BLOG (OEWA)

WILD CARDS

May 23, 2021

“It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

For 2.5 years the relapsing symptoms of a flu virus that entered my brain would sporadically come and go. For the first year, I experienced waves of anxiety and fear with the uncertainty of what I’d wake up remembering the next day. On one hand, it was challenging because as soon as I tried to multi-task or swim in trivial thought, I would get lost or forget simple things like where I was going (bless my mother; I’d ring whenever I got lost despite the time difference and she’d remind me without any tone of annoyance…even when it was every hour or two). On the other hand, it was a gift as I became intuitively and sensorily hyper-aware of the present moment. In a way, I was able to work more effectively and grow deeper connections because I wasn’t distracted by any other external thoughts outside of what I was doing and who I was with. As I slowly shifted my perception by convincing myself that my brain was just re-programming and building new neural networks for the betterment of my evolution, my episodes of anxiety changed as well. The more I surrendered to this ‘wild card’ experience and tuned into this new intuitive sensorial awareness, the moments of panic would ease, lessen and eventually dissipate on their own. Progressively, I witnessed how powerfully my thoughts could transform the energy and perception of my reality in an instance; this discovery planted the seed of my journey in uncovering veils around perception and embodied seeing.In 2019, I had a few dreams and visions of the next chapter. In honouring the call and with the help and loving-kindness of my family and friends, I packed my life up of 11 years into two bags and found my way to Vancouver BC to attend the MFA program at SFU. I absolutely loved my life in Hong Kong and I was surrounded by beautiful families and amazing creatives doing and sharing what I love most. And when the call came to expand there was an infinite peace and understanding that all the connections I’d carry forward were rooted deep into the fabric of the interwoven web, that somehow, we would meet again, and again and again. I was just starting to peel the layers of curiosity around the quanta concepts of interconnection. I had no clue how the Universe would uncover the veils in deepening this knowing but as always…love, trust, and surrender.

Upon Reflection

“Life cannot be against you, for you are life itself. Life can only seem to go against the ego’s projections, which are rarely the truth.”
~ Mooji

I know it’s a bit cheesy and cliché, but in reflecting upon the beginnings and seeing how things have unfolded, I wholeheartedly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. My first creative mentor, Ella Ferland, once shared that every now and then life will throw us a wild card, moments that are unpredictable and tear away layers of what we thought we knew giving us an opportunity to expand our perception. It’s a gem I carry with me especially during times of deeper healing. The more I learned to trust my heart’s intuitive guidance and surrender to ‘the happenings’, the more I could remain open to the ‘wild card’ lessons and appreciate how much life is truly for our growth, transformation and evolution. COVID has been tossing those wild cards left, right and center for many of us. It has given me the opportunity to uncover veils and fears around uncertainty and time to witness the impermanent nature of our ever-shifting reality.

Side Note Story

As my perception around human potential started to expand, my facilitation practice dynamically transformed and I began to develop a movement methodology and practice called ‘Encounter Your Experience.’ It’s a movement practice that brings awareness to our intuitive embodied sensorial relationship to space and energy (this will come up again in a future post). For the younger learners, it was all about honouring their connections to Self and developing their ‘superpowers’ such as seeing with compassion and hearing through felt sensation.

** Coming up next: Meeting my future collaborators and supervisor.

THE EXPERIENCE: TRUSTING THE UNKNOWN

August 15, 2021

“It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know
If you will risk looking like a fool for love,
For your dream,
For the adventure of being alive.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The first day of arriving at the school, I felt like an imposter who somehow got into some sort of ‘Superhero’ society, (for real though…). My cohort was ridiculously intelligent, compassionate and multi-talented (I had no clue how I got in on this or how I was going to keep up, but you know: love, trust and surrender, right?). I met my future collaborators, interior designer, Mansi Patel and composer, Charlie Cooper. Starting with Mansi, we stood on the 2nd-floor balcony talking about architecture, bodies in space/time and our passion for finding the harmony and interconnections between our inner and outer realities. She was an expert in creating outer spaces and I had some insight on shaping inner spaces. It wasn’t your typical day 1 conversation and that was precisely when and how I knew I was exactly where I needed to be and that this journey was going to be far beyond anything I could imagine. Within two weeks we found ourselves completely entangled in one another’s world, sketching, imagining, making, conversing, moving, designing, choreographing and building.

