Tsunami Studio

Take Two Thursday

Last week's Explorations class will be THIS week's Explorations class.  We have had extremely warm and sunny days along the north coast this past week which has not only made many of us quite happy (myself included), but has kept us playing outdoors.   So when there were just three of us in the studio last Thursday night, we decided to postpone our "paint-dancing" experience so that others might join us in the fun. 

If you come to tomorrow night's class, here's what you need to know: Wear light-colored clothing (preferably all white) that you're not absolutely in love with and that you might not wear again. Who knows?   Maybe you would wear them again.  Maybe you would be so pleased and proud of your new mode of fashion you'd want to show it off because it was created in the spirit of your dance as well everyone else's.  Come explore what shows up on a canvas when creativity, community and color are applied.  Come dance and paint and play this Thursday night. 

Catch the Ride and Share the Wave in our sweet studio a few more times before we close our doors and move on to another space.  After Thursday night, there are just four classes left.

Thursday Explorations ~ Colors, Canvas & Community

     

It's time to bring your inner Leonardo DaVinci, Pablo Picasso and Georgia O'Keefe to class.  On Thursday night at Tsunami, you'll be given a rare opportunity to see what your dance looks like when color is added.  There will be a blank canvas. Your imagination and creativity are the only things you'll need to bring.  All other materials will be provided.  We suggest you wear light-colored clothes  (preferably white) that you're not too particularly attached to.  

Come and explore how the music will move you to create more than just a dance, but a work of art that's one-of-a-kind!

Thursday Explorations ~ Delicious Duality

"You must have shadow and light source both. Listen, and lay your head under the tree of awe." ~ Rumi

Light and dark.  Good and bad.  Right and wrong.   Who says one is better than the other?    Might our greatest learning and understanding about life come from those experiences where duality is present and we welcome it in rather than push it away?   During Thursday's class, we'll explore and embrace both sides of the stories expressed through our dance. 

The tree of awe is comprised of your roots, branches and leaves.  It's all of you.  Come and dance your delicious selves.

Thursday Explorations ~ Your Wisdom Within

 

When Don Miguel Ruiz wrote the book, The Four Agreements, the ideas he brought forth weren't new, earth-shattering philosophies that had never been uttered before.  They were four simply-stated ideas (or what I would like to call "ways of being in the world") derived from the ancient Toltec wisdom of the native people of Southern Mexico.  I believe those four agreements are powerful reminders to be in the world what we wish to see in the world.

The Four Agreements are:

1. Be impeccable with your word
2. Don't take anything personally
3. Don't make assumptions
4. Always do your best

There is wisdom within you that wants to be heard and heeded.  During Thursday's Explorations class this week, we'll dance to discover our own ideas and agreements and have the opportunity to share them with others. We'll dance to listen, to learn and to let out our wisdom within.  

Thursday Explorations ~ Magnificence

 

Photo by Michael Paige

MAGNIFICENCE ~ the quality or state of being magnificent, splendor, grandeur

MAGNIFICENT ~ of exceptional beauty, noble, sublime

Our Thursday night classes have been deep and introspective, delightful and insightful, and definitely inspirational.  We've learned about our own dance and have witnessed others in theirs.  We've created stories without words and we've shared words that are some of the best stories ever told.  Through dance, we've discovered there is so much more that can be moved than just the body. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, memories, emotions...they're all there for us to stir up, shift around and settle down into. 

We have seen splendor show up in the studio many a time and this Thursday's class will be no exception.  We'll be dancing our own magnificence while at the same time being aware of and taking note of the magnificence that's happening all around us.  If you've never been to Tsunami and you've been wanting to join in the fun, now is the time.  If it's been awhile since you've attended a class, now is the time to return.  And if you're a Thursday night regular, now is the time to return once again and be a part of what makes our Explorations class truly magnificent.

Thursday Explorations ~ See and Be Seen

 

"There are two ways of spreading light;  to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." ~ Edith Wharton

Indeed, we are mirrors for one another.  When we open our hearts, suspend our judgments, release our expectations and are truly present with each other, we possess an uncanny ability to see another human being with more than just our eyes.  What we admire and/or admonish in another is more often than not the very thing we admire or admonish in ourselves.  Our mirrors do not exist merely on our bathroom walls.  They surround us everywhere in the faces and bodies of the people we meet and interact with on a daily basis. 

