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MysticSang'ha - Administrator

MysticSang'ha

MysticSang'ha

Big Squishy Hugger
Premium Member
Name: Heather

Residence: Southwestern Illinois, close to St. Louis, MO.

Age/DOB: October 24, 1972.........do the math. :D

Education/Occupation:I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Dance Specialization in 1995. I then earned the title of Certified Movement Analyst (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) in New York City in 1996.

Since then, I have been a jack-of-all-trades in the dance profession. I perform, teach all ages and all levels, choreograph, judge auditions and competitions, and coordinate entire programs for institutions. I am currently working on several new projects: choreography for a film, developing and producing a new musical, and now managing an entire branch studio. One of my goals is to open my own studio by next year, and this management position will definitely get my feet wet.

Family: Married, had two children, divorced, remarried to a gorgeous man named Steve, and welcomed his two children as my stepkids. So, now our kids are 14, 12,10, and 8...........three older boys and a girl.

Guess who gets doted on a lot? :)

Our 10-year-old is an autist - diagnosed as High-Functioning Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). He is, without a doubt, one of the biggest blessings in my life.

Pets: One dog - a Jack Russell Terrier. His energy level is outstanding for helping me to practice my patience. LOL

I am very honored to be a part of the Mod staff here at RF. I promise to use the whip on the community properly.




Peace,
Mystic
 
Booko

Booko

Deviled Hen
Welcome to the team!

MysticSang'ha said:
Education/Occupation:I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Dance Specialization in 1995. I then earned the title of Certified Movement Analyst (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) in New York City in 1996.
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What advice can you give Eibhlin about her future education in dance? There's a 2-year theatre degree at our local community college, but no dance. But she can continue her dance training elsewhere, and to continue to compete in Irish seems to make a regular 4-year college schedule difficult if not impossible. We were thinking about transfering her after the 2-year degree to a local college that does have a dance program. What pitfalls should we be looking out for?

Since then, I have been a jack-of-all-trades in the dance profession. I perform, teach all ages and all levels, choreograph, judge auditions and competitions, and coordinate entire programs for institutions.
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What recommendations do you have for Eibhlin to start learning more about choreography absent a college programme?

And now that I've picked your brains on that subject...

How did you find Buddhism?
 
Quagmire

Quagmire

Imaginary talking monkey
Staff member
Premium Member
Congratulations Heather! I'm liking the way the new Mod team is shaping up.
 
MysticSang'ha

MysticSang'ha

Big Squishy Hugger
Premium Member
Jaymes said:
Congrats on becoming a mod! :)
You never mentioned you had a pet demon! :eek:
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LOL!

Oh, he's all right. I've heard that JRT's are likely to be more abused than other breeds since shows like "Wishbone" and "Frasier" popularized them. People who bought them expected dogs to be calm and compliant, and Jack Russells are stubborn, territorial, and hyper.

He's three years old now, and we got him shortly after he'd weaned as a puppy. I've trained him to sit, lay down, and roll over. My goal has always been to get him into a submissive state when he's being ornery - which is quite often. ;)




Peace,
Mystic
 
MysticSang'ha

MysticSang'ha

Big Squishy Hugger
Premium Member
Booko said:
What advice can you give Eibhlin about her future education in dance? There's a 2-year theatre degree at our local community college, but no dance. But she can continue her dance training elsewhere, and to continue to compete in Irish seems to make a regular 4-year college schedule difficult if not impossible. We were thinking about transfering her after the 2-year degree to a local college that does have a dance program. What pitfalls should we be looking out for?
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OK, I'm gonna give this to you straight up since I'm sure you'll respect that and appreciate it in the long run: there just aren't a whole lot of educational opportunities in dance outside of professional companies, dance studios, and accredited college degree programs. If you have a local Arts Council, you might be able to contact them and find out if there are companies that would offer an Artist-In-Residence seminar conference, and that's when Eibhlin can receive maybe a week or two in furthering some education.

Dance companies that tour also will hold master classes every now and then, too, if they come to your area.

This is one of the reasons why it's a very difficult profession in our part of the world. You're quite aware already, I'm sure, of how little support dance gets in the States. It's not like...........oh, I don't know............Egypt, where professional dancers seem to be treated like rock stars as compared to how we pay our American dancers.

What your daughter needs to do is to continue networking, never burn bridges with colleagues unless it's over something criminal, and understand that it's going to take a lot of trial and error to make some headway in this business.

Mother Hen said:
What recommendations do you have for Eibhlin to start learning more about choreography absent a college programme?
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Thank Buddha! That's an easy one! The best best best BEST way for her to shape and refine her choreography skills is by teaching classes. She'll not only be able to practice observational skills in identifying good and bad technique, but she'll have to develop small choreographic phrases to teach toward the end of her classes after the warm-up, skills training (like leaps, turns, locomoter skills, etc.). She can start with a small class and develop small 20-second phrases, and eventually build them up when she starts taking on bigger classes.