Upon Reflection

“Go beyond everything. Don’t collect anything. Remember you are inner pure awareness only. All that arises are appearances in consciousness. Don’t bother with all that. Rest only as awareness. This is the secret.”
~ Mooji


I used to have a habit of listening to others opinions especially if they seemed more informed and I didn’t trust my own knowing. However, at the time I couldn’t really think outside of the present moment; I learned to set aside all the extra banter and opinions mostly because it triggered a lot of pain in my body and put me in an anxious state. In this time, I practiced listening to my awareness as I relied heavily on my own intuition to help me navigate through my days. There were a few whispers and opinions around my choice of supervisor and pursuit of collaboration, but they never shifted my own knowing. So far, my experience with my collaborators and supervisor have been professional, well-guided and supportive to my growth. I definitely still fall out of alignment, but the difference for me now is the awareness of when I do.

Within these first two weeks, I found my supervisor, Robert Kitsos. When I asked if he’d be my supervisor, his first response was, “you do know you have a whole year to decide?” In which I replied, “nah it’s you if you accept,  can we meet next Tuesday?” I never looked back, he’s been the rock of this journey and I’m continually humbled by his openness, compassion and guidance.

**Coming up next: Exploring body architecture

THE EXPERIENCE: WHEN COVID STRIKES:

August 16, 2021

“I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals…”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Prior to Covid, Mansi and I were planning to create an installation that would bring together our previous works using projection, installations and light to intersect the space we inhabited during our studies.   We planned to project onto the windows of the dance studio that could be seen from outside, and we intended that it would interact with our installation on the second floor balcony. It would reflect and refract natural light into the hallways of the second floor exploring the materiality and immateriality of movement through architectural structures.  

However, just before Covid, our journey for our graduate project ended and we embarked on our own paths.  We still worked on one final 3D render for an artist residency with Union House. We were grateful to have our work shown on the site for the June 2019 residency. To see “When Breath Takes Flight” click here. Another wild card: we still had to do a project for our cohorts Spring Show in August.  Having spent my first two terms working on installations and researching body and architecture, I honestly had no clue which step to take next. One grounding conversation with Uche (member of the Masala House) reminded me of who I was creating for: it was just the reminder I needed to return to the home of trust and little did I know where this next wild card would lead. During the lockdown in Hong Kong, I reached out to my family of dancers to see if there was anything I could do to support them during the pandemic.  They wanted to move, so we started up our ‘F’Amity Sessions’ online (movement classes). During this time, I was working on waves (not having studio space allowed me to move my training practice outdoors) so I started to share my new practice and they just soaked it all in exquisitely.  Originally, I only prepared for 3 weeks of lessons, but as they grew more curious we just kept going. The practice and conversations naturally grew deeper and I started sharing my research around intuitive sensorial perception and embodied seeing.   I still wasn’t sure what my spring show would be but I trusted it’d come at the right time.  In the meantime, though, it was great to be able to share the work.  

Upon Reflection

“Life cannot be against you, for you are life itself. Life can only seem to go against the ego’s projections, which are rarely the truth.”
~ Mooji

I know I’ve written about stepping into the unknown a lot, and if there’s anything that COVID has highlighted, it’s that nothing is ever certain and our reality is ever shifting.  Some can view this dance with faith as ignorance and others as trust. Either way, life happens, and we are always where we need to be. There is a difference of walking with mind and walking with heart.  The mind structurally creates plans from A-Z when really the outcome is an infinite equation (literally like 3x+3=3x+3).  Tapping into our intuitive sensorial perception and leading from the heart gives us space to not only be where we need to be but to be present with where we are at.  It may not sound like much of a difference, but it has changed the way I move through moments of anxiety.  I read once that depression occurs when the mind is in the state of the past, and anxiety is when the mind is in the state of the future, so to have the ability to sensorially be aware of the here and now is a reminder that I’m always present – we don’t have to think about being present. We already are.  When my eyes are distracted, I come back to the body’s way of seeing to remind me that all I am and ever will be is this moment, this single breath.

