April Skelton Aerial

In the blink of an eye.

Registration is open for fall classes at and I would love for you to join me in Dance Trapeze Choreography on Fridays at 2 pm. We will work with elements of aerial choreography including sequencing, musicality, expression, pacing, use of space, and improving proficiency with spin, orbiting, and swinging. I also teach set choreography, which we use to explore those concepts. So, tell me what to make! Would you like a SURREAL, ETHEREAL, or FOREBODING mood for the choreography? I’ll get to work on it tomorrow. What do you what to see? (Photo from the recent 10th Anniversary showcase, Slay & Sway, at in Asheville.)

Join me Fridays starting August 8 at 2 pm at for Dance Trapeze Choreography. There will be spinning, orbiting, what-am-I-doing-with-my-hands-ing, hair flips, good music, and gooey s**t galore. Hope to see you! Photo by

The threshold of the year feels unmarked, unclear. A dent in the hedge; a few broken branches (easily missed) that signal a way through and into the next place. We do not enter to a meadow on the other side—there is more murky light, tangled limbs, the torturous, dizzying surround of a rhododendron forest.

My former neighbor died two days ago of COVID. From her hospital bed, she wrote a last poem via text—“ferocious and insistent,” her loved ones said. I can’t get it out of my mind. One line: “mistakes are potholes filled in with diamonds” is so blinding and beautiful; I am awestruck at the creator who leaves no lamp oil unburned.

Tell me about your murky forest; are you crawling through, branches tearing at your clothes? Are you huddled and waiting for the rain to stop so you can hear the river?

(RIP Patricia Horan. Her final poem is linked in my comment.)

What does my life mean? What’s in store? Always feeling curious and brand-new on my birthday. Thanks to all my twin souls for traveling with me through this story. Welcome, summer.

One of the coolest things that could have transpired during this weird time, did, last week, and I got to have a special part in it. .dance held its third event, and this time I got to be a curator, reviewing all the submissions and selecting some to feature. First of all, I have created work for the first two Inanimate 48 events ( and I won the first event!) and I really believe in and support this endeavor, created and directed by the brilliant . Second, I asked my community of aerial and movement artists to sign up and make something—and SO many did.

I can’t express how affirming it was to see the creations of so many of my friends and peers during this time. That my community found a way to create despite significant challenges was the highlight of the month for me. Seeing all of you, out there, doing your art—it meant the world to me to be able to witness you.

I invite you to peruse the winning entry, the honorable mentions, and all of the submissions. I would like to say a special thank you to the folks I know who submitted work. It was such a gift to see how you chose to share yourself right now.

.dynamo

Happy World Circus 🎪 Day! May your back muscles be ripped, may your rigging be solid, may your paychecks reappear with the quickness

Y’all! The 2020 Inanimate 48 challenge starts tomorrow!! Have you signed up? There is time! I want to see what you make! I’m one of the curators got this year’s .dance event and I am stoked. Link in my bio. Pic by Nolan Edgar.

Miss my lat muffins but I’ll bake new ones one day. 📸 by .design

Frustrated friends! Do not despair! I am inviting and reminding you that Inanimate 48 Inanimate Dance is happening April 17-19. What is it? A virtual creative challenge—participate where you are with what you have. You have 48 hours to make and submit an object-based dance film for the challenge. Objects must be weight-bearing. I know many of you are separated from your training spaces and that feels impossible. Get creative, and check out some of the submissions from past challenges on the Inanimate Dance web site (link in my bio). I’ve seen: yoga balls, a-frame ladders, chairs, coffee tables, bike racks. Flip through some of these images of me and my friends and collaborators , . Keep in mind: social distancing restrictions—don’t use a playground that is closed and stay away from others! Safety is paramount—the last thing our hospitals need is dumb injuries coming in, so exercise conservative choices. Lean into framing, editing, music, concept to make your submission stand out—don’t assume that the only way to make a dance film is to do all your hard stuff on your usual apparatus. Think about storytelling or how we might look at dance and movement differently outside the box of the stage. I’m honored to be a curator for this year’s Inanimate 48 challenge, and I hope you’ll join me in demonstrating that art thrives in times of darkness and uncertainty. Entry fees this year are pay-what-you-can to accommodate our many friends and colleagues who are financially stressed by these circumstances. I can’t wait to see what you make! Photos by me, Melissa Roberts, Conrad Skelton, Katie Schmidt, and Nolan Edgar.