Our residency at the BAC has gotten intense. We’re all weary, the air-conditioning is broken in the building, we’ve moved more and more into intimate emotional places with each other, and we’re delving into our shadow-sides. I find myself often at a breaking point–raw and unsure and anxious. This alternates with feeling a sense of “rightness”–like I’m on the path I’m supposed to be on and things are unfolding in a powerful way.

At my most difficult and groundless moments (which are more and more familiar to me now as part of the process of experimental creation) I am working with reminding myself that this is a necessary part of creative discovery. I found myself saying this to the choreographer/composer contestants who felt stuck preparing for the competitions this week, and now I have to walk my talk.

Here’s some thoughts from Day 8 of the “Don’t Suck!” residency, by yours truly: