Saturday, August 1, 2009
1500 Prison Inmates from Philippines perform Dangerous
This video is amazing to me. These guys are good dancers! All of them! I can't find anyone who is off beat or awkward. The main group in the black tshirts are better than good and the star guy is damn good. How did this happen? How did 1500 prisoners get enough time together in the prison yard to learn this choreography? Can you imagine 1500 American prisoners being allowed in the exercise yard at one time? I can't. Especially to dance to a song called Dangerous? ha!
And if by some stretch we thought that something like this could happen here, can you imagine that 1500 American prisoners would be as uniformly good dancers as these Philippino guys are? I can't.
So how did this happen? It turns out that DANCING is a big rehabilitation process in Philippine prisons. Can you imagine that here? "Hey, bubba, get down to the exercise yard and see how them prisoners are doin' learnin' that Dangerous dance."
I do know from having Philippine friends that dance and music are big big big in their culture. You'd be hard put to find someone who couldn't dance really well and also who didn't play an instrument and/or have a gorgeous voice. They have these wonderful mop/broom things that you wear on your feet and dance around in to clean the floor! and my friends taught me to do the clothes washing dance too, in the tub, kind of like stomping grapes. I mean, why not have fun and clean up at the same time?
So I guess it's not really such a surprise that dance is a part of their prison rehab program. And when things get us down, and we need a reminder to keep dancing on the path, we can just click on this little video and see these amazing dancing prisoners.
Monday, July 27, 2009
That's What the Artist Does
Merce Cunningham, amazing dance pioneer, died today at 90 after 6 decades of dancing and choreographing. He was still teaching dance, using a stool and a bar. He was still performing, and premiered a piece called "Nearly Ninety" this year, dancing in a wheelchair. It was set to new music from Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, the rock band Sonic Youth, and Japanese composer Takehisa Kosugi.
Cunningham set the standard in innovation in choreography, never resting on past laurels. He proved that there is always room for something new, "if your eyes and ears are open and you have wit enough to see and hear and imagine."
When he first started creating dances, audiences would boo and walk out, and even threw tomatoes at the stage, but that didn't stop him. And eventually he was recognized the world over as a choreographic genius. "Over the history of art, something unfamiliar becomes part of society and everybody accepts it. Obviously, the artist goes on. You try to see what the next problem or question to ask is".
Cunningham once said that "dance was movement, movement of any kind, and it is as accurate and impermanent as breathing."
NPR's Renee Montange asked Cunningham three years ago if that meant his last breath would be a dance.
With that definition in mind, he replied that as long as he's living, he'll be dancing.
"Yes or I can call it dancing," Cunningham laughed. "Even if no one else does."
There are many videos of his dances throughout the decades on youtube. Here's a montage of some of my favorites.
I think the most important things that Merce demonstrated to me were the childlike joy of exploration, and the courage to create his vision in a world that often discourages both innovation and uniqueness.
And when we are dancing on our path and we run into barriers or confusion or fatigue, it will help us to remember both Merce Cunningham's unstoppable spirit and his straightforward advice and do what an artist does; open our eyes and ears, use our wit to see and imagine, and find another question.
Cunningham set the standard in innovation in choreography, never resting on past laurels. He proved that there is always room for something new, "if your eyes and ears are open and you have wit enough to see and hear and imagine."
When he first started creating dances, audiences would boo and walk out, and even threw tomatoes at the stage, but that didn't stop him. And eventually he was recognized the world over as a choreographic genius. "Over the history of art, something unfamiliar becomes part of society and everybody accepts it. Obviously, the artist goes on. You try to see what the next problem or question to ask is".
Cunningham once said that "dance was movement, movement of any kind, and it is as accurate and impermanent as breathing."
NPR's Renee Montange asked Cunningham three years ago if that meant his last breath would be a dance.
With that definition in mind, he replied that as long as he's living, he'll be dancing.
"Yes or I can call it dancing," Cunningham laughed. "Even if no one else does."
There are many videos of his dances throughout the decades on youtube. Here's a montage of some of my favorites.
I think the most important things that Merce demonstrated to me were the childlike joy of exploration, and the courage to create his vision in a world that often discourages both innovation and uniqueness.
