April revelry took place on two continents and an island, was 50 percent “regular” teaching, creating, and normal publishing schedule and travel prep, 50 percent adventures in several places I feel at home: Portland, Oregon with dear friends like family and Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i with actual family and mentors.
Honored to host and participate in special events along the way, such as World Tai Chi & Qigong Day on the Big Island, a live performance of “The Wizard of Oz Ballet” and a recorded one of the Hawai’i Island Choreographers Concert.
In a nutshell, my personal themes for the month were Easter & Spring, Love & Friendship, and HOME.
Important
April Revelry
Cherry blossoms rained down in Cologne and Portland, Jacarandas on the Big Island.
PDX
How I love Portland and the weather and reception of beloved people couldn’t be beat. Waterfalls and secondhand stores, great food and spectacular views that were familiar to me and it was splendid to finally be able to show my partner Ela this pivotal and dear place in my life.
KOA
Kailua-Kona is where I grew up and it is important to visit and help out my parents there when I can. We had a bunch of celebratory meals, Christmas and birthdays (my Dad’s falling during our visit, out with his Tai Chi group), feasting at home on my Tutu’s bone china that I was able to locate in storage this visit.
Also
Personal Glows
The month of April was a shower of flower petals, as well as events such as:
- Poetry Month: my personal celebration was to keep reading and writing verse, daily selections coming from 365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection for Every Day of the Year collected by Allie Esiri
- Sarra Cannon’s Rough Draft Challenge in April, for which you can set your own writing goal along with the Heart Breathings community (formerly did NaNoWriMo in 2029, Camp NaNoWriMo Memoir in 2023 & 2024)
- Bayram / Zuckerfest, end of Ramadan fasting which many of my students and community members in Cologne celebrate
- Easter, end of Lent
- Earth Day
- April 15th World Art Day which we enjoyed in the Portland airport
- We helped set up for and participated in World Tai Chi and Qigong Day in Kailua-Kona and also got to practice with Sifu Chee on a couple of other occasions during our visit (last Sat in April)
- West Hawai’i Dance Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz Ballet” at the Kahilu Theatre on April 26th
- Fine Feedback Workshop at WHDT April 30th
- Digital Detox/Minimalism preparing to travel and for Q2: YouTube Watch Later list, Computer Documents, Phone Apps
- Preparing for Coaching Week in May…
Bullet Journaling & Planning
Because of its role in my creative process, journaling has become a part of my YouTube channel content along with dance, yoga, and joyful living. Here’s an update on what I’ve been up to in my notebooks and life in April 2025:
The video above is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Book including goals, glows, media favorites, and events I recorded along the way.
I shared my initial monthly setup on Instagram here, inspired by birds and dragonflies and flying things and flowers. Updated my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Logs, Annual Collections, and had already set up my May spreads as well to prepare for travel into that month.
Continued to savor writing my Morning Pages and notes with colorful inks in my fountain pens and savored the fresh shades of the changing season in nature and culture.
Teaching & Coaching
, studio classes in Ballet, and my “Feel Good” wellness course and Hip Hop elective continued, and
- 2 full weeks of teaching in studios & schools in Cologne before our trip to Oregon & Hawai’i
- Regular online Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga continued during travel except for one week gallivanting in Portland
- Created a NEW Workshop and hosted it for the first time at West Hawai’i Dance Theatre & Academy
Creative Challenges
In April a couple of my more anticipated projects were serving again as MC for a WHDT ballet and hosting a new workshop, “Fine Feedback” on the Big Island, which I shared about here on the blog, on Instagram, and in my email newsletter.
Writing & Publishing Articles
In April I published 2 articles to the blog here at ablythecoach.com. This is a great place to find out what I am up as well as other experts and creators who I recommend.
April’s new articles:
- Spring into Stories – Rough Draft Creative Writing Challenge 2025: Spring arrived in “real time” in Cologne, Germany and it was time for me to take on another creative writing challenge!
