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Showing posts from March, 2015

Southern California Fun

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On Friday, the day started with a nice long walk in the sunshine with River around the parking lot and vacinity of the studio in Campbell where we were going to gather for my FreeDance Playshop. It was a thrilling few hours as we addressed what FreeDancing is, why we do it and how we do it. It is so rewarding to see lightbulbs go off and boundaries be challenged by playing around with the wonders of FreeDance. A couple of the students were loath to accept the notion that FreeDance could be guided. They insisted that it was only FreeDance if they could do whatever they wanted. I first assured them that they could do anything they wanted in a FreeDance and not be incorrect, but that in a Nia class, the majority of the time there is some form of guidance being given. And that is also FreeDance because the choice of movement is ultimately up to the student to make. In my Frankie Say Nia routine, there are two instances where I will establish a movement kata and then after a while say th

Double Header in Northern California

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This morning I woke up at 6:00am, giving myself one hour before wanting to hit the road. In that hour, I expected myself to wake up, take a shower, get dressed, make my coffee, take a picture of it, post it to Facebook, drink it, wash the dishes, walk River and give him enough time to do his business, pack up my bags and load the car up. Miraculously, I made it. When I started the engine, it was 7:01am. The sun was coming up in the east as I drove east to my destination. I got to learn two things about Babe this morning. One is that I don't know how to control the brightness of the instrument panel. And I have all the lights set to dim automatically in response to the sun. For some reason, the effect this morning confused the sensors and I had a face-full of morning sunlight and a super dim dashboard. Net result, I couldn't see anything. I had to guess my speed and go entirely by sound on the navigation. Whenever I had a chance,  fuss around, looking for a knob or button or d

Heating up in Northern California

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When I woke up in Medford it was a brisk 55 degrees, but by the time we crossed over into California, the temperature had shot up almost 30 degrees. In the 80's, my sweats and hoodie were definitely overkill. It was just plain old hot by 2 pm. I'm having some issues with Babe the Blue. I love the exterior, but inside, so far, she and I are not getting along. A lot of it (I hope) has to do with my learning curve and being used to things different. I'm not really getting the hang of the integration with the iPhone. In the past, I've had zero luck with any iPhone/Mini integration. My dealer assured me they have been working on it, but I have yet to be impressed in the slightest. In order for me to play music that I have on my phone, I have to unlock my phone, enter my security PIN, navigate to iTunes, find the song and press play. All on the phone, while driving! And this, they call integration? The only thing the car is doing is serving as a speaker. I can see the playl

Headin' to Medford

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It was a lazy day. From Eugene to Medford is a short drive so we made the most out of a few stops along the way. We stopped at a rest area in Creswell, OR that had such a zen stillness and haunting quality to it almost as if soft, eerie music was playing. I noticed the bare tree branches against a beautiful cloudy sky; the mountain. the grass, the flowers... the sound of the wind in my ears, and some bees gathering around one of the posts of the roof over the table I was eating my breakfast on.  River was so relaxed and interactive and I'm happy with how it went today when I brought a toy out.  I wanted to see if he would bite and carry it. He was hesitant at first, but I teased the ground with it, and then his legs and finally he bit it and we took it and we ran with it for a while. He drops it pretty quickly. I need to use a bigger toy next time. I was trying to initiate a push of war with him, but he wasn't interested in that. He would push once but then when I pushe

Rainy Eugene

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I woke up in Portland and took River for a walk. It was just starting to rain very lightly. I had my coffee and breakfast and packed the car up. No sooner had I started the engine when the sky opened up and it really started to rain. I had less than a two hour drive ahead of me and three hours before check-in time, so I was planning to make a few stops along the way and play with River in a park. But the rain was demotivating. I stopped for gas and learned that the gas tank was on the passenger side. In Oregon, all gas stations are tended by professional gas-pumpers (I'm not sure of the proper term) so when I pulled into the station the wrong way, he politely informed me that it was on the other side. The past two Mini Coopers I drove had the gas tank on the drivers side. The rain gods were smiling on us today as both times we approached a rest area, the rain stopped long enough for us to get out of the car and enjoy some nature. At the first one, we took a tour of all of th

First stop, Portland

River woke me up the day we were scheduled to leave. In my sleep, I heard a smacking sound and opened my eyes to find him sitting very near the bed, right by my head. He smacks when he's nervous. I hadn't started packing, and obviously wasn't thinking or talking about the trip while I was asleep, but it seemed like he knew something was going to happen. The whole morning, he didn't leave my side. I would swear he knew I was going to leave and wanted to make sure I didn't leave without him. I put him in his crate so I could load up the car in peace. He whined much of the morning and didn't take his eyes off of me. Especially when I started loading my luggage into Babe, he was visibly upset and noisy. So imagine his delight when finally, I strapped him into his passenger seat. It was his first time meeting Babe the Blue Car, so it took a little bit of acclimation before I felt he was calm enough to start the engine and take off. Bye, Babe ... be sure to come

Billings Nia with JAG

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Friday, June 19 6 - 8 pm Yellowstone Dance Company 106 N 29th St. Billings, MT FRANKIE SAY NIA Join JAG for two hours of learning and playing. Using his latest creation, called Frankie Say Nia*; a Nia routine with all 80's alternative New Wave music, we will spend the first hour learning the moves of the routine and the 52 Moves of Nia. We'll be discussing how they show up in the routine. JAG will be breaking down the choreography to the routine, and offering lots of insight into how we use the focus and intent. He will show exactly how to use Creative Arm and Hand Expressions and the concept of Form and Freedom to make Choices to Manifest the High Magic of Nia to access and claim our Personal Power. In the second hour, we'll play. JAG will lead through a the Frankie Say Nia routine. Doing the routine after the review of the first hour will be so deep and so much fun and such a rich, rewarding, powerful experience that will leave us all relaxed into our personal