Reading The Tea

I seem to be posting a bunch of videos recently, rather than writing. Apologies to anyone (both of you) who is visiting wishing to read more writing. More soon!

Last night was full of dreams I remembered. I had a variation on my usual Running Away from Bad People Who Want to Get Me dream. I came to a place where the only way forward was along the narrow, narrow ledge of a cliff, with nothing to hold onto and a gravel surface. As I edged my way along, I lost my balance and fell. I managed to grab the face and find a good hand hold, but there were no others I could see or feel. I realized that eventually my grip would fail, and I would fall. After an excruciating amount of time, it did, and I went falling, falling, falling. Somewhere in the falling, the dream became lucid and I realized that it was a dream, but I was still afraid of what would happen when I died in a dream — I usually wake up right before. This time I eventually hit the ground.
Later I dreamed that I was making dinner with my friend Christina (who I’ve known since I was 8 ) and that Joey (my other best friend from then) knocked on the door. We all hugged, then continued making dinner.

I think a lot of dancers forget that the head is a part of the body, especially in partner dance. I see people at milongas, and even in performances with their heads held stiffly, heavy spheres tacked onto the beautifully moving body. Often amazing (even “famous”) leaders make my neck hurt just looking at their necks craning forward. The skull is heavy, but should seem to float above, like a helium balloon. Your neck (the string) is the only thing that keeps it attached. To me one of the most interesting things about the helium balloon imagery is that a balloon is never stiff. (Tango dancers!) The head can “float” high, without collecting tension. At the same time, it is a continuation of the spine, the vertebra. If doing a stomach contraction (using the spine) or body ripples, consider continuing the line through your skull (Blues dancers!).
Thinking about how the head relates to the rest of the body is interesting when watching these robots dancing. A lot of early non-human dance looked so “robotic” precisely because the body parts performed in isolation from each other. This one is pretty amazing.

Matt Damon voices concern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6urw_PWHYk

Aww, heart-warming family film:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1831461

You’re going to need this:
http://palinbingo.com/

Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African-American Culture by Katrina Hazzard-Gordon

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
Jookin’ featured shockingly poor organization, accompanied by shoddy writing that efficiently obscured meaning behind names and dates tossed out with abandon. Though ostensibly about social dance, the writing lacked movement. Hazzard-Gordon rarely got around to interpreting how the changing socio-cultural formations effected the physical movements. (For example: How did movements change to accommodate the smaller spaces of Rent Parties?) Though I slogged through it, I wouldn’t recommend anyone else bother.


View all my reviews.