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Are You Still Immersed In The Process? How Content Culture Can Cap The Artist

 It felt so good to move, undulate, and slide into a deep second position to recoil into a contorted contraction. It truly felt like breathing. Surely, I adore codified technique. However, taking a contemporary class last night taught me way more than I bargained for. Get out of your headspace, get out of the mirror, ditch the "content concept" and just dance. I reckon that is my honest thesis. I felt like Jodie (without my Cooper) as I whisked across the floor. Throughout class I thought about the likes and wisdom of dancers like Robert Battle and Matthew Rushing. While dancing, I recalled both of their sentiments that included abandon and connection (to the floor, to the movement, to the work...) while dancing. Truly, I felt that. Suddenly, I am met with a challenge. Maybe it's culture or maybe its Maybeli — nope! It's definitely culture.  For about one minute, I wrestled with walking off of the floor, grabbing my phone, finding a proper angle to record, propping...
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How Black Dance Is Being Overshadowed By Grief

 Collectively, can we agree that belaboring the topic of black women obstacles in dance should be done away with? The longer we cradle and relive the less than pleasant experiences, the more we victimize ourselves. At some point we must stop and think. If the hi light of majority of "black dancer" interviews or  "black dance" specifics, echoes struggles, misfortunes and ostracisms above the work, what are we actually in constant discussion about? Is anything being solved? And don't mention the visibility of black dancers because that argument is a weak one (that's a different article). Some things aren't really that big of a deal. Some experiences are horrible because some people just don't care who you are and are married to who and what they think belongs on stage. Some things just aren't worth your time and consideration. The more I read about black dancers, the more I am reminded of struggling. All of the black dancers I can think of right now are incredibly successful. To tarnish a career and the work of an artist with the dated woes of black dancer inequality is no longer recognizing history or creating. It is just plain old depressing. In a 2022 article I emphasized Why It Is Useful To Redefine What It Is To Be A Black Dancer . After one too many weird experiences, joined with the shared rise of black dancer dilemmas, I wrote that article to spread hope. Take it in. Make a decision. The rest of the world is dancing while we are steadily defending. We have got to change that. 

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