Time Ticking

Back in town for a while, and I'm settling in. So much activity fills each moment of each day. Thoroughly Modern Millie is gearing up for its opening in just two weeks. I can hardly believe it's been two months since we began work on the show, and how much has happened in that amount of time. The opening of this show means that another semester at HPU is almost over, and that students that I have known since I arrived at HPU two years ago will be graduating. I can hardly believe that, either. Where does the time go? In only a few short months, I have been challenged to reveal parts of myself as a teacher, a dancer and a choreographer that I would have never imagined, or pushed myself to reveal on my own. My hair has grown from an edgy pixie cut to an ambiguous coif that I have taken to pining back, given its unruly tendencies. In just a few short years, I have gone from a once-a-week obscurity to a fully invested member of the theater department. In that same time frame, I have become a busy artist, traveler, experimenter, and artistic executor, instead of someone wondering if I would ever become so.

There has been such good news lately. To begin, my documentary, "Art for the Living," has been chosen to be screened at the Davis Film Festival in Davis, CA. Since it falls on the same weekend as the opening of Millie, I can not attend, however I am excited to be able to share the film with new audiences! The other piece of good news is that I have been selected to premiere a new solo work for the NEWMOVES dance festival at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in Pittsburgh. I now have six weeks to complete the piece, but I love the motivation of a close deadline!

What I am most excited about at the present moment is the arrival of Mackenzie and Laura this coming weekend! We are giving a work-in-progress showing of "Common Threads" at SECCA on the 31st. This will be our first professional incarnation of the piece. Even more exciting, is that on the same evening, the Panoramic Dance Project will be performing their incarnation of the piece at NC State University, where we began our process of working the piece and exploring conceptual aspects of the piece this past fall. This showing puts us one step closer to bringing our experience full circle by finishing the piece this summer. I can't wait. I so enjoy my time with these ladies.

I guess I'm finally calmed down enough to go to sleep now. These nighttime rehearsals make me tired and wired. Can't fall asleep right away, but wish I could! Terry's yoga class on releasing tension around the chest, shoulders and jaw today was helpful, and I think I'll do a few of the breathing exercises before I fully fall asleep. Boy, I needed that class. I always forget how much tension I carry around. It was nice to leave it behind today, if only for a short time.

Good night!

~Cara