Free Events Thursday

Free Events Thursday

Houston Arboretum and Nature Center

Enjoy nature trail, bird watching, wildlife and forests at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. Calm your senses with a leisurely stroll through our 155-acre nature sanctuary with 5 miles of beautiful hiking. Located just 4 miles west of Downtown Houston.

  • Spring Native Plant Sale (Saturday, March 15 – March 16 and Saturday March 22 – March 23 at 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) 

 

How I See It: Houston Architecture

March 13, 2014-April 18 at 5:30 pm

Architecture Center Houston, 315 Capital,

Discover Houston architecture through the eyes of high school students in this Opening Reception of “How I See It: Houston Architecture.” This juried exhibition of local high school photography is for FotoFest 2014.

Price: FREE!!!

 

Relax With Yoga

Every Saturday, 9 am

Discovery Green

1500 McKinney on the Grace Event Lawn behind The Grove Restaurant.

This yoga class brings together elements of tai chi, kung fu, balance techniques and energy building poses. No pre-registration required.

Price: FREE!!!

 

Gaze At The Stars 

Reservations begin February 26

Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center

Humble at 20634 Kenswick Drive

Learn about the planets, stars and other celestial bodies at Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center’s Stargazing event.

Price: FREE!!!

 

“These Birds Walk” Houston Film Screening

March 13, 2014

River Oaks Theatre
2009 W. Gray St, Houston, TX 77019

Sundance Nominated film “These Birds Walk” by Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq may be FINALLY coming to Houston. The film follows the life of runaway street children in Pakistan and the samaritans like Abdul Sattar Edhi who seek to care for them while living amongst them.

For those of you haven’t heard of Abdul Sattar Edhi, he is a guy who has been working for and living amongst the poor of Pakistan since 1947 to create rescue programs for over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitation programs for over 50,000 orphans, training programs for over 40,000 nurses, and hundreds of food kitchens, shelters, and clinics for the mentally handicapped.

Price: $11 

 

Architects of Air

March 15, 2014 – March 23, 2014

Discovery Green
1500 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77010

Back by popular demand, Britain’s Architects of Air returns to Discovery Green with Miracoco, a one-of-a-kind stunning new luminarium! Inspired by the Lotus Temple in India, the monumental, inflatable structure is a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes designed to generate a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and color. Rising almost 30 feet in the air and occupying half a football field, Miracoco can be appreciated by people of all ages, cultures and abilities.

The line will close when the number of people already in line exceeds the number that will go into the structure by 6:30 pm. Admission is limited to 80 people in the luminarium at one time.

Price: $10

 

Battleship Texas Centennial Celebration

March 15, 2014 at 12:00 p.m.

3527 Independence Parkway South
La Porte TX 77571

This event is a celebration to honor the Battleship TEXAS, her legendary history and the men who served on her. The festival will be held on the grounds surrounding the Battleship TEXAS and will feature educational exhibits, a World War I and World War II historical zone, ship tours, a children’s activity zone, concessions, shops and live entertainment throughout the day including Robert Earl Keen, Reckless Kelly, Charlie Robison, and Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis. The day will end in a celebratory fireworks display.

Price: $20

 

6th Annual Festival “Russian Spring Celebration”

March 16, 2014 at 3:00 – 6:00p.m

2349 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005

It becomes our tradition to invite Houston public and visitors of the city to celebrate the end of winter in style of Russian folk holiday. We offer delicious home-made bliny or Russian pancakes, which symbolize the sun. Also on sale will be another traditional Russian food – savory piroshky. The guests will have a chance to purchase original hand-made Russian souvenirs.

“Flying Balalaika Brothers”, the popular group from Austin, will provide the entertainment. The group plays various music: from Russian folk to bluegrass, country and rock. Their lively performance would leave no one unmoved. This year we will introduce to our guests a folk choir “Sudarushka”. Vadim Angerov, the well-known Houston musician will accompany them on the button accordion. There also will be special activities for children.

