to create a 5 week curriculum which (hopefully) gives the students a chance to both expand upon what they've already learned as well as focus on something new each week, without being overwhelming, rushed, or overly physically demanding.

It's interesting, too, to see the various styles that people come in with. We have some dancers-non-climbers, some climbers-non-dancers, and even a climber-yoga-teacher-non-dancer. They each move, imagine, and use their bodies in different ways. It's easy to point out ways for them to step beyond their comfort zones, but challenging to keep them there.

Two more weeks, but I already wish we had more time. Some of the students do, too, so who knows. :)

I love Halloween, particularly because it appeals to my maker side so heavily. However, sometimes it can be hard to find the specialized info one is looking for...

So, my dear lazyweb, a couple of questions:

1) I need to paint a significant portion of my body (including hands and arms) a fairly opaque white color, preferably without leaving white trails everywhere I go. What kind of paint / product should I use and where can I find out where to get it?

2) How can I take off said white make-up at the end of the night?

3) Where does one get an actual (very long) piece of butcher paper? Do art supply stores have rolls of paper where you can buy paper by the foot / meter?

Thanks!!!

Date:	2009-09-17 16:32
Subject:	Dip your hands in colours ... and finger paint me pictures of all you see
Security:	Public
Mood:	grateful
Music:	The Clock Stopped by KGB

Ursula Le Guin, in the introduction to "Left Hand of Darkness," made a comment to the effect of "we [authors] write novels to try to express things which cannot be expressed in words."

It's hard for me to understand and expound upon why I like dancing so much and why I seem to gravitate toward the period dancing that (thank goodness) is available in my area, but I think this quote manages to describe it fairly well:

The Auctioneer’s Woo:

First up is a mint, a classic:
May I have this dance: a phrase for thy empire
waisted who know the finickeries and fineries
of a pearl, small and mottled as a current.
A fetish for yore, when ladies sat by
wayside while side burned men in frippery
whispered an ear-shaped shall. Gay buyers,
This is a proper woo, a very proper woo, with
societal promises of velvet crushed cossets
and a lock of Anglophine hair as keepside,
when joy, now ineluctable as waltz, was
momentary surrender and not a holiday
reminder. Here here, for those who pang
for manners, who will by code fan gnats
from a sylph’s bosom, yet dare not touch
Her pomegranate lips&emdash;use it sparingly,
this phrase’s hoary delicacy may fray with
slattern use: Come all, for this mint:
May I have this dance!
The bidding will start at once.

Date:	2009-09-14 13:45
Subject:	Henna and Pride and Prejudice
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

I had so much fun playing with henna and communing with my fellow henna-players at the recent wedding of a dear friend (I should say two dear friends!) that I decided to throw a henna party just for fun.

In addition, I'd been meaning to watch the 5-hour-long A&E miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice for months with a girl friend, and the long wait time on the henna (3 hours undisturbed) seemed to lend itself to sitting still to watch a long movie, so a joint party was born.

It was a pretty small affair, only four of us, but it was just about perfect in terms of what I was hoping for: lots of talking and laughing, very low-key and intimate socializing, with all the henna designs working out beautifully. To top it all off, we had delicious homemade scones with double cream as a starter, and fabulous cucumber sandwiches with fresh dill for lunch.

And while it's possible that none of us have anything to recommend us but being excellent walkers, I present some little tokens in favor of our being at least somewhat accomplished, though we have yet to net a purse or cover a screen:


( More photos behind the cut )

Date:	2009-09-13 08:22
Subject:	A _more_ positive note would be "Yay, Zudini!!!"
Security:	Public
Mood:	anxious

Yay, dancing!

(In totally unrelated news: boo, shops that don't have a simple informational recording (including hours of operation) when they aren't open.)

