Talking Notes

What comes out of us - the creative choices we make in art and in life - are tangibly shaped by our pre-dispositions, training, and experiences of love. This week I’m journeying through some of these ideas at this complex intersection. To help me, I’m using the practice of improvisation, the form of tap dancing, and the assumption of the power of choice as guideposts.

Related links

* The Sonny Rollins tune, Doxy

* Tap dancer Eddie Brown

* My recent performance at Dance Boise 2022

* Master improvisors Savion Glover, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Max Roach, and Jimmy Slyde

* Book recommendation: Renovation of the Heart, by Dallas Willard

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Relevant Links:

* What We Leave Behind

* Nuach, Rest for the Soul

* Drop me line

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I’ve been thinking a lot about growth lately. Growth requires change, but many people have a negative association with change. If not outright negative emotions, change can bring about some nervousness or excitement with it. Why? In part, I think it is because the final outcome of the change is actually unknown in a deep and fundamental way. If final outcomes are unknown, and all the other things that might resist change exist, how might we approach change consciously and with intention for the good of ourselves and those around us?

Related Links:

* Jessie Nilo

* Dizzy Gillespie

* Who is really good?

* With God

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I knew I wanted to be a tap dancer when I was 9 years old. How? What drew me in, fueled the pursuit, and allowed the work to happen? I think these questions begin to press against something a lot deeper than “It was meant to be” or “I”m some sort of unicorn.” They begin to illuminate the idea that we may all have a kind of inner compass – something that points us in particular directions. That idea brings up another interesting question: How do we begin to see that compass, if we can at all? And how does it get formed? This week I’m swimming among these ideas.

Related Links:

* The Challenge Scene

* Cats Paying Dues

* Rising to the Tap

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There seems to be an order of operations when it comes to things. Learning is progressive. Formation is progressive. I’m not saying everything is linear – it may be cyclical or like a spiral. However, it does seem that trying to build a house without a foundation is akin kicking against the natural order of things. This week I’m thinking about what might be first. What should I focus on first? What question needs answering first? What activity should I worry about first? How could I even be thinking about what comes first?

Related Links:

* Rising to the Tap

* A note about immersion

* A note about the end

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Have you ever been so wrapped up in something that you felt you couldn’t get away? I’ve been thinking a lot about immersion lately – the kind we opt into, and the kind we find ourselves in. Frankly, I’ve come to see life as an immersive endeavor. We’re in it whether or not we wanted to be – and we are ALL IN. So, I’m asking myself this question: What, if anything, can be done for an individual person to become and active agent in this experience of immersion, this experience of life, for the sake of change toward the good?

RELATED LINKS

* Rising to the Tap

* Burnout

* What We Leave Behind

* Psalm 16

* Resources I like for reading the bible

* “Seek first…”

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My first tap dance coaching session started with a simple request, “Give me two bars.” I had know idea how formative such a small practice would become for me. I used it as I grew, in choreographing for my dance company, and even today as my personal practice continues to evolve. It seems to me foundational practices are key in any pursuit, even that of engaging with the formation of our inner world.

RELEVANT LINKS:

* TED TALK - The Four Great Questions of Life

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Last week I made an assertion without qualifying it. This week I’m qualifying my assertion for clarity. Some ideas are foundational, others are not. Some ideas function in all aspects of life, others do not. The idea of letting go of searching for a single holy root may be healthy for journeying in the world of tap dance and other kinds of activities. When it comes to life, especially in light of the propositions of Jesus, there might be a different way.

RELEVANT LINKS:

* The Roots of Tap Dance, last week’s note

* The pull quote in question

* “…the way, the truth and the life…” (the Book of John, Chapter 14, verse 6)

* The Book of Matthew, Chapter 5

* The End, a note about goals

* The Four Great Questions of Life, a TEDx Talk

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The summer of 2020 sparked a deep and fruitful conversation within the tap dance community. This week’s note is thinking about how this conversation was approached, the framing around it, and how we approach similar conversations in general. What if our search for a beginning, a single root, or inventor, was replaced by a journey into the hearts of all those who came before us? That we might be enlivened by stories of wonder, inspiration, and life?

LINKS:

* My Tap Roots Course

* My documentary film

* My live solo show

* Jimmy Slyde (website)

* Steve Condos (video)

* Gene Kelly (video)

* Mable Lee (video)

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This week I’m thinking about the challenges faced with writing cumulative histories – the natural limitations of time and space, the stories that get included and excluded, and the people that are affected. If we think about stories as mediums that speak to the formation of a life, what happens when they are incomplete?

LINKS:

Bunny Briggs

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