The end of freedom; hello discipline

My daughter has suggested a book on the brain that recommends old people "learn something brand new, like a language" to keep the aging brain in shape. I've decided to learn "organizational skills" Now those of You who know me might find this laughable, but I'm preparing the groundwork for a seachange in lifestyle. I'm using a qualitative approach to the subject:
1. Collect and arrange data
2. Check for emerging themes
3. Write sumnative memos
4. Act on results.

Here's the first memo: Why Change is Necessary.

As a product of my family and my generation, I've prided myself in living life on the edge -- outside the confines and constrictions of society. That doesn't work anymore. For several reasons:
1.. Society has become too repressive. It's simply not possible to rebel against bureaucracy anymore because "they" have cornered "us" into a web of information. "They" have our number -- all of them: medical, credit, videos on youtube, transcripts of every word spoken, yadduh, yadduh.
2. We live in a "new" normal, and ... “In this new normal, with the possibility of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and industrial accidents, we need this culture of preparedness.” This from Russel Honore. (Love the name; reminds me of shopping in Paris before the collapse of the dollar.) As distasteful as it is, it is true. It would be stupid not to be prepared for the worst in a post-9/11 America. We certainly can't rely on the government to swoop in to help.
3. It's no longer cool. It isn't even understood. The younger generation (my students) no longer understands why anyone would want to live off the grid. Breaking rules, finding new rules, living an "authentic" life these things are no longer valued. And even though some people (Hubert and Gary) manage it, as long as I'm a college professor, I have to capitulate to the expectations of the new generation who are obsessed with "making it" in society as it is -- not as it used to be, when "freedom" was a priority.

mimesis

So this -- mimesis -- is the other important, related concept to why we dance.  I've been ranting in all my classes about "mirror neurons" and how the discovery of them in humans has finally provided the biological basis for nonlinear thought.  As we dance the audience dances with us via mirror neurons.  So audience members are better at mimesis than others.  I think that those people who "get" dance are also more empathetic in general.  They have the ability to get into the skin of others.  This makes dance vitally important to culture.  We are teachers of empathy.

why we dance...

New book:  The necessity of theater:  the art of watching and being watched.   This is the question that rules my life.  Why do we dance?  Dance is a passion that has ruined my life.  It just got in the way of doing normal things in a normal way, so I need to justify it so I can continue doing it.  Dancers think differently .... they think without words, in packets of energy (quanta!).  We have to develop this skill to be choreographers, and as we practice this form of thinking we develop neural connections that take us away from normalcy.  That's what I think anyway.  

(Which is why a blog is so necessary.  Again, for me, not for You.  I need to talk to someone in order to manifest these quanta in words.  I believe in the efficacy of "dialogic thinking"  (Vygotsky and education: ) Thinking in dialogue, so that what starts as a small kernel of an idea in my head, latches onto a kernel in your head and together those kernels starting spinning into a pas de deux that means something exponentially bigger.)

So, this book seems important to me.  Is it important for my choreography students next semester?  Do they care WHY they are making dances?  Or do they just want to make dances and see what transpires?  Will too many "words" get in the way of their developing their ability to manifest and play with nonverbal energy quanta?

Cuban ballet stars - rags2stage

New Book: From Break Dancing to Ballet
Just published: a bio of Carlos Acosta, a Cuban rags to riches story of a ballet phenom. It's a case study of dance as a highway out of the ghetto -- especially for young males. In Rochester, Garth Fagan has shown us the way. We're trying to follow his path with our support of Miss Sweet Potato Pie (misssweetpotatopie.com). This reminds me of the great ballet video of Cuban star Jose Manuel Carreño. Here's the link:  http://youtube.com/watch?v=MP6AMFv8I8o

welcome ... You.

It is wierd to start a blog. I think it is more for me than for You, whomever You might be. Maybe. ... It will be a record of everything new I'm learning in dance. But I am a teacher and I am driven to share what I learn. It is posted in the hopes that You will share as well. I don't know how You will find me, but that's what Internet II is all about. The discovery of You. Welcome.