Not Making Dances

oh yah, baby. two years later, hurricane approaching and I begin typing.

maybe it was two weeks ago
maybe less
was browsing brainpickings.org:
oh yah baby

some bukowski poem excerpt
stays with me stays with me stays

and this morning, hurricane approaching
I am walking with my lover
walking back
with my lover
from the home despot
from the coffee shop
the wind beneath our wings on the way back
we are practically flying home
fueled on coffee

and I think
I realize
I receive
an epiphany

For fucks sake, Ophra
if life is not demanding of you
to make dances
to write
to succeed
if life is giving you the gift of

plenty



of
                 time


and!
plenty


                
of
                 LOVE

and just
.enough.

of everything else you could possibly
hope for
wish for
want for

and also
.some.

of those things you could not have known
to hope for
want for
wish for

like the strength to fail
     over
        and
          over
again
        and
the strength to acknowledge when you are wrong
to know
that you are often
wrong
        and
             that's OK
               it's OK
        and
that greatest gift of all
the secret weapon
the holy grail
the treasure that is

                 Gratitude

Really, girl
if life has given you all this
right
now
and if you know
        and
          you
            do
that life will change
it will
you know
change
and maybe it will demand of you
to write
or to make dances
or to fly far from home
or some such some such
then

For fucks sake, Ophra
Be grateful for this
emptiness,
embrace this
time,
learn what it can teach you about
loving
and
living
more fully

 

Dancing with Tomchess

Nür is the name of the duet I have brewing with Tomchess, who plays both Oud and Ney. Filmed by Elizabeth Line last April at Shen Tao studios... lost, rediscovered, uploaded. I'm still dancing, just finished a brilliant Butoh workshop with Imre Thormann, waking up at the crack of dawn to have at least 30 minutes if not two hours to myself to move as I please. Soon it will all come together for another project. And maybe TC and I will get a gig - anybody need some pretty dance and music for their holiday party?

Sunday School at Burning Man

My seventh day of dancing revelry at Burning Man, my body moving despite myself. My normal morning venue for dancing was transformed: instead of the contact jam at center circle there was a gospel choir. I set out to explore and chanced upon the Dragon car at the Red Lightening camp, where I proceeded to dance for a couple of beautiful hours. The wind and sun were moderate, the mood was high. More on Burning Man soon, me thinks...

IS IT OVER YET?

I should do a proper write up of this project, I will, but now I'm about to fly: to Burning Man, to a new studio, to a new geography in my spirit. So I wanted to get what I have done out and make space for new material. There are maybe three or four dresses left, and I may leave it at that. Coming soon: Burning Man videos!

Dress A Month, August 23: Flashback Flashforward

Got this one from my neighbor in mid July... Good story about the Saturday night performance, more soon.

Dress A Month! July 1: Fire Fly

Dress number 50, and kind of the end of the project... This is the FireFly dress... more words soon.

Dress A Day, Day 49: Please Hear my Prayers

Got this dress at the '05 costume sale. Wore it many times, but most memorably to my sister's super orthodox Jewish wedding in December of 2008, where I danced like a demon. Maybe that's why it still has an air of religious fervor about it... but here my supplications and prayers are to my own spirit, and it's many helpers. I'm writing this in the last days of August, so I can say now: my prayers were answered.