Price: $10

 

Come Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at The Flying Saucer

March 17, 2014

15929 City Walk, Sugar Land, TX 77479

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Flying Saucer Sugar Land will be selling pints for $3 all day.

Price: FREE!!!

 

 

 

 

Eat Well Wednesday: Energy Bites!

Eat Well Wednesday Uncategorized

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          Looking for more energy? 

 

Some of us rely on coffee to give us that afternoon boost.  Others gravitate towards sodas and sugary snacks. The answer can be a simple as fueling our bodies with high quality, unprocessed whole foods and snacks.  A few weeks ago we talked about Protein Bars, what exactly is in them, and if they were a beneficial part of a healthy diet.  If you missed it, you can check it out HERE.

In an effort to remove more processed food from our diets, these little energy bites would be the perfect alternative to processed protein bars.  They will give you the energy boost you are looking for, thanks to the whole grains, healthy fats, and natural sugars (honey), without having to consume highly processed, sugar filled snacks that have little to no nutritional value.

I whipped up a batch of these no bake energy bites for my sister-in-law who just had a beautiful baby girl last week.  With two other kids under the age of 4 in the house, there is no doubt she needs as much energy as she can get.  The kids loved these and they were the perfect little snack for those night time nursing sessions and long, busy days.

Keep a stash in the fridge at work and at home and you will always have a healthy, go to snack at your fingertips.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
  • 1 cup Coconut, Shredded
  • 1/2 cup Peanut butter, natural and smooth
  • 1/2 cup Ground Flax seed
  • 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips ((Carob chips if you are dairy free))
  • 1/3 cup Honey
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla

 

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  • Place in fridge and let sit for about minutes
  • Remove from fridge, roll into balls and place in an airtight container for 1 week in the fridge.

 

What is your favorite go to snack?  Leave a comment below! 🙂

 

HeadshotJill Wentworth is leading us Wednesday by Wednesday into making better food choices and being more healthful. Tune in every Wednesday to get some great recipes and advice from someone who really knows health. In an effort to fuel her passion to serve as well has enhance the lives of others through their nutritional choices, she started Eat Well SA(San Antonio). Her vision is to educate you on how to incorporate a healthy array of foods into your life. Eat Well is not a diet, nor does it embrace any one specific dietary agenda. She also offers customized programs that are educational and teach you the tools you need to maintain healthy, well balanced eating for your busy lives.

Tuesday Tunes: Colin Dunne!

Tuesday Tunes

Tuesday Tunes

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day Tuesday Continues with…

         Colin Dunne!

 

Colin Dunne was born 8 May 1968 in Birmingham, England to Irish parents. Colin Dunne took his first lesson in Irish step dance at the age of three with the Comerford School in his hometown. At the age of nine he won his first World Championship title and was the first dancer to win the World, All England and All Ireland titles in the same year. From the age of 12 he was taught by Marion Turley in Coventry and when he retired from competition at the age of 22, he had won a total of nine World, eleven Great Britain, nine All Ireland and eight All England titles. He was influenced from an early age by tap dance – Gregory Hynes in particular – which contributed to his often complex approach to rhythm within the structures of traditional Irish music. His musical approach to dance was also aided by his ability to play piano by ear. For years he played as a dance accompanist at competitions in the ragtime style of Irish dance piano music.

At the age of 19 he was the youngest person ever to receive an Irish Post Award in recognition of his achievements in Irish dance. Fellow award winners that year included poet Tom Paulin and theater director Declan Donnellan. Previous winners included Bob Geldof, Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker.
Education.

Between 1992 and 1995 he toured regularly with musical groups The Chieftains and DeDannan. The former saw him begin a dance partnership with Jean Butler. The latter lead to a memorable performance with Frankie Gavin and Stéphane Grappelli at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, and then to a collaboration with American tap dancer Tariq Winston for the Irish Society St. Patrick’s Day Ball in New York in 1995. Six months later Dunne would find himself working with both Butler and Winston in Riverdance.

