Paulette Rees-Denis's Blog, page 48
April 20, 2013
another whirlwind of traveling tribal!
What can I say? Another whirlwind of dance, intensives, testing, more dance, celebrations…Milan tribal rocks, with dancers from all over the world…
check this short video clip out on Vimeo! Tribal Rocks Milan…
Collective Soul Levels One, Two, Three, and Five, Teacher Training Levels One and Two, a hafla, plus a little time to walk around, do some filming for my upcoming new projects with my dancer Cinzia, and then whoosh… off to Austria for another fab weekend… and I”ve never been to Linz before, so am very excited to walk my feet on new ground! More on that trip later….
let me tell you that these dancers were troupers! days and days of dance and intensives and nerves and fun… but all have come away full and happy….
so not only CS 1 and TT1 as posted last week , but sweet satisfaction to the dancers from
Collective Soul Level Two
Wendy Hughes and Cayte Lawton (england)…
along with Eleanor Shirkie and Catherine Taylor for revisiting the program (highly recommended) before undertaking…
Teacher Training Level Two…
Wendy Hughes (wales), Eleanor Shirkie (scotland), and Ilaria….
Collective Soul Level Three
Ilaria– Italy and Catherine Taylor–England…Wendy Hughes–Wales
Collective Soul Level Five….
Rebecca Forster (Australia), SunFyre (Scotland), Sherry Coffey (FL), Deirdre MacDonald (scotland), Toni Ree Grenz (NJ)
and many thanks to Cinzia and the dancers for making a really fun workshop…here are some photos and a video clip of some of our formations we were working on in the workshop….
and click here to view some workshop formation fun!
~~~~~~
How about you?
Want to be the best tribal dancer you can be?
Want to improve your technique, posture, and confidence? Want to go inside and find out why the dance is so profound in your life?
Join Paulette for our Collective Soul intensive certification courses,
dance hard and celebrate our dance!
NEW DATES this Fall in Portland
will be October 4th- 8th, 2013
Join Paulette and Amanda Richardson for the
outstanding Gypsy Caravan Tribal Intensives:
Collective Soul and Teacher Training Level One …
and the possibility of CS Two to follow, if there is enough interest!
Let me know what you would like to participate in!
email me at dance@gypsycaravan.us and join us for a whirlwind of tribal fun!
April 16, 2013
a Rough Start -guest blogger, Hilary Giovale
Today I am pleased to share with you my guest blogger, Hilary Giovale, from Flagstaff, Arizona. I met Hilary years ago when she started studying with me, and I knew right away she was a special woman, and I could see that she would grow into a incredibly talented dancer, with the tribal spirit. Years later, I am proud to have her in my international performing troupe, the Gypsy Caravan Dance Company, as well as having her as one of my personally trained Master Trainers. And how lucky am I? No, not luck, fortunate, to be able to be surrounded by powerful, creative, and amazing women, like Hilary. Here she shares a bit of her journey with you all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a Rough Start
by Hilary Giovale!
Hilary with Paulette…
In my first session of Teacher Training with Paulette, she told me about the importance of giving students room to grow. She taught me that students need to take classes from other teachers, explore their own development, sometimes become teachers themselves, and sometimes move on. This has not only been a key concept in my own development as a teacher, it is one of the things I love about having Paulette as my teacher. She is there for us, not only allowing our growth but actively encouraging us to step past our self-imposed limits, to be more, seek new skills and challenges, find our dreams and reach them.
Six years ago when I first started training with Paulette I couldn’t have imagined that one day I would be a successful Gypsy Caravan teacher who had founded her own troupe, and who had trained two students to the point where they also were seeking GC teacher training. I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would be part of Gypsy Caravan Dance Company, International, dancing with incredibly accomplished (and fun) dancing sisters from Portland, Italy, Australia and Wisconsin. Six years ago I was just looking for the next best thing to do.
On this path I have never, ever stopped learning! That is one of the joys of being part of the Gypsy Caravan family. There is always room for re-invention of the self. There are always opportunities to expand the practice, the teaching, the refinement and expression of this dance. We solidly learn the foundations of GC style but we have incredible freedom to expand it, evolve it, and exercise our creativity.
It hasn’t all been glamorous; at times it has been messy and confronting. Some of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had are dancing by myself for hours and hours after a session of Collective Soul or Teacher Training, trying to remember how moves go and then drilling, drilling, drilling and working to get these moves into my body on a deep level before I teach them. I won’t even tell you how pathetic my zils first sounded to my all-alone ears when I was learning how to play them while doing improv! I am amazed when I see how easily my students get things sometimes because there are many things I have struggled with learning over the years.
