Cleaning

Cleaning under the radiators at Links was rewarding. The following images are the bounty.

Lipstick?

Sometimes you just need lipstick...

Do you ever just feel like you need a little something to spice yourself up? We haven't had fresh groceries in a while. I have laundry yet to do. It's much past time for a haircut. So what do I do instead of accomplishing any of these tasks? I put on a little lipstick. Yup. It's only been since May for the Aerial Showcase and before that since it was for dinner theater in 2009 but I did it anyway. And it feels fabulous.

Love,

Francesca

Good Evening, Chicago!

I simply had to document the sunset this evening. Eowyn and I were on our way to MDQ. Now, we're sitting in the audience. Perhaps this is my 9th viewing?

sunset as seen from the Montrose Brown Line Platform

-and then I lost track of time. Here I sit at Chava. Alone. Knitting. Currently, I have 6 projects to complete: 4 pairs of wristlets in varying lengths, a flower hat, and a Christmas stocking. I take this to mean good things considering most of these orders were arranged at Fest. The thing that I find most difficult, though, is that when I finish these it will be time to decide what to make next, particularly if no neww orders have come in. I do have an exciting package coming soon: mini moos! If you haven't seen them before, you're in for quite a treat. They are basically half-sized business cardsd but I have 25 different front images and a very sleek photo logo on the back. I'm pumped to start passing them around!
Back to knitting I go.
Side note: I will be starting rehearsals for my premier cube piece when I get back from Michigan in a week. So exciting!
Love.

The Cube: Day's 1 and 2

Here's the taster of day 1:

Here's the much longer video of day 2:

 

Now I'm off to contemplate what I've done...

Wedding Week Photos

Here are a few images from the week we spent traipsing around the few states between Chicago and Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Wedding photos of the ceremony and reception will happen later. I'll add more about the week leading up after a little while.

 

 Glass Snack Set from the thrift store. I bought all 4 of them... Perhaps as a gift?

 I want to call him Frank. He visited Viv while she wrote guest names on the table coverings for the reception. She moved him just before he messed up her artwork.

 Pepper-staches

 One of a few images of the Flight 93 Memorial in PA. We stopped on a whim and I'm glad we did.

Clouds through OH. I couldn't help myself.

A Movement Experiment

I've been recently inspired by Liz's idea of Dance in a Box. I'd like to begin an experiment based on a similar concept. Rather than be presented with a physical set of objects, I'd love to be presented with a set of words. These words can be in any form: single, noun, adjective, verb, sentence, phrase, step, etc. For my first one, perhaps 5 submissions will be taken into the studio. I want to work with these first through improvisation and then in solo choreographed form with each stage being recorded. Based on how things go, the videos may get posted in works-in-progress fashion to be viewed and responded to. As criticism can be hard to take, I ask that comments are constructively presented rather than harsh, blunt statements. Think of it as a way to help me grow my own choreographic process.
To get this party started, please leave comments with your word, phrase, or sentence submissions.
Thanks!

The Best of Dark and Light

A note: The following entry is/was supposed to be posted somehow through Design Dance's blog. Since I have no idea how to find that in order to share, I thought, why not share it here? So, here it is:

Originally written April 4th, 2012

Most of my dance students don’t have a clue of my backstage career and most dance companies I design lights for don’t know I have a dance degree and a teaching background. It’s an interesting position to be in on either side of the fence. The truth, though, is that I love both sides and wouldn’t trade one for the other.

I grew up in northern Michigan taking as many dance and art classes as I could fit into my schedule. At 14 I was asked to begin teaching. By the time I left my public school for the Interlochen Arts Academy I was teaching as many classes as I was taking each week, choreographing for and performing in the student shows, and sharing my lighting design ideas. It was a great way to begin experiencing the dance world.

Upon high school graduation I got a bit lost. I ended up going to the University of Michigan with the original goal of getting a degree in math. That was a laugh. Dance classes at a studio and a job in the University Theater kept me sane. I transferred to the Dance Department at Western Michigan University my sophomore year. It was there that I really fell in love with lighting.

I took as many lighting design and theatrical production classes as my schedule would allow while still maintaining a 4 year college experience. I contemplated double majoring in dance and theater but I would have had to add at least 2 years to my time in school because the programs couldn’t overlap. Instead, I got a job at a beautiful, older theater nearby, Chenery Auditorium. Looking back, I think I made the right choice. While in school I continued teaching. It was a great way to supplement my education and the money wasn’t too bad, either.

Following college, I spent the summer at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC as a production intern. It was great to apply all I had learned in school and work over the previous 3 years to a high-pressure festival and continue taking class from world-renowned dance artists.

Now, I’m here. Chicago. At first, I looked high and low for work not knowing how to get it. It didn’t take long for me to be referred to the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park by my mentor from WMU. It was my first professional backstage job out of school and I am still on staff there. Since that first gig, I have gotten the chance to work with many dance companies in many capacities. Currently, I am the resident lighting designer for The Moving Architects and Art Intercepts as well as a freelance designer for a number of other companies, studios and organizations. Keeping my organizational skills sharp, I am the Technical Director at Links Hall and producer of Fraction: Dance in Progress. Lastly, I teach as much as I can for Design Dance.

Looking back at this whirlwind story, I really appreciate all the opportunities to explore the many facets of the dance world that are out there. I feel fortunate to be able to share insight about the other pieces of the puzzle. Being able to communicate efficiently and effectively with people on both sides of the spectrum has not only been helpful but educational. I have learned a great deal about the perspectives that exist and can only attempt to break the barriers of knowledge and communication. A choreographer with no theatrical knowledge must learn of the timeline and efforts required for producing their show the same as a lighting designer with no dance background must learn about the language of dance.

Wedding Shoes?

So, I've finally gotten over to Chicago Dance Supply to look at swing shoes. These are a sale pair I found and thought, "whether they are perfect or not, I'll wear them for something!" They are super comfy with an inch and a half heel. The mesh is breathable and the ribbon ties will be replaced with something a tad longer.

What do you think?

Inability to Post

Every time I think about what I should begin with I get a writer's block. I think my goal was to learn to get past that but it had been seeming so difficult. Today I am posting an ice breaker. I would like to share about my new inspiration.

I would like to build, with some assistance, an apparatus on which to dance. I've been taking aerial dance for a year now and have been dancing on the ground for 22 years and it feels like time to change things up a bit. The base to my vision is a trapeze-like bar at around 4 and a half feet above the ground, just high enough for me to do a handstand and bend my knees over the bar. Beyond that, I don't know where to go with it. The biggest thing is that it needs to be transportable and definitely stand on its own. The hardest thing about aerial apparatus is that it is suspended above the ground. I love that but it isn't practical for rehearsing in alternate spaces and definitely isn't something that can be sprung up anywhere unless you have a certain ceiling height and a mobile rig.

More to come.

Love,
Francesca