TO DO LIST:

accomplishments:
scrubbed the shower
did all the dishes
thoroughly cleaned the stove
grocery shopping
slept until 2pm!
saved my avocado plant after a nasty tumble
shaved my legs
exfoliated my feet
worked on a gift
watched The Tourist

things left undone:
did not work on my music at all (i am choreographing next month and need to create a soundscape)

whoops....

what did i learn today; work should come first.  i should have worked on my music and then done all of those other things.  try again tomorrow....

NYC Day

flyin' solo in NYC, a lot can happen.
here is my day in pictures because it is a bit too late to be trying to form sentences...

most amazing exhibit, high fashion meets performance art! answered many questions i was asking myself last night

all american girl

renewed my library card after, um, 9 years

Free dance show Bryant Park

what is the WHY

i have an 8 minute walk home from the train to my house.  i use this time to think.  tonight on my walk, i was thinking about what it means to be an artist.  and if i am an artist.  and WHY am i an artist, if i am one that is? why is this so important to me? what about art is special?

i think, great artists usually have a lot of creativity and a need to express thoughts.  i think i am extremely creative, but i am not sure that i need to use art to express myself.  maybe i do.  this is the question.  will i feel incomplete if i start working as a physical therapist instead of a dancer?  can you bring art into everything that you do?  why does our society need art? what are people getting from coming to see me dance? are they leaving feeling inspired and thinking about the world in a new way? are they motivated to work out? are they bored, frustrated, and mad they spent so much money? what are they thinking?  and why is it important for me to get up on a stage and move my body? what am i communicating? am i communicating anything at all? and i am sending my message, or the choreographer's message?  am i just a vessel for someone else to express their ideas?  do i want to be the creator of dances? what do i want? that is the real question that i can't seem to answer.

i enjoy dancing.  it makes me feel alive and powerful.  i like the attention of being a performer, i like demanding that people notice me.  i have thoughts...can i express them in movement? and does anyone care what those thoughts are? will the world go on totally unchanged if i never made any dances of my own?  what if i only ever dance for other people? is that enough?

what is enough, and how do you know when you have it?

6 WORDS FOR YOU

Susan Sarandon saw me dance tonight.


she came to the after party i was at, but left before i had a chance to talk to her...  that is all i have to say about that!!

strange

it is fun and strange to be writing a blog.  i wonder, is anyone reading this? is this even interesting? who is enjoying this? do people hate my writing? do people judge me based on what i am writing about... probably. oh well, people will judge me no matter what i do!  i am sure old women judge me as i walk down the street, audiences judge me as i take the stage, and my family probably judges me when i make a bad meal or do the dishes "wrong".  i think as a human it is hard not to be judgmental... maybe i will work on that too. 

the heat has finally calmed down a little.  i slept under the sheets last night, it was about 80.  it felt really nice to be under a blanket.

i danced the OKGO last night, the crowd went wild and loved us.  i think they love our unitards...it is totally rad!  i wish they were hyper-color unitards!!

today, i spent all day on the computer, not my ideal situation but it was actually necessary.  i started to work on the music for a new dance that i will be creating in Aug.  i am drawing inspiration from women in the 1950's and trying to compile interesting audio material that we can move to.  we will see what happens.  i hope i create something great with them!

KUBA

there was big news in my family, which i have not written about yet.  giving the new parents time to settle in a bit.  my brother and sister-in-law made me an auntie! His name is Jakub Logan Sheaff.  i have not met him yet, but judging from the pictures he seems sweet as punch! they call him Kuba for short.  i will meet him in a few more weeks, yay!

the day of rest

today was a glorious day in Astoria, minus the fact that i am really starting to miss my husband.  he is teaching percussion at the International Music Festival and Bowdoin College, which is in Maine.  i am so proud of him and happy for him...but we have not seen each other since July 3.  i am starting to feel lonely.

today i decided to check out the Astoria Park Pool.  this is a free pool, and it is HUGE! seemed twice the size of an olympic size pool.  there were many families there, lots of diversity!  Queens is so diverse! it is incredible.  there were lots of cute babies making silly faces and enjoying being cool for a moment.  there was plenty of space for everyone, the facilities were pretty clean, and did i mention it is FREE!  next time i just need to bring a few friends with me.

then i went for a quick walk around my neighborhood.  i am rarely at home, so this was quite nice actually.  i explored the park a bit more.  i saw the east river from the park and stopped by a Bake shop on the way home... picked up a lemonade and some cupcakes.  yum!

 

then it was time for family dinner.  and when your blood family does not live in the same state as you, you find a way to have another family.  my family is my friends, they are always there for me. and sometimes we like to eat together, like today.  we had salad, bruschetta, pasta with vodka sauce, home made juice (apple, kiwi, grape, and a hint of coconut) topped off with a fruit tart and cupcakes for dessert.  

cooking as a team

orchid

Mo and JP

salad with veggies from the farmer's market

fruit tart

the day ended with Mrs. Doubtfire which made me laugh a lot.  and now it is way too late to be up writing...