And when we are dancing on our path and we run into barriers or confusion or fatigue, it will help us to remember both Merce Cunningham's unstoppable spirit and his straightforward advice and do what an artist does; open our eyes and ears, use our wit to see and imagine, and find another question.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
How Money Messes with our Minds
How Money Messes with our Minds
I was waiting with dread for my dental appointment. I knew it was going to be a painful ordeal (although it was worse than even my imaginings) when I came across this article in the NY Times, How Money Messes with Your Mind.
This paragraph caught my eye, "They found that feeling rejected stirred a greater desire for money and that thoughts about losing money made social rejection sting more. They also found that thinking about having money made physical pain feel less acute, thoughts of losing money made physical pain worse, and being in physical pain made people want money more".
This raises all kinds of implications in health care, drug addiction, the economy, poverty, education, and as the article ends with, even dating. If the fear of not being able to pay your medical bills can actually negatively impact your health, doesn't it seem logical that not having health insurance (or having bad health insurance) can make it more difficult for you to get well? Or conversely, that countries like Japan and Canada which offer basic health coverage for all their citizens would have healthier people? Of course, we are not allowing for other factors in this hypothetical, but still I think we are on to something. If we could study heart attacks, say, with this in mind, would we find out that a large percentage of heart attacks occur with a loss of income, employment, savings, money in general? Is the inordinate number of people with diabetes in the lower income bracket partly due from money stress?
If we look at the incredible greed that has been uncovered on Wall Street among the wealthy banksters, perhaps this study helps us understand a bit better. I know I haven't been able to get my mind around these people who have so much materially, but who never feel that they have enough, and who are coldly uncaring about the lives they are ruining as they raid pension funds. This might offer a clue: "Other groups were asked either to list what they had spent money on in the past 30 days or list weather conditions during that time. Those who itemized their finances reported less social distress from the computer game and less pain from the hot water".
There's a lot to think about here, but I do feel that there is some truth to this. I had a direct experience of how thinking of losing money makes you feel more pain! After 3 grueling hours under the dental drill, I was already feeling bad, but when I got home and found out that our truck repair would cost four times what the original estimate had been, I instantly experienced my pain level going from bad to horrible! It was interesting to observe the impact this news had on me. Makes me realize that there are good times for looking at bills, and bad times, and when you're already feeling sick or in pain, it may be better to put those bills away until you're feeling better.
Posted by dancingonthePath at 8:18 AM 0 comments
I was waiting with dread for my dental appointment. I knew it was going to be a painful ordeal (although it was worse than even my imaginings) when I came across this article in the NY Times, How Money Messes with Your Mind.
This paragraph caught my eye, "They found that feeling rejected stirred a greater desire for money and that thoughts about losing money made social rejection sting more. They also found that thinking about having money made physical pain feel less acute, thoughts of losing money made physical pain worse, and being in physical pain made people want money more".
This raises all kinds of implications in health care, drug addiction, the economy, poverty, education, and as the article ends with, even dating. If the fear of not being able to pay your medical bills can actually negatively impact your health, doesn't it seem logical that not having health insurance (or having bad health insurance) can make it more difficult for you to get well? Or conversely, that countries like Japan and Canada which offer basic health coverage for all their citizens would have healthier people? Of course, we are not allowing for other factors in this hypothetical, but still I think we are on to something. If we could study heart attacks, say, with this in mind, would we find out that a large percentage of heart attacks occur with a loss of income, employment, savings, money in general? Is the inordinate number of people with diabetes in the lower income bracket partly due from money stress?
If we look at the incredible greed that has been uncovered on Wall Street among the wealthy banksters, perhaps this study helps us understand a bit better. I know I haven't been able to get my mind around these people who have so much materially, but who never feel that they have enough, and who are coldly uncaring about the lives they are ruining as they raid pension funds. This might offer a clue: "Other groups were asked either to list what they had spent money on in the past 30 days or list weather conditions during that time. Those who itemized their finances reported less social distress from the computer game and less pain from the hot water".
There's a lot to think about here, but I do feel that there is some truth to this. I had a direct experience of how thinking of losing money makes you feel more pain! After 3 grueling hours under the dental drill, I was already feeling bad, but when I got home and found out that our truck repair would cost four times what the original estimate had been, I instantly experienced my pain level going from bad to horrible! It was interesting to observe the impact this news had on me. Makes me realize that there are good times for looking at bills, and bad times, and when you're already feeling sick or in pain, it may be better to put those bills away until you're feeling better.
