‘CREATIVITY OVER CHOAS, PEACE OVER PANIC”
XO, KENZ
A P R I L D A N C E J O U R N A L
FINDING MY WAY: / IDIOM
1: to look for and find where one needs to go in order to get somewhere
2: to go or arrive somewhere by chance or after a time of wandering
"'EVERY SINGLE BREATH YOU BREATHE IS PROOF THAT YOU ARE FINDING YOUR WAY IN THIS”. MHN
HELLO FAMILY, I LOVE YOU. WE ARE ALL A PART OF THIS COLLECTIVE SUSPENSION BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND WHAT’S TO COME. THIS GLOBAL SHIFT WEIGHS HEAVY ON MY HEART AS I WATCH, AND IMAGINE UNFATHOMABLE PAIN AND SUFFERING THROUGH THE LENS OF AN ELECTRONIC SCREEN. OUR WORLD AS WE KNEW IT HAS HAS CHANGED, AND WITH THAT GREAT CHANGE COMES GREAT PAIN. AS DANCERS, EMPATHS, AND ARTISTIC BEINGS WE FEEL THIS PAIN SO DEEPLY. IT AFFECTS US IN OUR BODIES, OUR BONES, OUR NERVOUS SYSTEMS AND CREATIVE ENERGY. I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WEIGHT OF ANXIETY, FEAR, LOSS, GRIEF, LONELINESS, PAIN AND THE COMPLETE GAMIT OF FEELINGS OUR INTUITIVE HEARTS, BODIES, AND MINDS ARE EXPERIENCING.
THIS IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT WE’RE FEELING, WE CAN’T GIVE SPACE TO WHERE WE ARE. WE CAN’T BE SLOW, WE CAN’T BE STILL. I WANT US TO BE RIGHT WHERE WE ARE, TO HONOR THIS OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO DIVE INSIDE, TO RETURN TO WHO WE ARE, TO LISTEN.
AND AS WE LISTEN, WE LEARN. WE GIVE MORE SPACE TO NEW FEELINGS AND NEW LEARNING. WE EXPAND. MINDFULNESS IS GIVING UP CONTROL OF WHAT WE THINK WE SHOULD DO AND FEEL, AND INSTEAD CONNECTING PRESENTLY TO WHAT WE ARE FEELING. WE NEED MORE OF THIS. WE NEED LESS DOING AND MORE BEING. MORE ALLOWING OURSELVES TO BE IN THIS COLLECTIVE SUSPENSION, BEING GRACIOUS IN THIS TIME AS WE GET TO KNOW OURSELVES, AND THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP INSIDE THIS STILLNESS.
HERE COMES THE MAGIC OF MOVEMENT, I’LL SAY IT AGAIN AND I’LL SAY IT FOREVER - MOVEMENT IS THE GREATEST MEDICINE I KNOW. THE BEST TIME TO APPLY IT, IS WHEN WE’RE HURTING. WHEN THE BALM OF MOVEMENT COVERS AILING HEARTS AND CHAPPED BONES. OUR BODIES ARE INTELLIGENT, OUR SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM HOLDS ON TO THE THINGS WE EXPERIENCE, THINK, AND FEEL UNTIL WE RELEASE THEM WITH MOVEMENT. SO HERE’S WHAT I WANT US TO DO AS WE FIND OUR WAY THROUGH THIS (AND WE WILL FIND OUR WAY). APPLY MOVEMENT, LIBERALLY EVERYDAY. EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE, IN EXACTLY WHAT YOUR FEELING. IF YOU FEEL SCARED, LET IT BE INFORMED WITH YOUR FEAR. IF YOU FEEL GRUMPY, LET YOUR MOVEMENT SPEAK TO IT’S IRRITATION. IF YOU FEEL PEACE, CONDUCT YOUR MOVEMENT IN IT’S FLUIDITY. IF YOU FEEL VANQUISHED, COLOR YOUR MOVEMENT WITH YOUR DEFEAT. IF YOU FEEL INSPIRED, FLOOD YOUR BODY WITH CREATIVITY’S MELODY.
we will each have a beautiful and unique way through. it’s okay and necessary that this WORK IS AN INDIVIDUAL process DIRECTLY through (not around, not under, not over - but directly through*) ALL OF THIS DISCOMFORT AND PAIN. this is the journey we’ve been called to not just as artists, but as humans. we are all finding our way through this, but know you are not alone. i will continue to show up for you all as we face our new realities, and we will keep applying the real pathway back to ourselves - movement. excited to have you all on board this month as we choose creativity over chaos and the magic of movement.
WHERE THERE IS GREAT PAIN, THERE IS GREAT PURPOSE.
I SEE YOU, I LOVE YOU ALL!
KENZ
-IMPROV: section out four (sub 2, 6, 8) emotions you’re feeling. tape of space on your floor in to four (2,6,8) quadrants. label each section with a feeling. spend some time in each quadrant individually. after some time has passed start to move freely between them. what do you discover here?