Hilary, with Carol and Paulette, filming the Gypsy Caravan Online Class #2,
http://paulettereesdenis.com/item_description.php?IID=142
The growth reaches far beyond dance technique too. For me it has included the creation of my own troupe, Serendipity’s Kiss Tribal Bellydance, which is a beautiful group of 6 dancers who genuinely love each other, work out their problems effectively, and function in a reciprocal manner. As part of this process I have had to step into a leadership role, which I wasn’t at all sure I would ever be capable of. And yet, here we are: learning, creating, gelling, ebbing, and flowing together, finding our bliss through this incredible artform.
Now as I embark on my next GC adventure of CS6 and Master Teacher Training I can only imagine what types of growth and evolution the next six years will bring!
~~~~~~~~~Thanks, Hilary, for sharing a bit of your journey with us, and your insightful words…Honored…and goes to show you what you can achieve when you honor your dreams and vision, do the work, make the connections, live your truth, and be super present.
and thanks all of you for being here…
Want to read more? Sign up for our newsletters and more, here…
http://paulettereesdenis.com/index.php
and please feel free to pass this on to someone who would enjoy it… leave comments too, I love to hear from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 14, 2013
Intensives, from Gypsy Caravan…Collective Soul and Teacher Training
Why do you think they are called intensives?!
Whoa… because they are… intense…and intensive…
Three days of the good, the bad, the beautiful, and even sometimes the ugly! Packed into a small group of dancers with the heart, spirit, and desire for Tribal Bellydance. To learn more, not just about the moves and the technique, but what makes them the dancer, the person, that they are, or desire to grow into. To be the best dancer, and person, they can be. To listen, share, and voice themselves and their dreams, their aches, their loves, their fear, and their joy.
In our three day intensives for the levels of Gypsy Caravan’s Tribal Bellydance Certification Intensives:
We write, we meditate, we stretch, we dance, we talk, we listen, we share, we bond, with bodies and hearts and souls. Then we dance some more. We are different ages, different sizes, different in so many ways. yet similar. We have the need for connection, we want to love ourselves even more, we want yet more empowerment for ourselves, through the dance, through our bodies, through each other.
We join in because we want to dance, to feel our bodies, to create with the whole being, we want to discover, to learn more, to understand, we are on the tribal quest, yet we learn that we are enough as we are. We want to be teachers, we want to be students. We feel the vulnerability of being human, of learning at different paces, and that we are freakin’ fabulous.
Our hearts expand with newness and oldness, with A-ha moments, and with oh yea’s, with head nodding and forgiveness and acceptance. We learn what it takes to be the dancer we dream of being, the women we are, the teacher we want to be. We acquire new skills and shine up old ones, refinement is glorious.
What more can I say, but that you dancers who undertake this journey are brilliant. I am honored to be a part of your journey. I love that I have tools, the experiences, the heart, that will take you further on your inquisitive path. I watch the world expand with your newness, your glow and your flow. And how we touch lives, one by one, around us and through the airwaves. How we can be the change we desire, and pass on the love.
Dancers write in about the Collective Soul and Teacher Training experience!
SF: Why? To improve my skills, understanding and knowledge of tribal belly dance. To learn how to confidently move with grace, power and be able to improvise. It was exhilarating, challenging, fulfilling, inspiring, humbling!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW DATES this Fall will be October 4th- 8th, 2013
Join Paulette and Amanda Richardson for the
outstanding Gypsy Caravan Tribal Intensives:
Collective Soul and Teacher Training Level One in Portland…
“If you want to improve your understanding, knowledge and practical dance skills, then CS or TT training with Paulette, I highly recommend.
Not only will you find yourself evolving as a dancer, but as human being, an individual and a member of the community.
If you want to be an effective leader and follower, then these trainings are so recommended.
If you want to be inspired and be inspiring and challenge yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually with the aim of being the best dancer you can be. then Paulette’s trainings come highly recommended!
SunFyre
More info coming at you soon about registration…
In the meantime you can read more about these courses and what they will do for you, on this site, here…
http://www.paulettereesdenis.com/soul.php
Interested? Let me know ASAP so we can send you an application and hold your place in the class…class sizes are small, so do come and join us!
dance@gypsycaravan.us
and please pass this on to any one you know who would enjoy this opportunity! thanks for being here….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 13, 2013
Dance To Word- memories–creating magic
More archives my friends, but so worth repeating, especially because I am thrilled that we have so many new readers here joining us on our Tribal Quest…
I wrote this back in 2011, also…
What do you do to create magic in your life? And how is the dance magical for you? Can you write about it. Tell me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Creating magic in my life, that is what it is about, to have that day in paradise. Every day. Beauty, magic, connection—both with people and the earth. That is how the dance, our tribal bellydance in particular, became such a powerful force in my life. It is about creating magic through movement and connection, in the moment, in a group of artists. About the sparkle of the intensity of that connection, the power, the beauty, the creative flame, using the spontaneous, synchronistic, and physical movement. I write a lot about that in my book, Tribal Vision: A Celebration of Life Through Tribal Belly Dance. Dancing helps me to connect to my spirit (god) self, my physical self, my mental and emotional self. Pure movement, adrenalin pumping, heart thumping, snakey and mesmerizing or shaking vibrational movement. Gets my head up and revives my spirit. We all need to move.
