Baryshnikov studio, White Oak plantation
4.23.2008
4.20.2008
bobbing heads
Chrysa Parkinson left us at the end of our Klein class in Brussels with a gem: that if we have the potential to 'untrain' our eyes- our perception of things- we have the potential to reveal the intrigue and mystery in everyday motion.
It's one of those things you already know, but it sure makes a world of difference when you are reminded to activate it.
Hence the beautiful bobbing, floating head image when you view walking and running upside-down...and the amusing familiarity of people and their 'isms'- twitching noses, clenching fists, scratching and stretching and blinking and wincing and shrugging- every day, every minute is full.
It's one of those things you already know, but it sure makes a world of difference when you are reminded to activate it.
Hence the beautiful bobbing, floating head image when you view walking and running upside-down...and the amusing familiarity of people and their 'isms'- twitching noses, clenching fists, scratching and stretching and blinking and wincing and shrugging- every day, every minute is full.
4.13.2008
les gaufres
VIRGO - The Perfectionist (Aug 23 - Sept 22)
Dominant In relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Harsh. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic. 7 years of bad luck if you do not forward.
Interesting forward that I received. I got to the end and was like, hm. ok
Here's a little update on my recent trip to Brussels:
I spent the week in my friends Tarek and Laia's house of an apartment. It's the top floor of an old building in the center of Brussels, about 10 minutes away from the Brussels Central Train Station and 5 minutes from the Grand Place. Imagine being a dancer and having a two bedroom, two bathroom (full bathrooms), kitchen, living room and terrace 2 floor (that's right- 2) apartment in the center of town that you can actually afford without either starving yourself or promising your firstborn child to your landlord. Amazing.
Aside from that, I love the vibe there; the city is so vibrant and alive with contemporary art happening everywhere.
Tarek, Ogbitse and I walked over to the park Thursday and just sat around watching circus performers practice on tightropes secured between trees and soothingly lob and spin soft balls encased in striped socks.
Apparently the circus schools here are well known, people come from all over; and instead of coming to the park to study with schoolbooks, they come with their tightropes and other various props.
Only thing that was a downer was realizing how expensive the cost of living was here- got robbed at the Asian market paying 9 Euro for two bunches of greens. But it was good to know that they also have an organic food market here; Tarek and Laia bought all their food from the Bio Markt so we always ate well.
And of course I had beer. And waffles. And chocolate. The cafes and bars are so lax- most of them you can still smoke in; they reminded me of my first visit to Europe when I would notice ashtrays in the elevators. On one of our nights out I actually met a Sicilian girl, Gabi, who told me of various artists in and around Italy...I was happy to discover that I felt somewhat relieved being able to speak Italian with her; I wonder if some of that had to do with the fact that my French is now near non-existent... but it's not like they don't also speak English and Flemish there- well, not like I know Flemish, but for some reason speaking English felt kind of wrong?
I played Phase 10 (quite possibly the longest card game in the history of card games) for the first time in Tarek's kitchen with Laia, Ogbitse and Ben. Ben is a breakdancer from Brussels, Laia a dancer from Spain, Tarek a dancer from Chicago and Ogbitse a dancer from Jersey/NY (cause it's practically the same *wink wink*). It was a melting pot there, and I felt right at home. Laia & I had actually met in 1999 while dancing in Salzburg at SEAD; it's crazy how our paths ended up crossing in this way.
Tarek's friend Sahid came over the last night and made a tagine, his specialty (simply because we happened to have brought it up in a conversation a couple of nights before, when I embarrassed the crap out of myself pronouncing it like a cowgirl from Kentucky). He served the tagine in a platter, and we all ate together from this huge plate (as tradition) and sopped up this delicious broth with chunks of bread that were just scattered around the table. Afterwards we went out to the corner cafe and had some beers and I met several new friends through Tarek's Argentinian friend Cecilia (who had just come back from surfing in Morocco); later that night I became famous for doing the 'Shannon'...
Ben 'deejaying' post-tagine/ Tarek and his NY dance (albeit brief):
Interesting forward that I received. I got to the end and was like, hm. ok
Here's a little update on my recent trip to Brussels:
I spent the week in my friends Tarek and Laia's house of an apartment. It's the top floor of an old building in the center of Brussels, about 10 minutes away from the Brussels Central Train Station and 5 minutes from the Grand Place. Imagine being a dancer and having a two bedroom, two bathroom (full bathrooms), kitchen, living room and terrace 2 floor (that's right- 2) apartment in the center of town that you can actually afford without either starving yourself or promising your firstborn child to your landlord. Amazing.
Aside from that, I love the vibe there; the city is so vibrant and alive with contemporary art happening everywhere.
Tarek, Ogbitse and I walked over to the park Thursday and just sat around watching circus performers practice on tightropes secured between trees and soothingly lob and spin soft balls encased in striped socks.
Apparently the circus schools here are well known, people come from all over; and instead of coming to the park to study with schoolbooks, they come with their tightropes and other various props.
Only thing that was a downer was realizing how expensive the cost of living was here- got robbed at the Asian market paying 9 Euro for two bunches of greens. But it was good to know that they also have an organic food market here; Tarek and Laia bought all their food from the Bio Markt so we always ate well.
And of course I had beer. And waffles. And chocolate. The cafes and bars are so lax- most of them you can still smoke in; they reminded me of my first visit to Europe when I would notice ashtrays in the elevators. On one of our nights out I actually met a Sicilian girl, Gabi, who told me of various artists in and around Italy...I was happy to discover that I felt somewhat relieved being able to speak Italian with her; I wonder if some of that had to do with the fact that my French is now near non-existent... but it's not like they don't also speak English and Flemish there- well, not like I know Flemish, but for some reason speaking English felt kind of wrong?
I played Phase 10 (quite possibly the longest card game in the history of card games) for the first time in Tarek's kitchen with Laia, Ogbitse and Ben. Ben is a breakdancer from Brussels, Laia a dancer from Spain, Tarek a dancer from Chicago and Ogbitse a dancer from Jersey/NY (cause it's practically the same *wink wink*). It was a melting pot there, and I felt right at home. Laia & I had actually met in 1999 while dancing in Salzburg at SEAD; it's crazy how our paths ended up crossing in this way.
Tarek's friend Sahid came over the last night and made a tagine, his specialty (simply because we happened to have brought it up in a conversation a couple of nights before, when I embarrassed the crap out of myself pronouncing it like a cowgirl from Kentucky). He served the tagine in a platter, and we all ate together from this huge plate (as tradition) and sopped up this delicious broth with chunks of bread that were just scattered around the table. Afterwards we went out to the corner cafe and had some beers and I met several new friends through Tarek's Argentinian friend Cecilia (who had just come back from surfing in Morocco); later that night I became famous for doing the 'Shannon'...
Ben 'deejaying' post-tagine/ Tarek and his NY dance (albeit brief):
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