DIXIE DOWN PREMIERE

come enjoy an afternoon of chuckles with me and check out my new original film: DIXIE DOWN

Showing:

december 12, 2009
2:00pm UDT, Norfolk


check out the trailer:

old people love

so why is it so moving when you see an old couple walking hand in hand? i am not an overly emotional person, however I do consider myself a thinker. a contemplator if you will. i love to watch people and think about what their lives are all about (out of context this could be entirely creepy).

it never ceases to affect me when i see a romance, a relationship, far established beyond the boundaries of time and trial... not that they just still legally share the same name, put up with one another... but truly love each other. i don't know any sort of affection like this.

perhaps because they have lived past fleeting passion, the rut of mid life mundane, and have finally come out the other side of true companionship. they like each other. a lot. like the seemingly countless ridges and wrinkles that increase by year on the back of each hand intertwined... they know this soul. this person. more than anything that might venture to compete.

i love to see old couples walking hand in hand... mabe not if i'm directly behind them at the grocery store... because then they're just slow... but i like to watch them at a distance to remind myself of true companionship. and to hope one day i might experience the same.

Am I the only one?

I think it's very sad when people pass away... especially when they're young... or by some sort of sudden or tragic event, such as a heart attack. Of course I am sad for the loss of Michael Jackson... he influenced the entertainment world like no other... music and dance changed forever from his unique style and execution.

I don't mean to be insensitive, however, but did everybody forget he was a child molester? I'm not trying to be a jerk or come down on Michael Jackson... but it kind of surprises me how when people die, in general, everybody is so quick to forget their offenses and want to reflect on the good... which in a sense is noble I suppose... no need to bring up all his past issues at a time to celebrate the good in his life... but seriously..

I feel like a week or two ago if we were to see him on the news we all roll our eyes thinking about what a whack job he was and flip the channel... now all the sudden people are crying and losing sleep?

Again, I'm not trying to be insensitive... especially as an artist I do respect him tremendously as an artist... but come on guys... he wasn't exactly an A class citizen. Thats all I'm gonna say.....

i wish a had a peg leg

Contrary to popular opinion, peg legs aren't so bad. In fact, they're quite useful. Here is a list of all the ways a peg leg would make your day brighter.


1. You might look like a pirate... everyone secretly loves pirates... including parrots. ARG

2. You're baking cookies, its time to roll out that dough. "Where is the rolling pin"!? One might ask... well, look down.

3. Hopscotch... draw your own conclusions.

4. Sidewalk chalk? Sharpen that puppy up, dip in some lead.... a giant pencil.

5. "Peg Leg" it rhymes... it has a nice ring to it. So original. "Here comes peg leg"


FEEL free to add to the list... I'm so curious.

still trying times

stillness. quiet. loneliness. are these words that naturally sooth my soul? do i desire to be still, quiet and even lonely? sometimes. usually when life is whirling around me at a pace difficult to absorb- let alone appreciate- i ache for quiet. however, when life deals you a significant time of stillness. it is almost too much for me to bare.
coming down from the high of an unbelievably fast paced, thrill-filled semester... to almost a screeching halt has been an excruciating adjustment... one that i still find difficult to swallow. (which proves to be a quite painful pun as of late... i have been sick... then sick again with the same irritating cold for weeks now). the feeling of over productivity and steady, accelerating progression this past spring semester surely set me up for this crash.
i have so much free time. me- in a different state of mind- would kill for so much time at my disposal. yet unfortunately thats how it feels lately... at disposal. the feeling of wanting... even needing to accomplish tasks... yet feeling so unmotivated and uninspired to do so some days overwhelms me. some would call this depression? i conclude it is a bit of post graduate reality setting in. it is so easy to wait for the next semester, the next class, the next exam... but what happens when the next is unsure?

i seek peace of mind. i'm looking for inspiration. i'm looking for motivation. i know this summer can be what i set out and make it to be. i resolve to make as successfully as this past semester. however my mind and will are not on the same page.