I walk around my land, sometimes alone, or sometimes with my dogs and goats, and it doesn’t take much at all to feel the magic, just pure being, really—walking, listening to the sounds of the wind whipping through the trees, the birds singing their songs back and forth, the dogs barking, the rooster crowing, the nest of baby swallows chirping, the crate of 2 day old chicklets talking incessantly, the coyotes howling in the moonlight. Or I take a few minutes to breathe deep, stretch, do a little yoga, dance around my living room, play my guitar, cook, or write. It is all magical to me, fun and delightful. That list could go on and on, but the important thing is that it does. And how often I need to stop and take note of those things, when life gets so full, when classes are being planned, trips are being arranged, work days are full and never stop, the animals need to be fed, the body is tired and aches for down time, but there is no stoppping. Then I need to remember the magic, and to know that I create the magic for myself, only. And really, that is a cool thing. Dreaming, making magic happen. Another quote, from Eleanor Roosevelt: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
What do you do to create magic in your life? And how is the dance magical for you? Can you write about it. Tell me!
Perizad recently wrote to me, and included this thought about our dance!
The community of tribal sisterhood ranges far and wide. We have, through this style of dance, instilled in our students and fellow performers, a sense of community, a tribal way of thinking, where we stand together, support each other, and grow together as spirits of positive energy. With the lessons we learn, and give to our students as instructors, comes a self-less, rather than a selfish, way of living. It is the greatest gift we receive as participants in this amazing dance we know as tribal style belly dance.
So many people don’t consider themselves artists. Yet life is about living artfully, creating our own vision of beauty and magic. Eating scrumptious foods, drinking delicious concoctions, breathing fresh air, creating wondrous moments. Do you know people who take life for granted, and believe themselves to be indestructable and invincable, and that our planet is as well. They eat processed and junk foods, don’t move their bodies, don’t recycle. What ever. Just not being conscious and aware of life. And for us dancers, (and everyone else too) this is not okay. Our bodies are our tools, our medium with which to create, our well-being. Our happiness and our creatvity depend upon our body-physical, emotional, and spiritual. Our body depends upon us. And if we don’t take care of it, replenish it, work it, well, it won’t work for us, in the long run. So come on dancers, think about it. Take off those extra pounds so your body dances for you! Drink more water. Write more words. What ever it is that you want to do for yourself to feel better and dance divine. And be that supersoolhappylovething!
I heard a great quote the other day from the fabulous writer SARK (Susan Kennedy, www.planetsark.com/). She was talking about taking time, even in micro movements, to do what delights you. See, there is that magic thing again. You create your own magic!
Anyway, how many times have you said that you can’t find the time to do what you really want? And SARK says that you can’t find time because time is not lost! Well, how about that? You can make time, but you can’t find time. So much of our mind set is in our wordage. Next time think about how you phrase things for yourself, because it is true: thoughts become things (thanks Mike Dooley).
~~~~
Thanks my friends… hope you are enjoying rereading if you’ve been with me that long, and way cool if you have… I adore you…
Let me know how your words are flowing… and your life is going. I love that you are here for the quest….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 11, 2013
New Collective Soul and Teacher Training dancers….
Wow, I never cease to be amazed at the brilliance of dancers! All ages, all sized, they come to me to study Tribal Bellydance, but it always goes much deeper than that… bodies, minds, souls, collide, build, heave, strengthen, love, laugh, cry, dance…
“Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart, and i will take you the the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again…”
Oriah
And we’ve gone through another several days of Gypsy Caravan Intensives, both Collective Soul and Teacher Training Level One… yowza… great work, dancers… I am proud, honored, awed, exhausted, and happy. Happy you came to study with me, that you have the desire to be the best dancer you can be, that you have the tribal spirit and you follow your heart.
And the outstanding healer and coach, Tony Robbins, says, ” it is impossible to touch others without being touched….” amen to that….
congratulations to
Giulia Bortolini for finishing up Collective Soul Level One!
Right on….
and to Giulia Bortolini, Cayte Lawton, Catherine Taylor, and Eleanor Shirkie, for working so hard and receiving the Teacher Training Level One certificates… the Italian and UK contingent grows even bigger!
Onward we continue on our journeys, together and alone…and may you all dance with passion and love!
Thank you….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and make sure to check out our new Talking Tribal Vlog, with Paulette and Cinzia!
enjoy, let me know what you think! anything to add…would love to hear from you too…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 9, 2013
the essence of tribal style at its finest…a review of DVD #10!
