Finals

Yikes! It's been a while since my last post but school has been busy to say the least. Stress levels have been high resulting in me catching a lovely virus (and having to pay $20 to go to the doctor, still can't get used to the having to pay for health care thing). Finally starting to feel back to normal, well normal with allergies, just in time for the last week of classes.

I presented a duet with a classmate this morning and just finished writing my final for my psychopathology class. As part of the final I just completed I had to pick a memoir to read from someone who had/has suffered from mental illness (who hasn't to some degree?!). I chose My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor.
For those of you who have not read this book, I strongly suggest adding it to your "To Read" list. It is a shorter book and although there is some terminology involved the book, she included diagrams and her aim is to reach the masses by keeping it "user-friendly". She shares her experience of going through a stroke and how it has changed her life. She suggests what is helpful and what maybe isn't so much when working with someone who has suffered a stroke. I won't share too much so you can enjoy the read for yourselves!

Bobby Orr and Laban Movement Analysis

With the end of term approaching there are many final papers, projects and presentations in the works for the next 3 weeks. If you haven't already noticed my posts will probably become less frequent as I try to navigate the end of my first year in graduate school, yay!

In the meantime I wanted to share with you my meshing of something I'm learning in classes to something I'm big on, hockey! For my movement observation class' final project I had to write a paper and analyze movement around some activity I enjoy. Somehow I ended up on hockey, yes very stereotypical that the Canadian in the program picks hockey. So who else do I pick but Bobby Orr with whom I share the privilege of calling Parry Sound, ON home. Specifically I chose to analyze his 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal (pictured below). (Shout out here to my Uncle who is a big hockey fan, I now can say I know hockey facts!).

I just finished presenting my project to the class and it ended up taking twice the time I thought because I had to explain how hockey is played to my classmates and teacher. All in all the project was a success and I really got into this project of applying skills I am learning to "everyday life". It also gave me a chance to connect with home while thinking about how else Laban movement analysis can be applied outside the classroom setting.

Photo from www.bobbyorrhalloffame.com

Internship Secured for Next Year

I have secured an internship for next year! One major thing crossed off my "To Do" list. I will be interning at a threshold program for adults with learning disabilities. I will have the opportunity to intern alongside an art therapist which I am very much looking forward to. Although I had been hoping to gain experience working with children, I think this site has so much to offer an am very much looking forward to being part of their team next year.

I wish there were more programs like this in Canada!

Oldest Dance Videos in Existence

If any of you folks are on Facebook you may have already seen this amazing news. The New York Public Library has just announced their release of oldest dance videos in existence. I've been able to catch a few moments of the videos but haven't had time yet to sit and watch as many as I would like or even see what all they have.

I've included in the post an article that has been circulating via Facebook with regards to this and the direct link to the New York Public Library's page. Enjoy!

 Facebook Article

New York Public Library 

Post NEADTA Conference

Although it is 2 days later I am still trying to process everything I took in on Saturday at the conference. The keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Macy, was inspiring and led the attendees through several tribal dances as part of his presentation. The day was filled with new knowledge, knowledge that challenged pre-existing knowledge and of course dancing!

The piece I was a part of opened up the conference and resulted in the dance party you see pictured below (photo courtesy of Jessica Sorentino). Students, alumni and faculty from Lesley University, low-residency and on-campus programs and Antioch University represented some of the attendees at the conference. The day was rounded out by several performances from students at the end of the day, allowing us to leave moved by their pieces and ready to go home to try to begin processing the day. Next year the conference will be held in New Hampshire at Antioch University with the national conference sometime in October. Until then continue to move and inspire!

NEADTA Conference

Getting excited for the NEADTA conference that Lesley is hosting tomorrow! It will be a full day, including a performance which I will be part of, but a great day. I managed to get signed up for two workshops; "Valuing Nuance: Expanding Expressive Repertoire in Multiply Handicapped Adults" and " Mindfulness in Motion: Using Mind/Body Awareness to Transform Movement Expression and Nurture Connection". Both sound interesting and can't wait for the day to arrive, stay tuned for the post conference report!

Introducing the Upsee

I came across this article the other day and was blown away by this invention. I couldn't resist sharing it with you folks. I can see how wonderful this invention is and the potential for its use by DMTs in the future.

Upsee Harness