what makes you feel pretty?

http://www.prissyinpink.com/catalog.php?item=1504

Jess saw this on pinterest.com and sent it to me. It's from an online boutique that caters to "Girly Girls" called Prissy in Pink. When I was a kid I probably would have given my left arm for a chance to model in their clothes! And I made Lauren model in these shoes for my last piece muahaha =) She was amazing!

I don't think I'm quite finished with "in a delicate way..." there's so much to dissect about how the game of dress-up seeps into our everyday lives. I've been thinking lately that I spend way too much time on Facebook, and what is social networking really but a way for us to present ourselves to the outside world in a way that we can control and edit and fashion. It's digital dress-up.

Little girls love to pretend they are someone else. Maybe someone older, more fashionable, more powerful. Someone who can wear red patent leather high heels and walk with that trademark affectation that only comes from the effects these instruments of torture have on your body. 

Big girls love to dress up too. It's often asked, who do girls dress up for, the boys or other women? Isn't it really for themselves, to feel more empowered as well, wielding their feminine wiles with the full force of cultural preconceptions about appearance behind them? Even if you're dressing up in a different style...any style...you project an identity loud and clear. I feel great when I know I'm properly dressed for the occasion, whether it's dance class in San Francisco or LA (two clearly different aesthetics), work, a baby shower, or hanging out with my hipster friends who shall remain unnamed ;)

And boys are by no means exempt from the dress-up phenomenon. It's part of life, it's part of everyone's daily routine, it affected everyone's childhood, it's always one of the top five categories on any good list of how to interview well or get a date. It's interesting to me precisely because it is so inevitable, often enjoyable, and yet has destructive powers as well.

I want to ask everyone, what does it take for you to feel dressed?

<3 Claire

audience participation

It strikes me that one way art changes people is by breaking up the routines, activities, and thought patterns we become accustomed to in our daily lives. Which is often great, but can also really piss some people off.

I wanted to share a picture of my most recent collaboration at PARK(ing) Day. This picture was taken by Lauren's amazing mom, Bette Linderman, and captures so well a moment of art imitating life while life offers it's opinion right back. 

I felt this girl pass by me through the "stage" space while I was dancing, and though I had no idea how expressive she was at the time, it still made me smile. I realize now that the piece is kind of all about mashup: modern dance and pop music, theatrical elements and abstract movement, and the idea of parental love and protection both supporting and clashing against societal expectations. 

I just think that the composition of this photograph really speaks to those themes, and I wish I could hire this girl for the next performance! But I'm guessing I could never re-create the way this experience changed my perception of the piece and of myself dancing in the streets, nor could it re-create the emotions displayed so honestly by the mysterious character of woman-with-shopping-bags.

<3 Claire

PARK(ing) Day Performance in Berkeley this Friday

There's no such thing as a free lunch...but there is FREE DANCING AT LUNCHTIME!!! 

This Friday around noon, at Allston and Shattuck in downtown Berkeley, across from BART. We'll be performing "in a delicate way, without being beautiful." (that's a title...not a descriptor) with some awesome Bay Area artists!

The PARK(ing) Day Dance Festival is part of Nina Haft & Company's contribution to a now worldwide event. Check out their blog: http://ninahaftandcompany.wordpress.com/dancing-in-the-streets-with-friends/

A temporary PARK in San Francisco by event originators Rebar. Check out http://parkingday.org/about-parking-day/

I am so enamored by the concept of this event: leasing some urban real estate by paying the meter of a parking spot in order to create public space for art, play, and community activity rather than vehicle storage. Totally groovy and has already changed the way I look at parking spots as I drive by and wonder...Ooh the possibilities ;)

<3 Claire

3 ways to stay in the loop!

Hi all!

Just wanted to let you know that I finally figured out how to add more tangible ways for people to follow the blog...technology is hard!

So you can choose to subscribe for emails notifications when we add a new post, get updates through your favorite feed reader (I use Google Reader to follow blogs I like etc), or you can be an fcdc Follower (in the best way that word can be construed) and show us your support without getting notifications besides your Blogger Reading List. 

Thank you so much for those of you who've already shown your interest by Following, I love you all =)!

