Success...Define it For Yourself

Success is often pre-defined by society as the attainment of wealth, position, or honors. 

I'd like to take a moment to say "SCREW YOU SOCIETY!" and define it for myself.

Success, to me, is ultimately a fulfilled life. 

A life that is always involved with the arts.

A life that consists of a professional dance career both nationally and internationally, not dependent on the size of the company but on the amount of growth I get out of it.

A life of travel and cultural exchange.

A life of constant learning about myself and others.

A life of giving.

A life of sharing dance with those who've never been exposed.

A life of love.

A life of  action.

A life of taking risks.

A life of acknowledging fear but never allowing it to hinder me.

A life of being beautiful but not afraid of being ugly.

A life of strong friendships.

A life of awareness.

A life of openness. 

A life of optimism.
A life of balance.

My life.

Writing this list, which I hope to keep adding to, has made me realize something that I just came to terms with senior year. There's only one Courtney Ashley Henry in the world and whatever "successes" are meant for me will be for me. Comparing my journey to someone else's is a waste of time and energy. I can only follow my own path by putting one foot in front of the other and having and open mind and heart.

"Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be"-George Sheehan

'Tis the Season...to treat yourself ;)

So technically I should be saving my money, shopping for others, blah blah blah. But after the crazy week I've had with exams, rehearsals, cold weather (aka aching body), and a breakdown cry to top it all off I decided to treat myself along with 3 other friends and go see the new movie "Black Swan."

It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in a while.

I had seen the trailer and accompanying clips on the NY Times website but I still wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Turns out it was everything I could have wanted and more. It was the perfect balance of REAL dancing, relatable scenarios, and craziness.

"Black Swan" dealt with very real issues like mirror complex, perfectionism, body image, and role immersion that are present in the ballet world and then multiplied those emotions and complexes by 100 for a psycho thriller.

Natalie Portman does a stellar job of playing this deeply afflicted ballerina who has unhealthy relationships with her mom, director, dance, and herself. While its obvious that she has a body double (who dances beautifully) when the camera follows Portman's upper body her port de bras is striking and surprisingly believable. You can tell that she's been trained well and fully prepped for the role.

I encourage all to escape the cold and go see it. It's only playing in select theaters but it's worth it. After all, how often does a good dance movie (that's not hip-hop and cheesy)come along? Especially one that exploits the fact that ballet can and will fuck with your head.

Is All Publicity Good Publicity?: A look at recent dance criticism.

Before you read my post you must read these two Dance critiques by NY Times writers Alastair Macaulay and Rosalyn Lucas. Justtt to make sure we're all on the same page;) 

Webster defines criticism as:

The act or art of analyzing and evaluating or judging the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit, dramatic production, etc.

In the arts world, specifically of NYC, criticism can sometimes be a tough pill to swallow. Like I mentioned before, all serious dancers are carrying around this fragile little thing called an art baby (whether we know it or not) and when someone "judges" that...it can hurt. 

And yet, it's a necessary evil.

While dance critique has been around for a long time I think its safe to say that my generation has become a witness to its current change. Alastair Macaulay has a history of raising hackles in  the NY dance world and his most recent Complexions review (linked above) has helped to push dance criticism in a very different direction. Macaulay and Lucas have written "ballsy" reviews, telling it like it is without holding back. Its gutsy, sometimes hurtful, but you have to admit...it gets our attention.

While Macaulay is making some valid points his approach is a little to harsh for my liking. Using sharp, blunt sentences, and calling Mr. Rhoden's choreography "efficiently horrid" (within the first paragraph I might add!) was an unnecessary "judgment" of the quality as opposed to "analyzing and evaluating" the work like criticism is supposedly defined as doing. For me, Rosalyn Lucas' article was harsh yes, but not in a biting way. She seemed to truly be offering an outsiders perspective on the 51st season of AADTwhose rep, as a fact, has not caught up to the 21st century.

Dance criticism should consist of a fair and honest analyzation of choreography, evaluating of the dancers, and the overall quality of the individual show and sometimes company as a whole. But at the same time realizing that a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears most likely went into the show being reviewed and despite the choreographer's mishaps or shortcomings, if the company's good, the dancers have worked their asses off to try and relay the vision the best they can and a dance critic should ALWAYS respect that.

Awe and Fulfillment

Although I've never even thought to buy the magazine before, I was required to purchase the December issue of O Magazine for an academic class and was pleasantly surprised by the content. One article in particular caught my attention titled  "The Key to Fulfillment". A pulled quote from the piece pretty much sums it up:

Somewhere at the intersection of joy, fear, mystery, and insight lies awe, that ineffable response to the amazing world around us. Only recently have scientists taken a look at the sensation—and why it may be key to a more fulfilling life. 

