visiting the skate board park first attempt

This last saturday Rex (the photographer) and I went to the Marginal way Skateboard park.It was a sunny sunny day, and we were ? ? where did the skaters go...? confused to why they were not gathered at under the viaduct.We were hoping to talk to a bunch of them if we could take pictures and collaborate with them while I dance in the pool with them..., a dream. There was about only  two skaters looking nervous that I was approaching them.(ofcourse I am decked out in white kabuki makeup and a costume, pretty scary)and one other skater, who was cought in the middle of all of this funny  artsy- fartsey business and felt pressured by the situation who had to dissappear in a flash of seconds, I GUESS I UNDERSTOOD IT MUST HAVE BEEN A LITTLE STRANGE.None the less, we got a kind- of- a- permission from the two boys and I thought they were nice to let us crash their prescious practice space. One of them told me that since its such a nice sunny day,everyone was at all the outdoor parks, like the one up near the zoo.......
Rex set up a tripod and I just started dancing.It was cold in an icy way, this concrete realm...The two of the skaters were cautious, I can sense them.It felt even colder...I could feel it in my shoulders, arms, and down my spine...I wished there were many of them, so I could talk to some of them, one of them, to the ones who do not mind something strange, curious, and to give us a chance,I wished at least even a strong reaction , to say " hey, get out!" to start a dialogue. but ofcourse we stepped into their territory.I  definitelywould like to come back again.SLowly, once in a long wHile,.. the skaters skated a quick passing -by, which made me excited.But  it felt lonely to me, More please...!  it was too empty.A beer-bellied guy with a beer appeared yelling something at me, something about making fun of a mime, or something.Oh, goodness, great, drunkenness again... he continiously yelled something rude to me, which I couldnt understand, and to Rex too, I kept dancing, just a little more, see what happens... but the two skaters took a BIG BREAK since he started to poke fun at us.What a delicate situation..! I felt like I learned something this day.. and more inpired to continue to come talk to them, definitely when all of their community is around! Ok, to not seem to bummed, a butoh video of the day is: Atsushi Takenouchi san. I met him briefly in NY last year.A gentle and kind man, a masterful dancer.

rain slippery ground ,new improv place, a beautiful spot under the aurora bridge

wow ok, I made the photo very huge....I hope I have room for the text..hahaha!I danced at the RedSquare again yesturday.I slipped once.As I thrashed around, I slipped and my hands hit the ground..I started to dance very timidly, it scared me a little,.. a bit embarrassed too, so I pretend to myself that I can handle it...Is the rain ever going to stop? tears weld up a little bit for some reason..I see a face, an immediate search for comfort of my friend's face inside me.I was thinking of my friend who is suffering..combatting with death...right at that moment,  every day now, for some time... so as I danced, and  if  I started to feel sorry for myself, I realize this and buckle up, and immediately begin the process of trying to relax my emotions that are welling up again and again with  the thoughts.Part of this butoh journal is dedicated to this friend, who has long been my mentor, created beautiful costumes from me when I began dancing for the stage.She has always given me the prescious gift of  appreciating the beauty of  Japanese textiles, the unusual cuts and shapes of the uniforms and garments from the old times, diffrent eras, the dye, the beautiful  deft art  of  tie-dye-Shibori, the art of indigo,  diffrent  mens  garments'weavings, and espescially Kasuri.. ..she would take apart an old kimono or Monpe( farmers pants) and make something  completely modern and stylish, even for everyday wear, I would be her experiment and wear the daily clothes too!She would tell me stories of when she was a little girl and was a tomboy, tortureing a young monk-to be- boy  back in Kyoto, while feeding me hand-made ohagi ( azuki bean paste and sweet rice)  I hesitated to even mention her situation but when I dance, she is always with me, she is the big part of the motivation since december ,so I have able to dance in the outdoors.Her laughter, her lightness, her mischievious nature and humor always make me contageous of her charactor and reminds me of lightness.
So, this is what happens, I notice this daily now.In the time zone of moving and improvising for a while, the  mind gets antsy,  It wants to judge, it wants to control , question, and wander ALL THE TIME, the mind   wants to attach to everything that comes through..It is similar to  trying to meditate, and you struggle.The other day I was under the Aurora Bridge, where you can see the beautiful lake union and the Fremont Bridge, in the second hour, right after the point of boredom urge spreading and feeling nothing interesting is comming out, I repeated with full intent of some of the movements and sensations over and over and over since that was where the intent somehow wished to go. pretty soon, I was riding the gush of wave of SECOND WIND and was able to "go in to" the body again. after the third hour, your mind hits the " I want to stop now, hmm.. must be close to the point of stopping." But by this time all I need to do is remind myself i it is a passing urge. There was a guy taking a picture of me with a strange shaped big camera that he was looking through the top part of it.It must be an old camera from a different era... as soon as I looked up to walk up to him, he ran away.
At the UW red square, one of the people watching came up to me, actually stopped my dancing and asked me." so what are you doing? and why are you doing it?" I love these curious students. Its funny now, instead of gathering around to see what is up,  most of the  students walk by, stop briefly to take my pictures with a phone, and rush away.On wednesday, I went to a OmCulture yoga studio  contact improvisation jam.People are kind, I am still pretty new at this.... contact thing.. maybe its a japanese thing.. I feel still shy.I appreciated the new energies and an opportunity for me to listen.