And, to end on a positive note: yay, Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Date:	2009-08-17 22:56
Subject:	Aerial Dance Festival 2009
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

The long: World Dance Reviews' review of AscenDance's performance in Boulder

The short: AscenDance was very well received in Boulder's Aerial Dance Festival; the classes filled up and we had so many people show up for our performance that we sold out the show and ended up performing a second show immediately after the first in order to accommodate the overflow crowd. Also, some of my fellow AscenDancers rocked it in the student repertory show, particularly in the Bounceology performance! I'm already excited about heading to Boulder next year to participate in actual classes in addition to any possible AscenDance performances.

We have several versions of AscenDance's complete performance on "tape" this time, so I am very hopeful that I'll be able to post a link to actual videos at some point in the near future. However, as in many things, the videos are not as good as being there live and in person, so I'll try to keep you posted on any upcoming shows.

In the meantime, I am flying across the country in the very near future for a wedding, so if you don't hear from me in the next week, Don't Panic.

May I present Rupa and the April Fishes (press the play button in the upper right hand corner):

With musical influences that include French chanson, Gypsy swing, tango, Latin alternative, Indian music and beyond, Rupa & the April Fishes create music that is lively, romantic and instantaneously appealing. [Also, a great opportunity to practice your French and/or Spanish!]

AscenDance performed admirably at the Outdoor Retailer Expo, and we seemed to be of interest to the local media. We even made it to the cover of the Expo's Daily magazine! You can find some photographs here: (flickr), (facebook), all taken by Melissa Lipani. As beautiful as many of these pictures are, I hope (and believe) that the actual performance is only barely captured in these still images.

It's difficult to convey the strangeness and, I suppose, wonderfulness of interacting with an audience (audience members) that has (have) just watched you perform. Suffice it to say that our second performance in Salt Lake City very much made up for the long, hot day of physical labor that went into constructing the wall the day of the show (and tearing it down again as soon as it was over). 10 hours of labor for 2 hours of performance? Count me in.

August 14th we'll be performing at the Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, CO. I expect it to go well, and we're all quite excited about it. If any of you happen to be in the area at that time, I offer my warmest invitation to join us!

Not too long ago someone I hadn't met before asked me (somewhat accusingly, though light-heartedly) if I was a dancer. It's funny that, at 28, the answer to that is finally "Yes, I suppose I am."

Date:	2009-08-02 00:59
Subject:	Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily...
Security:	Public
Mood:	thoughtful

I can't help noticing that the fictional media I've been consuming all seems to end in a Happily Ever After sort of way. I can see the appeal of the wish fulfillment ending; after all, it's probably far easier to gain repeat customers from a happy ending than from a more muddled, possibly more realistic one. And yet, part of me has trouble with the over-abundance of it. The idea that if you just work hard, remain true to yourself, and be the best person you can be, providence/the universe will conspire to reward you with the perfect match and the happiest employment possible just seems so... ordered, and simple, and simplistic. Far more so than what I've observed our universe to be, anyway. Of course, working hard and staying true to yourself and striving for constant improvement are all very admirable. But in such a muddied, uncontrolled, whimsical universe of particles and men, it seems unfair to those who {struggle all their lives in such matters but still find no magical rainbows or fairy godmothers or perfect partners} to suppose, to imply that they must be lacking in some virtue or other for things not to have turned out golden for them.

Our first performances went quite well! We got lots of positive feedback from the audiences as well as feedback in general on how the whole set of performances felt and what worked best for the audience and what didn't work as well. If any of you have further comments, please let me know! Anything from "here's some music you might like to use" to "it would be great if you could incorporate more X" to "I really liked / didn't like this particular move"; all of it will be helpful to us!

I was really touched by the support so many of my friends showed by coming out to see the performance. (Sometimes more than once!) Thanks to all of you who made time to come check out the gym and our show in particular. We're still gathering up the raw materials (photos and videos), but I'll let you know when those go up so those of you who missed it can get a flavor for the performance.