Dunne joinedthe cast and creative team of Riverdance in October 1995. He was initially invited to choreograph and perform the newly commissioned number Trading Taps with Tariq Winston. However, with the departure of original male lead and choreographer Michael Flatley the day before the re-opening of the show at The Hammersmith Apollo in London, he found himself taking over the principal role on short notice. He toured with the production for three years, taking the show to its US premieres in New York (Radio City Music Hall) and Los Angeles (Pantages Theatre) and also to Australia. His performances were recorded for the Riverdance – Live from New York DVD in 1996. Further choreography credits for the production followed: Firedance (with Maria Pages), Heartbeat of the World (with Maria Pages) and Heartland Duet (with Jean Butler). Special TV appearances during these years included The Royal Variety Show (The Dominion London), The Kennedy Center Honours (Kennedy Center in Washington D.C), and the Grammy Awards (including a duet with Savion Glover) at Madison Square Garden, New York.

In June 1998 Dunne left Riverdance to begin work on a new project with Jean Butler. Dancing on Dangerous Ground was based on the myth of Diarmuid Agus Grainne and was produced by Harvey Goldsmith and Radio City Music Hall. The show had its World Premiere at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in December 1999 and went on to perform to full capacity at Radio City Music Hall in March 2000. Although the show received critical acclaim in New York, it failed to capture the imagination of audiences and critics in London. It closed in June 2000.

After an eighteen-month period living in New York, Colin returned to Ireland in 2001 to take a position as dancer-in-residence at the University of Limerick at the invitation of Micheal O’Suilleabhain. He began focusing on the creation of short solo works, interrogating the space between his traditional dance roots and contemporary arts practice. He presented short solos at The Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado, Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton and The Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As part of his final MA he choreographed “Headfoot” for the Daghdha Dance/Yoshiko Chuma production of 10,000 Steps, which closed the first Dublin International Dance Festival.

Since finishing his Masters in 2002 he has sought collaborations with contemporary choreographers in parallel with his own solo creative work. In 2003 he worked again with Yoshiko Chuma in the Daghdha production of The Yellow Room (with dancers Mary Nunan and Olwen Grindly and actor Padraic Delaney). In 2005 he joined Michael Keegan Dolan’s Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre for their production, The Bull, which controversially played for two weeks at The Dublin Theatre Festival, in a role which many saw as a self-parody. His performances in The Bull at the Barbican in 2007 earned him a nomination for a UK Critics Circle National Dance Awards (best male: modern dance). Other work during this period included choreography for The Abbey Theatre (The Shaughraun 2004) and performances with The Irish Chamber Orchestra (Carna, written by Bill Whelan, tour of Ireland in 2004 and Carnegie Hall in 2005). A recording of the chamber piece can be found on the album The Connemara Suite.

Since 2002 Colin has been a regular guest tutor at the University of Limerick on the MA in both Traditional and Contemporary Dance and the BA in Traditional Dance and Music. He has also toured his Masterclass series in the US, Europe and Russia. In 2004 he was invited to teach in Shanghai and Beijing during a two-week residency as part of the China-Ireland festival. Later that year he returned to Birmingham to teach six National Express coach drivers for the Granada TV production, For One Night Only. In 2006 and 2007 he was a regular commentator and judge on the RTE Television show Celebrity Jigs and Reels. He also wrote and presented a four-part radio series for Lyric FM called The Story of Tango (2003).

His first full-length solo show Out of Time premiered at Glór Irish Music Centre in January 2008. This multi-disciplinary work (dance, text, sound technology and archival film footage) saw Dunne return to the question of his traditional dance roots from the perspective of a contemporary practitioner. His ongoing work is supported by The Arts Council/An Comharaile Ealaion; since 2004 he has received 2 bursary awards, a commission award and a project: New Work Award.

 

 Riverdance 1996: American vs. Irish

 

 Colin Dunne and Jean Butler in Dancing on Dangerous Ground

 

 Colin Dunne: Out of Time

MFA Monday

MFA Mondays

                   Happy Monday Framers! 

      Enjoy reflections by Angela Falcone! 