RaiNY dAY and test shoots with Rex

THis morning I put my white kabuki makeup on, put on the Mandy Greer's costume from the charactor Shiro from the last project Sonic Tales, and met with Rex Hohlbein to do some portrait shoots, then we went to the Skate board park under the viaduct, and then to the RedSquare of University of Washington again. Ok, I messed up on the date of the last posted blog...I have just published one that is on TODAY"S DATE but it was actually for a one few days ago... it was in fact last week.I love these photos, a study of light and shadows... and also a realm of some kind.

These are the correct photos for today, Feb 10th. The skateboard park was quite beautiful.According to Rex  the photographer, his nephew and some skaters have built the site, ( it is called Marginal Way Skate Park  ) and I have never seen such a place.It was kind of ghostly without the skaters, in a beautiful eerie way..with this almost chalky white day, but next shoot, we are going to crash in (?) to the skaters when they are chalkfull of them, and ask if I could possibly dance in their realm, with them.So today is kind of a test shoot :) I am sure it is going to be a wild crazy ride when we shoot with them.I recently went to watch another skatepark in Ballard neighborhood, and became in awe of their art.
The rain started to already drizzle, and by the time we got to the REDSQUARE, pretty later in the day.. it was umbrella time. I danced with the rain and Rex's camera for a while and then realized I was a bit afriad of slipping on the wet ground.I felt a slip there, and here, ans so began to minimize my movement to extremely slow...gravitationally slow, enjoying the dropping of the weight of the limbs...  from my slug-like internal looking out..I could see the students busily hurrying somewhere gripping their umbrellas, their eyes squinting, shielding from the rain bits.I can see that they are passing by, passing by as I get reaaly slower...They seem to be the lines of rain bits rushing by, criss crossing around me.It was definitely more of being in a tokyo street intersection.They began to feel like ants or insects or herd of cows passing by...what a different feeling from the last time I was here, the lively morning. I got more internal now. I even see poor Rex squinting his eyes, straining to take a picture. I sympasize and come out of my senses,.. then I felt the water from my hair gets into my eyes and realize its all of a sudden cold and I am actually very drenched.Then I get another second wind  from my body, opposite of my feelings and of my will, it finally starts to dance. That few moments made me happy.
I decided to put BUTOH inspiring dance of the day video by one of my favorite Butoh dancer Ko Murobushi.Please enjoy!

St.Ignatius and Christian Swenson

I danced this day at St. Ignatius at the Seattle University again.Drizzle of rain and many students walking by. I started feeling that I am kind of stuck in a rutt again, and I kept going, trying to relax into the being of taking in everything, like becomming part of the scene; a bird, the buildings, the pavement, the bell of the church, the passer-bys, the weather, the air, the colors, the atmosphere, the environment, the sweating and breathing moments, relaxing into it, absorbing and being aware of them.