Posted by dancingonthePath at 8:18 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Value of a Jewel
I was delighted to hear this story at our weekly meditation group on Sunday. Doesn't it fit it with what I've been writing about?
The Master gave a jewel to one of his followers and said, "Go and try to sell this jewel in the mareketplace, but do not sell it before telling me what you will get for it. Only when I am satisfied that you are getting a price close to its real value will we sell it. Otherwise we should keep it".
The disciple first went to a vegetable vendor. The vendor looked at the jewel and handed over some carrots and some radishes saying, "All right, you take this in exchange for it." The disciple refused and went on to another shopkeeper who had a provision store who offered him some sugar and said, "You can have this in exchange for it."
After going to 4 or 5 shops the disciple went back to the Master and reported what had been offered in exchange for the jewel. The Master replied, "This is not acceptable. This is a very great jewel, but these people do not know its value." So he asked the disciple to go to a jeweler saying, "The jeweler will pay you according to its real value."
The disciple went to the jeweler and offered him the jewel. The jeweler took it in his hand, examining it closely. He then took 100 rupees from his vest and placed the rupees and the jewel into the disciple's hand. The disciplie did not understand what was going on. The jeweler had given him one hundred rupees for the jewel, but had also given the jewel back by mistake. So he said, "You should keep the jewel because you have paid the right cost for it."
The jeweler looked at him kindly and replied, "One hundred rupees is not neraly the value of this jewel. I don't have enough money to pay for the real value. I paid you the one hundrd rupees to look at the jewel-for just witnessing it! This jewel is so vauable it cannot be purchased."
The disciple then understood how valuable the jewel really was. Merely seeing it was worth one hundred rupees! He also ralized that only a jeweler, who could ascertain the true value of jewels, could recognize its worth. The other shopkeepers had offered practically nothing.
The Master gave a jewel to one of his followers and said, "Go and try to sell this jewel in the mareketplace, but do not sell it before telling me what you will get for it. Only when I am satisfied that you are getting a price close to its real value will we sell it. Otherwise we should keep it".
The disciple first went to a vegetable vendor. The vendor looked at the jewel and handed over some carrots and some radishes saying, "All right, you take this in exchange for it." The disciple refused and went on to another shopkeeper who had a provision store who offered him some sugar and said, "You can have this in exchange for it."
After going to 4 or 5 shops the disciple went back to the Master and reported what had been offered in exchange for the jewel. The Master replied, "This is not acceptable. This is a very great jewel, but these people do not know its value." So he asked the disciple to go to a jeweler saying, "The jeweler will pay you according to its real value."
The disciple went to the jeweler and offered him the jewel. The jeweler took it in his hand, examining it closely. He then took 100 rupees from his vest and placed the rupees and the jewel into the disciple's hand. The disciplie did not understand what was going on. The jeweler had given him one hundred rupees for the jewel, but had also given the jewel back by mistake. So he said, "You should keep the jewel because you have paid the right cost for it."
The jeweler looked at him kindly and replied, "One hundred rupees is not neraly the value of this jewel. I don't have enough money to pay for the real value. I paid you the one hundrd rupees to look at the jewel-for just witnessing it! This jewel is so vauable it cannot be purchased."
The disciple then understood how valuable the jewel really was. Merely seeing it was worth one hundred rupees! He also ralized that only a jeweler, who could ascertain the true value of jewels, could recognize its worth. The other shopkeepers had offered practically nothing.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Success is a Process
I'm still doing a lot of ruminating about success and one thing that's really clear to me is that success is a fluid process not a still pointed destination. If we can tune into this ever flowing process, we can enjoy the many successes we have daily. This will help us when discouragement, fear, anxiety or even anger threaten to overcome our joyful resolve as we move forward toward our larger goals and dreams.
Dancing on the path is a powerful strategy which will help guard us from getting trapped in the artificial constraints of the outer cultural definition of success. When we are enjoying the process, it's easier to shrug off our critics, both internal and external, and keep our dreams alive.
