In the studio

This is a compilation of video clips of me in action with students in the studio, including ways of more deliberately (rather than reflexively) engaging smartphones and other devices, or what I've come to call "conscious computing".

Also featured are techniques from somatic and contemplative traditions including hands-on work, visualization, and other ways of engaging and developing embodied knowledge.

:28-3:04: Teaching embodied anatomy of the pelvis and a few bony landmarks of the pelvis, and application of new awareness of pelvis in the context of a dance warmup

5:29-7:15: Hands-on support, individual feedback both verbal and physical, coaching for efficiency and sound biomechanics, normalizing different body types and physiologies, and plenty of humor.

In the opening shot, and again from 9:33-9:53: Moments of bringing our awareness to how we use our devices and making conscious choices about how and when we use them.

12:25-14:21: Bringing back the bony landmarks from the previous class in a different context, and then folding that into a demonstration/discussion of noticing habits as a way to engage in the repetition necessary to train attention.

16:04: Breaking down figurative language around the role of the body in mindfulness

17:06-22:00: Skeleton Contemplation class including guided visualization on bones, students drawing a representation of what they experience as their skeletons, comparing that to a skeleton model, discussing their experience and how it differs from the actual number and location of bones in the human body

26:35-27:35: Using water balloons to represent the quality that organs bring to movement.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program 2018

"Feeling" featuring research assistant/mentee Zack King and SDSU Dance Alumni

Feeling was directed by my collaborator from UCSD, Eric Geiger, and me. We both perform in the work along with Zack King (Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant), Nhu Nguyen and Chloë Freeman (SDSU Alumni and Outstanding Graduates), and Dimitris Paganos Koukakis. Feeling was conceived by School of Music and Dance Assistant Professor of Piano, Toni James, who also contributed significantly to the piece. Zack describes his experience in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at 3:55 in the video, below.