Thanks and Giving

As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, we are often surrounded by symbols of this season. Matthew has brought home several pieces of art focused on turkeys, cornucopias, gourds, pilgrims, family, etc. Today, for the second time this week, in a lecture a speaker asked us to stop and think about what we were the most thankful for in our personal and professional lives. Most of you probably can recount similar incindents.

Last week I was fortunate to be invited to attend a session with a professional dance troupe, AXIS. I attended both a teacher workshop and a public performance. AXIS is a dance company dedicated to the production of high quality modern dance through dancers with and without disabilities. It was truly an incredible experience and I was unprepared for my reaction to the performance, even after going through the workshop. The idea that dance is an art form that should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability does not seem foreign to me, and that is why I was so open and excited to attend and participate in the activities. Meeting the dancers, gleaning ideas and taking part in roundtable discussions about how to incorporate these ideas with my students were all wonderful experiences. I attended the public performance in my role as an arts mentor at the Alys Stephens Center (a local venue) with two of my mentees and a fellow mentor and as I said, was totally unprepared for what I saw. The pieces were so incredibly moving. If you asked me to list the three worst disabilities I could think of, I'm not sure what they would be, but I am pretty sure I would never think to list, "someone who had no fingers" but when a dancer who had no fingers or feet danced onstage, I thought of that in a completely new way. As a pianist, I can't imagine not making my art. I'm sure you can't imagine not doing the things you do with your fingers every day. This person was a gymnast in her previous life (she was disabled at age 21.) And she is a beautiful dancer today. If AXIS is ever on tour in your area, you should check them out - they reside in the Bay Area, CA. Check out their website at http://www.axisdance.org/.

I am thankful for each and every one of you ~ my friends and family. You make our lives complete in your own way. Some of you we see often and know well, some of you occasionally and you know more about us through this blog than ever before! My Aunt Teresa posted once on here about family and I liked that post (you can go back and read that) and I really like a guy named John Jacobson (no, not john jacob jingleheimer schmidt) who says, "You're all valuable, we need everybody." And that sums it up for me...we need everybody. I love you. Happy Thanksgiving.