you laugh because it's true

So lately I've been considering the significance of humor. Is it significant? How is it significant? I have always appreciated the funnier things of life... even things that aren't necessarily supposed to be humorous. So I'm funny. So what? How is this significant? I feel sometimes those with the gift of making beautiful mabe even somber things are more important than those of us who can cleverly spin something in a funnier light. I listen to artists like Lauryn Hill speak and sing of heavy hearted real things... she does it so beautifully... so thoughtfully... so seriously. I love and appreciate that... sometimes I wish I had that kind of gifting.
Somebody told me recently, while discussing this very topic, that Second City (a comedy improv training center in Chicago) has a slogan that round about says "You laugh because its true". Humor, she was saying, is so significant because it is truth... broken into bite size pieces... something a bit more tangible- or "edible"- to us.
I often consider how similar laughing and crying is. These emotions are such opposite extremes that they leave one another and circle back around to meet. Laughing and crying... so similar... the line is very fine.
So what if you're funny? Does it matter? A career- a craft in humor- is indeed an art... and in some sense truth.
Just some thoughts I've been thinking.

support local ART

Come out next weekend to support the local art scene... LAST TIME ( HERE ) ... are selected works from D.A.M.E. a local modern dance company associated with choreographer/artistic director MINA ESTRADA.
I would love to see you... my family and friends... support something that is such an important part of my life.

Come prepared to think, be moved, evolve.

lonely extremity

"The modern idea of a Great Man is one who stands at the lonely extremity of some single line of development--"

stripped

what are your thoughts when you hear this word? what do you associate with it? is it sexual? is it emotional? is it philosophical? what images pop in your head? what other words would you pair with it? what quotes or scripture would you associate with "stripped". i'm curious to read your thoughts...

The Situation

Olga and I rehearsing for the duet we will perform, representing ODU, at ACDFA at Hollins college this week. WISH US LUCK!

2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe for sale

Let me know if you're interested...

xoxoxoxxOo, Tova!

OK so at the SAME student dance concert i performed the following... just to show you how outrageously bipolar i can be. I hope you enjoy. (Sorry the video is pretty rough... bless little Reaghan's heart... she does try so very hard ;)

xoxoxoxxOo, Tova!

Body story

this is a dance i choreographed and performed for ODU's student Dance Concert. it's a bit "out of character" for me-- but i found the process and performance of this somewhat moody/melancholy piece to be very therapeutic... i hope you enjoy.

10.18.08

this is my sister's birthday. i love my sister, a lot. i try to be a good sister. i sometimes succeed. i sometimes fail. if your going to try harder to be a good sister on any particular day of the year... a good choice would be on her birthday. do i always make good choices? obviously not. october 18th came and went... no card no gift... i'm lame. and i'm sorry. i was hoping to have money to buy you something... but i suppose i should have hoped first for a job... and hoped for some gas money (in that order). however, construction paper and crayons seem to make themselves available cheaply... and yet i dismissed their proposal. i'm sorry... therefore i blog.

i'm not good at deadlines... i.e. birthdays, due dates of any sort
i'm not good at cooking... ie tenderline, porkline, pantyline... any of those lines
i'm not good at holding small children... ie i tend to make the child, mother, and any random onlookers intensely uncomfortable


i am good at making lists... so here is a list of why i absolutely love and adore my sister... and why i'm sorry i'm lame


1. I LOVE how we absolutely understand and appreciate each other... with a mere glimpse or smirk...

2. You are a beautiful and graceful mover... its lovely to watch you dance... i aspire to emulate even a fraction of your poise and grace when i dance

3. you APPRECIATE all things... i believe when one has experienced so much of the pain filled gray shades in life... one can only explore and acknowledge the beautiful light filled things in life.

4. your FUNNY... especially when i'm around to "give and take" if you will... i mean we really crack ourselves up... and i think on occasion other people find us funny...

5. your STRONG.... you've been through a lot... and endured it with strength (and sometimes a smile?)

6. your fashionably FABULOUS.... i've always admired your sense of style... and i believe you helped me tap into my own unique style... (after those tough overall and turtleneck days...)

7. you usually do the RIGHT thing... you get this from mom.... i'd say 9 out of 10 times... you prove yourself to be a discerning and righteous person. and if its not a matter of right and wrong... you find the better route.

8. you're a GIVING person.... one of my favorite memories is after i had my crazy face surgery ( i say this purposefully to be ambiguous and mysterious... it is indeed a ploy)... i was absolutely miserable, nauseous, swollen, hungry, and drooling... you came up to visit me and painted my toenails... and gave me a neck rub... ;) lord know i needed it!

9. your HUMBLE... not many people know the severity of your pain or suffering... not many know what a young talented and beautiful ballerina you were before your back issues... but i of course do... and respect you all the more for not broadcasting your disappointments in life...