I am honored to have had my #10 Tribal Technique video, Snappy Intermediate Combos, Turns and Partnering Ideas. reviewed in the latest issue of Zaghareet Magazine! It is always good to hear how others feel about the work I do, because I try to bring the dance to you in a way that best gives you the tools. DVDs are second best, of course, to getting the real live thing! This was a fun DVD to make with fellow dancers Nina and Sienna from Australia, and I love the tribal steps on this tenth video in my series…Thanks to Zaghareet Magazine and Thalia del Fuego for taking the time to check it out…
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tribal Technique No. 10
Cultivator Press with Paulette Rees-Denis & Gypsy Caravan Dance Company
Review By Thalia del Fuego
You won’t find any high-tech lighting effects, flashy introduction, or elaborate sets in this DVD. The lighting and background are basic, and there are no sophisticated camera angles. Don’t expect to be overwhelmed, either, by a tribal dance star so glamorous that she seems to come from another world.
Instead, you will find that Paulette has a down-to-earth personality. The whole DVD has a comfortable feeling of camaraderie and sisterhood that is liable to make you feel that you are in your best friend’s living room, rather than in the presence of an internationally known belly tribal dance star.
The subtitle of this DVD is “Snappy Intermediate Combos, Turns and Partnering Ideas.” I would agree with the title. Paulette, Nina and Sienna partner very well, whether they are facing one another, both facing the audience, or dancing with back to the audience. Transitions such as change in lead dancer are seamlessly woven into the combinations. Paulette continues to demonstrate her mastery in creating combinations that allow two or three dancers to work together with fluid motions that are reminiscent of the waves in the ocean.
It is a joy to watch the synchronized movements of Nina Martinez and Paulette, particularly the arm work. Paulette is a master at gracefully framing the body, and combining turns with beautifully shifting, fluid arms. She seems to have an intuitive sense of precisely the right moment when the arms should be shifted, and the precise change in angle that will give the best effect.
The warm-up consists mostly of familiar yoga moves such as forward bends and down dogs, but Paulette has included some of her own dancer’s stretches. She sets a quiet, focused tone right from the beginning by instructing you to close your eyes, breathe and feel your center.
The technique section follows, but it is not split up into separate parts, making it challenging to locate specific moves. Here Paulette gives instructions about specific steps which were taught in previous DVDs from this series. She leads you through them several times, giving cues, but not counting out the beats. Some steps are not broken down at all, but others, such as the Arabic box, are broken down more thoroughly.
The practice section is split up into 4 parts, with Nina and Sienna demonstrating in the first three parts, and Paulette joining in for the last section. Paulette provides cuing only for the beginning of each series of steps, throughout this section. There are both pros and cons to the lack of more detailed cuing. On the one hand, a dancer who relies on cuing may find herself getting lost halfway through the step series. On the other hand, a more experienced dancer who is “getting it” can more deeply experience and internalize the dance by feeling the cues in the music.
This is, after all, an intermediate level DVD, and dancers at this level should be starting to learn how to rely on instinct and muscle memory more and more. Furthermore, this DVD is specifically designed to build on the moves learned from the previous DVD’s in this series.
There are some drawbacks to this DVD. For example, it is very difficult to locate specific sections. There are a limited number of chapter headings on this DVD: play all, warm-up, technique, practice, drills, and slide show. While these sections are labeled on-screen, the headings are shown very briefly and are easy to miss if you are not careful while fast-forwarding. Each of the four practice sections is labeled on-screen, but again, the titles are shown very briefly. Beyond this, there is no on-screen labeling of specific steps or sections.
The visual production quality is satisfactory, but not top-notch. A black background, coupled with the black T-shirts that the dancers are wearing, makes the moves a bit harder to distinguish.
The music provided by the Gypsy Caravan band is enjoyable, but the sound quality is extremely variable. I watched the DVD a number of times on both of my home DVD players, and repeatedly found that the chapter selection page has a normal volume. However, the music is just a faint hum in the background during the warm up, the technique section, and the beginning of the practice section.
When I played it on my computer, I turned the volume settings up to the maximum, and found that the sound quality improves somewhat throughout the practice section. By practice section 4, I found that I could actually hear and enjoy the music, even though the quality still was not ideal. However, when I returned to the main menu page, with the volume at the same setting, it became unbearably loud. I find this to be a serious distraction for a dance instruction DVD. Even as you are trying to learn the combinations, you will be struggling to hear the musical cues that help you know when to switch steps. The inspiring, energizing effect that music generally provides for the dancer is, unfortunately, missing during much of the DVD.
Given these drawbacks, should you still buy the DVD? That is a personal choice. If you are on a tight budget and do not own other DVD’s in this series, you might choose to buy some of the others. If, on the other hand, you admire Paulette’s work, already own other DVD’s in this series, and love her partnering style, you might choose to invest in it anyway so that you can enjoy more of her inspiring work.
My own feeling is that Paulette’s work beautifully embodies the essence of tribal style at its finest. Both the choreography, and the sisterly manner in which Paulette so generously shares her work, are an inspiration. Once again, she has made me yearn to learn more about tribal, so that I can share this joyful sisterly style with my own students.
