The other day, Michael forwarded me this clip of the US Naval Academy performance from the Kings Firecrackers, an all girl jump rope crew. The caption on the bottom of the video is really great: “Girls Do Incredibly Intricate Jump Rope Routine. At one point, the only way to explain their fancy moves is CGI.” This screen capture, for example, shows three girls jumping on their lower legs — yes, while they are kneeling!

Hope you enjoy this clip as much as I did.

World beat, dance music, a little hip hoppy, soulful, strong beat — for a graduation party tomorrow – 4pm to 10 pm – in Oakland (near Alameda in a loft). They have speakers but nothing else, so you’d need your own equipment.

This is for a friend’s daughter’s college graduation party and celebration and she’s on a bit of a budget — looking to pay $200 (though has some flexibility to go higher so don’t let that discourage you!).

Contact Yoli directly, phone is best: 415.599.6581.

April 14-17, 2009 I moved everything out of my old place. About a third of it went to my new office/art studio/sewing lab. Through a bizarre twist of fate, my bed ended up there as well which is convenient if I need a place to sleep and because of my hectic travel schedule, I have actually slept there a few times.

Shortly after, I did some couch surfing and then during the weekend of the Expo I got a hotel room which was great and what I needed. The show was amazing and was, absolutely, my greatest contribution to planet earth so far in terms of making change and creating opportunity on a community level. I got lots of press and feel great about the whole thing.

Then the first weekend in May I went to FireDrums in Santa Cruz where I taught and performed and got rained on and got a tent full of water and had some amazing breakthroughs dancing in the rain and mud after completely surrendering to the crappy weather and wet tent. I also was reminded how grateful I am for a roof over my head and a place to put my stuff.

I was back in SF for a few days and then I went on what has turned out to be a major journey on the road. The initial plan had me going to Dallas May 7-11 where I taught a workshop and stayed with my friends Phillip and Disney. I had a great time and the workshop was a phenomenal success (despite a few bumps in the process).

Then I went to Chicago on the 11th and went with my friend Liz to her chemo treatment the next day. What an amazing spirit she is and I am continually inspired by her. I stayed with her and her equally inspiring husband Devin at their loft in Chicago (the Ninja Loft — yes, you might have noticed my new GlitterNinjaGirl NickName) to do some private sessions and then, on the weekend after the Dallas workshop, to do 2 workshops which were both sold out (34 students in all over the two weekend days). They were also phenomenal and I was very inspired by them both!

While I was there, the idea of me going with them and the rest of their troupe, Pyrotechniq, on a gig to the Bahamas came up and after a week of discussion, in stead of going back home to SF — after all, I hadn’t gotten a new place to live so I could travel through most of May — I decided to stay in Chicago till the Bahamas trip which is upon me now — June 1-4. So I’m still in Chicago right now staying with them and we’re preparing for the trip to the Bahamas and having a blast.

I did another class while I was here which was small and fun. It’s been great working with a troupe that’s been together for a while and so much fun to be appreciated for the gifts I bring while working with professionals who love their work and allowed me to just pop in and play with them. I’m elated by the experience. And, on top of that, although I had to defer some money in SF until mid June, I am getting well paid which has it be almost worth while fiscally. If you consider the working vacation to the Bahamas though — where I’ll be staying at the Atlantis Hotel (which I went to back in 98 I think for a Tivoli/IBM sales reward trip) — it is completely worth it for me. Plus the adventure is fun!

I get back to SF on the 4th after a full day of travel and then I am back in the swing of classes there. I had thought to go to Seattle in June to teach a workshop but I don’t think that is going to happen. I will be going to Bend Oregon for a wedding though at the end of the month (at least I think so) and then I’ll be up north for two campouts where I teach and perform in early July. So it’s a summer of fun travels and adventure.

For now, I’m about to take a shower and will be getting in a cab in 45 minutes to head to O’Hare for the FIFA gig. Hope everything is thriving in your world.

That all said, what is the big deal? I’ve thought about this a lot. As someone who has done quite a bit of singing in choirs and enjoyed a bit of success as a musician and performance artist, I examined the clip a bit critically, as I’m want to do — after all, extraordinary is the standard around here.

The conclusion I came to in conversation with my friend Renee today is this: Ms. Boyle, while having an amazing voice, was not so much amazing in who she was, but rather, in helping people see (the audience for starters) how they had unconscious expectations of what amazing or excellent might “look” like.

I was not shocked to hear her belt out the excellent choice of songs with the strength and passion with which she sung. I thought she sang quite well. And, at the same time, excellence is every where, so I was not at all surprised. What did surprise me is that people were so impressed by it. Is this phenomenon because we (humanity) has such limited views about what is possible? Is it because we expect certain things to look a certain way — in terms of voice, dress, character and aesthetics?