When discussing it in class my professor commented “You couldn’t pay me to read this,” implying that the Oprah “cheese factor,” understandably so, was sure to be sky high in this article. However, I did read it and maybe it’s my sappiness, even though I’ll choose to call it artsy-ness ;), and I liked it. I could completely relate to those moments of “awe” when you feel “overwhelmed, surprised, humbled, and even a little terrified all at the same time. As a dancer I can compare this feeling to not only feeling small when gazing at the cosmos like research scientist Heidi Hammel featured in the article but also feeling larger than life when performing on stage. Dance continues to provide my sense of wonder and attachment to the “bigger picture” of life.  I feel incredibly blessed to be hyper aware of my body and as a result be able to more fully realize this “utter fulfillment” or “awe” again and again.

 

More Than A Success: Francesca Harper Answers Questions about her Mom's Celebration Concert

Ms. J

This past week I had the opportunity to perform on the world famous Harlem stage, the Apollo. As if that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, the purpose behind the show was for the late, great, Denise Jefferson, former Director of the Ailey School and all around phenomenal woman. It was a Celebration Concert in her honor that was invitation only, and served as an opportunity to bring generations and cultures together to share, dance, but most of  all remember this beautiful woman who had an impact in some way on every single life sitting in that audience.

I had the privilege of working with her equally talented and passionate daughter Francesca Harper for the show and other projects and here is a sound bite of  a few of her reflections from that emotional and inspiring night.

 Francesca Harper 

Interview

Just Something to Think About

What talent or special skill do you wish you possessed?

When I was first met with this question it was in the context of a weekly RA report. It is the Resident Director's (aka my boss) respectable attempt to make this mundane task somewhat interesting by asking a "Question of the Week." Normally I answer these fairly quickly. Whatever pops in my head first  is usually what I put down and call it a day, but for some reason this one had me pondering. I wound up coming up with some bullshit answer just to get it turned in time but later in the day, on my own time, I really thought about it and came to a conclusion. As "dance-obsessed" as it may sound I decided, wouldn't it be great if I had the ability to pick up choreography instantaneously and with ease? As soon as I was taught it I would know it, giving me more time to concentrate on the artistic nuances as opposed to the steps. 

Being a dancer, I have to admit I've struggled with that over the years. Now that I'm aware of it I can pinpoint that it's actually a result of the way I was trained from 9 years old to high school. The steps and counts were literally handed to me on a platter so I never had to really rely on myself to pick up the steps quickly because I knew it would be reviewed again and again. 

And then came New York. School. The "real world." Where phrases, counts, and gestures, are being thrown at you a mile a minute and it's your responsibility to be quick and not only remember the steps but all the little details tat come with it.

While I must say I've improved tremendously over the past years I still need and want to be better at it. One thing that I must remember though is while I can "wish" that I possessed this talent it is in fact a tangible skill that I can acquire.  

Here is a valuable lesson I learned two summers ago at LINES Ballet that I plan on actively working on again in the studio, please feel free to try it out for yourself!

Don't learn individual steps!

The more complicated the movement is the harder it is to pick up this way. Instead try experimenting with varying ways of remembering. 

You could focus on the flow of the shapes.

Pattern of the feet/arms.

Individual counts.

Natural reaction of your body to the movement.

Either way you choose make sure it's a conscious decision. Simply identifying a method and being aware of how your brain is storing this information is the first step.

Also, connecting the movement and understanding the "flow" of the steps is a huge tip. As soon as you start compartmentalizing each step it makes it harder to remember and your dancing feels and looks disconnected.

Hope these tips help. Everyone's learning style is different, I still haven't completely figured out mine, but at least it's something to think about, and having a specific task while picking up choreography will allow you to build upon that "special skill" that we are all capable of having.

Jody Sawyer Moment of the Month: "Why Can't All Dancing Be This Fun?"

So I've decided to pay a monthly homage to the greatest (and by greatest I mean cheesiest:) dance movie of my generation: Center Stage. If you're a real dancer I'm sure you know every line (even if you pretend like you don't) and the line for this month is: "Why can't all dancing be this fun?" This thought came to mind when watching this video. Their coordination, timing, and contrast between their upper and lower body is sickk. And while they're not doing grande jete's across the floor I think this form of "dance" is just as beautiful...but most of all fun!

Dancing with Hands-We No Speak Americano