Thalia started belly dancing as a teenager, and has enriched her dance experience with classes in yoga, pilates and other dance forms. Thalia is certified as a personal trainer and yoga teacher. She has a keen interest in proper body alignment, good breathing technique, and in the power of dance to heal the body, mind and spirit.
Thalia has relied on videos and DVDs for her daily workouts and for supplemental dance instruction for over two decades. You can contact her at frodomom@comcast.net . You can see more of her reviews on Amazon.com and collagevideo.com.
*Published in the March/April 2013 issue of Zaghareet Magazine, http://www.zaghareet.com/magazine.html
~~~~~~~~You can purchase the DVD here!
http://paulettereesdenis.com/item_description.php?IID=18
or the digital download of #10, here
http://paulettereesdenis.com/item_description.php?IID=130
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 6, 2013
Sunday Dance to Word- memories and change
Ah yes…still reading through my archives… I am loving it… knowing where I have been, and seeing where I am now…one never knows exactly, do we, where we will end up, or how a situation will unfold… But this was from a Caravan Trails newsletter, March 2011… Can you jot down your reactions again? Let yourself read and write and feel and release?
Think about where you were two years ago… and how life has unfolded for you since then…Share your words if you like!
~~~~~~~~~~
Seems the world is in a torrent of chaos these days, and my prayers go out to all. May we pass on healing wishes to all in need.
Whether it be an elemental catastrophe as in Japan, or the emotional trauma of a relationship, life is never easy, but always a learning experience. We can use that experience to reach into the gut of our existence. We can create from that lesson, that change. That is why we are artists, dancers, writers, photographers, whatever our art form be.
Life within a dance troupe…an intimate, creative, trying, emotional, joyous, soulful, time-consuming, event in one’s life. It can be these and so many other things for a dancer. What happens when it becomes difficult to continue? A student/friend wrote me a about the troupe problems she was having, and was perplexed on how to handle a dancer within her troupe.
She writes:
I have 10 women in my troupe. We have one person who has been causing
issues for the last year. In short, she’s a know-it-all, seems oblivious
to the needs and feelings of the group, and alienates and frustrates
everyone. Lately her travel/work schedule has been so busy that her
dancing has suffered and she can’t dance with the rest of us effectively.
A year ago, we lost a group member who couldn’t stand to be in the same
room with her anymore.
Although this has been going on for a year, people have been bearing the
brunt of it silently (all of them trying to take personal ownership for
their emotional responses and not gossip, bless them) so I didn’t really
understand the extent of the damage caused by this person. Now people
have started talking with me openly and I realize I must do something.
The answer in my heart is that I have to ask her to leave.
But the nagging voice in my head says that’s not fair, it’s mean, that as
the teacher I should try harder to help her grow, that I should help
facilitate open communication between her and everyone else and not burn
bridges.
But the truth is I’m exhausted and totally fed up with this person myself
so I know I don’t have it in me to do any of these things.
I guess my question is: how do you know when it’s time to let someone go?
~~~~~~~
Each situation is so individual, so all I could do was ask her what her gut said to her, and what she truly wanted from her troupe. You can already hear it in her words, but to face the task head on can be painful. It is never easy being the leader, the director, having to make final decisions, to make a call about a member of the troupe that is posing a problem. What is a dance troupe after all? Is it a party, a gal gathering, a professional performance group? It can be any of those things and so much more, but you need to be clear from the beginning what it is and what you expect from your fellow dancemates. And what you want to get out of being in or directing a troupe.
What would you have done in that situation? It is clear to me what she needs to do, but she has to make that call for herself, and then feel good about it.
My universal friend Mike said to me today,
First, choose from the options that thrill you.
Then, choose the ones that also teach you.
And from these, Paulette, choose the scariest.
So, be clear, and live the life that you want, and the one that feeds you. Don’t sette. I have always said that to myself. Don’t settle. Yet there have been times when I have done just that in my life and in my dance world, with my dance studio, my troupe, my students, and myself. It may have felt easier at the time, or I was too tired to continue, or I did not want to hurt someone. Ah, so many reasons. And you know what? It always comes back at you. And it only hurts you in the end. So go get what you want. Be the dancer, the leader, the artist that you want to be. Work hard, and love what you do…What have you got to lose?
And for the most part, I have always chosen the scariest. Taken that step into the darkness or the uncertainty, sometimes foolishly, sometimes smartly, but always with my heart and soul. You?
One of my fav bloggers, Chris Guillebeau, writes:
The external rewards for pursuing a dream may or may not arrive, but regardless, you should feel proud of doing so. The first steps are more important than the later ones, because they’ll provide inspiration and security for everything that comes later. Just keep walking!
Never despise small beginnings, and don’t belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it’s kind of a big deal.
