"Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythm of your life.

It's the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness and envy."

- Jaques D'Amboise

This week we started a new number for our performance coming up in November. Like with most new dances, I’m very excited. I love the ideas Larissa has and I love seeing these dances come to life. Trying different moves seeing what works with the music and trying to express a certain Idea, is all the things I love about dancing.  This new number I think will be amazing.  I’m so thankful for having dance in my life. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t dance, whether I’m dancing out a full combination or just dancing around the kitchen. Dancing has become such vital part of my life, I don’t know what I would do without it. Through dance I’ve learned so much about myself and its through dance that i have found lifelong friendships . I will always be thankful for dance.

One of the best feelings in dance is when you begin new choreography. The feeling of pushing your limit and doing something you have never done before is exhilarating. It's strange how one may crave to learn new routines and new steps when it comes to dance, but keep the rest of one's  life on a conveyor belt eliminating change as much as possible. I am starting to welcome change into my life and appreciate all that it brings. Life is constantly changing and it is important to open your mind to such changes. I see my life as a beautiful piece of music and I am the choreographer.

A new creation...

Today was a great day at rehearsal. It is such a wonderful feeling to have talented committed dancers. I can see it in all of there eyes- they love to dance just as much as I do. I love dance so much- It really is a part of me and helps me to define who I am as a person. The relationship I have with dance is so incredible and I love it more and more each day of my life. It is such an amazing feeling to create dances. I listen, and feel the music and just react- before you know it a dance begins. I had a teacher who believed in me that told me I had what it takes to create beautiful dances, I think of her always. I thank the world for giving me the gift of dance. It is the most precious gift ever given to me (Aidan too!). If I don't do something with it; I will not be able to share my voice with the world, and I will not feel like I am alive. I want to live my life the way it is intended ; dance is a part of that intention.

Each dance created creates a new part of myself...

...and so she would dance

I heard of this poem once before and i just wanted to share it with everyone im not sure of the writer

"She realized she was lucky - because she could actually see it - how the trees got more beautiful each year...how they danced with such graceful pride, surviving each season's change...and she knew their beauty lied not in the perfection, but the growth...and she could see it - in the trees, the people around her, and some days, even in herself...AND SO SHE WOULD DANCE"


I think we can all probably take and learn something from this poem. I know i certainly will :)

Training is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I am beginning to see how far I can push my mind and body and am developing deeper relationships with family and friends. Anyone can sit on the couch and watch TV with you, but it takes someone strong to pull you off the couch and run /walk 4 miles.

It is a slow progression but I am beginning to feel as enriched in my daily life as I do in dance. Life is about having fun, letting go and being around those who love and respect you. I am starting to realize that it is easy to yell about dirty clothes on the floor or when your husband defrosts 5 pounds of hamburgers and then accidently burns them all on the grill!!! but...Even though it is extremely Easy and immediately rewarding to scream over the little things, it is those little things that mean the most.

 In dance the little movements are not easily taught, a dancer must be able to understood the movements and the emotion through the eyes of the choreographer. These little intricate movements are what takes a routine and changes it into a piece of art. As easily as these little movements sculpt a performance, absence of them can damage or even destroy the image that the choreographer had in mind. It is often the little things in life that are forgotten and like dance these little things are what create or destroy works of art.

Breathing...

Breathing is the key element that creates Prana- our life force. Breath is what gives us life and allows us to experience this beautiful gift called life. Take some time to listen and focus on your breath. Is your breath, your Prana, how you want it to be. As much as the breath is something natural that happens with life, it also  has the ability to take on the movement you wish it to have. Fast and rapid, long and deep, steady and slow- How would you like your breath to serve you?

Happiness x 2

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
― John Lennon


What Makes You Happy?

Happiness to me is holding Aidan's hand as I walk him into school
Happiness to me is talking to my mom about my life and my aspirations
Happiness to me  is being in front of a mirror, on a dance floor and just moving and letting go
Happiness to me is when I am on my Yoga mat , it's just me , my breath and the next Asana
Happiness to me is  lying next to my love (mike) and looking into his beautiful eyes
Happiness to me is a long kiss from Aidan where he doesn't want to let go
Happiness to me is watching waves crash against a sun-setting sky
Happiness to me is sitting home on a Saturday night and watching a movie with my family
Happiness to me is discussing life with my dad while we listen to the Rolling Stones
Happiness to me is Sunday dinner with my parents and my poppy
Happiness to me is watching my 87 year old grandfather play with my six year old son
Happiness to me is sharing my love for dance and yoga with the world
Happiness to me is performing on a stage, I feel complete, I am who I am
Happiness to me is hanging out with my brother who is an amazing father
Happiness to me is every Sunday at 9:15 AM -1:30 PM

I could go on....



I used to think happiness was something I was in search for, that I had to figure out- but it was right in front of me all along, I just wasn't aware...

Let it be...

"Letting go of the past means that you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now." -don Miguel Ruiz

Larissa had posted this the other day. I can't help but to really love this quote! Letting go of anything is so hard, especially I feel for me. When I say "letting go" I don't mean holding grudges or being mad and angry at a person. Instead I mean how Larissa wrote it, having attachment. My problem for letting go, is that I always am seeking for answers. I over analyze every aspect and conversation I have in my life. Last year, when I started yoga it was that one point of time I could concentrate and really focus on the now. Of course sometimes my mind may go back to something, which I have to remind myself let go of what happened, let it be.

Within the last few months my life has changed so much. New people have entered my life while others have left, reconnecting with old friends while losing touch with new ones. I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. People come and go, each having a reason for coming into your life, even if it's only for a short period of time. The only thing to do is be happy of the time you have with people. Let go of everything else and just let life be.

When it comes to dancing, balance comes naturally. My body can melt into position and pause in the moment for as long as it needs to, my mind is still and my muscles are working in my favor. I wish I could take this stability and transfer it into my everyday life.  I've been working on the four agreements and have been unsuccessful for the past four days.

I cannot balance family, friends, work and school properly without feeling as if I am slacking in one area. I am at a scary turning point in life. I will be moving in August and have very limited funds to live off of. I am scared. And as I grow in fear I create a negative environment around me that leaves me vulnerable to what others say and in turn I lose the ability to be impeccable with my word.  Why is it so easy to balance when dancing? Why can I not take the feeling of stability and control and transfer it to my everyday life.