So, this is why I haven’t been posting a lot over the last couple of weeks: I’ve been working like a crazy person on this project–actually I’ve been at it for months, but really intensively for the last 4 weeks. And I think it’s a fitting note to end my Berlin sabbatical on.
I actually wrote a whole bunch of paragraphs about this but then deleted them. I think all I want to say about the video is this: that learning Koharu Sugawara’s choreo for Sia’s “Elastic Heart” was the most humbling and inspiring experience I’ve been through in years. Humbling in that I had a lot of setbacks from illness, injury, and, most of all, self-doubt. Koharu is one of the best urban dancers in the world, and it was hard not to be paralyzed by the chasm between my ability and hers. But by pushing through, I learned a *ton* about dance. And in the end I think I was able to take to heart what Koharu tells her students in her clinics–that dancing is ultimately about emotional expression and commitment, not about technique.
Everything about this video–from the song and its lyrics to the experience of fighting through obstacles to the final recording–is I think as good a reflection as any of what I’ve been through the last few years. I hope you enjoy it.
The Rookery 