This project involves going onto the stage on Thursday afternoons during band 4, creating a dance, and recording it. The purpose of this project is to practice making choreography in a short period of time, test my creativity by making movement with different boundaries, practice dancing, and act as a time for me to sort of meditate. I recently discussed with Adrian how I felt I was missing something in this study. There was not a greater theme. However, she suggested that it could be a time for myself to create, it doesn’t have to be more than that. She asked me how I felt when I miss my time to dance in the theater. I said that I feel some guilt for not doing it and I feel like I am a little less in touch with myself and my movement. I get a lot of inspiration from Twyla Tharp and her book The Creative Habit. She speaks a lot about how to make creation happen with exercises and routine. She talks about what she has learned and how she approaches obstacles. She discusses what has stood in the way of artists and how artists have succeeded through using a certain philosophy or practice. I am making my way through this book slowly, but surely. I take notes on the chapters. Twyla has recommended that readers get their own copy and markup the pages. I’d have to get my own copy to do that, and maybe I will. I always thought that having a marked up book seemed cool, both very literary and rebellious. Recently Twyla talked about a “spine”, which is more than just inspiration, but the motivation for an art piece. It does not mean that the spine is what the piece is, but it is the starting spark for what the piece will become. I am not yet developing a piece, however I have some ideas for a piece for Dance 32. I look forward to this because it will be a challenge. I learned a lot about how to approach teaching dance and creating dance for other people during Schoolhouse Rock. Then I’ve learned some more from Yo, Vikings! I learned a lot about my movement through dancing on my own. Combining these lessons will be exciting. I changed this practice from “Phrase of the Week” to “Thursdays in the Theater” because it is more true to what it is. Thursday is more specific than week and it gives me clearer boundaries. I have one time that I need to commit every week. It is consistent and routine. I also do not want to limit what I am doing in the theater to a phrase. I have been making dance that could be called a phrase. But, not specifying what is happening in the theater leaves it more open for any and all movement to have importance, not just movement that fits into the phrase. It is about making the phrase, not just the phrase itself. This ambiguity emphasizing the journey of creation, more than the final product. This is working for me because I have set realistic and appropriate expectations: Set time period, set location, set way of choosing audio (Amy chooses, I choose during the time, silence…), growing list of ways to start a dance. Within this structure I am able to generate movement and commit to that movement. If I have a hard time, it is easy to see what the lesson is. One time I used too many dance starters and got clashing ideas. So it is important for me to follow this structure, because when it works, it works.