CURRENT MISSION

To do that which I fear I cannot.

ABOUT ME

Dance - My mother started a dance studio in our living room when I was 3 and I've been dancing ever since. I actually go a bit crazy if I don't get my dance fix... I like jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and tap. As much as I love dancing and as much as I need to dance I can't typically do it on call and tend to cave with requests, your best bet is to find me some good funk, soul, hip hop, blues, swing... hell almost anything and then my body won't actually let me stand still.

Sharing - Whether it's skipping, finger painting, shooting stars, rainbows, ideas, a cheap bottle of wine, smiles, hugs, naps, dreams, all-nighters, laughs, silence, or tears... It feels good to share.

Traveling - Since my first road trip at 18 I've been hooked. I was a late-comer to the whole notion but once I got my first taste, once I broke down that first wall (those preconceived notions about people, places, things that we were all taught in school, or at home, or on tv), I was sold.

Individual Responsibility - From 2002-2004 I traveled along a carefully mapped route whose trail traced the words “NO WAR” 22,000 miles long across the face of the United States. The idea grew out of frustration at the country's response to the attacks on 9/11. The mission was hit the road and talk to people. Take the country's pulse for ourselves. We strove to listen when someone had something to say, to teach when someone wanted to learn, to learn when someone had something to teach, to inspire those that were apathetic, and to understand our country, ourselves, and our place in this world.
If you follow the link to the website www.nowarproject.com (under construction) you will see more details about the project and the places along the routes we held vigils. Our plans for a documentary are still in the rough draft phase but you can see some of the shorts we've compiled on the site or on youtube.

Random Fun Facts...
Laughing - love it
Frilly toothpicks - for 'em
Earrings that sing - i adore
Music - essential
Blue Skies - make me happy
Tube socks & Chest Bumps - rock
Funky Clouds that look like things - awesome
Smiling - contagious and addicted
Pretty Flowers - divine
Good People - rock my world

PHILOSOPHY

Since I'm having a hard time articulating this one I'm going to borrow something Martha Graham said to Agnes De Mille...

"There is a vitality,
a life force, a quickening
that is translated through you into action
and because there is only one of you in all time,
this expressing is unique.
If you block it,
it will never exist
through any other medium
and it will be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business
to determine how good it is,
nor how valuable it is,
nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours,
clearly and directly,
to keep the channel open."

ROAD LESSONS -

the MIND can complicate matters...
the HEART can be easily deceived...
the GUT just responds instinctively...
It is important to LISTEN to what it is saying.

I believe that all of us have tremendous power...
to love, to hate,
to heal, to hurt,
to build up, and to destroy
ourselves, those around us, and the world as a whole.

Owning this power is not a choice,
How one chooses to use it, is a choice.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I just got back from my second solo trip to Europe where i got to do some much needed soul searching and physical healing while soaking in new sights, sounds, and amazing people. Couchsurfed almost the whole time and never pass up a chance to spread the word about how amazing this project is :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

stellar.

Interests

good conversation, fruits and vegetables, recycling, hiking, camping, s'mores, hot spring hopping, meteor showers, full moons, new moons, napping, reading, writing, smelling flowers, lazy days, good walks, laughing, listening to music, alternative energy, dancing, falling asleep on the beach (good idea to have sunscreen on if that type of forethought is possible), kind company, a glass of wine, good beer (specifically belgians), live music, hummingbirds, watching the sun come and go...

• writing
• singing
• documentaries
• beauty
• dancing
• waltz
• wine
• beer
• running
• flowers
• news
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• painting
• magic
• music
• live music
• jazz
• blues
• hiking
• camping
• hunting
• business
• beaches
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC: Anything with a solid beat, funky groove, or soulful sound that makes it impossible to sit still... or just some mellow awesomeness that makes it easier to breathe.

Some favorites - Etta James, Sam Cooke, Otis, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Fiona Apple, Tom Waits, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Britney (I teach high school kids, cut me some slack, she's got good beats!), Elvis, Blue Scholars, Gorillaz, Lyrics Born, the Verve, Joshua James, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jackson 5, New Edition, Morcheeba, Lucky Peterson, Beck, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Priscilla Ahn, Cat Power, Portishead, Thicke, TV on the Radio, the Kooks, Kings of Leon, Adele, JT, Ray Charles, Clarence Carter, matt nathanson, eric hutchinson, groundation, Citizen Cope, Alicia keys, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Cas Haley, Stephen Marley, Jimmy Cliff, all blues, jazz, REGGAE, I know I'm all over the board, I was trying to stay organized but... I like most everything (except country and bad techno) though I generally feel like there's a time and place for most types of music...

MOVIES: A small sampling... pay it forward, whackness, juno, the darjeeling limited, pulp fiction, role models, dazed and confused, reality bites, why we fight, waking life, baraka, jfk, outfoxed, breakin 2 electric boogaloo, kundon, saturday night live best of will farell, supertroopers, monty python holy grail, life of brian, spaceballs, shawshank redemption, memento, shaolin soccer, office space, the outlaw josey wales, the good the bad and the ugly, kung fu (David Carridine), the untouchables, various musicals, anything with Fred Astaire or Gene Kelley...

BOOKS: Goodnight Moon, Celestine Prophecies, Mutant Message from Down Under, Siddartha, the Alchemist, anything by Tom Robbins or David Sedaris.

TV: Haven't had one for years but when I get a little couch time I prefer south park, the office, so you think you can dance, the daily show, or a good dose of the discovery channel and pbs.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The NO WAR Project... www.nowarproject.com

It was idealistic, and we really didn't have the resources to pull it off the way it deserved to be done, but we put every ounce of our souls into it, without even really knowing what we were doing, just trusting as it continued to evolve, and knowing that it was something that needed to be done.

Magic happens when you get past all of the bullshit of outside expectation of how you're supposed to live your life and instead put your trust in the current that flows naturally in yourself and in the space you travel through...

The beauty and kindness that's in this country is staggering and, sadly, rarely seen or covered on the nightly news or shared abroad. The NO WAR Project could not have happened without the love and support of hundreds of "strangers" across the United States...

Teach, Learn, Share

I love to dance and can teach anyone to moonwalk (ok i can teach you how... you'll have to do the practicing, he makes it look way easier than it is), skip, waltz, swing, foxtrot, sugarfoot, tap, effectively apply spirit fingers to even the simplest movements to create a staggering effect... I can also provide guidance to recreating Tom Greene's, "my bum is on the ___" really anywhere.

U.S. roadtrip planning: I've been to every state in the U.S. but Alaska so if anyone has questions I may have some answers ;) i specialize in hot springs, breweries, national parks, cutting corners, stretching your budget, and overall beautiful places to get lost in.

I am intrigued by the human body and know a thing or two about making it run efficiently. i can craft a training program for all shapes, sizes, and degrees of motivation.

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Barbados, Brazil, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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