"Do only what only you can do." --the band director at my school heard this at a Teacher Burnout conference.

Getting Back in the Saddle

This is an excerpt from a proposal I just wrote. I'm hoping to get involved more in my dancer and artist side. I think--I hope--that will reunite me with myself.

My personal mission:

I believe in the healing and growth properties artistic endeavors provide people of all backgrounds and levels of experience—but I especially see the relevance of and necessity for the Arts during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.

I’ve always been fascinated with the real world applications of a production process, whether musical theater, dance, music, or drama. The act of learning new things, practicing them, working through and around them with other people, young and old, is invaluable to any human out there. Through collaboration and overcoming artistic challenges, we can all become better performers and better people. And when young and old, novice and professional, come together to encourage and inspire each other, magic can be made.

Ultimately, I hope to continue learning about and expressing myself and my world through the various artistic media available to me—choreography, dance, theater, poetry, prose, song writing, etc.—and I hope to involve myself as a lifelong role model and mentor to young people.

Some things I could offer:

• Workshops (which I can use to offer exploration and expression through collaboration with me, their peers, and other artists):
• Writer’s workshops—where we explore aspects of creative and personal writing processes, as a method for self-awareness, healing, and expression.
• Choreography workshops—where we explore elements of space, movement, and composition, culminating in either one or multiple dance pieces.
• Viewpoints workshops—where we explore the various ways an actor can utilize his/her body, fellow actors, and the existing performance or practice space to create organic and dynamic theater. (I am by no means an expert at this training, but I have attended a workshop by a student of the creators and I do use elements of Viewpoints training in my drama classes, as well as the shows I direct.)
• Dance classes (although I feel out of practice, I would be willing to throw myself back in as a means to whet my appetite and get myself moving again):
• (Primarily) Modern/Contemporary dance—my choreography style melds together elements of ballet, jazz, and contemporary styles, all combined to create movement pieces which tell a story or evoke emotion.
• I could also offer beginning and intermediate Jazz or Musical Theater style classes, as well as beginning and intermediate Ballet classes.
• Directing (again, this is a new realm for me, but I love it and the possibilities it provides):
• I’d be happy to help explore various real-world topics.
• I’d also be into the possibility of writing and creating original theater.