Reading about dance

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

One of the joys that I haven't devoted enough free time to, is reading accounts of dancers and artists, as inspiration for my own life and work.

On Tuesday I picked up the book, "Mao's Last Dancer", thinking I would read a few chapters a day.  When I finished the intro I was sucked into the world of Li Cunxin, and couldn't put it down until I had finished it later that day.

It was a story that was all too familiar for me.  Life in the arts choses us, not the other way around, I believe.  Not that I am fatalistic about life and art.  It is just for those of us who have always made a deep connection with the arts, there seems to be no other way for a life well lived.

As I haed into my lfe in New York, I will carry Li's story in my heart.

I hope to carry other stories of inspiration home to my life and my work.

Details

Now that I am about two weeks out from my first day in New York, I am writing and rewriting my "to do" lists with greater urgency.

The things I am still working on are sets of maps of each area of the city, so that I can maximize what I have time to see and do.

At some point I also need to make the bus reservations (probably by Friday) so that it is just out of the way. I also want to write a daily agenda of what I am doing and where I am going.

Sounds a little obsessive, but I guess it is in my nature to enjoy the process of planning.

Materials

As I think about the work I will be doing at Laban, I am deeply concerned that I will use the technology that will allow me to communicate and remember the lessons learned.

To that end, I want to find newer and more engaging ways of using those technological advances to not only engage myself in the process, but to bring it back as new ways of engaging children.

Where I will stay

At this point, I am so relieved that I have booked all three weeks of accommodations for my fellowship.  I was getting very anxious that there might be nothing in my price range because I hadn't gotten it finalized in April or May.  

My initial booking is at the Algonquin Hotel (at 59 W. 44th St.) which is a very short distance from the Institute and that will be my first weekend location.  It is a simple walk from that location to my classes, which simplifies everything.

On the second two weekends I was fortunate to discover a site called Air BNB a rental agency that gives visitors the opportunity to stay in rental apartments all over the city.  What a discovery.  The prices are lower and I am able now to finesse a 3 - three day visits into 1-three day visit and 2 - five day visits.  This will allow me to do more than I originally anticipated.

The second week of my fellowship, I will be staying on the upper west side (the part of the city I know and love the best) at W 88th St., right on the #1 subway.  The owner/host is (talk about karma) musician and doctoral student in teaching at Columbia.  

The third week I will be on the Upper East side, which I don't know so well and it will be a little more challenging for me to find my way about.  But it is near the Guggenheim and in a neighborhood called Lenox Hill, so I am sure I will be fine.

The greatest thing about both of the apartments is that I will have a kitchen so in effect I will really have the experience of "living" in New York.  I like dining out when I have a special place I know and want to go, but I LOVE cooking and know where Fairway is in the Upper West side, so I am very excited to be able to cook my own meals...

So much yet to plan.  Maps, packing, supplies.  I still have to get my Ailey class card but I feel all so more ready than even a week ago.t be nothing in my price range because I hadn't gotten it finalized in April or May.  

Resources

I am now making a concerted effort to start compiling a list of all the resources for my days in New York. There are institutions I want to visit, like the National Dance Institute, to find out about upcoming workshops. There are other places, like Lincoln Center who have extensive performances during the summer, many of which are free.

If you look to the left of this column, you will notice those links. I will continue to add some to it as I think of them.

The process begins

Throughout the first part of my summer break, I have been carefully checking hotel prices and have finally booked for all but one week of my trip.

This is the first entry into what I hope will be a daily blog about what I am doing, experiencing and learning as a 2010 Teacher as Artist fellow.

It is an amazing journey.