For this work, who is the person-in-need? I make many claims about the world around me—the people around me—that are unfounded. People need grounding. Which people? Do I need grounding? Do my friends, family, professors, co-workers, grocery store clerks, etc. …
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They Say It’s Our Spirit
These past weeks, I have been reading David Barnhill’s multicultural anthology, At Home On The Earth: Becoming Native to Our Place. Essay after essay by N Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Wendell Berry, Bell Hooks, John Haines, Thomas Berry …
The Cell Phone Camera and Performance
Last week, I attended an outdoor concert for one of my favorite bands where it was the first time I had ever seen them live. Throughout the concert, I had an internal conflict about whether or not I should focus …
Publicly Playing in Our Adult Bodies
Yesterday morning Obuchi and I set out on a mission to get to know different spaces and places in Grinnell. Walking on sidewalks and through neighborhoods, we looked for a place that would welcome us and our dancing, moving, researching …
Building a Web of Connection
Whenever attempting to do any form of project with a group of people, one of the primary concerns is facilitating clear and concise communication. Members of a group need to not only be able to share their ideas with each …
Dialogic Dance Research as a Tool for Exploration
Before I participated in my first Dialogic Dance Research (DDR) session, the term “research” evoked images of undergraduate students mixing chemicals in a laboratory or carefully transcribing old letters in a quiet library. I had a very narrow scope of …
Thinking about Bones
Bones are part of my drawing professor’s practice. Lecturing about the drive to learn and make, she recounts sweeping an artist’s studio when she was sixteen so that in exchange for labor she could look at, observe, and draw his …
How do I talk about this work?
For me, the words connected to my work—dance, environment, and embodied experiences —carry weighted memories. A short while ago, for example, I could not conceive of dance outside of the realm of children’s classes and professional companies. Dance felt …