B-utiful Butoh

I googled Butoh and this was what I got. I'm not sure what he's got to do with Butoh (he could be doing a part of the dance, or something to do with the make up) but it is a great picture. I wasn't too sure about letting people draw on my face originally...but Erin Banks just dived right in before I could protest. I guess it wasn't that bad. The exercise afterwards was really exciting. There were a lot of tie-ins I saw to my yoga class, like the ending part when we were instructed to chop the air, Justine made a lot of motions similar to the Warrior positions. A lot of the motions tied into the breathing, like yoga does.

I didn't enjoy the Up Down motion of the exercise when we went from the fetal position to standing up to the fetal position over and over and over again. Most of the time I wasn't even quick enough to stand up all the way! I think it was a good experience though and I liked the connections to yoga.

YOGA CLASS #1

I had my first yoga class. I had never taken yoga before and didn't really know what to expect. I arrived in the library and was glad to see that Erin Banks, Justine and Alma were in the class as well. I know that Justine had taken yoga before but Erin hadn't so it was cool not being the only beginner there. It wasn't what I expected but it wasn't that difficult to do either. I realized I don't have a lot of upper body strength which I pretty much knew already but I didn't realize I was as weak as I was. It was kind of disappointing but I figure that it will build with time, because those positions were definitely pushing me to my limit.

I think my favorite part was the meditation and relaxation at the end. I've tried meditating before, and I've never been very successful, so it was strange how I was able to slip into that state so easily. Getting up after the class was an incredible experience, because I felt like my legs were Jello underneath me. It was an interesting feeling that I hadn't really experienced before. My body felt like it was wide away but my mind was tired and sluggish.

Waking up the next morning, I thought, was going to be extremely painful and I wasn't looking forward to working that day. However, I woke up and was fine for the most part. I felt it mostly in the back of my thighs, but it wasn't a painful feeling, it was more like a stretched, tight feeling. I didn't mind the feeling in the least and I worked 9 1/2 hours that day without a problem (although excessive amounts of tea may have assisted in that :) )

Practice Pitch

5 Second Pitch: "I see a play being told as a story to a little sibling by an older brother."

30 Second Pitch: "The play would switch focuses from the two siblings hearing the story, to the actual story being told, about a young boy drummer sent to war."

5 Minute Pitch: "The play will open with two siblings in the middle of a thunderstorm. Suddenly, the lights will go out with a streak of lightening across the sky. Frightened, the elder would try to entire and comfort the younger with a story about a brave drummer boy, who is sent into war at a very young age, despite the fact that he is morally opposed. The scene would end and when the lights came up instead of the two siblings, it would be the scene of the story, acting out in front of the audience’s eyes. The scenes will switch back and forth several times, continuing the story with the siblings, the younger completely engrossed in the story. Suddenly, at the peak of the storm and the climax of the story, there’s a pounding on the door! It frightens the younger sibling, ( and the elder ) and hopefully the audience. Luckily, it’s only a friend of the elder sibling. The scene switches back to the drummer boy. The story is finished off by the elder sibling with help from the friend - the drummer narrowly escapes death, but becomes the hero as the storm lightens up and the younger sibling drifts off to sleep."

( i may just actually use this idea of mine... )

Kathakali Dance Theatre

I really enjoyed Theatre class today. It was really good exercise I think it was good for the class as well. It was interesting to feel all the different muscles of the face. Something I noticed was the amount of effort it took isolate parts of my body when stretching my muscles one by one. After I did that exercise I feel like I had more control over my body and the muscles I moved afterwards.


(note, Ms. Heick idk if you looked at this already or not but I just found a WHOLE bunch of drafts I didn't know I had!)