A Blythe Coach

Author: Blythe Stephens

Jolly Roger July & a Piratical Summer – being freedom, treasure & adventure in treacherous times

Though I may not want a life on the open sea myself, I was raised on sailing and pirate stories and appreciate the ethos of freedom, treasure, and adventure.

What better time to embark on a fantastical journey of imagination than summer?

May Replay – 2025 Month 5 Reflection

In May, we had one more week of work and play on the Big Island, several days of travel back to Cologne, then jumped jetlagged back into teaching, coaching, publishing and celebrating there! Felt at home in both Hawai’i and Germany, both happy and homesick in each location.

How (and Why) to Take Dance Notes – Class, Rehearsal, Performance Writing to Grow & Create

How and why take notes on dance classes & rehearsals?

Research supports the efficacy of notetaking in supporting learning and creativity, now how do we put that into practice and actually make time and space to jot a few ideas down afterwards?.

Good Day, Sunshine – Warm Greetings to Bask in Solar Energy at the Solstice & Through Mindful Movement & Meditation

Happy Summer Solstice, arriving in late June in the Northern Hemisphere, and a time of high summer, early harvests, fruits and berries, creative energy in the natural world and for us individually.

Tap into the radiant energy of long bright days, short nights (as well as tipping into times of shorter days), basking, glowing, radiance, enjoyment, savoring, bounty, nourishment, possibly also thriving, relaxation, rest, vacation, getting outside, energy and adventure.

A ripe time for dance and sport intensives, camps, writing and creativity, and rich possibility for growth and breakthroughs!

April Adventures on 2 Continents & an Island – 2025 Month 4 Reflection

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 Big Island Choreographers

In a nutshell, my personal themes for the month were Easter & Spring, Love & Friendship, and HOME.

Traveling Dancer Yoga – Mindful Movement on the Go

For frequent flyers and folks for whom it is important that we freely move, I’m offering yummy yoga poses, practices, and a playlist full of goodies for small spaces of time and elbowroom. As always, asana, shapes and flows are adaptive to varying energy levels and needs, physical capacity and limits from within or without, which you may practice anytime from anywhere.

March into Spring & Outstanding Quarter 1 Things – 2025 Month 3 & Q1 Reflection

In this article I’ll wrap up the month of March and Quarter 1 as a whole as related to my own projects, life and events. What went on for you during this period and what’s planned?

The first blossoms emerged from the earth, filling me with excitement to bloom with you this season.

Real Criticism – Fraught to Fabulous, Fine to Fugly Feedback Examples

Recently I shared a new workshop called “Fine Feedback: How to Give & Receive Constructive Criticism & Promote Dance in the Process” with a group of talented dancers & choreographers at West Hawai’i Dance Theatre.

Content included practicing a host of powerful tools for distinguishing fact, interpretation, empowering & disempowering input about our creative work.

During the workshop, I shared examples like the ones I read off index cards in this video, from fabulous to fraught, words of feedback I’ve heard and received in the context of dance technique, performance, choreography, and even publishing on YouTube…

Fine Feedback Workshop – How to Give & Receive Constructive Criticism & Promote Dance in the Process

In the “Fine Feedback” workshop, dancers and choreographers will 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.

Spring into Stories – Rough Draft Creative Writing Challenge 2025

Spring is here in this “real time” and place of Cologne, Germany in April, 2025 and it’s time for me to take on another creative writing challenge!

Also want to accomplish something artistic this month? There are a lot of ways to make the process fun with support and accountability from others, and here I’m sharing how I’ll be doing so this season (and how I keep my writing practices going on all year).

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