Date:	2009-03-23 10:39
Subject:	AscenDance Performances March 28th, 29th
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

If you enjoy climbing, dancing, slacklining, supporting local artists, or watching incredibly strong people perform beautiful and inspiring feats, please come join us this weekend at the Bridges Rock Gym Grand Opening!

p.s. The other day, zudini and I had an opportunity to eat at Little Star Pizza in SF, hailed by friends as "even better than Zachary's" (which would ordinarily be considered blasphemy).

The food was fabulous. The self-service garlic bread was divine (a roasted head of garlic, warm soft butter, and a sliced baguette) and the pizza itself was wonderful. 5 stars for the food (and the beverage selection).

But only 2 stars for the restaurant experience: it was clean and well-dressed, the service was fine, but the restaurant itself was crowded and incredibly noisy; definitely not a place for conversation or lingering.

Okay, on to collapsing.

Date:	2009-03-11 22:41
Subject:	Stinky
Security:	Public
Mood:	sore
Music:	Downloaded for further study / ideas

Today:

Up, email, LJ-check, shower, dress, head off to the climbing gym at 12:45.
Climb routes for a little while, get through a couple of bouldering problems, take a walk.
Hit Trader Joe's for some food, race to the studio for choreography and rehearsal.
Rehearse / Choreograph 4:15 to 6:15. (AWESOME!)
Strength class at the studio 6:30 - 7:30. (OW!)
Home, home, home! (Long enough to feed the cat.)
Chipotle...
Browse web briefly for costumes.
Post to LJ: first performances are March 28th and 29th for the grand opening of a new bouldering gym in El Cerrito!
Collapse.

Tomorrow is a rest day, Friday and Saturday will be more rehearsals during the day, and then again Sunday night.

You can watch / listen to the proceedings here: http://sfgov.org/site/sfgtv_index.asp?id=11463 (SFGTV2)

It's quite fascinating.

I'm in!

The team has five new members out of a team of nine (for the climbing wall, plus 3 dancers dedicated to the bar structure), so it's very possible that what we do may look and feel different from the pieces that have already been created. Regardless, here's a link to their YouTube channel if you want to check out their past productions.

I've always threatened to run off with the circus some day; I'm happy that I've found something different, something I never knew to dream about, which is an even better match for my skillset and lifestyle.

Not necessarily happy, but beautiful nonetheless.

Date:	2009-02-11 13:14
Subject:	Is it wrong to be unwilling to tolerate hate?
Security:	Public
Mood:	frustrated

How about lies and propaganda? Refusing to believe our best scientific knowledge? Using religion to force your own agenda even when many members of your religion disagree with said agenda?

I'm not generally one for shutting down speech, but I'm up for speaking out against http://silencingchristians.com/. You can take a non-scientific, completely biased and poorly-written 'survey' at this site (bring your favorite spam email address if you don't want emails). They would like to share the results with national media to prove that Americans have 'family values' that make it okay to discriminate against gays but not against blacks. While you're there, you can watch the one-hour special (produced by the AFA) that they hope to air nationally where they reveal that homosexuals have been brainwashing the population using horrible techniques like calling themselves 'gay' and coming up with terms like 'homophobia' and 'bigot' to describe those who are.. um... yeah, I'll let you fill that in yourself. They claim that there's no evidence that shows that kids are okay being raised by gay or lesbian parents, and that there's plenty of experiential evidence that shows that children don't know how to deal with those situations. (Which is blatantly untrue.) From the HRC: The "anchor" of this faux-news program, which may have already aired in smaller markets, is controversial talk show host Janet Parshall, who in 2006 suggested Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder and called gay adoption "state-sanctioned child abuse."

*sigh* There's more to say, but I doubt it would be helpful to say any of it.

If you think that hour-long gay-bashing specials deserve air time, I won't hold it against you. Like I said, I'm not one who's usually up for shutting down speech and shutting down this particular speech ("how the homosexual agenda is silencing Christians") is actually a little bit odd. But TV stations also choose what they air. If you'd like to encourage the first station that's planning to show this special to replace it with an actual debate about the issues you can do that very easily through the HRC here. (Again, bring your spam email address if you'd prefer to not get emails.)