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Category: Creative Living

Gretel & Hansel Fairytale for Creative Dance – Music, Storytelling, Improv & Choreography

In October around Halloween time, I like to teach the story of “Hansel and Gretel,” or as I like to think of it, “Gretel and Hansel,” since alphabetically it follows, and Gretel is the real hero of the tale.

Including a range of expression and emotional content, beautiful music, natural and supernatural characters, it is rich with possibilities for dance improvisation, choreography, and education.

This story fits in well with witch dances and other spooky themes like ghosts, bats, cats, etc. and can be related to dreaming and courage in “Cinderella” (for which I also have a podcast, video, and blog), the Land of Sweets and Clara/Marie’s bravery in “The Nutcracker” (coming soon!) and tie in music appreciation from the opera and other sources.

Learning from Mistakes & Failure

“Do not fear mistakes–there are none.” – Miles Davis

The research-based book on learning, Make it Stick, blew my mind a bit during my teacher credential program, especially finding out that the difficulty of recalling new information correctly correlates to the depth of the learning. That means the more I struggle to remember German words, as long as I try hard, keep practicing, and get corrections when I can, the more permanent and retrievable that information will be in the future.

Struggle and failure are inherent to learning, creativity, and dancing, so we would do well to learn to approach them with compassion.

Cinderella’s Courage & Kindness: teaching the classic fairytale ballet

One of the world’s most classic, iconic and ubiquitous tales, the “Cinderella” ballet can provide an entrée to universal themes and concepts useful in life and interdisciplinary topics within and beyond dance.

What I hope we remember about 9/11

Last weekend marked 20 years since the tragic events of September 11th and my social media feeds were flooded with remembrances. The catchphrase adopted by many became “never forget” and I here am considering what it is important that we remember now and moving into the future.

Wake Up! Yoga for Energy & Enthusiasm

What fosters energy and youthful enthusiasm in your life? What rituals help you wake up and maintain mindful presence? I’m Blythe Stephens, and that’s what I’m exploring today and in episode 59 of the A Blythe Coach Podcast.

Rest & Recovery Rocks My World

In addition to stressing the importance of making time (and patience) for ballet practice, in her book The Ballet Companion, Eliza Gaynor Minden recommends that aspiring dancers also “make time for rest,” specifically stating that “Professional dancers generally take one day off a week. Allow yourself at least this much rest. Your body needs it.” (The Ballet Companion p.15)
Of course, this recommended minimum applies not only to dancers but to all humans! Life Coach Talane Meidaner insists that, “You need a day to do whatever you want with no plans, no list of things to do, no scheduled brunches, no lunches–a day to be totally free and spontaneous, to rest, to play, to honor your spiritual self.” (Coach Yourself to Success p.216)
Here I am exploring the importance of time off and ways to build it into our lives.

Reflective Practice Through Journaling in Dance, Yoga, & Life

As my birthday falls in June (this year is an especially notable one), I like to reflect at this time of year, considering the last year in my life as well as the 6 months since the official New Year. I relish celebrating my accomplishments and plotting my next steps to progress with my priorities.  […]

Seeking Sweet Sleep: Yogic Insomnia Solutions

I’ve been listening to the Audiobook version of Eat, Pray, Love recently (I know, finally!) and Elizabeth Gilbert puts a fine point on the importance of sleep in our lives, divulging that during a particularly difficult part of her life following divorce she was treated for depression, including her last resort of taking medication: “I […]

10 Lessons from 1 Year as a Creator

My path to becoming a “Creator” As I was taking a look at my results and learnings from my time as an online creator, I asked Ela, my girlfriend who is a graphic designer, owner of design firm Pixelchen und Karton and creator of my website, if we could take a look at my Google […]

Simple Scrumptious Eating for Happy Healthy Dancers & Active People

Spring cleaning this month included the fridge, and it was high time! To entice myself to do that cleaning and improve the kitchen environment and my own nutrition this season, I bought some nice jars for my minimal “meal prep,” in order to have something good ready to snack on at all times. My habits […]

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