 

 

A Critical Assessment of “Drill Team” vs. “Concert Dance” Culture
 
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“Drill team” is its own culture in the dance world; it has its own set of expectations, language, behaviors, and customs.  A drill team is a group of trained dancers that perform precision in various dance genres during football halftime shows, local parades, and dance competitions. Over the years, I have noticed a regimented trend within drill team choreography.  After experiencing collegiate dance making processes and developing my own personal process, I believe the process of generating high school drill team choreography can be expanded and explored to parallel the ideals of concert dance making.

Typically, drill team choreographers have a limited amount of time with their dancers, while a wide range of choreographers in concert dance have residencies that last from a couple of days to a number of weeks.  Both processes also pose different outcomes.  The drill team choreographic process is final product based, whereas the concert dance world is more interested in the actual process. In attempts to introduce the drill team industry to the processes of concert dance, I believe there are various avenues to generate choreography.  Some examples of these avenues stem from Tere O’Connor’s “lines of research,” which is taken from a workshop with Headlong Dance Theater’s choreographers and Larry Lavender’s “IDEA model,” which comes from his book about “facilitating the choreographic process.”

As previously stated, Tere O’Connor’s “lines of research” would be an essential attribute to drill team dance making.  “Lines of research” is an investigation of particular obsessions that can be as simple as a hand gesture.  Exploring this single movement can then become a process in and of itself.  What is “interesting, evocative, [or] curious” about this particular movement and how many different ways can you explore this hand gesture through timing, direction, and manipulation? By investigating this single gesture, a person can be provoked to make an entire work about that one move (if they so desired).  This “lines of research” idea allows the movement to evolve and develop, rather than dictating what the movement should be.  In Tere O’Connor’s “blook” (his version of a book and blog), he mentions that he wants to “make work as a method for processing a constellation of ideas.”  In drill team, the final product is the goal, but by exploring O’Connor’s method, I would hope to see a shift in the mentality by allowing the process to be the rich, driving force of the work.

Another intervention of drill team that could be implemented is Larry Lavender’s “IDEA model.”  This model serves as a way to approach, generate, and manipulate choreography. “IDEA” is an acronym that stands for Improvisation, Development, Evaluation, and Assimilation.  While I believe drill team choreographers use some of these modes, I do think there can be more involvement with each of these four modes to enrich every aspect of drill team choreography.  In the chapter of Lavender’s book Contemporary Choreography: a critical reader, he mentions that all of these IDEA modes should be present in the creative operation of dance making. 

The one mode that is not present in drill team is improvisation.  The mode of “Improvisation” is essentially what it sounds like, experimenting and improvising with different movements with different bodies.  Reflecting on my background of drill team, improvisation is unheard of and somewhat frowned upon in this industry. My intention with this method would be to develop a movement dialogue with the choreographer and dancers, while also making and inventing different movement through a more artistic, personal, and vulnerable place.

As explained above, there are numerous possibilities that are feasible for the drill team industry.  My ambition is to one day shift the paradigm of drill team choreography by infusing the principles of Larry Lavender and Tere O’Connor into the world of drill team by diving deeper into the work and creating richer developments and opportunities of movement in order to lead up to a process-based final product, instead of simply a final product.

 

 

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Angela Falcone, a Houston native, graduated from Friendswood High School in 2007.  She was a member of the drill team, the Friendswood Wranglerettes, where she held the title of Grand Marshal. After graduating, she followed her dream and tried out for the Kilgore College Rangerettes. She had the honor of being chosen as the Freshmen Sergeant and Swingster her freshman year, and received the greatest honor of being chosen as Captain her sophomore year. Following graduation from Kilgore College with an Associate in Fine Arts, she was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin, where she holds a B.F.A. in Dance.  Angela currently attends Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas where she is pursuing her M.F.A. in Dance.  She is specifically interested in shifting the paradigm of high school drill team by reinvigorating the choreographic process and bringing a somatic awareness to high school dancers’ bodies.  

Links We Like!