Dancing on the path is a powerful strategy which will help guard us from getting trapped in the artificial constraints of the outer cultural definition of success. When we are enjoying the process, it's easier to shrug off our critics, both internal and external, and keep our dreams alive.
What is Success Anyway? revisited
Our definitions of success are more important than we realize and we need a deep and wide discussion of it. We need to really examine in our hearts what a truly successful human being is, and what the parameters for this measurement will be.
The worshiping of ostentatious wealth made us culturally vulnerable to the siren cry of no doc loans and no money down. Unethical banksters and mort-gougers grabbed the money and ran and left too many of us with foreclosures, chronic unemployment and crushed dreams. We haven't even begun the discussion about the impact this greed has had on the earth and the people of the third world.
We were not given the tools as children to create our own inner definitions of success, and unless we consciously teach our children early on and at intervals how to find their own barometers and to periodically examine their course to ensure that they have not strayed from their own integrity, we will continue as a nation to hurtle toward our old mistakes.
The worshiping of ostentatious wealth made us culturally vulnerable to the siren cry of no doc loans and no money down. Unethical banksters and mort-gougers grabbed the money and ran and left too many of us with foreclosures, chronic unemployment and crushed dreams. We haven't even begun the discussion about the impact this greed has had on the earth and the people of the third world.
We were not given the tools as children to create our own inner definitions of success, and unless we consciously teach our children early on and at intervals how to find their own barometers and to periodically examine their course to ensure that they have not strayed from their own integrity, we will continue as a nation to hurtle toward our old mistakes.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What is Dancing Anyway?
My dancer friends and I have been enjoying the recent surge of dance shows. We're happy that folks are getting a chance to see dance up close and personal, with all of its crazy joys and broken toes. Dancers are as dedicated and powerful as any athlete.....with the addition of grace, fluidity, rhythm and something just as important but undefinable which projects that leap into artistry. Of course the pros make it seem so damn easy you can lose sight of the hard work and skill that goes into it.
But dance is also primal to life and we see it and experience it and feel it from our earliest steps. Dance has both external and internal rhythms. We dance when we're happy and dance can accompany our pain, although we don't usually dance when we're angry, it just doesn't work. We dance on land, under water and every time we take both feet off the ground, in the air.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't dance. It just ain't so. All bodies express themselves naturally in movement, and movement is dance.
We owe so much to our musicians who make music that insists that we dance. I have never met anyone who doesn't get turned on by some kind of music, who doesn't find themselves at least swaying and tapping once in awhile. And the dance sure does make the journey easier.
It's thrilling these days to search for dance on youtube--we can literally see any kind of dance that human beings and animals have ever done. Turns out parrots are good dancers! I found that out on youtube. Sensual tango, elegant waltz, Philippine prisoners in bright orange jump suits recreating Thriller in the prison yard, Bollywood extravaganzas, tap and hip hop.....it's incredible how many ways and how many styles of dance there are. And how many different body types look good dancing....a joyful dancer can look good no matter what. When that marriage of music and movement works, we can all tell that it's happening.
So no matter what, make sure you find a way to dance on this path you're on. It makes the journey infinitely more fun.
But dance is also primal to life and we see it and experience it and feel it from our earliest steps. Dance has both external and internal rhythms. We dance when we're happy and dance can accompany our pain, although we don't usually dance when we're angry, it just doesn't work. We dance on land, under water and every time we take both feet off the ground, in the air.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't dance. It just ain't so. All bodies express themselves naturally in movement, and movement is dance.
We owe so much to our musicians who make music that insists that we dance. I have never met anyone who doesn't get turned on by some kind of music, who doesn't find themselves at least swaying and tapping once in awhile. And the dance sure does make the journey easier.
It's thrilling these days to search for dance on youtube--we can literally see any kind of dance that human beings and animals have ever done. Turns out parrots are good dancers! I found that out on youtube. Sensual tango, elegant waltz, Philippine prisoners in bright orange jump suits recreating Thriller in the prison yard, Bollywood extravaganzas, tap and hip hop.....it's incredible how many ways and how many styles of dance there are. And how many different body types look good dancing....a joyful dancer can look good no matter what. When that marriage of music and movement works, we can all tell that it's happening.
So no matter what, make sure you find a way to dance on this path you're on. It makes the journey infinitely more fun.
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