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| Dancing to bid: gala at Jacob's Pillow in Beckett, MA. |
This summer has been a spectacular whirlwind of dance immersion, celebration, sharing, and professional development. I feel so blessed to have been able to embark on these opportunities and to have connected more deeply to both my art and the larger national/international dance community.
Mostly, I'm thrilled to bring pieces of everything I experienced - from the history of Jacob's Pillow and dancing in New York, to leading a community dance camp in Seward, AK to teacher training in California - back to Anchorage. This glorious, beautiful, state-of-mind-altering drug we know as dance has only shown the tip of its iceberg locally, and this season, I dedicate myself to revealing a larger, richer, more connected bigger picture.
Every move we choreograph or dance has been influenced by movement philosophies of those before us. We either embrace or reject them, but we are indeed standing on the shoulders of giants. It is through this that we continue to be part of what's happening in Israel, New York, Africa, Washington... the dance studio on the other side of town.
That's part of what makes dance so awesome. We're in this together, and I want to build on that. Let's lose ourselves to movement, to music, and forget about everything outside of the studio for a bit. What else matters if we are happy, healthy, and pushing our bodies past the edges of our own preconceived limitations?
It was in a Gaga class in New York, led by a Batsheva company member, that I very deeply understood "letting go." In a room packed with heavy-lidded dancers who had completely and utterly given themselves to the movement, surrounded by gasps and sighs, supple joints, floating ropes of arms, reaching more, giving more, and rapture, it somehow all made sense.
"Now let go," she said. "And connect to pleasure."
That's what we're all trying to figure out how to do anyway, right?
Adventures aside, I'm glad to be back and hope to see you in the studio. New schedule's out!
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| Sweat much? Dancing in New York. |
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| Dancing in Seward, AK |
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| Seward dance students |
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| Dance Teacher Summit! |
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| Teacher training in Long Beach, CA |
Yours in dance,
Stephanie Wonchala
Pulse Artistic Director/Choreographer
