In April spring truly spring here in Cologne, and the rising energy powered me through much activity and making exciting plans…
April Ambience
The first part of my month was focused on teaching, coaching, and creating. In the later part of April preparations intensified for a trip home to the US, California and Hawai’i specifically, entailing international travel, packing, and lots of work for both of us as self-employed/freelancers.
It all paid off, as I learned and connected through the work I did, and we had a magical time flying carryon-only to San Diego, visiting with family and touristing there. In this post I’ll share much of what I did and made, then in May’s reflection upcoming, more details of the trip to San Diego and Kailua-Kona.
Bullet Journaling & Planning
The above YouTube Video is a flip-through of April 2024 “after the pen” in my Seasonal Bullet Journal. During the month of April I also set up my May and June spreads in order to better plan the transition from spring to summer, the end of the school year into PRIDE, my birthday month and wrapping up the first half of the year.
As usual, I updated Monthly, Weekly, and Daily logs as I went along.
Like April, May tends to be a very action-packed month for myself, students and clients and their families, so I plan ahead wherever possible. This year is no different, for in April I was juggling a lot of things in the moment as well as planning future travel, professional development, teaching and other programs.
Teaching & Coaching
Waltzed into the spring with a focus around triplets, balance, different waltzy steps and timings, energetic jumps and turns as well as grounding reclining, seated, and standing flows in Mindful Movement classes such as regular online Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga, in-studio Ballet, Barre a Terre and more. Gearing up for a ballet exam with my students at Tanzshule Tanzraum so always focused on sound technique. Coaching around fear, failure, and artistic growth.
Dance Week & Day
National Dance Week, an annual celebration of dance, took place from April 19 to 28, with International Dance Day falling on April 29th. My contribution to the celebration was to spread awareness in all my class meetings and sessions that week, post dance-related resources daily to social media, and publish a digest article with all of the best ballet and dance-relevant articles, videos, and playlists that I have shared. It turned out to be a whole library of free tools, which continues to grow!
Alphabet Superset
I published 2 micro video choreos to TikTok and Instagram for the Alphabet Superset challenge in April:
- “U” with an umbrella on TikTok
- “V” on my vamps on TikTok (photo below in pointe shoes which I also shared to IG is from the making of this one)
Twenty-Four 24s in 2024: Projects & Practices
As I wrote about in my Twenty-Four 24s in 2024 article, this year I chose twenty-four metrics for which I intend to make at least 24 contributions, consistently supporting my major goals and most valued priorities.
Many of the projects I provide updates for here are one of the “24s,” such as Choreographies (Alphabet Superset, below, and other dance projects), Videos and Articles published and so forth, so I made progress this month, but I didn’t complete a particular area’s 24th action in April.
Write & Publish Articles
Inspiration, Connection, and Reflection being themes in my thinking and writing, in April I published three articles to the blog:
- Inspiring Inputs: 2023 Reading, Listening, Viewing & Media recorded impressions from my year in books, films, series, songs, and a variety of media inputs. Of course not all were stellar, but it can be fun to look back at the influence my viewing, listening, and reading has in my creative and personal life!
- March was about Mindfulness, Women’s History, Moving Around- 2024 Month 3 Review, Quarter 1 Wrap-Up: Celebrating International Women’s Day kicked off my March, which continued with planning upcoming travel adventures including a weekend getaway to another part of Germany, all summarized in this monthly reflection blog.
- Delicious Dancey Digest for International Dance Day & National Dance Week is a rich resource roundup in honor of National Dance Week, an annual celebration of dance set aside to spread the delight and joys of dancing and to create awareness about its impact and benefits.
Film & Share Videos
I published 3 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in April:
Connect via Email & Social Media
I sent four goody-packed weekly Email Newsletters in April and was also fairly active on Instagram and Facebook, occasionally on TikTok in order to post my Alphabet Superset micro video choreos. It has been so cool to get to know like-minded folks on social media and to slowly grow community online through these avenues.
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as my favorite work from other creators is to subscribe to my weekly email newsletter. Would love to be connected to you there, here, on social media, online or in-person!
Media Musings
April media inputs included reading, listening, and viewing features:
Books & Reading
I finished two novels:
- When in Rome by Sarah Adams has been heavily promoted and I admit I was a bit turned-off by the stereotypically cis/hetero characters and romantic roles. And yet, something about the slow-building emotional connection and search for happiness (even for people who are outwardly successful) kept me reading this pretty standard rom-com about a pop star trying to find herself again, with a few gems like: “It’s tousled lightly with styling cream. A matte pomade—flex fiber. I know because we share a bathroom and I’m a dirty little snoop.”
- The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren is actually comes sequentially after/second to The Soulmate Equation, but I accidentally read first, and is a sequel with the focus on a different character, this time the romance-author best friend of the main character in the first book. It’s clear I’m on a Christina Lauren spree now, and I liked both of these and their other books that I’ve read, but found part II especially compelling. “I am very skilled in the art of denial. For example, I am consistently surprised when it’s time to pay quarterly taxes.” 🙂
Music & Listening
In April I continued to work with and add to my Spring Sensations Dance playlist and my in-progress Alphabet Superset music, ABC Choreo Music Ideas, and playlists for each of the classes that I teach were also in heavy rotation.
Some songs that rang through the month were around “U:” “Umbrella” by Rihanna, “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, “Unbelievable” by EMF; “V:” “Virtuoso” by Black Violin, “Volare” by the Gipsy Kings, “Victim of Love” by the Eagles. Others came from my students, for example “Lass mich gehen” by AYLIVA, and from our viewing, such as “4 Stars” from “Girls 5eva.”
Viewing
April was apparently very series-focused, with three in particular dominating my viewing time:
- The “Naked and Afraid” season called “Last Man Standing” which was entertaining as always if a bit disappointing in how the competition went
- The “Fallout” series which is a bit more Ela’s thing than mine due to the suspense and violence (it’s based on a post-apocalyptic video game), but still a really well done sci-fi
- “What We Do in the Shadows” vampire comedy continued to make us chuckle
Questions for Reflection
- How did you celebrate spring? (or fall in the Southern Hemisphere) How will you savor summer?
- Which adventures are calling?
- What plans do you have for the coming month, quarter, season?
- How can I support you in this moment?
Resources for Further Exploration
- March was about Mindfulness, Women’s History, Moving Around- 2024 Month 3 Review, Quarter 1 Wrap-Up
- Quantum Leaping in 2024 Word / Intention of the Year
- Blogging My Purpose – the “Why” behind A Blythe Coach
- Why Bother Distinguishing Your Why?
- Analog Journals for Creativity
I look forward to checking in with you again soon about what went down in May (travel!), as well as many other topics, special events for PRIDE Month, summer celebrations and more coming up!
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
she/her or they/them
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