Wow.
Shadows at Bloom Movement Artistry was this past weekend and I am still in awe of the strength and vulnerability of the people that showcased their art that night. It is truly, for me, why the art and stage exists. To connect, communicate human experience, and storytelling.

I’ve said many words about this on my social media but wanted to have a cohesive space for everything here as well, in addition to a little gallery of images from the showcase shot by Photo Art of TEC. I won’t repeat too much of my sentiments but I will speak on the act creation process for this piece! It was truly a different experience being able to be armed with my own music selection ahead of time for a bit and I really pushed myself to A. do more ground things and B. create an act without splits or spinning– aka automatic clap generators. As a performer it can be pretty scary to do both of these things– something outside of your wheelhouse or comfort zone and also stripping an act of the things you know will instantaneously get your audience hype. However, I really resonated with my own messaging of the *why* the art exists and sometimes that is also to just move through what it is you need. I needed to tell my story and for the audience to connect more with that I really felt like this type of act was not one that called for a lot of showy poses.

I’m really proud of some of the concepts and sections, although, I also learned that I need to just get over my fears of rehearsing outside of my comfort zone in front of others so that I can get reps behind my acts to really iron out everything and make it all as seamless as possible. The show itself was my first time actually running the full piece in totality. Insert emoji here LOL. There were of course some sections left open to improv/in the moment feelings. Improv is an area of comfort for me as well, so in that sense this is just another way I really challenged myself. All that being said, I have already decided what phrases are staying, what needs to be reworked, and what is absolutely getting tossed out. I’m going to be taking a pause from fabric (especially those crazy thin bouncy blues) for a bit while I refocus on regaining straps skills and other things – in addition to getting past the holiday gigs. But! Once I get it even more solid, I’ll post a video of the completed act but until then, enjoy the photo gallery of the works in progress showing. ❤

“all i understand is that i don’t understand”
A piece about the duality of parenthood and post-partum mental health. The extreme hope, love, and joy of being a mother paired with the spiraling and unexpected lows of anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. What it is to battle, to be exhausted, to be pushed to breaking points and still find enough gratitude to persevere through the day-to-day sacrifices physically, emotionally, and mentally.