Performance and Upheaval

The summer of 2016 I finally understood what I want to be when I grow up: a movement researcher. Tom Weksler's Zen Acrobatics and Movement Archery resonates with me in a way that synthesizes so many great loves at once: stillness, athleticism, contemplation, playfulness, artistry, being out of my comfort zone, humility, studentship, dance, discipline, community, and exploration. When I watch him and Ido Portal move I see the union of mental and physical intelligence, and a merging of self-practice and humor. This world of movement unites so much that neo-plationic ideals of separation of body and mind dismantled. I feel hungry to sit more, and dance harder all at once. I feel called to make things, to retaliate against complacency, and to listen simultaneously. As a mover I am always curious how performance can offer anything to a world in upheaval, and how we as performers can lend ourselves to finding solutions. I am curious how I can use my body, my participation, and my "here-ness" to dismantle the way we unconsciously participate in the capitalist machine in almost everything we do. I love this video. I love that artists have the ability to shake up the human relationship to nature, to embodiment, to curiosity.