Links We Like

It’s Friday!!!

 

Which Dream Home Should You Live In?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/which-dream-home-should-you-actually-live-in

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Your Patronus? (Harry Potter stuff)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/whats-your-patronus

 

 

If you thought Game Boys and VCR’s made you feel old….HAHA!

 

Like a boss

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Events Thursday

Free Events Thursday

Cultured Cocktails with the Framers!

Every Thursday from 5-7pm.

Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar

307 Fairview St, Houston, TX 77006

So if you want to see what we are all about then come join us and meet the Framers of Houston,TX!

Price: Free!!!

 

Party with the French

Friday, March 07 at 6 PM

Discovery Green

1500 McKinney
Houston, TX 77010

This Friday, kick off a month of events sponsored by the French Consulate in Houston. The free outdoor event features music from French musicians plus Houston natives Wild Moccasins from 7 pm – 10 pm. Authentic French food and wine will be available or purchase.

Price: Free!!!

 

Azalea Trail

March 07- March 09

River Oaks Garden Club

2503 Westheimer • Houston, TX 77098

One of the surest signs of spring in Houston is the annual Azalea Trail. Houstonians and visitors view the spectacular gardens at Bayou Bend and Rienzi and visit River Oaks’ exquisite private homes and admire their breathtaking gardens.

Price: $5.00

 

Listen to classical music

Friday, March 7th at 8 pm

Houston Baptist University’s Dunham Theater

7502 Fondren

The Houston Civic Symphony, our local community orchestra, presents a free concert. The evening features Young Artist Concerto Winners plus Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor.

Price: Free!!!

 

Clear Lake Jewelry, Gem, & Mineral Show

March 8, 2014 – March 9, 2014 (Recurring daily) at Saturday 10-6, Sunday 10-5

7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX 77507

The show is oriented for the whole family. Come out to see and learn about rocks, gems, fossils and Geology. Special demonstrations of lapidary work are included for the entertainment of all show patrons. Approximately 30 quality dealers have been handpicked to bring a balanced variety of merchandise to appeal to as many people as possible and at reasonable prices. There will be tools, raw materials, and books for the hobbyist, many mineral and fossil specimens for the collector, and jewelry ranging from fun-to wear to the finest opals, diamonds and emeralds. An excellent special program for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts hat provides hands-on experience will help with Geology related merit badges.

Price: $7 (Admission is cash only)

 

ROCO Chamber Series: Postcards from Paris and New Orleans

March 9 at  4:00 PM

Gremillion & Co. Fine Art

2501 Sunset Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005

Join us for Postcards from Paris and New Orleans featuring an oboe, clarinet, violin and viola quintet performance with music by Sergei Prokofiev and Dave Anderson, who was inspired by Prokofiev to write a jazz composition with the same instrumentation.

Price: $25; Student admission: $10

 

 

Eat Well Wednesday: Carrot Cake Balls!

Eat Well Wednesday Uncategorized

EWSA Logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday Framers!

 

I don’t know about you but I LOVE carrot cake.  My favorite sweet treat for sure!

Unfortunately, a slice of carrot cake (well at least the size slice that I would want) can really add some calories and sugar to my daily tally. Every once in a while it is OK.  Life is about balance.

But I would love to have a little taste of it everyday.  Instead of keeping a carrot cake around the house, which would be so tempting, I decided to whip up some Carrot Cake Bites.

I love the portion control that bite sized treats offer because it allows you to keep things in check.  You can enjoy one or two and get your sweet fix without feeling that you are going into a sugar coma.

This recipe makes about 22 Carrot Cake Bites and they come in at around 100 calories and 4 grams of sugar per bite.  Great nutrition stats for this yummy treat!!

