Life's too fast to play it safe.

alvin ailey and..

..arts in education, integration and motivation through dance.
http://www.alvinailey.org/page.php?p=dir&c=9&sec=programs

His (Alvin Ailey's) legacy:
dance as a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present and fearlessly reaching for the future.

first class // back to basics again.

it's when you think you actually should not try something new now again, this is all going to be too embarassing, that's when I know, aah, ulli, you really are on the best way to have to jump into something new.

I received a small tag for my key chain, that gets me into every course at the AileySchool. Some of the classes have never been offered in Munich, where I did most of the dancing.
Today it was HipHop - the feeling of dancing in the middle of Manhatten, with a teacher so tough and so humorous at the same time, makes my heart beat so fast I have to slow my breath. This is a quality without name for me. The warmth with which I was welcomed into a class very much advanced, me just enjoying to dance, and not getting much of the choreography, but..being there.

Lesson: music was so loud, wowowowow, and suddenly the teacher stops and says, "listen, it is very easy to give up at this stage. I do not take you're being here for granted, you let me do what I love doing, and my task is to make you go out of this room and feel good, feel that you have achieved something."

There is much cheesiness that is, I believe, put to some of the american pratices, but there was a deep spirit in what she was saying. Never, never give up. You better practice hard, but nobody said it was easy. Give it a smile, and just continue with passion.

I never heard that before in any dance class. And indeed, as Royston Maldoom [http://www.royston-maldoom.net] says, you can change your life in a dance class..if you just let it.

aarhus, september 2006

new york and..

Before it is again taking too long for me to explain..here you go.
It is my final year at the KaosPilots in denmark. June 2007, yesyes, and I already got something very amazing coming up, so, no worries on the workplace. Not for much profit, but much spirit, I can promise you.

I had planned some very long time back to go to Zimbabwe for my world internship period this autumn. But my mother fell very sick, and so there the only way to go was not to. (http://www.kufunda.org)

Having met amazing people in June/Borl/Slovenia, I contacted Werner, working with Caritas/Austria, as we were talking back then about 'Rhythm is it' [http://www.rhythmisit.com] in one way or the other in Vienna. And, yes! He was really working on making this amazing dream happening, and I thought, how amazing, I can join in for my internship, vienna, my second home, and the project an amazing opportunity.

During a conversation in Vienna, it turned out, that it might be more helpful for the project, if I could join in when it started, that being february 2007.
Wuwuwuwuwuw, no internship.

How could my having these two months be of use for the initiative of integrating underserved schoolchildren through dance?

Lululululu, I looked for those that were doing amazing things within the field, and many of them were on the east coast/U.S. So I called some very different organisations, with the same goal, to create value through dance, so I got in, so I am here. New York it is. Alvin Ailey, the number one on the list, those that I did not dare calling until the last moment, my inspiration.

I had no idea, what would be expecting me, I had not been dancing/class in ages, I had no appartement fixed when the plane landed, and I was having heartvibrations (herzflimmern, you know) all through my body.

The present story now without further drama: I am working and learning from Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, Director for Arts in Education and Community Development.

I am amazed to be here. I am at awe when seeing the dancers every day around the office, I am grateful.

And I have the privilege to choose life, and feel I truly am.

modern heroes//thomas d.

with love from new york - i am back, needed some time to find words for thoughts.
here we go with some borrowed ones from a new book..
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There is the saying: "if you've saved one life, you've safed the world." I think this really refers to your own very life. If you safe you're own life, by not giving up, not becoming depressiv, bitter or haggard, but you'll succeed to stay open and loving until the end of your life, then it will be ok for this world.
In the end it is about keeping our humanity, to respect and look after eachother.

Wenn du dein eigenes Leben rettest, indem du nicht aufgibst, nicht depressiv wirst, verhärmst oder verbitterst, sondern es schaffst, bis zum Ende deines Lebens offen und liebevoll zu bleiben, dann geht das in Ordnung auf dieser Welt.