Inn of the Wandering Dragon

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a performance of Cirque's new show: AmaLuna. I have written about other Cirque du Soleil performances that I have seen, along with Cavalia (which shares a similar flare). I have gushed in the past about how beautiful the shows are, with the fantastic costumes, music and acrobatics. AmaLuna is no exception and this show contains some truly beautiful and memorable performances - but that is not what I am writing about tonight.

You see, I attended the show with a good friend and her kids. We both agree that this is an experience to be enjoyed and remembered.  Thinking back to attending theatrical productions with my parents as a kid - such as Cats, and a gorgeous puppet production of the Hobbit -  I remember how entranced and amazed I was by it all. The live music, the costumes, the stage elements... I fell in love with all of it - because to me all of it was real.

I am not talking about just a child's vivid imagination here, with which a good production becomes a means of escape into fantastic worlds (although that is pretty amazing in it's own way). As illustrated by the child sitting next to me "Wow! He is really strong to do that" (refering to an acrobat climbing a pole with only his hands - and every single back, chest and core muscle the human body contains). This is not the CGI or animation you see in TV shows and movies. This is real people performing and showing us what kind of amazing and incredible things the human body can do. This is real costumes created, sewn and used to convey characters in colour and flow of movement.  This is live music being played right in front of you with the sheer joy of the musicians who are creating it as you feel the vibrations move through you. Someone - many someones - made all of this!

Just to be clear I am not knocking the film and tv industry here. It takes a lot of people a huge amount of time and work to make what we see on the screen and I think they are a collection of amazing artists. What I am saying is that what they create is still removed from us. It is a projection on the screen.

In comparison live theater is a truly viceral escape into another world - a very real, very magical physical world of which we are all a part. You feel it. You smell it. It is in our face, a  reminder that we can step away from the computer screens and the tvs and that we can create and experience something incredible.

It seems we just blink our eyes and wow! We are already 6 (OK 7) weeks into the new year. A lot has been going on lately and I am glad for that. I found that getting sidelined physically, via the broken ankle, sent me sideways in other areas as well. My creativity was stagnant; my motivation to do anything was low; I felt I had to completely rebuild my credibility with my co-workers; and I basically felt I was just scrambling to catch up on everything for the rest of the year. Not to mention I get to start all over to get myself back to where I was physically before I fell down the stairs. Joy.

This year is going to be better. It will be, simply because I have decided it will be so. And when we truly decide to make something better we then have the means to act on it.

I took an art class in the fall - Introduction to Abstraction. The above image is an abstract figure study in acrylic which I then ran through a fun little app on my phone called Percolator. We worked with drawing and painting, from small little studies to a couple of pieces as large as 3' x 5'. In reality the content of the course was nothing new to me but it was a great place to wake up some of those creative muscles and remember the joy of playing with materials. My studio space has now been reclaimed from clutter and storage and is ready for just about anything.

In the new year I started up belly dance again. I am finding the current choreography with the numerous spins, twirls and hops to be a real challenge with my ankle not yet up to full strength but I am enjoying the class. It has also revealed how limited I had (for a time) allowed myself to become and what I need to do now. Healthy movement is what I need. My instructor has been keeping a sharp eye on me to make sure I don't overdo it and hurt myself as well so that is all to the good.

There are no travel plans this year (aside from the annual trip to BC) - as I have taken the plunge and purchased a condo! They are just starting to build and so in the last quarter of the year I shall be making the move to a place of my own that I can truly make my own. For this year my focus (and my funds) will be on preparing for that transition. I plan on spending a great deal of time sorting through stuff and getting rid of what I do not want to take with me. This new place is going to have a similar square footage to what I am renting now so it is a great excuse to deal with clutter.

I think it is safe to say I am feeling better about life all around. :)