 

Really, really simple.  You don’t even have to turn 

Carrot-Cake-Bites

Here is what you need:

  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cups unroasted pecans, chopped
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 3/4 cup almond butter
  • 3 tbsp agave nectar or honey
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup (packed) grated carrot
  • 1/3 cup raisins

 

Here is what you do:

  • In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pecans and flax seed.
  • Stir in the almond butter, agave nectar and cinnamon until well combined.
  • Stir in the grated carrot and raisins.
  • Using 2 tablespoons (packed) of the mixture for each bite, roll the mixture into bite-sized balls. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop makes this process easier. Also, spray your hands with cooking spray to stop the mixture from sticking.
  • Place the granola bites on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve.

 

Tuesday Tunes: Jean Butler

Tuesday Tunes

Tuesday Tunes

 

 

It’s March! Tuesday Tunes is all about Irish Dancing and its most famous dancers!

 

           Jean Butler

 

 

 

Jean Butler was born in Mineola, New York. Her mother, Josephine, is from County Mayo in Ireland. She has an older brother, Michael, and a younger sister, Cara. She started ballet and tap classes at the age of four. She eventually quit both. She began Irish dance lessons at the age of six, which she quit promptly. “I hated it,” she says. “They made me stand with my arms at my sides for two hours. So, I left. I was too young.” She tried Irish dance again at age nine, this time with a different dance teacher, Donald Golden, whom she considers to be one of the most influential people in her life. About a year into Irish dance, she became very serious with it and quit the soccer and baseball teams.

Jean has performed with Green Fields of America and Cherish the Ladies. She debuted with The Chieftains at Carnegie Hall at the age of seventeen, and toured with them on three continents. In England, Butler met Irish dancer Colin Dunne and they performed together in Mayo 5000 in 1993.

In 1994, under the invitation of producer Moya Doherty, she performed in a seven-minute intermission piece at the Eurovision Song Contest entitled Riverdance. The piece was co-choreographed by Butler with Michael Flatley. The response was so explosive that it was extended into a full show, starring Jean Butler and Flatley. The show toured for about a year. Flatley then abruptly left the show over creative control; six months later she was joined by Colin Dunne. They then danced at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York. This was later put on DVD. After a long and extremely successful run with the show, Butler also eventually left Riverdance.

She and Dunne (who had by then also left Riverdance) collaborated again to create the show Dancing on Dangerous Ground, which was based on the ancient Irish legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne. It opened in London in 1999 to critical acclaim, and then in New York.

She premiered “Does She Take Sugar?” on 12 April 2007 at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin.[10] With Colin Dunne and George Hook she is a judge on the Radio Telefís Éireann reality series Celebrity Jigs ‘n’ Reels.

She retired from active dancing in 2010.

In January 2011, it was announced that she had designed and released her own jewelery line. The collection was launched at Showcase Ireland at the RDS later that month.

 

Riverdance 1995: The Countess Cathleen

 

The Late Late Show: Tribute to Michael Flatley 1998

 

Andy’s Bar  byKila

MFA Monday!

MFA Mondays

MFA right

       Happy Monday, Framers!

 

For those of your who might not know…The “MFA Monday” series features the musings of local Master of Fine Arts holders. Enjoy their thoughts on the process of attaining an MFA!

 

 

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

 

In my two previous blogs I talked about things that I missed in my graduate school experience, due to either the limitations of my program or of my own imagination. In writing about these experiences, it is my hope that others will have the opportunity to take advantage of these powerful resources that are within reach but may be easy to miss. However, I certainly don’t intend to diminish my graduate school experience; indeed, they were some of best years of my life, both personally and creatively. To that end, here are some of the top things I gained from graduate school:

 

Not everyone likes my work and that is OK. For an artist, rejection is the pits. It is a massive blow to the ego the first time someone says something negative about one’s work. “How can they not like something that I poured my heart and soul into? I shall now crawl into a small hole and weep!” In graduate school, along with plenty of positive feedback from faculty and peers, I got a lot of honest constructive feedback about things that weren’t working. No one wants to hear that their work isn’t beloved by people they respect, but it helps you grow. I made a lot of good work in graduate school and I also made some real crap. Thanks in part to the criticism I received, I can now better distinguish between the two. Learning to take and give constructive feedback is essential to a choreographer. You do not have to take all suggestions that are given to you, but you should always listen. It is hard to be objective about your own work; it is your baby and your baby is beautiful, right? Be open to an outsider who may see something you are missing.