The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another soul-felt and heart exploring journey through tribal bellydance. I am always and continuously amazed, honored, and touched by your experiences, words, and your dance!
Anyone else want to jump in? Would love to read what you think, about this or anything!
Thanks for connecting…
~~~~~~~~~~~
April 3, 2013
Thanks for Everything!… Guest blog with Kerrie Blazek…
Hey friends… Today I have a guest blog post for you, from wild woman and Pleasure Catalyst kerrie Blazek! Woo hoo…
I love being able to share these dynamic women with you, to give you good stuff to think about, try, love…little tidbits of juiciness that can aid your dance, your brain, your body, your soul, your life! Makes my heart so happy…
Thanks for Everything…
I’m sure we can all agree that gratitude is an important ingredient in a well-lived life.
In the United States and Canada, national holidays are set aside to celebrate Thanksgiving. World religions, including Christian, Buddhist, Muslims, Jewish, and Hindu traditions all emphasize the importance of gratitude.
At some point, you’ve probably been told to count your blessings; but what if instead, you decided to be thankful for everything? How might your life change?
Albert Einstein purposed there are two ways to live your life: One is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is a miracle.
I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I slowed down and considered everything to be a miracle?
I decided to try a little experiment in radical gratitude.
While visiting my favorite neighborhood coffee shop, I chose to be thankful for the loud, obnoxious, demanding woman ordering her Frappuccino
Believe me, viewing her as a blessing rather than a thorn in my side certainly impacted my day. Because, as luck would have it, after placing her order she sat down next to me.
Enter opportunity.
Instead of regarding her with contempt, I chose gratitude. I couldn’t help but wonder: What if she’s a blessing in disguise? What if I am thankful for her presence, rather than scoff and become annoyed? How might things change?
I’m pleased to share that her demeanor changed as soon as we began talking. Instead of being loud and obnoxious, she softened. When I engaged her, by asking with wonder, what delightful concoction she ordered, she responded brightly. When she shared her story, and I shared myself, my entire perception of her changed!
Shortly following this brief encounter, tears welled up in my eyes. I kept thinking, “How might life be different if we all lived our life as though everything is a miracle.” Everything. Including: red lights, canceled plans, and loud, obnoxious people?
I realize this idea may seem a little far-fetched, but let me ask you this: Would you be willing to run the experiment? Would you be willing to suspend belief and give it a try? Scientists do it all the time. They start with a hypothesis, collect data, and formulate their own conclusions.
This experiment in gratitude has three simple steps:
Hypothesis: If I give gratitude for everything, then my experience of life will change.
Procedure:
1. From the time you read this post, until the time you go to bed, make a conscious decision to be thankful for EVERYTHING!
2. Notice what happens when you make the mental shift to gratitude.
3. Collect data and formulate a conclusion.
Conclusion: I used to think ___________, but now I know ______________.
Like my interaction with loud, Frappuccino Girl, being thankful can bring a spark of magic and fun to an otherwise frustrating experience.
Be sure to come back and share your results in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear what happens when YOU decide to give thanks for everything!
Are you looking for a bigger challenge? Join the 40-Day Feel Good Challenge and develop a daily radical-gratitude practice.
Kerrie Blazek is a certified Pleasure Revolutionary with a Master’s degree in Secondary Education. She has over 15 years’ worth of experience in drawing out people’s innate gifts and talents. With her dynamic personality and calm demeanor, she has helped middle-school students, teachers, and women from all walks of life glimpse their own greatness. Blazek combines her experience with many years of study in personal development to offer women unparalleled coaching services. She can currently be found living in North Dakota with her dog Roubidoux. Discover more about her at InHerElement.biz , friend her on Facebook , and follow her on Twitter.
Sign up for more Kerrie! Click that box for her newsletter and more!
I so love that Kerrie ventured over to my Taking Tribal Global Blog! What fun she is…
and glad you got just a little taste of her… go over to her sites, check her out, and sign up for her 40-Day Feel Good Challenge… sounds fantastic…
Thanks for joining us~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***And my friends… I have a new sign up form for this here Taking Tribal Global blog and enewsletter,
and I would love to get you involved!
Can you go to my front page and click that big beautiful red button and get yourself signed up for all the tribal juiciness I ‘ve got to send out for you!
There are a couple o goodies waiting for you after you do that! thanks again for being here…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 30, 2013
Sunday Dance To Word…memories!
