Behind The Velvet Curtain

Come out to the debut of Bettina May's new monthly show in Manhattan! Each month she'll be putting the best performers in burlesque, boylesque and variety onstage. Her inaugural show is the NY Burlesque Fest Hangover show, the perfect wind down from an amazing 4 days of international burlesque, featuring London's Kitty Bang Bang, BHOF King of Burlesque 2012 Russell Bruner from Portland, Maine Attraction, Miss Ekaterina, herself and hosted by the extraordinary Bastard Keith!

Visit: http://bettina.ca/BehindTheVelvetCurtain/for more details and for reservations.

Ticket Information:

General Admisson - $10 at the door, 1/2 off with a NYBF weekend pass (first show only!)

Reserved Seating - $20 per person, subject to availability.

Group Reservations - Special packages available for Bachelorette Parties, Birthdays etc.

Improve your movement

... with the 6 essential pilates concept: Part 1 - Centering Centering means beginning movement from what is referred to as the powerhouse or core. In pilates, the center of the body is located between the lowest ribs and pubic bone.  By initiating all movement from this region, the rest of the body will be able to align and move more efficiently.

Many people think the core is just the abdominals and then think of a crunch or situp. In pilates we know that the core includes the abdominal, lower back, and buttocks.  It is a misconception that in order to engage your core, you must bend the spine (like in a crunch), hold your breath & press your abdomen outward. In actuality, it is the opposite!  First of all the spine does not need to bend in order to engage your core.   The core can engage without any structural change of the body. Second, breath is essential for your muscle strength and endurance.  And Finally, a strong core is a tight and pulled in feeling.

Try it out: This can be done standing, sitting, laying down and basically in any other position. If someone is watching you, they should not see your body change positions.  I like to think of the core as I would a fist.  To make a fist I curl my fingers in, wrap my thumb around and squeeze.  I ask my clients to engage their core in a similar way.  Think of pulling the core muscles inward and like a fist, wrap the muscles around the spine. You will feel an intense 360 degree tightening of the core.  This is your powerhouse!

Part 2 - Concentration

Footloose In New York City

Did you know it’s illegal to dance in most bars, restaurants and even well established clubs in New York City? Or that, unless it’s a performance, dancing is not recognized as a form of expression protected under the First Amendment?

In 1926, while liquor was bootlegged and Jazz was shaking things up in Harlem, New York City instituted the Cabaret Law that required establishments serving food or drink to obtain a separate license before permitting any dancing or live music on their premises. This law successfully sought to police and restrict the interracial mixing happening in dance clubs uptown. Almost 100 years later, though times and racial attitudes have changed, the Cabaret Law is not only still in effect and enforced, but contemporary zoning regulations effectively make dancing with your friends absolutely illegal in large parts of the city!

New York’s restrictive dancing regulations affect not only individual dancers and communities, but businesses too, who suffer under the weight of intransigent bureaucracy, legal costs, irregular enforcement and disproportionate fines. Consequently, the number of legal venues has also been declining at an alarming rate. In the 1960s, in the Five Boroughs of New York City there were over 12,000 Cabaret Licenses. By 2008 there were only 179 and as of September 4th 2012 – just 135. (See details here)

After an attempt to repeal the Cabaret Laws on First Amendment grounds failed in 2006, the only avenue toward meaningful change now is through legislative action and we need your support! Please help us repeal the 1926 Cabaret Law and remove the following 7 words from the Zoning Code: "or establishments of any capacity with dancing." These reforms will have no effect on the applicability or enforcement of any of the numerous noise, fire, safety, alcohol and drug ordinances that keep our persons and venues safe and our neighborhoods livable. Help us free dancing by signing this petition and voting for candidates who support and advocate for it!

Social dancing should be freely available to anyone and everyone in any venue in the City of New York where it is safe to do so. No neighborhood should be zoned "No Dancing Allowed." Local communities and small businesses should be allowed to dance and flourish. (SOURCE)

PLEASE visit Change.org and sign/share the petition to repeal this archaic law HERE!

Article written by and brought to you by Ina Sotirova.

Bettina May at Nurse Bettie

I had a night out on the town with Bettina May. We met up in the Lower East Side at Nurse Bettie where she performed to Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him by Betty Davis. She wore a pleather one piece and looked ravishing.

She then took me to a new vegetarian falafel shop around the corner where they make fresh whole wheat pita bread every hour. It was the freshest falafel sandwich I'd ever had.

A fun nite, as always, with Bettina May! Check out her performance schedule HERE.

First Steps To Weight Loss

PART 1: Stop Drinking Calories!

