I feel badly that I haven’t posted anything in a while. SMU is officially on spring break. I have decided to stay put this year – thought of going to Atlanta for a visit with an old friend, also thought of New York, great friends, a show or two and dinner at least once at the most amazing Dim Sum restaurant in the Village. It’s called Red Farm. I am staying in Dallas, getting back into my regular swim routine, trying a few new recipies and taking some great afternoon naps. I always make a list of things to do on break and am gratified if I have crossed them all off by the time classes resume. Here is the 2016 Spring Break list:
TAXES – I need to organize all my receipts and hopefully get another refund this year. There is a mountain of them.
NEW MUSIC FOR CLASS – I would love to find at least ten new songs for my jazz classes. A new artist or two would also be great. There is a new program on KERA, the local PBS station. It’s called The Texas Standard. It can be interesting but can also be extremely annoying as the host tries to make Texas the center of the universe on every topic – social, political, educational – everything. They do, however, play interesting and engaging music in between segments. I will explore. I love my students. they keep me going. Last semester, they made these buttons. I don’t call what we do at the end of class a combination or a routine. I always refer to it as choreography. When I first got to SMU, there was an exceptional ballet teacher (she retired a few years ago) named Kaen Kriete. I was watching her barre work and she asked if a student know the “choreography”. I thought that was fantastic. Thanks, Karen.
DO STUFF – I talk with my students about the importance of going to museums, reading books not connected to their course work, seeing movies, new and classic, filling up with new information and ideas. Sometimes I need to remind myself do the same. I went to see the Jackson Pollack exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art yesterday. It’s called Jackson Pollack: Blind Spots and focuses on his black and white paintings. It was compelling and thrilling to experience. He felt the need to go in a new direction after viewers came to expect the expected – very brave. It brought back my college Japanese Studies. Artists who had great success often changed their names and then disappeared. It was a way of nurturing continued creativity and expression. The Dallas Museum of Art is an amazing place.
WEBSITE/BLOG – Doing what I am dong right now.
SPANISH – Getting back to regular, daily work on Spanish. I was so happy with my skills when I went to Cuba, but my study has been sad since I got back. Bought a new book to jumpstart my moving forward.
SOLO – I am going to an NDEO (National Dance Education Association) conference in early August. It is about the continued relevance of jazz dance. They asked if I would perform as well as teach. If I do, I will dance the solo I did last summer for The Lost Voices of the Minnesota Jazz Dance Company concert in the Twin Cities. It is called Le Souvenir. I should go into the studio, give myself class and rehearse. We’ll see.
UPDATE
Spring Break is over. There are seven more weeks of classes. I did quite well with my list of things to do. I accomplished a lot in a relaxed way and got to everything except the SOLO. I will get to it before the semester ends.