I would highly suggest her approaching an apprentice position at a studio or as an assistant teacher, and then she'll be learning the ropes on the job. These positions usually don't pay, but alot of times you can get free classes at the studio in exchange.

Does that help any? I hope she knows that I'm behind her 100%. :)

And now that I've picked your brains on that subject...

How did you find Buddhism?
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Oy, let me take Tyler to school first, and I'll come back and answer that question.




Peace,
Mystic
 
MysticSang'ha

MysticSang'ha

Big Squishy Hugger
Premium Member
OK, I'm back, began a little homeschooling Dana, and ready to tackle a couple more questions. :)

And now that I've picked your brains on that subject...

How did you find Buddhism?
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I wanted to give a sincere description of my journey to the Dharma rather than give a hasty reply because the whole journey is very important to me.

I may from time to time give criticisms of the RCC, but my upbringing in it was actually quite wonderful the more I realize the spiritual gifts I was given. I wasn't quite sure I believed what I was supposed to, but I loved the pagaentry, the rites, the music..........every Sunday was like a series of mantras that was comforting and brought me a sense of security that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Sure, I was taught in catechism that venial sins were lying, stealing, and the like; and mortal sins were murder and missing church on Easter Sunday and Christmas Mass. :eek: That really freaked me out then, as well as the nuns that taught catechism that seemed to have this fascination with hell more than what I preferred.

But, overall, the architecture of the churches, the fact that I could go from one church to a whole other church in the U.S. and know the exact same format..........I really loved and appreciated that with it's tradition........and my favorite service of all was Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The scents, the candles, the quiet celebration of the birth of Christ - it was simply beautiful!

Now, I was a nervous child, one that suffered quite a bit and showed signs early on of anorexia nervosa and childhood depression. Back then, though, those signs were rather swept under the rug, and I was often shuffled from one medical doctor to the next, having blood tests taken, drinking that barium crap so that the doc can make sure that my digestive system was working OK. No one wanted to investigate my mind, and I knew something was wrong with it. But, who would take an 8-year-old seriously?

I was taken to one therapist as a child, but my parents discontinued that valuable treatment after two visits for reasons that remain undisclosed to this day.

One day, though, my mother presented me a book on yoga since toward the end of the book, there was a small section on yoga for kids focusing primarily on pranayama (breathing) exercises. Yoga seemed to help her relieve stress, and she wondered if it would help me. I began practice in pranayama and a few physical asanas at that point, and I noticed immediate results.

For one, I could get out of bed. Then I could go half a day without going into a crying fit. Then I could start going to school again. Then I could eat again. Then I could go a full day without becoming depressed, then two days, then a week..........it was a long struggle throughout my adolescence when I stopped practicing every now and then, and it would return in the form of anorexia/depression.

I stopped practicing completely when I became an Evangelical Christian in college, and my mind literally went into some severe neurotic episodes. I became paranoid, hostile, and pushed away most of my family for their Catholic leanings. I also didn't eat - again - and wound up staying in my dorm room by myself locked up quite a bit at first freaked out and tearing my hair out.

With certain episodes like this, I came to the conclusion that I hated religion, I hated people, I hated life. I graduated college with so much angst in my heart despite the fact that I had the "dancers" body, that this angst showed in my student choreographic works (and was praised for it), and that I'd have frequent severe breakdowns and have suicidal tendencies.

I went to New York with the hope that it would give me a new life. I wanted to leave a place that I felt was the source of all my hostility and bitterness. I stewed in my own poop for so long, and I wanted to escape that. I thought I'd been victimized long enough.

I'd begun practicing yoga again in New York, and in the mid-'90s it was starting to see it's huge surge into the mainstream at the time. One person in my class suggested to me to check out Buddhism. I laughed, and then thought "what the hell?" I remember the day down to the last detail of walking through the door of Barnes & Noble and finding the small section of Buddhism. I saw two prominent authors, the Dalai Lama - who I thought was a political puppet at the time LOL - and Thich Nhat Hanh. I grabbed the first book I saw by Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings," bought it, and took it home to read. I was skeptical.

The more I read, the more I smiled. The more I agreed. The more my heart softened. The more my anger dissipated. The more forgiving I became. I began serious practice in meditation then, and in following the Buddha-Dharma of the Eightfold Path, and I found myself through practice becoming happier and happier.

I realized then what things in my past genuinely worked. I had a difficult upbringing in an alcoholic family, but I truly did not want that to inhibit me or victimize me. Buddhism taught me how not to escape my past, but to see it with a new awareness and an open and compassionate heart.

And it all started with focusing on one breath at a time at the tender age of 8.




Peace,
Mystic
 
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