Here are some visuals.
1) the view from Laban
2) the flat I am staying in
3) a studio at Laban
4) the nearby pub!

Beat-box accompanist

This is the guy who plays for my Limon technique class. He beatboxes, live records and feeds it, adds some crazy piano and drums. He is incredible!

I wish I could remember his name...

Here is a tiny look into the flat that I am living in during the next two weeks. The flat belongs to some lovely friends of boyfriend to a friend of Soren...basically, I don't know these folk, but they have been kind enough to let me stay in their place in Brixton, on "Bob Marley Way" while they are vacationing.

The one downfall of this situation is that I am exetremly far away from Laban, the institute where I am dancing every day. Brixton is about an hour long tube ride, with 2 changes, to Greenwich, where the school is based. By the time I get home each day after dancing it is past 8pm and I am TIRED.

I finally got to the grocery store yesterday and bought, among other things, two necessary items: thick cut, traditional marmalde and Nutella. The Nutella is sumblime as always. The marmalade...gross. But I had to try it!

Happy points of this trip: mostly everything.
- The freedom of being alone, figuring things out for myself.
- Riding the tube, seeing a mass majority of London citizens getting up together every week day, getting on the mass transportation, off to their jobs. It is superb people-watching, and though I try to blend in with the unenthused, exhausted look like everyone else has, I am so interested on the inside!
- Everyone sounds like they are in a Happy Potter film. It's awesome
- Aside from "everyone", of course there are many foreigners as well. I sat next to two Danes on the tube yesterday. I could tell because they sounded like Soren :)
- The dancing! Holy moly, I can't forget about the dancing, which is why I'm here in the first place. My classes are crazy intense, and I am holding up well (aside from extremely sore thign muslces and a cronic case of jetlag). I am taking Advanced Limon technique, Advanced Release technique, a Pilates course, and an introduction into Capoeira with an oh-so-cool teacher. In fact all of the teachers are quite enjoyable. I haven't met too many friends, but I have been smiley and happy around the classrooms, and I think my presence is appreciated. That is all I ask for!

Sad points: Very few
- My alarm clock won't work, so I have had to figure out different methods of waking up. Not a very happy feeling the to realize this THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. But I still made it on time.
- Despite how hard I tried, I still think I packed too much. My backpack was ridicuously full and heavy, and I know half the clothes I truly won't wear. Oh well. The worst part is over; me arriving in London looking like a complete foreigner with my overstuffed luggage, my passport holder on my hip, a detailed map and a very confused look. After I travel to Amsterdam, that feeling won't be happening anymore, as I'll be based in Copenhagen after that and hopefully feeling pretty much "at home".

many moons ago...

Al Oeste/Del Río (Trailer) from Ben Kullerd on Vimeo.

This is not dance related, but life related.
I took a roadtrip during January of 2008 with some beautiful people in a beautiful place.
This is the documentary video that Ben Kullerd made of our travels.

Below is the description of the film that Ben provides on his Vimeo page:

"This is a makeshift trailer or preview for a feature-length documentary I am editing. The documentary, currently under the working title of "Al Oeste/Del Río," folows me and three of my friends on a trip we took during January of 2008. The title, which means "West of the River," is also a play on words - "al oeste" means to the west, which is where we traveled on our trip, and Del Río is the name of the first town we visited on our way to Big Bend National Park, Terlingua and Chinati Hot Springs.

Following the trailer is my opening credits sequence, edited to "The Last Beat of My Heart" by DeVotchka. The opening trailer is edited to "Scotch & Chocolate" by Nickel Creek."

Affinity

Choreography by UT dancer Matthew Bunker. This was performed at the informal concert at American College Dance Festival in Louisiana, 2010.

I'm the one with black shorts, a purple shirt, hair... *-*

...more!

Well tickle me pink, look what we have here: MORE VIDEOS FROM RED7!

"Touch Me Good" and "Open"

I send a warm thanks to Matt Ely for recording the show. He is a bright star.

Kudos to Marshall

Here is a tiny video of me dancing with the beautiful Katarina Arneric in 2009. Choreography by (again) the talented Mariclaire Gamble. Production hosted/created by J. Elissa Marshall.

I also must give you directions to finding this video because I don't have the file myself. I was perusing around Elissa's website and admiring it, when suddenly I noticed I was mentioned in one of her uploaded videos! A little blast from the past, it was. (Yoda?) Anyhow, if you would like to see, follow directions, and also take a look around Elissa's fashionable site. She is the bomb-diggity, and her photos and videos deserve much attention.

Directions:
1.) use the link listed in step #3!
2.) watch the video entitled “Modern Neon/In Rainbow/Mindless Connection”
3.) http://jelissamarshall.com/JElissaM/Choreography_and_Production.html

Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Note: there is a lot of talking before the dancing starts, but if you listen it is interesting. Also, the first speaker is Elissa's brother Ross...darling. Artist siblings.