One of Many Joys

I have grown a lot over the last 9 months. Gee...that sounds funny!! No, not with child...but with newness and fullness and happiness!! Yes....my life is feeling realllllllly good these days. Lots of changes...constantly evolving changes. I have experienced great pleasure in the many serendipitous moments over this period of time and am forever grateful. The making of some very conscious decisions has helped a lot too.

It all started with the Windows of Time project with Andrea Nann, in partnership with Dance Ontario and Windsor and Region Dance, among four other Regional Dance Networks affiliated with Dance Ontario. It was at this time that I was introduced to Conscious Bodies by Dreamwalker Dance.....and that was it....the seed had been planted!!

The experience with Andrea Nann during her incredibly inspiring facilitation of these sessions based on over 25 years of instigation and exploration was like being brought back to life....being starved and then nourished, parched and then a deep thirst being entirely quenched. As soon as I experienced it...I knew it was for me. Something I had been deeply yearning for......for a very very long time.

Literally within a week of being rejuvenated and brought back into my body after covid wreaking havoc with any kind of physical training or creative expression....I was off to Pelee Island for my residency with Stone & Sky. I brought this new experience with me and practiced it while enjoying the incredible beauty of the island and creating A LOT of photos with Doug MacLellan!! This work was at the core of all of the movement explorations that Doug photographed, many of which have become source material for my new interdisciplinary dance work in process, She Walks Both Worlds. He also took some videos of me engaging with this work, which you can watch here.

Not long after that, Andrea invited me to participate in a pilot project for the Conscious Bodies Handbook. This was an incredible experience of learning and growing through collaboration with researcher/knowledge mobilizer Danielle Denichaud, inclusion facilitator Michelle Silagy, Indigenous liaison Philip Davis, Artistic Director of Dreamwalker Dance Company, Andrea Nann and a handful of other participants blessed with this wonderful opportunity to dive deep into the practice. We continued to develop and evolve core foundation of facilitation methodologies for Conscious Bodies practice through togethering, collaboration and sharing. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and continue to practice with these beautiful folks through Dreamwalker's New Moon Gatherings.

Since then, I have been continuing to practice solo and began facilitating sessions ONLINE and IN Person. This has been extremely fulfilling and rewarding, as I continue to discover, learn and share. It has also quickly become the core foundation of my own creative process for making dance, photography and interdisciplinary work.

Summer is here and I am really looking forward to secondary residencies in The Okanagan and on Pelee Island for Stone & Sky. There will be much time spent in conscious wonderment and ecstatic exploration during these most precious stays in stunning vistas. There will be much more to share with you and I am really looking forward to that too!!

Have a wonderful and joy filled summer!!