A Dance Class!

Source

I'm starting a dance class for advanced, adult dancers in Utah Valley!

Here's the info if you are interested in joining the class: 

WHEN:

·   Tuesday/Thursday mornings

WHERE:

·  Lehi, Utah

WHAT:

·   A rotation of ballet/contemporary dance for adult advanced, pre-professional, and professional dancers in the Utah County/Utah Valley area. Ages 18+. Participants will take turns teaching the class (basically just giving the rest of us combinations and exercises).

COST:

·   We have generously been offered a studio free of charge. For this reason, the class is FREE!

·   Donations may occasionally be requested for master teachers, studio needs, workshops, etc.

CHILD CARE:

·   As a young mother with a very busy working/schooling husband, childcare has been the biggest obstacle that has kept me from getting back into dance classes. It’s just never easy to find babysitters or daycare options; especially when you have to pay the babysitter AND pay for the dance class.

·   We are currently working on organizing an in-studio daycare opportunity for your children. 

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU!

*If you are seriously interested in joining this class, please email me at
relanham@gmail.com 

LET’S DANCE!

Time to Dance Again

While searching for exercise programs, strength training routines, 
diet plans, and working towards "fitness,"

I am realizing that what I really want is to SIMPLIFY! 

In a world saturated with all things physical, I'm feeling so overwhelmed and anxious to fit the "ideal woman" description. I think a lot of women feel this way, especially mothers. If we don't regularly run 5 miles, do pilates, yoga, P90X, weights, half-marathons, Zumba, etc, then we can't possibly be in shape or be healthy. I want to be healthy and active, and I certainly want to feel good about my body, but there's definitely a limit. I don't care if I have a six-pack, I definitely don't care about being tan, and I don't believe living an active lifestyle means I have to spend 2 hours a day at the gym. 

Is anyone else completely overwhelmed by 

the saturation of all things "fitness" in our world?

With that being said, I have been feeling a serious void in my life, 

and I'm almost 100% sure about how to fill it . . . 

It Is Not Wise to Rush About

This is posted on the Nap Time Dancers blog today.

The concept for this duet came from having absolutely no idea what to dance about; something akin to writer's block. I had thought and thought and thought about a concept for weeks. NOTHING came to mind.

Finally I decided that perhaps that should be the basis for the dance. These few words describe the "theme" for our movement:

Improvisation
Synchronization
Shape
Space
Clarity
Tai Chi

Nothing extremely personal or deeply significant. I simple wanted a dance created from not knowing what to dance about. Eventually we came up with a few guidelines, but not too many. You'll notice that the camera angles stay the same, and shots are longer than the typical dance film. I simply wanted us to explore and watch raw movement.

The title came from the title of the song, which is an album about the Tao's (or lessons) of life. I thought "It Is Not Wise to Rush About" was quite appropriate for our movement since it was a slightly indulgent exploratory experience.

And there you have it.

Thoughts

I am overwhelmed. It's only the 2nd day of classes but I feel so much anxiety and stress. I'm teaching a new class this semester; a fusion ballet/contemporary class. I'm doubting my ability to do it. I've been teaching ballet for the past 2 years, and I feel very stale in my contemporary movement abilities. For some reason I've never felt very good at creating new and original movement. It is very difficult for me. I just hope I'm able to do better as I get more used to it. It was only the first day today and I'm already feeling so insecure and inadequate. I'm not quite sure why they wanted me to teach the class. Maybe they made a mistake.

I'm also working a lot longer than last semester. MWF I teach only from 12-1:30pm, but TTh I teach from 12-5pm. I don't know how so many mothers out there can handle working full-time. I know most of those who do don't really have a choice, but I still don't know how they do it. If we didn't need extra income right now, since Mike is in school, I would be home full-time without a second thought. Being gone from Curtis for more than 5 hours a day is already extremely hard for me.

Last night as I was getting Curtis ready for bed I just snuggled him and told him I was sorry that I had to go to work. I don't want to have to go to work. I hate being away from him. I couldn't help but cry. We had a very sweet moment together. He was very calm and looked up at me straight in the eyes for a few minutes. He has a very mature spirit. He gently touched my face and just smile up at me. Almost as if saying, "it's okay mom, I love you, and I know it'll only be for a few months." I love that little boy so much more than I could ever describe. I look forward to the day when I will be able to stay home all day with him. 

I know I shouldn't wish time away, but April 20th is sounding really nice right about now....