  
Side Note Story

Video Editing to Interactive Arts and TechnologySchool moved online, and I was able to audit a few courses.  I originally wanted to take a video editing course.  Charlie (Coops), had just finished TAing a course at SIAT and recommended this one class for video editing.  I didn’t find any video editing in the course outline, but I signed up anyways. Sure enough it had nothing to do with video editing, but everything to do with an intro to Interactive Arts and Technology—a  wild card in the best of ways.  The language in the class was far from anything I’ve ever learned so it was a lot of googling for the first month.  This course watered a seed in the work I’m doing now and was an ‘accidental’ blessing in more ways than one (I know nothing really happens by accident).  Not only did it lead me to the research of body and technology (telepresence), but also the next unfolding step to my work as an experiential artist.  I also met Steven Kobza in this class, our programmer and technical support for OEWA.  

 **Coming Up Next: What came of the ‘F’Amity Sessions’

THE EXPERIENCE: DIGITAL BODY AND TELEPRESENCE

August 17, 2021

“It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Along with the rest of the world, swimming in uncertainty was uncomfortable, new, and a time to be like water.  Working with Amity grew from 3 weeks to 7 months. Everything unfolded naturally and on its own.  After the 3rd month, I asked if they’d be interested in continuing the research and to work on the spring show. We moved into embodied seeing–eyes closed–where the dancers relied on sound and felt sensation to connect with one another in the same space. They would listen to my prompts through their airpods and would respond in the moment–they developed their skills to sense, listen, and consciously respond rather than react.  

The dancers had full agency in their practice to ignore or move with their own impulses. it was a way for them to develop their sense-ability but also to listen to their own intuitive guidance.  They shared space for one month but 2 weeks before the show, the third wave hit in HK and we returned to individual dwellings.  At first, the dancers had a mental block, feeling like they moved back to square one, literally back to the zoom rectangle life. Once we revisited the exercises in the studio in their virtual spaces, they connected their past experience (wisdom and embodied experience), future (knowledge and imagination), and creation (merging of past, present and future); they were able to transform their perceived experiences and as a result felt a much deeper physical connection in the virtual space together. 

Results were fascinating as the dancers reported a tangibly felt sensation of the other dancers’ presence in their own room even though their physical body was not in the same room. This research opened up my perception to the duality and conversation of physical body (material) and sensorial body (non-material). Leading me to a question for my future self:  how we can enhance embodied human connection both physically and remotely via embodied seeing?

Upon Reflection

“We are identifying with what is passing so fear comes. We are trying to make steady and permanent what is by nature impermanent.” 
~Mooji

During a session, an exercise was for one dancer to increase the felt sensation of another dancer about 15’-20’ away.  The dancer giving (Bella) could open their eyes, while the dancer receiving (Nat) kept their eyes closed. The receiver would amplify the intensity of their movement as the felt sensation of connection increased and would fade into stillness as the connection decreased. It was intriguing to witness: as soon as the giver was losing the connection with the receiver their actions reflected the emotions desire and desperation. They would try to salvage the connection by moving more vigorously and aggressively, and the more effort and trying would cause a greater disconnection.  However, the moment the giver released the desire to make the receiver move and return to their natural flow state, the receiver would reconnect.  The more the giver relaxed into themselves, the deeper the receiver would connect.  

This project and experience reminded me of the practice of allowing in surrender—a practice that I am sure will come up again and again.  Often the moment our mind increases the desire towards any one thing we become more disconnected from Self. We fight and try to hold onto that which is ready to change its state.  Embracing impermanence is like embracing water in its nature of effortless ease. When it encounters an obstruction, it moves around the object and, through it..  And eventually, it flows or evaporates, and transcends in its natural cycle of existence.  I learned that it takes a lot of effort to be a personality, to hold onto expectation and to try to keep a state of emotion when all that can be perceived, anything that can change such as a thought, idea, emotion, story, follow the law of impermanence.  Yet, it takes no energy or effort to be awareness, to be the Self.  It’s not a mental game, but simply to allow what is felt in the waking state of that moment to flow.  To allow in surrender is not to forfeit the Self, but to forfeit the illusions that stand in the way of Self. 

Side Note Story

Originally, we intended to perform and experiment as a way of choreographing a live performance.  Thanks to the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation and Studiodanz in HK for sponsoring studio space, we had our location, equipment and we were set to go.  We wanted to explore the immersion of both the audience and dancers, how the performance could explore uncertainties and in the moment.  The audience could scan a QR code of their choice which would send them to an introduction video of one dancer they could follow throughout the performance.  The dancers would receive prompts from me via zoom that would change the course of the choreography, because they had airpods in the audience wouldn’t know when or at what point the work was choreographed and improvised. 