Good day folks, I have been searching back in my archives of newsletters, looking for the ones that I have had the most responses too, and ones that I want to reshare! Whoa…here’s a whopper! On this blog lately, we talk a lot about change, authenticity, not settling, going after what you desire…
I wrote this on a very long road trip/tour in Australia two years back… So now… grab your pen and paper/ journal and write your responses, gut reactions, feelings, whatever comes out of you as you read this, Don’t censor or edit yourself, just let your initial feelings flow… you can edit or pretty up your words later if you so desire…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
….more workshops and airplanes and lovely dancing women. It is a good job, a trying job, and a job that takes me away from my home, my man, my animals, my other life. Sometimes I feel split, but it is my life, what I have built over the past 22 years, and I am blessed, honored, humbled, sleep deprived and patience tried, and have so many other roller-coaster emotions and physical challenges. This enewsletter is called Caravan Trails, but when I type too fast, as I do so often, it comes out Caravan Trials, and there is an honesty in that error. This job of dance teaching, directing two troupes, traveling around the world, it sounds so glamorous, doesn’t it? It is for sure an honor and a privilege, and I love it.
Then sometimes you have to step back and take stock, look at your days, your life, your relationships, and your desires. What is it you want out of life, out of dance, out of work? And are you getting it, or are you settling for something less, or something not quite right? With the new year, we quite often talk about resolutions, or revolutions, of what we want, need, desire. These soul-searching sessions bring about truths and change. Change is such a good thing for me, I reinvent myself constantly through my days and weeks and years. I have so many desires in life, but I strive to understand what the most important things are to me. It is not fame, which I have achieved in a sub-cultural level with this dance job, nor money, which I have not achieved. But there has been prosperity like no other. I have taught women to celebrate themselves and to empower themselves. To fall in love with themselves again, or for the first time. I wrote about this a lot in my book, Tribal Vision, and shared several women’s thoughts and stories about how the dance has changed them. I have networked and brought women together, in close proximity, and over the miles through different countries.
Through dancing, I have showed women how to look at themselves, at each other, and at their lives. I have learned so much from them too. Over the years I have been on a million stages, taught a million workshops and a million women. As a teacher, I hope to have given women the ability to find within themselves the skills to dance, to teach, to perform, or just share in the celebration of life, of themselves, and of their communities, by dancing together. Through the structured movements of Tribal, and other experiential dance exercises, I have taught women how to create art with their bodies, costumes, music, and with their words. I am a thousand times rewarded by their achievements, some miniscule and some monumental.
But this dance life does not go without many emotional and painful moments. Many of you ask how I do it. This dance is one of communal camaraderie, hard physical work, creative revelations—and someone always takes the responsibilities of leadership. In so many cases, that would be me. The universe has given me that role, and I have chosen that role, I fill those shoes (or bare feet) well.
But what happens to the leader sometimes? She feels bits of loneliness as her babies move on and leave her, like a mother and child. She has seen her dancers leave with a desire to branch out on their own, sometimes forgetting about her and how much she loved them, taught them, and empowered them to be that strong dancer, to love themselves and to love the dance and make it theirs. No, not all of them forget, some remain in constant contact, and some distant, some share their stories with her of their teaching and performing revelations and catastrophes, their hardships and their rewards. She doesn’t expect a lot, just a little, to be able to be proud and share in their excitement, to advise if that is asked for, to hold the hand on the nervous journey, to gloat in their glory, to praise and support. Again, there is nothing like being proud of someone you have touched along the journey.
This dance journey is one of friendship too, because of the community aspect, the networking, the support system that comes so naturally with tribal dance, as all dance together to raise that magical energy. As a leader, one takes the role of not always being the good guy, needing to direct by setting limits, rules, and boundaries, both professional and personal. The friendship aspect gets convoluted with dance stuff, depending on the end desires. Many of you have shared your heartbreaking stories about divorce-like troupe breakups, or friendships gone sour, arising from problems in your dance world. It happens, as it does in any type of community or society. It is not without the stuff of life.
How many times have I had a woman befriend me, their teacher, telling me what a great friendship we have, and that they don’t want anything special from me? I tend to take people at their word, and instead of shutting her out, I take her into my life, only later to be hurt because all she really wanted was to be involved more deeply in my dance world, to be a part of it, to perform or teach, or to be me. And when I needed her on a personal level, or could not give her what she wanted in that dance world because it did not fit, the friendship was gone. The leadership role is also a privilege, and I have never taken it lightly. So I have tried to learn, to not befriend my students, to keep a strict line between business and pleasure, but that is not my nature, not is it the nature of the dance. I am an open, loving soul, who loves to share. I enjoy discovering others and befriending others, and this dance is about that community building and sharing, so it seems incredibly dysfunctional and wrong to not have those relationships. And it keeps being proven wrong to me, and I keep misjudging other’s intents. But somehow that, too, is a part of life. My lessons. Not everything is meant to be forever, not every friendship is meant to last, and people learn from other people.