- Fine Feedback Workshop – How to Give & Receive Constructive Criticism & Promote Dance in the Process was about my new workshop, in which dancers and choreographers would learn tools to solicit, evaluate, and provide high-quality critique, practice distinctions, and come away with supportive structures that can be applied to future dancemaking.
Filming & Sharing Videos
I (still) didn’t quite reach 1,000 subscribers to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in April, but did continue to grow my audience and hoped to attain this milestone soon (spoiler alert: we’ve since done it!).
I published 3 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel on the topics of dance, creativity, and purposeful living in April:
- Slow Foot O’s – Mindful Ankle Circles Dance Cross-Training, Injury-Prevention & Joyful Movement where we practice lower leg movements with full awareness to the tune of “Bella Bella Beat” by Nana Kwabena (one of my early videos on the channel was “Ankle ABCs,” another way to generate lower-body strength and mobility!)
- March 2025 Flip & Reflection – Monthly Review Creative Bullet Journal of a Dance Educator & Coach: March brought Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day, the end of Karneval, start of Spring, and a host of other special events and experiences and this is where I looked back at the month in my BuJo notes
- Twenty 25s in 2025 & Annual BuJo Collections Update is a tour of my Annual Collections Book for 2025 so far, including my Twenty 25s in 2025 and creative challenges, a place to record actions taken in each of these areas
Connecting: Email & Social Media
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my weekly email newsletter. It lights me up to see new subscribers there as well as responses to me missives.
I sent 3 Email Newsletters in April:
- Springing into Storytelling in April, Slow Foot O’s mindful movement, Chocolate Bunny time email newsletter
- No Classes next week, Spring decluttering & digital detox, Traveling Tunes & packing for Vacation email news
- Fine Feedback Workshop in Kona, The Wizard of Oz Ballet, Tai Chi by the sea, Poetry Month email news
In addition, I posted 9 times to Instagram, averaging a couple times a week, which is aligned to my goals on that platform.
Media Musings
My month in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Books & Reading
- Working on a couple non-fiction selections at the moment, including travel and tourism-relevant Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib and
- Creativity-based Someday is Today by Matthew Dicks
- Finished Flavia De Luce mystery #4 by Alan Bradley:I am Half Sick of Shadows, waiting for #5 to become available at the library
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Music: Songs, Playlists & Albums
I heard a couple of oldies while shopping the funky stores of Portland that resonated:
- “Live for Today” song by The Grass Roots
- “Horse with No Name” song by America
For dance accompaniment, I was way into:
- My Spring Sensations Dance Playlist on YouTube
Monthly Viewing Highlights
Top sights from April:
Live & Recorded Performances
- “The Wizard of Oz Ballet“ live at Kahilu Theatre, guest MC
- Hawai’i Island Choreographers Concert 2025 on video, with cutting-edge works by student, emerging, and professional choreographers. Since the dancers and choreographers in my Fine Feedback workshop also participated in the production, it was helpful to be able to use the works as examples.
- The annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival on television and live streaming from Hilo, Hawai’i
Other Media
- USGS Volcano Update Website kept us abreast of Kilaue’a’s movements while we were on-island, which unfortunately didn’t sync up with our other plans as far as seeing them from nearby, but were fascinating to follow
- Being back by the sea had me thinking about Tides
- Enjoyed Humming birds in Portland/continental US and the plants that attract them
Questions for Reflection
- What went on for you during April and how did your second quarter begin?
- What holidays and accomplishments are you celebrating?
- What is bursting into bloom in your life??
- What adventures do you look forward to next?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Float in 2025 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
- Twenty 25s in 2025: Analog Project Planning & Action Tracking, Creative Bullet Journal Style Article
- January was Gently Jumping into the New Year – 2025 Month 1 Reflection Article
- February was for Demonstrating & Dancing, Love, Karneval & Eating Disorders Awareness – 2025 Month 2 Reflection
- March into Spring & Outstanding Quarter 1 Things – 2025 Month 3 & Q1 Reflection Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Article
Further monthly reflections for 2025, special workshops and collaborations in dance, coaching, creative living and more coming soon.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties,
taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education