As in life, so in the dance.  When we let go of what our dance or another's is supposed to look like, we can drop in to something more mysterious and fulfilling than outside appearances and see what's real and true inside not only for ourselves, but for those we are witnessing. What might we see in another that moves us to dance?  What is it that is being reflected back to us that provokes and/or prevents us from participating in the dance?  When we step back from our own dance and pay attention to the dance of another, does our dance disappear or does it deepen? 

During this week's Explorations class, we'll have an opportunity to see others and be seen by others through the art of witnessing and reflecting.  We'll learn more about the two ways in which we spread our light and how it feels to be both the candle and the mirror that reflects it.   No doubt the studio will be shining brightly that evening.

Thursday Explorations ~ Light and Dark

  

"Be not afraid of the dark as it more often than not provides the very illumination we seek."

No doubt we have all gone through times in our lives that might be deemed "dark nights of the soul." No matter what the experience itself was, we were forever changed by it.  No matter the loss or the grief...the questioning or the end result...the indecision or the decision that made everything different...we carry within us the capacity to handle pretty much anything that life throws our way.  

Throughout our lives we will experience both the agony and the ecstasy, the pain and the pleasure, the dark and the light.  During this week's Explorations class, we will have the opportunity in our dance to revisit those things that have been bright and beautiful as well as those that have been dim and dreadful.  The studio will be a very safe environment to dive in deep and discover what lies in the dark and awaits in the light.  Perhaps we'll discover that they are one in the same.

Join us Thursday night for a very illuminating evening of dance and discussion. 

Thursday Explorations ~ All Ages Welcomed

First off...the title of this post may appear misleading. We will NOT be having children in the studio Thursday night.  Big kids (aka adults 18 and over) are only allowed HOWEVER, your child-like self will be wholeheartedly welcomed. We'll be exploring a dance of different ages so bring your inner two-year old, your rebellious and curious teenager, your oh-so serious I'm a grown-up-now self and discover what it feels and looks like to move when you imagine yourself at a younger age and at an older one. 

While the music will take you on somewhat of a time-based journey, will you slow down or speed up according to what's playing or what age you're playing at?  Will you dance down memory lane or dance into the unknown future? Will you choose to dance exactly where you find yourself right now or mingle amongst all three? 

Come and see. Come and dance. Come and play and in your fancy pants.  (Lisa's junior-high princess of poetry showing up there in that last line.)

Thursday Explorations ~ Big & Small

Big and small.  Expansive and contracted.  Outward and inward.  Grand and subtle. There is no doubt we move our bodies differently depending on the music that's played, the invitation or intention that's suggested, and the mood we each bring with us into the room.  How might our thoughts, our feelings and our dance change when we shift from one extreme to the other independent of the music we hear?  What happens when our expectations meet up with the unexpected? 

A new perspective gained on the dance floor often leads to a new perspective in life. Come to class on Thursday night and be surprised by your own interpretations of what big and small means to you.  

Desires, Wishes & Dreams

 

"We deserve to be the caretakers for our spirits and dreams, and this means truly sensing and listening for our most alive route." ~SARK

What is it that you truly desire?  What do you wish for another?  What is your dream for the world?   Numerous studies have shown that collective intention and prayer can have a positive effect on one's health.  Despite not knowing how the process works, it does and for many people, that is enough evidence that proves just how powerful our thoughts and beliefs are.

Might it be possible that the more we share our desires, wishes and dreams with others the more likely it is we'll achieve them?  When a group rallies behind a cause for another does that create more motivation for the individual, a higher expectation for a favorable outcome, and a greater probability for what we really want to manifest?  Could it be that we're all each other's caretakers when it comes to making dreams a reality?

During this Thursday's Explorations class, we'll have an opportunity to share, witness, and dance with our own desires as well as providing creative support for the wishes of others.  Playful, provocative. purposeful, and powerful.  Come and be a part of all these things and more tomorrow night.