10. YOU'RE PREGNANT.... WOOO HOOO....... although you hate salad and coffee now... it will all be well worth while... i'll find some random babies to practice my holding skills... but i'm not worried... i know i'm going to be a great aunt :)



i love you sis... sorry i'm lame... once a get a job, some gas money, and a gift for you... we can pretend its your birthday... until then... i'm gonna dig through my sock drawer and find some crayons....

auntie bEk

sooooo.... i'm gonna be an auntie! i'm super excited because i'm gonna be the coolest aunt EVER.

hAmmIE

Hey guys. I would like for you to meet my great grandma, HAMMIE. You might better know her as the coolest 92 yr old white lady reckoning the EAST COAST. Most of my friends know her because whenever she was around she was very never hesitated offering her opinion.... for example telling Jacob's friends they stink and need to shower, always telling everyone to put some shoes on their bare foot (she would often step on our feet to get her point across), or the signature heavy handed "pat" on the back, shoulder, or the tender crown on your head (poor thing doesn't realize her own strength... or maybe she just knows you can't yell at an old lady for hitting you).
I remember her, and I'm sure my brothers and sisters can agree, as one who loved to garden... she was always out in our huge garden (back in the day) picking cucumbers, tomatoes, squash etc etc... and she would eat them fresh out the garden. She also as long as I can remember been a walker. Everyday she would walk to Military Circle Mall ( and I'm convinced she still would if it weren't for her stroke but now "her legs don't work")... she actually stills goes to the mall to sit with her friends and greet her passing "mall buddies"... in fact for Hammie's 90'th b day party half of the Military Circle Food Court attended... how random to have some indian dude, african americans, philippino's, all gather to celebrate their well known friends birthday. Although, most of her fellow mall friends have passed away Hammie still goes and "holds down" her table where they all once gathered to chat and tell young teenage hoolagans to put a belt on to hold up their pants.
Hammie absolutely loves flowers. She often schools in me the ways of how to care for plant, how to pinch off the dead buds... my Mom takes after her in this way. Last week my Aunt Kim came up from Carolina and we all planted some flowers with Hammie. I love the picture of her with her arms crossed looking all grumpy... this is not an unfamiliar countenance of Hammie... but don't be deceived she is quite the jokester... ( I think I may keep her legacy alive in some respects... :) She told me once about putting tacs behind her sister's boyfriends car because she didn't care for him! HAHA. Popped his tires. Wow.
It's pretty amazing talking to somebody who lived through the depression, worked in a tabacco field, back in the ride your horse down the field kinda days. WHAT!? Hammie is also very bright... she had a full scholarship to Virginia Weslyan... However, her family couldn't afford books and board so she gave it up to help support her family. What a truly noble soul. I'm proud to be related to her and I know she is so very proud of me and my school endevours. I'm always excited to tell her about school, and she's always quick to ask me how my grades are. To see her grin ear to ear when I can tell her I earned an "A" for a semester is far more rewarding than any degree I could dream of. I always tell her I got my smarts from her... she quickly agrees.
Bottom Line... I LOVE HER A LOT. And I wanted to let you guys in on it.

ugly face makin' music

alright guys... i know you've done it. or @ least I hope you have experienced a song, an artist, a piece of music that provokes the ugly face. you know you hear some good music... and instantly musical bliss transforms your face to its rhythmic and melodic deformation. but the beauty is YOU DON'T CARE.
Cindy Blackman provides that ugly face makin' music for me. She is my favorite female drummer. What's it to you? Who do you love to listen to? Whats that one song that your head involuntarily bounces to the moment you hear it ? I wanna know.

about those lemons...

hey guys! so here's some tips if you're thinking about doing the "lemonade fast"---


1.) Plan on taking it easy if you choose to take on the no eating feat

2.) You probably shouldn't try to go for a run... due to lack of energy it might be more like going for a skid... on the pavement that is

3.) You probably shouldn't try to do a 90 min HOT YOGA class ( specifically not after "running" and/or Pilates). Why? One might start out in a nice sturdy "Warrior" stance.. and ten unaccounted for minutes later wake up in a pool of sweat gazing, bewildered, at the lovely ceiling sky. ( yes, the ceiling is painted like a blue, fluffy clouded sky)


BOTTOM LINE... the lemonade was actually pretty good... it wasn't as much that I was hungry but I had no energy and then I tried to work out a lot on top of that.... WHICH IS A REALLY DUMB IDEA. Anyway, I recommend it if you can take a week to chill at the beach with a good book.

i like turtles