Dancing backwards...

Musings from the Artistic Director

It is September.  Summer is coming to a close and The Dance COLEctive is about to embark on the beginnings of it's 18th season...  What????? 

Where does the time go?  I mean that about 18 years worth of TDC as well as summer.  Generally I spend the bulk of my summer teaching here and there and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so in various different places this summer!  Cincinnati, OH; Birmingham and Gadsden, AL; Springfield, IL; our own workshop here in Chicago and, a major highlight, at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC.  I have also been a "dancer" much of the summer in the studio with choreographer Peter Carpenter and fellow dancers Lisa Gonzales and Matthew McMunn.  This has been joyous for me mentally, spiritually and artistically.  I can't wait to perform in October at the Dance Center.  Admittedly I had a giant to do list and I did not get to all of it!  Costumes to organize, things to file, grants to write, Linked In pages to update and the list goes on.  Cleaning my office will just have to wait another day...

One of my big challenges generally is creating personal time for myself without feeling guilty about it while the things on my to do list go unchecked.  I did manage to spend a little time with family and friends. Went to the beach in Florida. Completed my Advanced Open Water Dive Certification and ended up seeing sharks in the process.  (No joke!)  I appreciated the beauty and water of Lake Michigan by boat.  Read all the Hunger Games books.  Celebrated an important birthday with a dear friend, welcomed new babies into the world and have been mourning the loss of a friend and mentor Dr. Woodie T. White who served on the TDC board for many years.  I have been in a whirlwind. 

I guess I am sharing all this with you because summer is generally, dare I say it, a time for ME.  It allows me to reflect, replenish, nourish, challenge, be a student, be a teacher and remind myself that I am simply human.  NOT super human, which is what I would like to be!  And everything I do for ME enables ME to gather my forces and jump headlong into yet another season, the 18th season of The Dance COLEctive!  I am excited about the artists I am working with, eager to get back into the studio, open to change, to experimentation and looking forward while I am dancing backwards.

Submitted by TDC Artistic Director Margi Cole, Monday, September 3, 2013.