A Blythe Coach

Category: Creative Living

How to Find & Foster Safe(r) Spaces in a Diverse Dancing Life

As a dance educator and teaching artist, creating a safe space for learning has long been a topic of interest and top priority in coaching and classes Recently my interest has been reignited by working in a context similar to where I myself have experienced feeling unsafe, bullied, at risk: middle school. Being familiar with the concept of Safer Space codes of conduct in the context of queer nightlife, parties, dances, and demonstrations, the same tenets are applicable in a variety of social and educational contexts. Unfortunately its all too easy to see the parallels between middle school meanness and wannabe tyrannical rulers and thugs playing on the international stage. With intersectional diverse individuals feeling increasingly unsafe in current society and human rights under threat, Mental Health Day and Coming Out Day being celebrated in October, it is timely to consider how we can work together to generate loving, supportive spaces for all.

You Need a Smile File, Creative! – Remembering Acknowledgement & Praise to Stay Inspired & Motivated

How do you counteract the natural negativity bias and inevitable criticism that meets a life of creativity? Enter the “Smile File” of praise, thanks, and acknowledgment from others. One of a slew of tools to refresh, inspire, and motivate when we feel down or burnt out. Take a peek into my own collected notes of thanks and gather your own evidence of acknowledgement and love to stay inspired and motivated.

Summer Verses to Swoon for – Poetic Seasonal Inspiration

Savor the last days of the season with me in real time, or feel the warmth of those long lazy days anytime with verses suitable to summer.

Be Buoyant like a Butterfly – Flights of Fancy – Airy Inspiration Roundup

Light as a feather, fluttering in springtime and summer, having had encounters with butterflies in just about every place I have been, I always feel blessed by their gentle presence. Butterfly, Schmetterling, Farfalle, Papillon…I love their many names, their movements, the science and the mystery behind their lifecycles. My late ex mother in law Janine […]

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?

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!

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.

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…

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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