this side of the blue

it's snowing in Alaska today. It's beautiful. a bit surprising to see snow again. i thought my winter days were over. i guess that's a little naive due to my location. oh and i saw three moose yesterday. they were just kicking it in someone's yard. i got really close and got some pictures. they are hauntingly beautiful. they kind of reminded me of camels(though i've never seen a camel up close), maybe they are from the same family?

i've been here a week and have been teaching and rehearsing for Intersections. i can't believe i've been here for a week. it seems to have flown by. or sprinted by.

the work is fun and the people are great. i've been spending a lot of time with my friends Sarah and Brian. i even did a line dance to hip hop music at a gay bar......oh and a drunk woman poked me in the eye whilst frantically dancing with me. a little painful but a lot hilarious.

i'm still trying to get used to the way life moves through here. haven't been feeling myself lately but i'm putting it all down to a change of pace and a fresh outlook on things. i finally have one of my guitars! i picked it up from the storage unit while i was in Chicago. so i'll be spending some time broadening my skills.

still on the hunt for a place to stay for the sabbatical in August. i think Ryan will be joining us so that's great. i'm looking forward to it immensely and can't wait to find the perfect place.....or perfect enough place.

if you haven't listened to the new Joanna Newsom album i advise you to do so. it's magical.

and so are you.

there are many jewels, and if you polish them they shine.

.....and we're back.

After Chicago i went back to New York for one day and then went right back to the airport to fly out to Orlando, Florida. I auditioned for Orlando Ballet which went really well. There were no cuts which is always nice and my friend Katia taught the class. Spent some time with Israel and Katia which was lovely. Israels movie is playing soon in New York. Some of my music is in it. GO SEE IT!!Good people. Met some great new people as well.......one in particular.

So, while i was warming up for the audition i got a phone call from an unknown New York number. They left a message. I checked it and it was Karole Armitage, who is the director of Armitage Gone!
She told me she had an opening in the company and she was interested in me taking it. So, long story short, i start with the company in May! I'm excited. We perform in New York and also at Jacob's Pillow between May and July. The contract ends in July but there is the possibility of it extending into the next season. jams.

After that i went to the Tri-Cities in TN/VA. I danced in a benefit for an old theater there. Everything went well. With out a hitch in the get along.....as they say.
Then it was off to Fort Walton Beach, FL. I was dancing the Mazurka in Coppelia. It was the first time i did a character dance onstage. First time for everything, right? It was tons of fun. Saw all my Florida Friends and spent some quality time with Ian and Eleanor. They are touring with their show right now, which is doing really well. Check it out!. Good people.

Let's see......what else. I'm going to Alaska on Friday. It's going to be great. Good people, lot's of dancing, guitar practice, bike riding and money saving. Money saving? what for i hear you ask.
Well. Jess and i are going on a sabbatical. We are going to go somewhere secluded for the month of August and have a creative fest. We're still in the brainstorming phase. Working out details of when and where and how much. It's going to be a wonderful summer. y'all.

Really looking forward to May when CocoRosie FINALLY releases their album.
s'bout damn time.

a book on a shelf

i'm in chicago. i got here yesterday morning around 11:30 took the train up to wrigleyville where my friend Becca lives. she's been kind enough to let me stay with her for the next couple of days.

we went to the Hubbard Street audition. i really enjoyed it(even though i got cut). when it started i said to tanya that i felt like i was at a party. i think it's just because i haven't been a "dancer" for a while and i was suddenly in a room full of 'em.

chicago feels strange. like a book i wrote awhile ago and put it on a shelf. complete. out of the way. now i'm picking it back up and re-reading it. perhaps a little to soon. i'm reading all these streets and saying hello to ghosts in familiar spaces. hello.

syke. STRIKE!!!!!

so i woke up at 3a.m. and got in to the car to drive to Nantes. once at Nontes we found out that the pilots were on strike and my flight to Paris was cancelled!!!!!

so....i jumped(tiredly stumbled) on to a train to Paris to make it for my 10:40 flight out of Paris.

it was unexpected but lovely to take a train through the country side. one last farewell to the beautiful landscape of France.

flight from Paris was a ok. although, that Paris airport is a doozy. tres confusing...but i managed.

after the long flight to Cincinnati i was really pleased to be back "home" stateside. however, once i got to immigration the officer looked at my passport and then my green card and said "so where do you live?"

me: New York

him: and where were you born?

me: the United Kingdom

him: it say's on your green card that you were born in the U.S.A\

me: no it doesn't

him: yes it does (pointing to my error)

me: oh

so it turns out that i knew there was a typo on my green card but had forgotten about it in the twirlwind that is my life. so i sat in the immigration waiting room for 45 minutes while they "checked it out".....and they seemed suspicious.

the whole time though i was thinking "hey fellas.......if i had been born in the U.S of A. i wouldn't need the damn card in the first place and thus making it a very silly forgery".

but whatev

they came back to me and told me that all the information was correct(duh) except for that pesky place of birth.

finally got to New York. beer and a little catch up with ry and cath. all packed up to head out to Chicago tomorrow and i'm thoroughly exhausted.

so there.