Frankly, I think people being so surprised – at least surprise is what I perceive when I watch the whole clip with the judges conversation — is a result of their limiting views on what’s possible, not a commentary on Ms. Boyle. So I proudly salute you Ms. Boyle for helping people see how they are allowing themselves to have such limited views of what can be so in this world.

Of course, as I said to Renee, I’m sort of an unexpected walking incarnation of my dreams, so maybe I just believe hope and possibility lives everywhere.

This event, while free to the public, costs about $5000 to produce. Fortunately, the city is covering about half of it. I’m still looking for donations — even $10 helps a lot, especially if many people give $10 — to assist in funding the travel stipends for the artists and permits (the fire permit alone is nearly $800).

If you’re called to help, you can do so on the Temple of Poi web site using the Chip-In link where you can read about the event and artists participating as well.

Please feel free to spread the word liberally about the show and mark your calendars for April 25, 7:50 pm sharp in Union Square.

Many blessings,
…isa

October 8, 2006

October 27, 2006

October 29, 2006

November 14, 2006

November 27, 2006

December 11, 2006

- inverted thread the needle (mike)
- inside weave (noel)
- 1.5 weave
- pendulum weave
- tangle
- hyperloop
- airwrap
- inverted weave
- infinite weave
- split time flower 2×1 big/little petal
- hybrid antispin butterfly
- uhs bfly with lockout on side in split time.

I have for years considered doing Arete. First, because of a completion party I was at (also my first professionally paid fire dancing gig) at which I met Travis. At the party, Marcella came up to me and said something that I would categorize now as poignantly honest. It was some insight about my social awkwardness and it was delivered with such innocence and love, it really made me curious about the Arete experience. You see, Marcella was answering my question about Arete, “What is it?”

Bryan did it, then Travis. Then a series of people I really respect and love. Then I felt pressured to do it. Then I felt judged at some point — I’m sure it was my hallucination. Then I felt on the outside. Then I wasn’t hanging out with so many folks in the Arete community. Then I returned to see many from that community who thought I had done it.

I’ve had an interesting relationship with attending and not attending for at least 5 years now. What strikes me about it is the idea of “being open” and what that means.

My greatest sense of openness shows up for me when I play with flow toys. Over the years, I’ve been integrating that flow into the rest of my life, working towards greater openness… Sensing that was better for me somehow but not really knowing why.

The past 36 hours has been fairly packed and intense for me. It included having the great pleasure of celebrating the inspirational life of a dear friend as well as the amazing gift of educating a 14 year young woman who flew in with her uncle to take a poi intensive with me.

The experiences was touching and concluded with me getting to witness Aria perform a little piece of choreography, most of which she couldn’t do 36 hours ago. Then her uncle Joey gave me a gift.

It was wrapped in brown paper with GlitterGirl written on it and there was a heart over the “I” — I was touched by that because I just decided how to sign “isa” on paper in the past few weeks: I am putting a heart as the “dot” on the “I”.

I walked out of the building with the beautiful gift and got swept up into a hilarious series of misunderstandings with a good friend resulting in the unexpected expenditure of about $50. I thought that was a bummer.

Yet I maintained a good spirit, stayed in my center pretty well (at least by self-to-self comparison) and, to my great joy, remained open. I found my way home finally and kicked back to open the gift.

It is a beautiful book called Wisdom: 365 Thoughts from Indian Masters by Danielle and Olivier Foolmi.

I didn’t notice at first, but there was a very beautiful thank you note and tip inside the book on the page with today’s date on it. The amount? $50. Perfection I thought.

And then it got better. I sat there reading some of the quotes, thinking how awesome Joey was and reflecting on the craziness of the last 36 hours of my life.

Then I intentionally made myself open — for the first time in my life I recall feeling completely at choice about my ability to open, particularly in the face of lots of things that in the past would have had me close.

Because of this, my understanding of openness has completely shifted… I realized it as I was reading a passage (“In nature, action and reaction are continuous. Everything is connected to everything else. No one part, nothing, is isolated. Everything is linked and interdependent. Everywhere everything is connected to everything else. Each question receives the correct answer” – Svami Prajnanpad) of Wisdom:

Being able to choose openness in every moment is freedom.

It is the freedom to choose to remain open when I might otherwise unconsciously close. I imagine it must be enlightenment.

I also can see so clearly so many ways in which I resist opening — like resisting Arete for so long. . . which I am grateful I will be doing in May.