<3 Claire

thoughts from fcdc dancer Jessica de Leon

My parents put me in a ballet class when I was 4 years old. I remember seeing my older cousin perform in The Nutcracker and I wanted to be part of that world of sparkles and rhinestones and glitter. I've since out grown that. I've been dancing pretty consistently since then, taking only a short hiatus during my squirrely pre-teen years.

I didn't develop any strong feelings about dance until college. During my junior year as a dance major at Santa Clara University a professor challenged us with an interesting extra credit project: write a dance manifesto. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the class who actually did the assignment. And most of what I came up with was total crap. But regardless, the process of writing my manifesto changed me as an artist. It forced me to sit down and actually put into words why I love dance.

Here are some parts that I don't think are crap:

"Dance has the power to change things, on both the micro and macro levels. I see dance  everywhere. Not just in the bodies of trained dancers, but in the people walking down the street and the smell of coffee wafting in the air. I see dance in the words people speak and in the silences where words need not be spoken. Dance is a passion and the medium which I choose to express my thoughts, opinions, and feelings.

"Dance is a spiritual act that brings a person’s body into communion with things that cannot be seen, only felt.
 

Photo by Joey Brennan

 

"Dance is a conversation. Whether it is between the dancer and the audience or the mover and the unknown there is dialogue that exists. Perhaps it calls our beliefs into question or enrages us to act or it simply fills us with joy. Despite the quality of the reaction, dance makes us feel something.
 

"Dance is community. In dancing with others we share a part of ourselves that goes beyond all that could ever be said. The Hopi Indians say that 'To see us dance is to hear our hearts speak.' And dancing alone allows us to reveal ourselves in an intimate and uncensored way. Dance can bring people together when the world and its human insufficiencies have torn them apart. 

"Dance is movement. Movement is dance. They cannot be separated. And there is beauty in that relationship, that tension. The world is not still or stagnant.  Movement is constant and ever present. An English teacher once told me, 'Without the push and pull of life, there is no movement.'

"Creativity and imagination propel the art of dance in to a realm beyond definitions or explanations. And that is why it is beautiful. And that is why everyone should dance."

Since I've started law school, my perspective on the world has definitely changed. This includes my thoughts on dance and art. But that might be fodder for another blog post :)

first encounters with dance

I cannot believe it is the middle of August already. Holy canole where does time go? I haven't posted in a while, but I've been keeping the motor running...contemplating the beginning of new works, the possibilities of re-visiting choreographic ideas that have already seen performance, and thinking a lot lately about the teaching of dance and how we instruct children to use their bodies as a medium for artistic pursuits. 

Oh boy...what is art...what is the value of "self-expression"...how do we make "good dancers"...can they be "made"...ahh! So much to talk about. But as a dance teacher, I am acutely aware that I introduce my own ideas about the dancing body, aesthetics, and self-discipline to students as young as 2 years old to young adults.

I'm highly interested in how people meet dance for the first time, and how that encounter shapes their perceptions and the ongoing evolution of their relationship to dance culture. I've asked the members of for change dance collective to share a little bit of their personal histories and philosophies, and I find it speaks to the kind of dancers and dance-makers they have become. I hope you enjoy their revelations as much as I do =).

<3 Claire

Thank yous are in order =)

You guys! =) I felt so blessed and honored to have the kind support of my friends and family who came out to Fog Fest or who expressed their desire to see my work if they couldn't make it.

To that end, I put together a little video of excerpts from our dress rehearsal so that interested parties could get a sample. Just a taste! Gotta keep you wanting more, right?

Whether you saw the piece live or not, if anyone has any feedback for me PLEASE do share!! I love hearing about what people saw, thought, felt...if they liked it or hated it (especially the "why" part!) or if they had questions. Anything is helpful and you can comment on the blog or email or FB me, send up smoke signals, use a carrier pigeon...I'm open! Seriously, things you liked AND things that could be improved/explored further/revisited.

I was extremely lucky to share a stage with Lauren and Jessica, who helped me craft the piece from beginning to end. They generated movement with me, shared bits of themselves, and became invested in the conversation, which is what true collaboration is all about in my opinion. Look out for more to come on these lovely ladies in a future post ;)

A penny for your thoughts?

<3 Claire