Returning online, we were still able to work with the QR codes and opened the floor for the audience to give prompts which I would pass onto the dancers.  The audience could hear and see the prompts in action.  The dancers could choose if they wanted to go with the prompt or let it pass so their agency wasn’t manipulated or compromised.  This change actually increased the immersion and connection of both dancers and audience.  It was a perfect way to conclude and to test the hypothesis of felt sensation and connection in non-local environments.  

This is one of the great things about process approach to making—sometimes it’s only upon reflection of the creation that you discover better questions. 

**Coming Up Next: The transition from the virtual world to the natural lands.

THE EXPERIENCE: BODY AND LAND/NATURE

August 18, 2021

“I want to know If you can sit with painMine or your own without moving to hide itOr fade it Or fix it.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

A way to balance my online world was to be immersed in the natural world. I practiced Qi Gong with my dad, and continued my movement practice of waves by the ocean.  The more I moved and trained outside, the more my heart would ask: what is our interconnection to other? 

When in nature, I’d have these moments of deep surrender to how vast and powerful the lands were. In a moment, we could encounter a bear in the forest or my foot could slip off the rock and I’d be plunging into the rushing waves of the waterfall.  It wasn’t until I took my body to the land that I could really embody the power of the natural world—that I could feel how I, a pebble in the dirt, was infinitely apart of it.  To further explore my curiosity, Tina Robinson, a dear friend, Indigenous Chilkat artist, and my Indigenous studies advisor of OEWA, took me to harvest yellow cedar.  We went to Lax’Kwalaams by boat with Cal (a brilliant fisherman) where Russell (an incredible totem/carving artist) met with us.  He took us to the forest and pointed us in the right direction and Tina, Pearl (Tina’s mentor), Christina (Tina’s cousin) and I were on our way.  This invitation was the beginning of a plethora of beautiful conversations, sharings, teachings and soul encounters.  We created a short experimental documentary called ‘Smgan’ as a way to capture the process of harvesting cedar and to help Tina document her cultural practice.   Thanks to Cineworks and VUVAC for short-listing our video and selecting it as critic’s pick, we were able to share it on a larger platform.  

We went on several other adventures on the land to harvest, to learn and to engage in traditional practices.  Pearl Innes taught us how to weave cedar baskets and Russell Mather, let us help with the 360 pole he’s carving.  I was fortunate to be invited into the creative process and photograph some of Pearl and Tina’s Chilkat weaving and Russell’s carving.  Also, I met Granny Sterritt while she and Tina were drying their seaweed harvest. Granny is an oracle of wisdom whose simple teachings led me to a deeper understanding that we are truly “all one”.I know you might be thinking: how on earth is this related to dance, movement, or embodied practice?  In every way.  Classical training isn’t the only way to development movement vocabulary: it is all but one way.  The more we engage our body in different practices and patterns, the more we develop our universal language. In expanding our vocabulary we’ll be able to share in more diverse conversations with understanding, acceptance and compassion. In addition to the physical practice, is understanding movement as way to engage with spirit.  A dance without spirit is just physical patterns in space: although aesthetically pleasing, it does very little for the the heart.   The more languages that we can use to open for the spirit to move through our body, the more interconnected we are with the Universal Self.  Dance is the portal to the felt presence of the soul.  Maya Angelou famously says, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Upon Reflection

“Attempting to understand consciousness with your mind, is like trying to illuminate the sun with a candle…”
~Mooji

There are some things in life–invisible and visibly hidden–that can’t be perceived with the eyes or understood by the mind. But they are deeply felt.  When you lose a loved one, grief is but a meager label. To feel the depths of the heartbreak and the sorrow is in its essence…gosh, I still struggle to find the words.  No one person ever understands exactly what another is going through, the story is always different because our experiences and perspectives are all different. But you can feel the volume of energy and share the weight of the burden in felt presence of the company you keep.  It is the same with the emotion of wonder. To touch wonder that is inextricably indescribable but infinitely glorious also leaves you speechlessly in awe.  It’s like that moment when light breaks through the cloud casting its beams so prominently visible across the landscape.  And in a few short breaths, covered by another mass of drifting nimbus’, it’s as if the universe is reminding us that beyond the clouds there is a bright light swimming in the ocean sky, and though visibly hidden, our breakthrough is coming. I know the same story may not take our breath in the same way, but you get the essence of what I mean, right?  

