I usually prefer to watch company class over a performance, unless they're branching out from fairy stories and misogyny, and then it can be breathtaking.
I have enough ballet in me that strangers stop to comment on the way I move, but I lack the strength of the important details only dancers see.
I know this feeling well. I pine for the subtleties of the feet and turnout and adage of a pro, but have never had the desire to be in a ballet or live that life.
I want to take exquisite tendus and épaulement onto cabaret stages, and not even care whether anyone else notices the details.
If Tim Curry narrates the audiobook of his memoir, I may listen to it on repeat forever.
We were already aware, but it's lovely that you're joining the party.
People like this make me so paranoid I'll put my foot in my mouth with such arrogant confidence, that I have to triple-check everything before I ever open my mouth. 4/
Thankfully this kid's mother swooped in, did a quick google, and set everyone back on the right path, because it wasn't my place but I was having trouble doing that much tongue-biting. 3/
"They weren't called pronouns when my kids were at school. They were called proper nouns, and they had to have capital letters. You have to give Jackfruit a capital because it's the name of a fruit" 2/
Sitting in a waiting room while my kid is at an extra-curricular activity, listening to a grandmother "help" an older sibling of one of my little one's friends do homework. 1/
A four panel comic about trying to improve the world a little bit.
This was a hard one to condense into four panels
Now I get to prepare to lecture a lecturer on the fact that artists needing help with ideas is pretty hilarious, and that I'm studying so as to turn my backlog of ideas into a viable income.
The last thing I need is a thieving waste of natural resources generating lists of gibberish for me.
I enrolled in a business course and met with my mentor. Apparently during the course they'll recommend I use AI to "help with ideas". When I explained I'm not interested due to ethical & environmental concerns, he assured me that it's not compulsory, but that he strongly recommends I think about it.
To all the powers that be in the ballet, and broader dance worlds, can you please hire more choreographers who make work like this? I want to sit in theatres and have all of my breath taken away by this kind of connection!
A man says "turns out my favourite director was a domestic abuser." Another man puts his hand on the other guy's shoulder and says "sucks for you man." He then effusively states "every piece of media I've ever enjoyed was made by a good person..." He then smugly points to him self. He continues "...and thus, I am a good person."
Thank you 🖤 Brig is such a wonderful artist.
Someone from the Power's events team got in touch via linkedin, and I feel as though she just saw the word contortion and assumed it'd be something pretty and sparkly. Even if they'd wanted weird though, I won't perform for a room full of men 😬
Bridgett performing contortion in a black mesh unitard under dark blue-green lights. Hands on her abdomen, fingers pointing downwards, elbows facing straight ahead.
Why are unsolicited gig offers always "can you perform for our football team's board member?" or "can you freestyle dance at a beach resort party?" when this bendy goth's promo looks like this?
I belong in dimly-lit cabaret venues with alt/queer lineups and audiences 🦇
📸 Brig Bee
Back when I was pregnant, squirming around in an incredible raqs sharqi and transnational fusion show with the most stunning and vocal audience, in between bouts of morning sickness backstage.
#SideshowContortion
BTN is a staple for Australian kids. It has a lot of local content, but probably has enough international stories to keep your kid busy for a while.
www.youtube.com/@BehindtheNewsABC
Thankfully there have also been plenty of choreographers who've found it inappropriate to stage stories about men and girls. I don't care how talented a choreographer he was, Balanchine's legacy is still doing damage to women.
Unsolicited advice: pick one or two issues and whole-ass your support or advocacy and activism. Obviously remain open to show up for other folks’ organizing if it falls outside of your focus, but it’s gonna get tempting to stand for everything, which is a recipe for burnout and disappointment.
Oh, ritualised leisure is a stunning concept that I definitely need in my life, thank you!
I've been running in-person workshops and courses on choreographic process for a couple of decades now, and mentoring people 1:1 online for many years.
I'm now branching out into self-paced (and eventually cohort-based) online courses, and would love to hear about what people want to know.
They can join the pile with the dancers who don't give any workshop description and expect you to sign up based on their name alone. It doesn't matter how much I love your work, if you can't even give me an idea of your workshop content, I won't be there.
Cover art for 'Tilda is Visible' by Jane Tara.
Cover art for 'Libby Lost and Found' by Stephanie Booth.
'Tilda is Visible' by Jane Tara and 'Libby Lost and Found' by Stephanie Booth were fun, unexpected, and told from interesting angles.
Cover at of the book 'A Psalm for the Wild-Built' by Becky Chambers.
Cover at of the book 'A Prayer for the Crown-Shy' by Becky Chambers.
Becky Chambers' 'Monk and Robot' series was my favourite discovery of the year and I want to climb inside it and live there.
A collage of covers of every book I read in 2024.
Towards the end of 2024 I made an effort to read more fiction, and found some of my new favourite books. I'm now on the hunt for recommendations for magical realism or sci-fi that are cosy, optimistic, and preferably not written by cis men.