So I let go of that part, and keep the dance alive for myself, and then for my students and peers. I see other’s go through the ups and downs of what I have experienced, but each must find their own path and go through their own experiences. I don’t have an “I told you so” attitude, or “I know better”, but there are many things I have learned along my journey. And I think that is one of the reasons why I am a good teacher, a teacher of wisdom and experience, with a desire and the knowledge to share. But again, it really only comes to empowerment. How can you be an artist if you only imitate? If you only follow in one’s footsteps and never take your own path? True, it takes leaders and followers to make the circle go around. And I want you to be your own person, your own dancer, individually first, then collectively within your group, your troupe, your tribe. Not to be cliquey within your troupe, I have also witnessed the pain of some shutting others’ out. I have seen egos expand and shrink, and I have seen many learn the dance but not the spirit of the dance. That saddens my heart. I can teach lessons, skills, and ways of doing, but it is only for you to use as tools to find your own path. My job is to help you become the best dancer you can be, and to honor yourself through movement and connection, the connection of yourself with the dance spirit, and the connection of dancing with others—that magic of our schynchronistic movement and power.
So really, what am I trying to say? There are many roads on this dance journey of mine, and yours. Joyful, celebratory, life-changing, painful, tearful, with physical challenges as well as mental challenges (remember when you brain kept trying to tell your hips what to do, but they wouldn’t behave?). It is all part of the journey. Remember that. The pain of one can be the joy of another. It is hard to be clear with yourself sometime, but the most important thing you can do is be true to yourself. What you really want, what you desire, what is attainable given who you are. Do not settle. Then you can truly gather what you need for your journey. And to enjoy the entirety of it, not just the reaching the end resuIt. That is a beautiful thing, and pain is part of those travels, along with change and truth.
Wow, this seems like a heavy newsletter, but sometimes I need to just let my words flow. My path has been one to share with you these tribal travels of mine, and it is not always easy, in fact, it is almost never easy. But I have had rewards and pleasures a plenty, and I have met some truly wonderful people, and made great long-lasting friends as well as passing acquaintances, along my path. My road is changing and is bumpy, as I grow into my crone years, as a dancer and as a woman. I don’t always know where I will end up because I let life lead me, although I often try to plan ahead too much. But I know my dance world is changing . Meanwhile, I still dance and share, because that is what I do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I go back and reread this, and remember how I was feeling… those emotions come and go as my dance journey continues. What do you find yourself going through? Some of you have been on this path for many years, and some are new to the tribal quest. Write it down, and then save it to reread in two years…or share it with me…
Like this post? Let me know, and please feel free to share it with others who will enjoy it too! Thanks for that!
Enjoy and dance your truth…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 29, 2013
Friday What I’m Loving!
What an amazing week it has been…Can I just tell you that here in Portland we are having a most unusual but amazing spring! It is normally raining raining raining,,, but noooo, not this year, it is drop dead gorgeous, I am out walking my corgi dogs everyday, working in my garden, and today it is supposed to get into the 70′s. Hallelujah! And I’m not trying to make any of you jealous 
And don’t daffodils make you swoon?
Plus I did my 3 day juice fast, definitely did not seem long enough for a major overhaul, but I felt lighter and fresher! And def some interesting observations (some posted earlier this week).
Next week I am excited to bring you Kerrie Blazek as our guest blogger! Now this fab gal knows how to live her life, and she will tell you a bit about it next week!
and what else is rockin my world this week! oohhhh…. so much
**Lynea and my Tribal Bliss class is rockin’ it, … so much that we have added new dates for June 17th! I am beyond thrilled when the work I have to share can be just what someone else needs and desires to give them some joy!
Registration starts June 2nd…so jot those dates down in your Google Calendar…
http://paulettereesdenis.com/item_description.php?IID=158
**ok get your bootie kicked for a quick 10 minutes…read Ben Greenfield’s tips!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-greenfield/fast-workouts_b_1415045.html?ref=healthy-living
*Andrea Sher, SuperHero…oh yea…
What we decide about ourselves in those moments is what matters most.
http://www.superherolife.com/2013/03/the-crime-of-outshining/
* AND Gypsy Caravan Dance Co, got our performance slot at Tribal Fest
this year it will be Friday at 6:22!
Now we got some great new dance grooves going on that we are going to share…thinking alot about my Tribal Roots…. and my personal roots, and my deepest loves at the moment that are inspiring me and my dance! More on that later,,,
plus I have two BRAND new workshop offerings… Tribal Closeness and Tribal Orbits!!! You can still register for my workshops on Thursday and Saturday too… oh got some great new tribal grooves for you… register here…
http://www.blacksheepbellydance.com/tf13/workshops13.html#shoppingcarttop
*my goodness, does the tribal juiciness ever stop? NOoooo.
Because we’ve added Collective Soul and Teacher Training Level One for October in Portland…
So new Fall dates for
Collective Soul and Teacher Training Level One in Portland
this year will be October 4th- 8th, 2013
More info coming at you soon about registration…
In the meantime you can read more about these courses and what they will do for you, on this site, here…
http://www.paulettereesdenis.com/soul.php
*ok lovelies…get out and move that body, write down some wordage, get crackin’ on living your fullest you, and share the love!
thanks for being here…enjoy the weekend…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
