It's Monday

Hey guys! It's Monday and we are in the studio! We are going to Houston this week! Core is offering two performances this up coming weekend. We are performing "Lets Dance," at Miller Outdoor Theater on Friday April 30th at 8:00pm and "The Point of Stillness," Sunday May 2nd at the Museum of Fine Art Houston in their sculpture garden at 2:30 and 3:30 pm.

"Lets dance," is sort of a festival style performance curated and shared but Core Performance Company, Teresa Chapman, Leslie Scates and Becky Valls. We are all performing short family friendly pieces for the general masses of Miller Theater. "The point of Stillness," is one of our site specific works. We have been working with the idea and concept of statues for the past couple of weeks. Each dancers has gotten the opportunity to work on a section. This makes for a pretty interesting combination.

It is the end of the season, and we are all tired. It is interesting what happens when you are a tired dancer. You have to first be careful not to injure yourself. Then there is the ease of movement that comes from being able not hold tension. You do not use extra muscles. You find a gracefulness. There is definitely bad part of dancing when you are tired, but it usually informs how you want to move when you are not. Which is to not over muscle your dancing. I believe this will be our motto this week as we press forward!

Much Love

Corian

Art March and why?

The arts! Do we need them? Are they worth investing money in? Some people seem to think that the arts are expendable but what's art worth to you? In America, worth equals value and everything thing of value can be bought. It has a monetary worth. When worth is priceless and bountiful with its gifts, what do you as a citizen do? Do you stand in line and wait for the hand outs of a nation with fading interests or do you get out of line and stand up for what is necessary and true.

This past Monday, Core Performance Company hit the streets of Atlanta Ga. Along with several hundred artists, Core marched from the Rialto to the steps of the Capitol in protest. The House voted to reduce the funding for the Georgia Council of the Arts to $0. The Senate vote to overturn the decision was quickly approaching, so the arts community of Georgia had to act fast.

The beauty of every individual in the crowd was overwhelmingly breathtaking. We are not a people of violence, but on that Monday our presence could not be silenced and our voices were in agreement. As we stepped down from the sidewalk onto the car filled street, it hit me. While chanting, "Save the arts. Save the arts!" with hundreds of men, women and children resembling a United Colors of Benetton add, it hit me. In that moment, I realized marching was not about me. Marching was not even about the other people marching. The scope of us artists meeting at 1:00 in the afternoon on this very Monday expanded long and deep like the Mississippi. Our goal was Georgia, but our nation and our nations children were at stake.

The question is simple. Why choose art? Art does make for a more well rounded culture. Some would even argue civilized. On a deeper level, art breeds and nurtures creativity. That is what America is based upon. Thinking outside of the box,taking chances and not being afraid to be different. That is what our forefathers set out to accomplish when establishing America.

There are those of us who are artists. We choose the life of a bohemian. We choose to be broke. We take all of the pennies we can get. When all funding for art is cut, it is a direct blow to the way I live my life. The person that I am. Without artists and without Art, that boy who took drawing in elementary would have not had the opportunity to become that famous architect. That girl who took voice lessons growing up, would not be a top record executive.

Yes, art enhances the lives of artists and the lives people who pay to go enjoy them. But the necessity for art is just that; a necessity. We need art to live. We do not need it to breathe, but that is the beauty of it all. We need art to progress as a country. All ideas are born out of creativity. Creativity is the core principle of art. Therefore arts serves society in so many ways that are tangible and intangible.

Just thought I would throw that out there!

Corian

TGIF

JoJo

here, taking the lead on the blog for the moment. I guess this is the first time you've heard from me. The last time I blogged was probably on like myspace in highschool or something like that. ha.

Food and Friends

Yesterday was another lovely lunchtime in the studio. Ragging Burrito provided tastey food and the best pineapple salsa EVER; Starbucks provided coffee. This was only my second time ever attending and there were lots of other new faces. Some of the dancers chose to share the beginnings of their ideas for our next sight specific work. When we go back to Houston at the end of the month, we will be performing at the Museum of Fine Arts Cullen Sculpture Garden. We have been researching artists in the garden and learning about their pieces and their process for producing works. This exploration has provided inspiration for the sight specific work we will be showing. Also during our lunch hour, the other dancers were able to share the latest progress with The Point.

Yesterday was also another Salon showing. Sadly I have always had conflicts with this time during the day, so I was unable to attend, but I have only heard positive feedback. A wonderfully sweet girl named Rachel was able to attend last night and she even came back for class this morning! :)

It's Basically the Weekend

So today we will work more with The Point and Blake will be here to give feedback to Sharon. After lunch we will work on Cumulus. Blake will be here to help Alex and and Kim will be here to HELP ME. :)

It has been such an experience learning roles here at CORE. Strong communication is essential for the learning process, which is something that I always have to be conscious about. Thinking intentionally about cause, motivation, and emotion during rehearsal is the force that drives each dancer. Something I feel they treasure here is having an awareness of how you are feeling and what you need to do for your body. These have been mental goals of mine and I feel a lot of other dancers in Atlanta, but difficult to implement into real life as a dancer. Anwyays, this is just a snipit into the journey of my time here at CORE.