-INTERNAL REFLECTION: as we step in to a season of great grief, change, and uncertainty, how does this impact your artistry? try your best not to color this with “good or bad”. . .just observe. does it fluctuate from day to day? does moving help? does reading help? does writting, drawing, creating, developing, speaking with friends, going on walks, help? sit in a higher consciousness as you observe your artistic voice through this process. be gentle with yourself, there’s not a correct answer here.
-MOVEMENT RESEARCH: study the natural movement vocabulary of the animals outside, who have no logical understanding of the precarious situations we’re all facing. does their movement seem altered? if not, what are your thoughts on that? should it be and why? if you can perceive no alterations, does that bring you comfort and peace? create a phrase work with these thoughts in motion.
MEDITATION: begin each each practice with stillness for 5-10 minutes. sit on the floor, stand in parallel first, or lay on the ground. follow the below three steps.
ask yourself what am i feeling in my heart and mind?
ask yourself what sensations do i feel in my body?
begin to invite the breath in, allowing it to flood your body with awareness and mindfulness
APRIL 1:
find a safe space* close your eyes, feel your feet on the ground. explore movement while your eyes remain closed. can you feel the texture of the air around you?APRIL 2:
use your space to create visual foot prints. with each step into the ground, choose an emotion to flood through your body from the bottom of your feet up to the crown of your head.APRIL 3:
allow a current emotion to color your entire body spilling from the crown of you head and working towards the ground. think of a melting imagery. APRIL 4:
use only two points of contact with the floor, be adaptable and creative.APRIL 5:
explore movement only led/informed by your heart. does this manifest in physical or energetic ways?APRIL 6:
sit on the ground criss cross apple sauce, only use movement from your torso up.APRIL 7:
sit on the ground, cross your arms. only find movement from your torso down.APRIL 8:
pick an inanimate object and move with it, around it, because of it, how many shapes cane you make with it? how does it disrupt.enhance your natural movement?- GEO co. member - MOUZ @__mickmouz
APRIL 9:
initiate movement only by body "points". (elbow, nose, finger, knee). does this feel internal or external?APRIL 10:
intimate movement from soft places in your body. (lungs, heart, stomach, tongue, muscle groupings) does this feel internal of external?APRIL 11:
plant your feet in the ground, find movement without picking up your feet AT ALL. where else can you explore in your body with this limitation?APRIL 12:
think of your favorite place in the world, a place you're craving that you can't physically be in right now. close your eyes, what does it smell like? feel like? sound like? move in that imagery. APRIL 13:
pick a location you haven't improved in yet. go and move there. what changed? what felt different, if at all?APRIL 14:
turn on the tv to your favorite show, copy the movement patters you see on your screen. what did you discover here?APRIL 15:
go back to your television, turn on a show you dislike and copy the movement patterns you see. what did you discover here? compare this to yesterday’s movement activity. APRIL 16:
select a lyric phrase you love, pick three random words from the song. create a dialogue between those three words. what narrative did you create?APRIL 17:
pick an object and interpret them in physical shapes and action. considering a door has lines, but also opens/closes. how many ways can you re-interpret this object?GEO co. member - PR @parkragner12
APRIL 18:
write a few sentences about what “i am finding my way in this” means to you. create movement based on those sentences and punctuation choices. (stopping or breathing at periods, etc)GEO co. member - GABBYDOMZ @gabbydomz
APRIL 19:
string together a serious of ordinary life sequences. (bed to bathroom, bathroom to kitchen, kitchen to back patio). Rewrite this sequence to incorporate movement and creativity.APRIL 20:
set out several chairs or items to introduce barriers in your space. create pathways around them, but not on or with them. how did these barrier become creative explorations?APRIL 21:
move to a window or door, play your favorite song. trace the movement you see outside by things moving in your favorite color. APRIL 22:
find three gestures that describe you inner weather. play with them in time, space and sequence. what happens when we take take it through space, make it small, big, to the ground, etc? invest, explore!GEO co. member - DANI BURD @daniiburd
APRIL 23:
sit on one end of your couch. fill a whole song by creatively moving to the other side, only arriving at the end of the song. what did you learn about patience?APRIL 24:
find something does creates movement in your home (a clock, animals, conversation, sink running, bicycle tire) mimic the cadence of this movement, honor it's natural rhythm. APRIL 25:
find a piece of artwork online (pinterest, insta, in a coffee table book) open it in front of you. How many ways can you express the thought, feeling, shapes, and lines behind the work?APRIL 26:
remember the things that bring you peace, answer this with movement. what do you discover here?APRIL 27:
change the time of day you’re doing your prompt - interrupt your daily routine by placing your movement in a different position of the moon or sun. What do you encounter by doing this?APRIL 28:
allow your favorite thing in nature to shape your movement. wind, leaves, mountain skyline, ocean breeze, grass, sand, etc. . . allow this to inform textures, shapes and pictures. perhaps put on a nature soundscape. APRIL 29:
prompt: "I AM". consider these words, make a declaration. . .speak life over yourself.APRIL 30:
prompt: “FINDING” consider these words, make a declaration. . .speak life over yourself.APRIL 31:
prompt: “MY WAY through in this” consider these words, make a declaration. . .speak life over yourself.