Fear Of The South

as this blog was originally intended to last until the end of my first month in portland, i have decided to put it to rest and work my way back to the baby blog i started and immediatly abandoned (performance anxiety) 3 years ago.
if y'all want to keep reading my ramblings, you can find them here (imbibing eyes want to know)

cheers!

james

birthday magic

i turned 30 last week.  this monumental birthday has been the most anticipated and most longed-for birthday of my adult life.  i feel as though i now have official permission to start growing younger.  below is a little chronicle of my oregon coast birthday adventure...

natya leela

as i am having the tiniest bit of trouble uploading this video, below is a link to a performance we had recently for the fall cultural series at the salem public library.

the piece is called thodaya mangalam

enjoy!

family

... home... the womb-like environment where the same existential questions invariably produce different answers to the ones posed in a different environment.  for all of the bittersweet idiosyncrasies, life is more full and more whole because of family.  little do i realize until i've been away for a year, two years (a small lifetime), how vital the lifeblood of family is.  and even more surprising is, after each little lifetime away, the love remains the same.  

behind their chocolate eyes, nestled somewhere beneath their indian cheekbones and olive skin, rests the heart of a family whose blood is gold, and whose bones are made of the steel and iron of mothers, and protectors.

more good things...

adventures

creative friends who let me hang out with them while they work

beautiful bounty

 togetherin'

footprints

some of the good things that have been happening lately

sunshine music

seaside

solstice

homages

togetherin'

                                                                            backyards

tea

back in the saddle

after an extended hiatus, i have again begun to move my body on the dance floor.  as in years past when i have taken a break from mirrors and raised floors and stages and costumes, i have reflected upon what it means to be a dancer.  just as the question often arises in my mind as i walk through my days, 'what does it mean to be an artist?', i find myself thinking of the process rather than the product of my passions.  

i have stumbled, quite fortuitously onto bharanathayam, one of the seven forms of classical indian dance, and into a community of dancers of varying backgrounds who approach the dance with the true love of those who feel the rhythm of dance coursing through their veins.  as we took the stage last saturday, i gave pause to wonder how i could have stayed away so long... and then i looked at these ladies smiling and embodying this classical southern indian dance form, and the answer became clear: dancing is in the blood (as artistry is), and does not need tangible evidence to be real.

... the first photo is of our entire troupe, with our teacher suba standing in traditional costume in front.  the second is a more playful (and maybe more accurate) representation of us posing in our favorite animal poses.

oh me, oh my!

these last few weeks have been a flurry of activity, small joys, challenges, and a beautiful settling of myself into the first place i have called home in well over five years...

here is a short list of some of the events of the last little while:

together gallery

natya leela

sapphire hotel

zenger farm

le pigeon

my horoscope for the week

You're not any more narcissistic and egotistical than the rest of us, but this week happens to be your special time to make amends for being that way. Therefore, I recommend that you try the following corrective measures: 1. Every day, do three things motivated by compassion that are helpful to people you know. 2. For a few minutes each day, use your imagination to get inside the mind of someone you care about and see the world through his or her eyes. 3. Every day, take at least one action that will in some way beautify your environment, contribute to the well-being of strangers, or help save the world.

... the past few months here have been a re-awakening for me of my connection with the universe as a whole.  in this opening, i have begun to feel (along with many many others) a great shift happening.  whether one believes in the validity of astrology or not, there is an undeniable physiological shift that occurs when planets move and shift (think of what happens during tidal shifts at full moon time... whoa!), and if we begin to listen to the voice (rotations, axis', sun exposure, relative place in the universe, etc.) of the universe, we can better understand what an incredible opportunity we all have to help heal our own sick planet.  this horoscope is for me a reminder of the path i would like to walk upon on my journey toward health and ultimate fulfillment.

step 1: participate in a positive community... the boys at together gallery have embraced me and asked me to become a part their community.  i am now their newest official volunteer!

step 2: make a positive difference in the life of a child... i've been lucky enough to be accepting into the volunteer summer reading program at my local library.  this summer i get to hang out with tiny people and share my love of reading.

step 3: infect others with positivity... i have made it my mission in each of the cities i have lived in to smile at strangers.  this is the first city where people regularly smile back.

step 4: accept help from others...