Wrap it Up Girl

Gosh, I rambble! That's all for right now. I hope you all have a great weekend! Talk to you next time.

Happy Wednesday!

Hello,

This is Sharon, one of Core's artistic affiliates. Alex has been doing a wonderful job of taking pictures of both Joanna and me, and now, you actually get to hear my voice, well...my cyberspace voice, at least. Wow, cyberspace voice! That was kinda corny. Bear with me. This is my first attempt at blogging. I have to say that I am having a wonderful time here at Core. The atmosphere here is very nurturing. I have, in some ways, come to think of Core as a second family. I feel as though I have found a group that I can share knowledge with, learn skills from, and trust, which is key when one dances with a particular group for an extended period of time.

Speaking of learning, you have heard that many roles have shifted to new dancers. Joanna has taken Kim Kleiber's role in Beppie Blankert's Cumulus. Alex and I have taken Blake's roles in Cumulus and Sue Schroeder's The Point, respectively. We are all working really hard to own our new roles, so we are ready for "Let's Dance" at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston at the end of the month. By the way, I've never danced on the Miller stage, so I'm really excited about performing there. To help us get ready for the show, Blake Dalton is here to give us a hand. (Don't worry, he's resting his foot.) Blake being here makes it a happy Wednesday. Blake has a positive energy that radiates. His opinions are poignant and understanding. Also, he's an all-around quirky guy. So, when he's not around he's missed. We're all pretty bummed that he's injured, and we're praying that he gets well soon. Even though he's not dancing yet, I'm glad he's back. I also heard that Kim is going to be here on Friday to work on Cumulus. She's another person who through her radiance makes Core shine a little brighter. When she's here our Core family will be back to a full house.

To reiterate what I mentioned earlier, Core is a group filled with sharing and trust. Repeatedly, I see a member step up and aid when another is in need. This nurturing environment is very comforting. I feel safe here, and I'm excited about the work that I will continue to do.

dancer on deck!

so as i mentioned yesterday, the amazing blake dalton is injured. word on the street says he is recovering nicely. keep him in your thoughts and keep sending good healing energy his way! as a result of his injury, many folks are stepping up their game and we are all pulling together as an ensemble to prepare for our upcoming Miller show (that blake was going to be in).

so...we had to call in the emergency dancers on deck (at term that i learned after i injured myself in college). dancers "on deck" are the understudies, or affiliates, who are then asked to step into the role of a dancer that is unable to perform, and it is usually done with short notice. for Cumulus, i (alex) am stepping into blake's role, and for The Point, sharon is assuming blake's role.

this is not an uncommon occurrence, dancers getting injured. it is a reality (as scary/harsh reality) that affects (i hope that is the correct use of that word) the entire company. so we are charged to learn the choreography, but in a very short & intense period of time before we have to perform. the task of learning another role is tricky, because the dynamics inherently shift. all the nuances and details that allowed the original member to execute their part with ease & simplicity gets lost. also, the challenge in Cumulus is that Joanna is also in the process of taking on an old role (of Kim Kleiber's)...so it is almost like starting back (almost) at square one. we are not the originators of the roles; so, we don't have the depth of knowledge to keep the choreography true to Beppie Blankert's vision.

i cannot speak for sharon, but i have to state the obvious difference in her learning blake's role. she is a she, blake is a he (DUH!). so there are some partnering issues that have to be worked out. blake is a buff dude, and although sharon is a very strong woman; she is a good 5 inches shorter than mr. dalton. in conversation with sharon, she says "the lifts aren't so much a challenge strength wise, but more so in leverage and momentum."

however, despite the minor setbacks and all the extra effort/work we have to do...we are pulling together as a company to honor the hard work of our missing company member and the integrity of the work we will present. again, this is just another horrible reality of the lives as a dance artist. our bodies have limits, and sometimes our bodies want (or don't want) to do things as they see fit. so if they decide to break down on us, we just have to roll with the punches....such is the life of a professional dancer.

oops...my bad

ok...so in writing the blog yesterday, i wondered why blogspot was prompting me to create a "look" for the blog, name the hyperlink, etc. so today, i get an email from Claire Horn, our wonderful marketing and PR wonderwoman, asking why i created an entirely new blog? to be honest, i didn't know i did that. so my bad! anyway, i tried to copy and paste everything...but isn't working as i planned...so here is a hyperlink to yesterday's blog (from our "new" blog).



http://coreperformancecompany.blogspot.com