Side Note Story 

I only intended to be back in Prince Rupert for one month, I had one piece of luggage, and a backpack. With our airport shutdown, I ended up staying for almost a year during which I got to spend time with my family, eat the most amazing food (IG: @theliuskitchen), connect with phenomenal souls, learn about the land I grew up on and expand my ways of seeing and experiencing.   Wild cards.  

**Coming Up Next: The humbling practice of not knowing

THE EXPERIENCE: OUR EYES WILL ADJUST

August 19, 2021

“I want to know if you can be with joy mine or your ownif you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill youto the tips of your fingers and toeswithout cautioning usto be careful to be realisticto remember the limitations of being human.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

‘O 812, what on earth was I going to do.’   That was literally my looming question from Sept-November 2020.  Surrender and acceptance are practices and as you can see, the ease comes and goes in waves. CA 812 was our seminar course, and thank goodness we had a great instructor Peter Dickinson (also graduate chair…also finally became a supervisor on my committee).  He gave us readings from writers such as Ashon Crawley and Lee Maracle touching on topics on body, technology, race and non-typical ways of perceiving the world around us.  The readings challenged the social acceptance of the academic system and gave me a language I could relate to and understand.  We were able to present our articles of choice in any shape or form, so I shared an interview and an experimental video with the cohort featuring Tina. Peter’s way of teaching made me more curious and also gave me a way to see my self-responsibility as a practicing artist.In this class we were supposed to write our paper in support of our thesis project, which was super interesting given that I had no insight on what I was going to make.  November came along and I hit a wall.  I was researching natural light, simulated lights, projection, reflection, refraction, shadow, prisms, lenses, crystals, dichromatics…I was running far and wide and still…nothing…I had to present my project proposal in 4 weeks and ‘O 812, what on earth was I going to do?’  I called my dear friend Elisa and in a deep rather serious tone, I said, “What kind of artist am I, when I have nothing to make?” she replied, “make about that, make about the ambiguity, make about the space in between…”  That same week both my beloved mentor Marsha and Granny said the same thing on separate occasions, “Trust the universe, trust yourself and trust that it will come when it’s time.” A part of me surrendered to this reminder, but another part of me, was like “yes, and…but…you know…”Anyways, I let the go of the desire and just accepted my fate, and just as when Bella released her desire to connect with Nat, letting go of the desire to ‘figure things out’ freed the resistance that was blocking the vision.  That same night, it happened, I had my first dream of OEWA.  I saw the final scene, and that was enough to get me started. I spoke with Marsha and told her about the dream and asked if she’d be open to sending me Momo (a paper kimono she designed for one of our previous projects). 

Upon Reflection

“Life is so much wiser and kinder than your mind imagines. Trust and be still.”
~Mooji

The most powerful gift and gifted power is to trust in your Self which is not separate in trusting the Universe, or Source, or God (whatever you need to call it).  Trust is different from knowing, I find the more I come to the origin of not knowing the less I interfere with life as life moves on and doesn’t get stuffed by my apparent knowing.  Life becomes more spontaneous, more fresh, more miraculous because it is a delusion to think I can control life.  I accept this may be an unpopular thought, but perhaps if we open our minds to not knowing, we can find a balance between not knowing and escaping into the illusion certainty.  

Side Note Story

Every now and then, the soundtrack from the musical ‘Rent’ is my  my drama-release-shout-a-loud, sing-a-long, go to.  One of my favorite lines are from the song, Light My Candle, “Our eyes ‘ll adjust, thank God for the moonMaybe it’s not the moon at all, I hear Spike Lee’s shooting down the street” I knew the title of this work before I knew what I was making, and as an affirmation in that first dream the line “our eyes’ll adjust, thank God for the moon” would repeat and fade into “our eyes will adjust” and hence the title of this work. 