Don’t apologize for your work. Your work should express who you are. Will you be that same person in 5 years? Probably not, but that is not the point. Don’t change your work to suit someone else’s opinions. Everyone is my graduate program was very diverse and our aesthetics were wildly different. We had choreographers who believed in pure technical movement, work with a strong socio- political outlook, work that was fun and light, and everything in-between. It was easy to compare my work to my fellow classmates’ and feel like I didn’t stack up. My work has always run more towards the abstract side of things, and at times, I felt like my work lacked substance compared to that of my classmates. It needed to say more and be more. I needed to be an ARTIST!, not an artist. Eventually, I learned to embrace my own personal style and creative process. I learned to express my own voice and appreciate my own artistic sensibilities.

Surround yourself with a good support system. I would not have made it through graduate school without my fellow classmates. Graduate school is completely overwhelming at times. It can feel like a giant hamster wheel of rehearsals, papers, costume purchases, and job responsibilities. I was very lucky to find some terrific friends that became family to me. Lean on each other and you will make it to graduation day together.

If you love what you do, don’t give up! When I see acquaintances or classmates, they always ask if I am still dancing. Everyone seems pleasantly surprised that I am still “keeping the dream alive.” Here’s the bottom line: I have hated every non-dance job I have held. I hate sitting behind a desk; it makes me physically itchy. My body wants to move! I have never wanted to do anything else, so I keep plugging away. It has been a lean and hard life at times, but I never seriously consider giving it up. Being an artist requires resourcefulness, perseverance, and a willingness to sacrifice. You probably won’t be able to afford expensive gadgets, vacations, or a new car. You may have to take side jobs and hustle every skill you have into something that makes you employable. It is not the right life choice for everyone, but it has always been the right one for me. In graduate school, it is easier to maintain your focus, but in the real world the lack of money becomes a little more real. Remember why you love dancing and what you worked for in graduate school. Use that support system of fellow grad students. You will all be in a similar boat and can throw each other a life preserver when one of you falls overboard.

Go to school because you love dance and want to learn more. Graduate school is expensive and time consuming. Graduate school doesn’t guarantee you a job. Graduate school is extremely stressful and frustrating as hell at times. If you are lucky enough to get a TA (teaching assistant or any job on campus), your salary will be low and your work load will be significant. However, I have never regretted my choice to attend graduate school. I went to graduate school because I love choreographing and I was able to fully immerse myself in the art of creating dance for three wonderful and challenging years. If you choose to pursue an MFA, do it for the experience and you will be rewarded.

Don’t be afraid to start over. You can start a dance with a great idea, but sometimes it just doesn’t take shape. You can craft it and change phrases around, but it just doesn’t feel right. In graduate school, you learn to roll with the punches and start pieces a million times until they finally take shape. As an adult, change can be terrifying and pretty sucky, but it is sometimes necessary. This past fall, I moved to Texas to take my current job at Rice University. I loved my life in North Carolina, but professionally, I was stagnant. I knew it had to change. I decided to approach this move like the new section of a long work. I use those skills to start building a new work and a new beginning. I am excited to see how the next phrase develops.

 

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heatherHeather Nabors is the Assistant Director of Dance Programs at Rice University. Heather relocated to Houston this summer from North Carolina. Heather has been a teacher and freelance choreographer in NC since 2005. She served as an adjunct faculty member at Catawba College, Greensboro College, Elon University, and UNCG. In 2012, Heather founded ArtsMash, a collaborative arts concert in NC. Her work has been presented at ArtsMash, The Saturday Series, UNCG Dance Department Alumni Concert, Greensboro Fringe Festival and the American Dance Festival’s Acts to Follow. She has choreographed over 14 musicals in NC for community theaters and local high schools including RentOklahoma! ,The King & I, Legally Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors, and Children of Eden. Heather received her MFA in Choreography from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.