We have a special curator this week. Stephanie Todd Wong is the Executive Director of Dance Source Houston. She holds a BA in Dance from Mercyhurst College, as well as an MFA in Dance from George Mason University. Originally from Kentucky, she moved to Houston in 2008 from the Washington DC area where she spent ten years choreographing, dancing and teaching. While there, she was a dancer in the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, had her work showcased at both Joy of Motion and Dance Place, as well as created a high school dance program for The Flint Hill School. Stephanie also served as the Interim Director of Dance/MetroDC, a local branch office of Dance/USA. She is the mom of two beautiful little girls who also love to dance!

You’ve Cott Mail – not really a website, so I’m bending the rules. But this is an email digest put together by Thomas Cott, Director of Marketing for Alvin Ailey, that I make time to read every single day (and considering my schedule, that says a lot!). Invaluable, and Thomas Cott is going to be speaking at the Houston Arts Resource Fair tomorrow, so I’m super excited about that!

Paperbackswap.com – I like to read but I don’t necessarily always want to spend a lot of money to keep up with my habit. I found this website a few years ago from a friend and it has been an awesome resource. You create a free account and list the ISBN numbers of any books you have at home that you no longer need/want to keep. Other members of the site can then request one of your books and when a request is made you mail that person the book. When they receive it, you get a credit to your account that then enables you to make a request for a book that gets sent to you for free! You can put your name on wait lists for popular titles and are notified when a copy is available and you can create wish lists of books you want to get in the future. I think they also have sister sites for movies and music, but I’ve never made it past the books.

All Songs Considered  – This is a site I used to spend a lot more time on than I do now, but I miss it! It was created several years ago by Bob Boilen who used to direct All Things Considered on NPR. He so enjoyed finding new music for the music buttons between stories for that program that he created an entire program just for the music. It’s a great resource for finding new music and getting in depth info about music you already love.

Virtual Pillow  – This time of year, when I’m jealous that I can’t be in the Berkshires enjoying the immersion of dance happening at Jacob’s Pillow, I find myself gravitating to the Virtual Pillow. It’s an online exhibit of video excerpts from all the years of performances at the Pillow. It’s so easy to get lost in this site.

Finally, I’m also a mom, so the New York Times blog, the Motherlode, is also one of my faves (because we all like to be reminded that we’re not alone on this great adventure called parenthood).

She’s  pretty much a celebrity in Houston’s art culture.  She’s our guest curator for this week’s Links We Like.

She’s K.C. Scharnberg.

Finding Balance

#1: I don’t get a whole lot of time to read for pleasure these days, but when I do, I love to read Fast Company. There I find a fabulous mixture of practical advice and inspiration for the creative, the leader, the motivated individual.

#2: Paradoxically, I’m preoccupied by slowing down and by the shift that many humans are beginning to make for themselves in direct protest of our world becoming increasingly busy. Many of us are caught up in the “busy” trap. I’m personally trying to make daily efforts to get myself out of this trap. I’m trying to make a shift towards riding my bike instead of driving, spending less time at the computer, making more regular plans with friends, and just allowing myself to have idle time. The Slow Movement website is full of inspiration to get me there. “The Slow Movement aims to address the issue of ‘time poverty’ through making connections.”

#3: I recently attended a conference at Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, CA, and was so inspired by hearing the experiences of alumni and current students that I’ve begun to look much more seriously at the Soka model of humanistic education. The Soka education philosophy was founded by Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, furthered by Josei Toda, and made accessible outside of Japan by Daisaku Ikeda. In a nutshell, “Soka (value creating) education takes the human being as its focus and makes developing the humanity of each individual its objective. It emphasizes the nurturing of students who, through relationship with educators who are themselves attempting an inner “human revolution”, are capable of establishing personal happiness and creating value in society.” (See Ikeda Center website) Doesn’t that sound like the way you’d want to grow up learning?! I just ordered the book Soka Education and can’t wait to dive into it.

#4: Cute Overload! This is my favorite way to waste time on the internet. Everything is soooooo cuuuuuuttteee!!!

#5: Another guilty pleasure….Post Secret! Laugh. Cry. Repeat.

More about K.C.

K.C. Scharnberg – Program Director, Fresh Arts

Raised in Denton, Texas by classical musicians, K.C. Scharnberg developed a deep appreciation for all art forms at an early age. While earning her B.A. in Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin, K.C. developed her professional skills with internships in arts management at the UT Performing Arts Center and the Arts Management Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining the Fresh Arts staff in 2010, K.C. held positions at the Department of Theatre & Dance at The University of Texas at Austin and Elmore Public Relations in Houston.

As Program Director of Fresh Arts, K.C. manages and oversees the organization’s exhibition series, professional development curriculum and training, and all other physical programming including the Cultured Cocktails series, Artist Speakeasy series, and special events such as the annual Winter Holiday Art Market.

Outside of work, K.C. serves as an Advisory Board member of the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University, is active in her Buddhist organization, the Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA), and serves as a founding member of Houston-based Horse Head Theatre Co.