Music is the poetry of the air. ~ Richter

Sometimes when I want to transport myself to another world there’s nothing like putting on a powerful piece of music, closing my eyes, and allowing it to take me away.

Some of my faves…

Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard – Now We Are Free (Gladiator)

Alan Silvestri – Forrest Gump Suite
James Horner – Titanic – Rose
Joe Hisaishi – Kikujiro No Natsu (Summer)
Bach – Air (orchestral) and the vocal version by Libera
Clint Mansell – Lux Aeterna (Requiem For A Dream)

What’s the most moving pieces of music you’ve ever heard?

(Incidentally if you’ve never seen Benjamin Zander’s TED talk “Shining Eyes”, I urge you to watch it now!)

Two Saturdays ago I attended my third Communicadance contact improv dance class (refer here for my post following my first class). The focus for this class was flying and catching. This time there was a guest teacher working with Alex Perlman our usual teacher.

(image credit: presentbody.com)

Joseph Sengco was there at the beginning of contact improvisation as an art form so he brought with him a wealth of experience and a unique perspective. I found his teachings to be profound and he offered a
deeper side of contact improv that I had only glimpsed from past classes. So the combination of Alex and Joseph worked really well considering it was their first collaboration together.

Here are the lessons that I (literally) flew away with following the class:

- “Moving your lips is talking. A lot of people do this *using right hand to mimic moving lips* but say nothing. I want you to speak.” – Joseph
- If you’re going to jump, go all the way.
- Focus on the core. Flow around and towards the center at all times. This is where contact is maintained with your partner.
- Know your boundaries and express them. It’s perfectly OK to say “No” and to tell your partner what you want. Sometimes this means verbalising it.
- Take responsibility for your own safety.
- “I do not need to be physically connected to you to be in contact with you. I’m already in contact with everybody here.” – Joseph
- Once in a while during improv you’ll get a flash of complete awareness. You will know yourself better than you have ever known. You will hear your body, heart, mind, connection, spirit all at once. These moments are why Joseph continues to practise after several decades. The Japanese call these flashes of awareness Satori. This was the biggest insight for me that class.

With the biggest class to date, and a smaller space than usual, there wasn’t too much airtime but there was enough. Ensuring that we have a solid foundation before attempting to do air lifts is a very sensible move (good call Alex!). Joseph even demonstrated ground and mid flying which I’m very interested to learn and practise. it’s all about the center of gravity he assured us.

I can’t express enough how much of an incredibly organic and powerful experience contact improvisation continues to be for me, and this particular group continue to be supportive, trusting, loving, and they allow me to get in touch with my authentic self in a way that is not often available outside of that environment (sad but true). I also do my best to remain open to facilitate the same openness for others in the class.

Dovercourt House has a regular Sunday contact jam (11:30am – 1:30pm) that I’d like to check out soon. I’ve been somewhat intimidated by the thought of being a newbie trying to improv with seasoned dancers but I know I’m not going to improve if I don’t dance and learn with those more experienced than me. I just need to go with the flow

Incidentally here’s a great article in The Varcity about contact improvisation in Toronto.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes about flying:

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.
~ Guillaume Apollinaire (1880 – 1918)

At the start of this year I set myself an intention. I wanted to focus on three things – spirituality, turning passion into profit, and sexuality.

Wrapped up in my exploration of sexuality is the nature of relationships. Until last year I really only knew one type of relationship, and I would suggest that it’s the same one a lot of us grew up learning about and experiencing (with a few exceptions of course) – monogamy.

Monogamy is the state of having only one sexual partner at any one time. The word monogamy comes from the Greek word monos “μονός”, which means one or alone, and the Greek word gamos “γάμος”, which means marriage or union. In many cases, the word “monogamy” is used to specifically refer to marital monogamy.

One partner, one love, a pair of rings, and a relationship that will last all eternity. Well, at least that’s what all the romance novels, Hollywood, and probably our folks would tell us.

So if monogamous relationships work then why are their so many divorces, and single-parent families out there? (I have no hard numerical data to support this, but I do know people in my immediate circle of friends who have been through these situations)

Relating it all to me, I’ve only ever dated one person at one time and invested all my energy into whoever I was with at the time. I’m not a serial dater, nor have I ever been a “player” (though there have been times that I have entertained the notion in my head but could never act out on it). Based on my past relationships and the fact that I’m single now I’m interested in learning about what other possibilities there are for love in relationships.

Right, well last year I was exposed to the concept of polyamory.

Polyamory (from Greek πολυ [poly, meaning many or several] and Latin amor [love]) is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

Continue reading ‘the nature of relationships’

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. ~ Audrey Hepburn

Moon River, wider than a mile,
I’m crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you’re going I’m going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There’s such a lot of world to see.
We’re after the same rainbow’s end–
waiting ’round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me.

Music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Sunshine in the City

Originally uploaded by Infuzion Photography

Have you observed the colour of the light bouncing off reflective glass as the army of steel and rubber, with petroleum blood coursing through their veins, ascend upon the hill in your direction whilst in the distance the radiant sun bids farewell to today and welcomes the evening?

Somewhere there, within that incandescent glow, something reminded me that all those worries that plagued my mind today… well, in the grander scheme of things they’re really not that big a deal for I am still alive to witness such brilliance of creation. The only question is: for how much longer?