Hitting the ground, and running Part 1

Wow, the events in January have been a very good start to 2010. I don't even know where to begin. I've been doing well in the yoga classes. My body feels like it is slowly becoming more open with the more classes I take. And, I'm no longer struggling as much as I was when I first started. I will say however that I do prefer the Yoga To the People studios rather than the BikramYogaNYC studios and the main reason for that is that YTTP doesn't have clocks. I've been at BikramYoga for a bit and I've noticed I've become heavily concentrated on the clock. I'm not focused on "when are we gonna be done" but rather mindless stuff like "how long does this series take/last." It's not necessary for me to know that but because my mind wanders VERY easily, I've become fixated on that one, minute aspect of class. I prefer not knowing the time because of focus better. I guess for now I will just have to make pretend there's no clock in the room.

On another note this past week as been a major blessing in self awareness and my potential in terms of dance. I will start with a dance seminar I did through StageDoor Connections called "The Business of Dance." First off, StageDoor is amazing because they allow people the opportunity to experience a part of the entertainment industry that one would not be able to do normally. I've been keeping tabs on the different programs they've been having, whether a master class with a modern dance company or a singers program for dancers and I finally decided to try one of there programs.
Lucille Di Campli, an agent and I believe director of the dance department at MSA agency and Maria Torres led us dancers in a discussion of the ins and outs of the industry as well as a mock audition(but I think it was actually for real) for both of them. I can't stress how rewarding this seminar was. Lucille was so incredibly nice and provided us with so much information about the industry and what MSA does for their clients. She really broke the stereotypes of agents being "pushy" because she was so far from that. What's more is that she was a dancer too and has been in the business for many years. It just added to her credibility because she really knew what she was talking about.
Maria Torres really gave us the industry type feel in terms of dance. She didn't baby us with choreography, she threw it at us and we had to either grab it or go. It was great. We started with across the floor and even that was on the New York minute.  We did a Latin jazz combo that was so much fun! I was nervous I would be all over the place because of my lack of Latin knowledge but that wasn't the case at all. The entire time we were learning the combination and performing it both Lucille and Maria were giving us so much feedback, something you never/rarely get at auditions. They made it such a comfortable environment which was definitely needed when we had to go across the floor one at a time and just "show ourselves." Now I'm usually very hesitant with improv, but it's not like I could have avoided it so I just tried my best. I definitely learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to become more comfortable with the improv. The ladies also gave a different perspective on why people do improv and thus I actually came to appreciate it more.
Overall, I left on such a high. I didn't know what to expect going into the seminar but they surpassed my expectations immediately. I took notes, especially when it came to the business side of the industry. I always knew versatility was key but after hearing there stories about the crazy things people ask for, I'm really going to try and get myself to a point where I'm not just a type A dancer but rather someone who is just all over the place in terms of things to offer. Yep, that means I have to get back into singing. They way Lucille explained the whole "singing" bit put it into a better perspective. It's more of a you just have to do it rather then trying to avoid it.
In keeping up with what I learned, I plan on taking Latin dance and it's even more exciting to know that Maria will be teaching so I can start learning from her in a different environment. I will admit that dancing in heels(character heels), something I JUST started doing, is not easy but slowly I'm beginning to like it a lot.