“You are Black. You’ll have to work twice as hard for half the results.” I heard this again and again while growing up. I was bound by the ties and expectations I was born into. The lesson learned, as I am, I am not enough. If I wanted to do something, to make something of […]
They quietly ask me and I sigh in frustration. A neat solution to a problem introduced by the very people who created it. It’s not a bad question, consent, but I find myself increasingly frustrated with it. It feels like a fundamental misunderstanding, or at best using a leaf blower to dust fine china. It obstructs and cuts off access to much of expression available for dance, inherent parts of the art form. And for what?
An idea of safety.
Whose safety? From who? From what?
More importantly who decided that we needed it?
And why.
safety in close embrace Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO23WBji_Z0&ab_channel=Lilithip
Cuttin’, circles, and jams Read More »
part 3 COVID. I had covid. After avoiding it for years, I had covid. It was not long before I was meant to be traveling across the world, to teach a dance I wasn’t sure I feel ready to do. It felt like I really had to confront if I really WANTED lindy hop this
Recovering From Burn Out: My Story- Part 3 Read More »
Part 2 “Do you want to teach at Gothenburg Queer Lindy festival?” I groaned. lindy hop??? A swirl of emotions rising in me, old wounds that never healed ached once again. The newest ones still stung. I was considering quitting dance altogether, because I was burnt out. Tired of the fighting, the games, the feeling
Recovering From Burn Out: My Story – Part 2 Read More »
*The flare up of my chronic insomnia is telling…. That there is something wrong. I take my strongest sleep medication combination and stare at the ceiling as the seconds tick by. It should be working and it’s not. I should be out cold. Instead I am tossing and turning in this overheated bed, irritated. My
Recovering From Burn Out: My Story Read More »
What am I missing? Why would this be ubiquitous at home and non existent here? Then it dawned on me… the transatlantic slave trade.
It’s hard to share a truth you haven’t faced yourself yet. I seem to have stumbled my way into yet another sloughing off what is not working to reveal raw and unknown aspects underneath. My relationship to dance is in a state of disrepair due to a variety of reasons, some that come from the
It’s hard to share a truth you haven’t faced yourself yet Read More »
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of work for the Lindy Hop community. I’ve dove deep into the history of the dance, and the scene and considering what could be improved moving forward. Now I’m turning to look at the blues community. I know the blues scene has taken a long time to return to
A new future for the Blues Dance Scene Read More »