"waiting for it to embrace me"

c'est ca.

all done.

i'm running a bath and drinking delicious wine. the piece is finished and growing as we speak. the last rehearsal was good. the dancers were sore, tired, in pain, frustrated, enlightened, and alive. it was a beautiful site to see. wish you were here.

some things.

1)jules-theo drew a picture for me...i think i mentioned it. also when i had dinner at their house(severine,didier, jules-theo) jules-theo said that anytime a choreographer came to the house it was a holiday and a party....he then went to his play room and put on a xmas song cassette and proceeded to sing along out loud. precious.

2)the carrots. last night i had my last meal in the hotel restaurant(sans Lady Gaga) and ordered the Civet de Calamar. it came with a salad of squash and shredded carrots. when i was done i spelled out "merci" with the left over carrots. the next morning, when i had breakfast, the chef(who i have a crush on, but is unfortunately married) said(in broken english) "hey do you want to work in the kitchen and teach us your art of spelling in different vegetables?"

3) i'm a tad nervous about flying tomorrow. there is alot of snow in New York and i hope i am not delayed.

4) is my favourite number.

this is this.

i move on now to be a dancer for awhile instead of a creator.

looking forward.

merci. in carrots

it's my last day here. i leave tomorrow morning at 4a.m. and that's only the beginning. i drive to Nantes and then a 8:35 flight from Paris to Cincinnati(of all places)then finally to New York.

Strange flight patterns, no?

i finished the peice!! still no idea for a title. i kind of don't want to title it....but i fear that "untitled" is a tad pretentious.

i went to the soiree(one of my favorite french words, d'accord being an other one) the other night.

whoa. like whoa.

there were people from the municipality there(although someone said later they were just there for the free food and wine!)a newspaper guy, a translator, and the board members and dancers.

They gave me two presents(box's of wine) and a little package from the city(maps, stickers, a pin etc). The president of the board spoke and the translator translated for me. she is French but has lived in Yorkshire(England)for the past 30 years. she had this amazing accent....and when i say amazing i mostly mean amusing(yet endearing). it was an excellent blend of a French sing songy, lilting, poetic accent and.....well.....a Yorkshire accent. her name is Martine.

i was really overwhelmed. they invited me back...hopefully this summer if i have time...i had to say something which was difficult because i was gobsmacked...i had been expecting a little do with wine and cheese "hi how are" and then go home.wrong.

i don't even remember what i said. i'm sure it didn't make any sense which was alright because they didn't understand me and i think Martine just paraphrased for me.

so that was lovely. great food(as usual). finished of with profiteroles that Didier's(husband of director Severine)mother made. amazing....just amazing.

so that was a good night. unexpectedly. ain't always the way?

there was something else i wanted to say but now i can't remember and i have to go and work in 5 minutes. so more later.

oh right!!! the carrots.

later

Alouette

ok. so there's this radio station called alouette here that is played pretty much everywhere. It's in the hotel, the restaurants, peoples cars, the supermarket.....you get it. now i haven't listened to commercial radio in any language for quite some time, so now that it's all around i'm pretty receptive to it. and i can tell you this.....after waking up singing Paparazzi by Lady Gaga for the third day in a row it makes me understand why commercial radio exists. i have listened to Paparazzi every morning for breakfast in the hotel restaurant and every evening for dinner in the hotel restaurant....Lady Gaga is now one of my food groups. they ingrain the songs in your head so you'll go out and by the cd....or blog about it. other songs that are on the constant loop include a terrible quasi metal song that is in english with the lyrics"fame will not destroy us, we will be victorious". a terrible song by an american girl called tik tok...i think her name is keesha or something like that. and then there is the french stuff which tends to just sound overly sentimental(that's pretty funny coming from me!) or like i'm in a rave from the 90's. so needless to say....i love it. i'm particularly fond of one of the ravey songs that has an accordion solo in it.

so after bracing myself for Paparazzi this morning i was pleased to be greeted with Ode to my family by the Cranberries. my day is already going well

i'm almost finished with the piece. more on that later.

there is a soiree tonight. i have to sign some copyright papers and meet board members etc.

tra la la.