**Coming Up Next: Momo’s to Fufu’s

THE EXPERIENCE: COSTUME, CULTURE AND FAMILY

August 20, 2021

“It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true..”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I worked for 10 days, incubated in the making, the writing, the dreaming it all just kept flowing.  Momo didn’t arrive in time for my project proposal presentation, but like every other unfolding of this story, it arrived in its own time – just after the project was approved.  One of the questions that came up from the board, as well as from Rob, was why Kimonos, how did it relate to me?  Marsha had sent me this gorgeous book on the history of kimonos and, in reading it, I discovered the origin of the kimonos came from the Chinese Hanfus.  I did more research and spoke with my secondary supervisor Siying Duan.  I learned more about the history of Hanfus and asked if Marsha was ok for the original design to be modified.  I was semi-clear on the design, but sewing and making are not my speciality.  Another gift from the wild card of heading home, mom’s years of experience in costume making couldn’t come at a better time.  We discussed the design, the modifications and how we were going to make them.  The paper arrived and we cut out a template altering the original design.  The first one didn’t work out: we needed to go back to the drawing board and start again.  The first hanfu took the longest amount of time as we had to wait for the paper, modify, make, adjust.  We quickly discovered working with paper is a much more fragile process: a single tear meant we had to start again.  It originally took us around 30 hrs, including all the trials, to give life to our first piece.  Once we had set the design things moved along smoothly.  We had to make quite a few as the hanfu gets destroyed with every video shoot, and performance.   Each hanfu is hand crafted with their own unique twist.  

Upon Reflection

“One must find the truth of one’s own self and be that. Unless you know yourself you will not know what true love is.Love and trust are one.”
~Mooji

The conceptualization of this project is a process–a process to discover self within the Universal Self and to give space to others to find their own paths and journey.  Mooji says, “awareness cannot be at the end of a process because the very striving and the process itself, is arising and appearing in the Awareness which is timelessly present.”  Being in constant conversation and sharing the process of my work is new to me. In the past, I’ve been product driven and more often than not, had a level of certainty in what was being created.  Sharing the process has been a vulnerable, challenging, and liberating experience. In some ways, it may take away from the magic revealing the ‘behind the scenes’, but in other ways, accentuates the visibly hidden aspects of process.  What if the magic is in the mundane and in fact the ordinary was never really that ordinary to begin with? 

Side Note Story 

The most invaluable part of this whole costume process was spending time in creation with my mother.  Although I loved the conversations, it was the silent moments when we were both in creation mode where I felt a connection with her that transcended the need to speak.  In these moments of stillness, silence and pure conscious company, we healed generations of our own past and truly met as we are today.  Beyond flesh and bone, we connected in spirit. 


**Coming Up Next: How other projects fed into the bigger picture.

THE EXPERIENCE: IT’S ALL CONNECTED

August 21, 2021

“I want to know if you can disappoint another
to be true to yourself If you can bear the accusation of betrayaland not betray your own soul.if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it’s not pretty everyday.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I was met with several obstacles in the project. It was like looking up at storm clouds suspended above my head waiting to reign it’s fiery. While I was ignorantly trying to fight with time, I was relearning the dance of holding on and letting go – a test of intentional attention and trust.  Fortunately, instead of having time to dwell, I was working on a few other projects in HK and Canada that demanded my attention. Although I couldn’t see how the works connected in the beginning, they all unveiled their interconnections overtime. 

Project 1: HKYAF was developing their project ‘Why On Earth’ that spoke into how humans are affecting the living planet, and I was able to choreograph two new works collaborating with youth spoken word artists and dancers via zoom.  Everything is always moving towards something: my experience with Amity and the Spring Show gave me confidence in this new way of creating.  Working on this project shifted my perspective around my choreographic methodology using video, editing, and effects which gave myself and the dancers a new way of perceiving the movement and an openness to interpretation. 

Project 2: I shared my movement practice of intuitive embodied awareness (EYE) as a movement advisor and guest instructor with Phase One (collaboration between Sammy Chien and Caroline McCaul: IG @we.were.one) and Method Dance Society Workshop Series.  It was an informative experience and experimentation in how this methodology can be translated virtually and energetically.  With both projects, we explored the body as space, and the body’s connection to physical and virtual environments – body and architecture and body and telepresence.

Project 3: Along with the workshop series, I was working on a new piece with MDS.  We were exploring new technology in a video series called ‘Mother Sound/Body’.   Shelby Richardson, artistic director, Jon Russell, technical director and the dancers, Ashley Burmaster, Grace Perry and Sloane Zogas worked their magic in exploring territories that were new to all of us all.  We explored the digital self through sound and light body mapping. Using sensor technology, MDS challenged the traditional performance space, pivoting their material into the digital realm“ – body and technology (sensors).  

