i want to live here

I want to live on a planet where nature is perceived as equal to the human beings living here. I want to live on a planet where kindness is more valued then profit or power.

I want to live on a planet where intellectual, artistic, and creative curiosity are highly valued and integrated into every day living.

I want to live on a planet where children, all children, are taken care of with integrity, vitality, warmth, and resource.

I want to live on a planet where the elderly and those in need are taken care of with integrity, vitality, warmth, and resource too.

I want to live on a planet where it is part of our culture heritage and duty to make sure that everyone has enough: enough to eat, enough clean water to drink, a comfortable place to live, enough support to thrive.

I want to live on a planet where everyone gets to decide how and where they want to live.

I want to live on a planet where relationship and imagination are the foundation on which we build our lives. Where art making and creative expression are an expected and valued part of daily life for everyone. A friend of mine was dying. I saw her right before she passed away. I sat with her on her bed and she looked at me as said: “I got it. I know why we are here on this planet earth. We are simply here to love one another and to be true to our creative spirit. We are here to imagine a better world, and then to shape the world we envision through our relationships and through our creative expression.” So kiddos, let’s pay tribute to a vision of the world we want to build through our creativity, our imagination, and our kindness.

The Dance Mission for the next two week (option, you can do this whole thing, or just chose one or two days that speak to you. Trust what works for you):

For those of you who have fallen off the Dance Mission band wagon: GET BACK ON Today: Dance for 3 minutes in the living room and then call your mother. Tomorrow: Dance for 3 minutes on your porch while singing softly. The Day After Tomorrow: Dance for 3 minutes in the kitchen making contact with all kitchen appliances. The Day After That, which is a Saturday: Dance as soon as you wake up and be curious about how the day will unfold. Surprise someone. And on Sunday, Dance right before you go to bed. On Monday, Dance for 10 minutes to your favorite song and call a long lost friend. On Tuesday, Dance with your eyes closed for 10 minutes and then reach out into the world. And then on Wednesday, start this whole process over and repeat.

See if it feels different the second time around.

I know this is a lot.

I also know you can do it.

It’s just dancing:

Chart your progress. Stay curious. Practice low ambition. There is no way to do it wrong. Maybe you will feel numb, or shut down, or anxious, or despondent. Maybe you will cry. Or maybe you will feel totally alive. Most likely it will be different each time, but maybe not. Who knows what will happen. JUST DO IT (nike is in my blood…it must be the mountain air)

Write about it.

Draw about it. Film it.

Post about it here…….

http://on.fb.me/1nEqiSo

Looking forward to seeing some of you tonight at rehearsal for dirtland, some of you tomorrow night for JUST GIRLS, and some of you on Sunday for the first Family Dance Day of the Summer.

And looking forward to hearing from all of you whenever you feel like emailing and/or posting on Facebook about how the dance missions are going for you.

With Warmth,

Joanna

of Joanna and the Agitators: Sweetly agitating; Persistently upending.

i'm changing my name to...

Joanna and the Agitators. Whoa.

Just had about a million mini panic attacks after writing that down and seeing it in black and white.

It feels freaky and scary to let go of TinHOUSE and to take hold of a name like Joanna and the Agitators.

But

(OMG, another panic attack just infiltrated my entire being…am doing my deep breathing and finding my feet underneath me)

it also feels exactly right.

Beautiful and technically amazing dancing just doesn’t cut it for me.

I wish it did because there are so many of you out there who are soooooo good at it, it makes my mouth water.

I have watched you my entire life in awe and wonderment.

But I am never going to be that sort of dancer.

I mess up the counts. I forget the choreography. I am terrible at following directions. I don’t do my pliés.

Instead I start thinking about how to get a truckload of dirt onto the stage without anybody noticing.

Sheesh.

This is what I am interested in:

Spending as much time outside of the dance studio as I spend inside to know what is happening in the world and to understand how that knowledge engages with the body. Sweet Agitation: A term Glen used on our hike the other day to describe the notion of stirring things up gently, without a lot of fanfare, to create a tiny rupture in how we perceive the world around us. Making dances and facilitating dance experiences that upend the status quo. And with that,

I am now Joanna and the Agitators: Sweetly agitating; persistently upending.

(panic attacks are still present but slowly abating).

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful spring day and are experiencing some sweet agitation yourself.

Warmly,

Joanna of Joanna and the Agitators