Occasional Magic ‘The latest book from The Moth, the non profit that sends people out in front of audiences to tell their true stories, is a collection of fifty stories from recent shows where the storyteller faced their deepest fears. The title refers to those moments of beauty, wonder and clarity where we suddenly see a piece of truth about our life
They cover the full range of human experience, from a reporter witnessing the first attack in British troops in Afghanistan, a university student surviving jumping from the Millenium Bridge , to a chance encounter with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Every story is heart-warming, moving and above all hopeful,
I think it’s because even though they’re being told to a live audience from someone standing on a stage holding a microphone there’s nothing performative about them. They’re empathetic without the need for drama or embellishment.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m highly performative on this platform. I’m much less so in the studio when I’m teaching or when I practice because that’s a time for grounding, clarity and simplicity. It makes the occasional magic outside of the studio so much easier to find
#yoga #occasionalmagic
And once again I looked enviously at all the beach selfies in Goa, Bali and Sri Lanka and thought ‘they look nice, go there, you know you want a tan’ I also knew that’s not what I need
And as much as I’m looking forward to all the usual cultural stuff - #mercecunninghamdancecompany @thejoycetheater with my favourite dance partner @broschk, @deepellumrecords and I taking our ‘escape from NY’ on the road with a two day trip to Washington just in time to catch the cherry blossom 🌸 (google it, it’s a thing) , and a bunch of other stuff what I’m most looking forward to is ten days off in a city I love with the people who know me inside out.
One week to go ✈️ #restlesscreature #creatureofhabit
‘We knew we were pioneers, we had to band together and make this happen. There was a lot of purpose.’ Virginia Johnson, a former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and now it’s Artistic Director.
The company founded by Arthur Mitchell, the first African-American principal dancer at New York City Ballet, was born out of a tragedy - the assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1968.
Mitchell, who died in September had a reputation for being tough, - ‘Just as much as he would tear into someone if they did something wrong, he would celebrate something good’ Christopher McDaniel ‘He told me I didn’t know anything, he said he was going to have to start at the beginning - that everything was wrong with what I was doing - ‘You’re fat, you’re ugly’ He laid it on really thick, And in later years, I came to understand that it was a test, but when it was happening it was devastating. But you know what? I went back. What he was doing was: ‘Can you change? Changing is going to be hard. It’s going to be this hard. Are you willing to do it?’ Virginia Johnson ‘We would go down South, and people would want you to go through the back of the hotel. Mr Mitchell was very upset about that. ‘No, no, no. If they can’t go through the front, we’re not performing’ I think Mr Mitchell took a lot of blows for us. Sometimes we didn’t even know that he was taking blows. He sheltered us from the storm’
Homer Hans Bryant
The old systems of yoga don’t look so good when viewed through the lens of comfortable, white privilege. While you’re posting old videos to prove how terrible they are do you ever stop for even a second to consider the circumstances under which they were created? The poverty, sickness, adversity and sacrifice.
The philanthropy that came from their success - hospitals built, remedial yoga to heal people that otherwise would have no access to health care
Progress is unstoppable and of course we want to do better, but we are living in extraordinary times. We’ve never had so much personal freedom and power. Are we using it for our good or for others?
#yoga #dance #history 📷 Susan Lovelle and Homer Bryant in ‘Manifestations’ 1975