Project 4: Corps Bara was working on a project that focused on a way to experience dance on film as a meditative experience.  We explored the topic of interconnection to land, nature and other through reflection as we rehearsed and choreographed the work via zoom with the dancers outdoors – body and land and nature. 

Upon Reflection

“The greatest step towards a life of happiness and simplicity is to let go. Trust in the power that is already taking care of you spontaneously without effort.”
~Mooji

These projects came at a perfect time and naturally aligned with OEWA, I just had to let go of it for a while and let the Universe do its work.  Letting go is hard to do. Attention can either guide or distract our focus, and often it is in the moments of letting go we gain clarity and what is necessary effortlessly reveals itself.  Trust is not easy and doesn’t always make sense in our minds.  Sometimes, it is necessary to sit with the pain and uncertainty of the void to expand our sense-ability to that which is visibly hidden.  As I continue to dive deeper into the unknown, the impermanent state and boundaries of my existence becomes more evident.  My mind fights for duality, but my soul shouts that it is neither this or that, somewhere nor nowhere. it is simply, now here. And somehow, it’s all connected. 

Side Note Story

Working with Shelby and Jon was an incredible testimony to life in full circle.  Jon and I used to meet at least once a year through competitions and Shelby and I danced in the same company at the beginning of our careers. To find ourselves aligned with similar curiosities in our practices and to be able to reconnect and work together years later was an unfathomable gift – huge thanks to Shelby, Jon and MDS for paving a way for our paths to entangle. 


**Coming Up Next: Experiencing the process

THE CLOSING: THE PROCESS

August 22, 2021

“It doesn’t interest me to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside
when all else falls away.”

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

My intention going into this process/project was to commit to doing things I haven’t done, to push the boundaries of my perceptible limitations and to truly dance and trust in the unknown.  I realized the visibly hidden will remain hidden if I continue looking/sensing in the same ways.  This is the first time I’ve ever had to simultaneously produce, market, direct, design, make, choreograph and perform.  It’s a lot of hats to wear and never having worn some, I met failure upon failure upon failure – but every fall and lesson became my greatest investment.  I had to learn to stop fighting the change, to surrender to what is, and leave behind what is not for me.  Acceptance and surrender.  This is the same approach Charlie and I embraced in the process of composition.  We decided to work with sensors and movement to create composition for the work. Going in, we didn’t know where the process would go and only through making were we able to uncover the work.  Along the way we discovered our own relationships to technology.  What he perceived as a composer and what I perceived as a mover were simultaneously opposite and the same.  At times, we sensed the same felt sensations but we experienced them differently or vice versa. The technology gave us a way to show one another how we embodied the experience of sound. It also gave us a way to connect as the Universal Self, a co-composition of energies and forces composing with us. And as a result of being able to converse in this way, it has expanded our way of seeing, listening and feeling. 

This process was neither straight nor linear but rather, a witnessing of multidimensional spheres in a dance of seeking that which harmonizes with itself. And in the act of surrender and participation as the Universal Self, we witnessed the harmonizing of the spheres informing a deeper and more entangle connection we could’ve never planned or forseen. 

Upon Reflection

“If you do not trust life to unfold, the mind takes over and it becomes a game of strategy, motivated by anxiety.  This mistrust is unfair. Life has given us so much, and yet we do not trust it.” 
~Mooji

There is a familiarity in the discomfort in the process of making requiring me to lean into the questions and the chaos of the unknown. As much as the self at the center gets caught up in trying to find the answers, there are greater forces and energies involved in this dance of creation.  Maybe someday, with enough experience, I’ll live into the answers and maybe they’ll just lead to better questions, either way the process continues to unravel the visibly hidden. 

Side Note Story


Charlie and I met on the first day and we just so happened to sit next to one another. Within a day, we had a project in the works.  Life has many wild cards, some more wild than others, for me it’s a daily practice to remember we are always where we are meant to be.  Perception is a subjective and an embodied experience, a dance where darkness and light, matter and energy, and the self at the center and the Universal Self meet.  The path of life is neither straight or narrow, it is simultaneously complex and simple, falling apart and falling into place, never still and always in motion. In the impermanent flow and movement of life, there is so much more than our eyes can perceive.  As we all continue to evolve our sense-ability to the visibly hidden, may the mysteries of life effortlessly remind us that and maybe, we’re all a lot more interconnected than we think. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I’m so grateful our paths have crossed and I look forward to connecting with you at the showings.