THE BIG PICTURE When we say “body weight” and “weight loss”, we are usually talking about fat mass and decreasing it. Muscle and other tissues make up a lot of our weight also, but few people are trying to “lose muscle mass”! Bodyfat is generally stored when we eat more food than we need, storing extra calories in our fat tissue for the next famine. The problem, of course, is that in modern, Westernized countries, there is no famine. Instead we have near-constant opportunities to feast. In this article series I’ll be laying out some no-nonsense approaches to reducing calories and increasing nutrients in the food we eat. This strategy, along with appropriate exercise habits and other healthy habits, is the key to maintaining a healthy amount of fat in our bodies.

LIQUID CALORIES Stop drinking calories! Liquid calories tend to increase your total calories (consumed energy) per day, but, because they are mostly nutrient-poor, they decrease your daily nutrient intake. This means a tendency toward fat-gain and decreased health.

Examples of Liquid Calories: -Juice, even fresh -Milk, dairy or nondairy -Alcohol -Energy Drinks and soda pop, even sugar-free

Replace with: -Tea, especially green/white/black -Carbonated Water -Vegetable Juice, especially that made from green vegetables (carrot juice is still very high in sugar and lower in nutrients than green vegetable juice) -Whole Food Smoothies, especially those containing both fruits and vegetables

HERE'S WHY Juice, usually made from fruit or carrots, is essentially sugar water with a small amount of some vitamins. So many nutrients, including fiber, are lost when juicing fruits, that the end product can hardly be considered healthy, even when fresh-squeezed. Eat fruit instead!

Milk is also a low-nutrient food. While most milks (nondairy included) are high in calcium and Vitamin D, these are only two nutrients, and there are thousands of nutrients that we should be getting in our food. Also, milks are somewhat high in sugar, and non-skim dairy milk (along with coconut milk) is high in saturated fat and further increases your calories per day without significantly increasing your nutrients per day.

Alcohol is a low-nutrient food. Some benefits are conferred from moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks per day), but these benefits might be outweighed by simply eating another small salad per day instead of drinking alcohol. If you are physically quite active, 1 alcoholic drink per day is probably fine.

Energy Drinks are not healthy. They are generally made out of carbonated water and sugar with a handful of vitamins and stimulants thrown in. Caffeinating oneself frequently as a lifestyle choice is a questionable practice on its own. But regularly consuming energy drinks is like regularly drinking soda pop, also called liquid candy.

What about sodas and energy drinks that are sugar-free? Artificial sweeteners are linked to a slight increase in body weight. Why? The prevailing theory is that consuming fake sugar confuses your body’s ability to sense when real sugar is being eaten. That means that when you do eat real sugar, like from some orange slices, your body is less-well equipped to deal with these sugars since it believes they are fake sugars. Personally, I consume drinks with real sugar those few times per year when I splurge on super sweet beverages.

HEALTHY REPLACEMENT DRINKS Tea, from the tea tree (different than the “tea tree” plant from which “tea tree oil” is obtained), is green, white, or black, depending on how much the leaves are processed after harvest. All three are full of nutrients, free of calories, and will benefit your health. Black has the most caffeine, green the least.

Water and carbonated water is healthy stuff. Drink in abundance! Actually, a sign that you are well-hydrated (but not over-hydrated) is having urine that is slightly yellow, but mostly clear.

Vegetable Juice, especially that made from green vegetables, is very good for your health. Low in sugar but very high in nutrients, green vegetable juice is a great addition for anyone. Watch out for vegetable juice that is based on celery or cucumber, since this is lower in nutrients than juice made primarily from vegetables like romaine, kale, broccoli, and spinach.

Whole Food Smoothies contain all the stuff that the whole food has, it’s just mixed and “pre-chewed” for your enjoyment. As long as you drink them somewhat close to when they are made (try 10-20 minutes), drinking whole food smoothies can be a super healthy way to go. Try mixing fruits and green leaves. You’d be surprised how many leaves (like spinach or romaine) you can add before you taste them. It’s like a fruit salad meets a green salad, and super convenient. You can also add other flavors by throwing in some cinnamon, unprocessed cocoa powder, ginger, etc.

What About Athletes? Athletes have higher--sometimes much higher--calorie needs, and liquid calories can be a good way to get those additional calories. It’s still smart to get calories from nutrient-dense foods though, since the body needs more nutrients to repair from increased physical activity. I recommend that athletes consume 1 or 2 calorie-dense smoothies per day that include lots of fruits, green leaves, and nut butter, like the one below:

Recovery Smoothie: 2 bananas, 3 cups mixed greens, 1 cup blueberries, lots of cinnamon, whole food hemp protein powder, 3 TBSP peanut butter, water. Blend until smooth. Makes about 4 cups.

Part 2: Eat Salad Every Day

DISCLAIMER: The author is neither a nutritionist nor registered dietician. Information contained herein was gathered from many sources and can be found in the literature of such organizations as the World Health Organization, the American Dietetics Association, the American Council on Exercise, National Institutes of Health, and others. Consult with a physician before making changes to your diet or exercise programs.

For more about the Author, Sebastian Grubb visit: SebastianGrubb.com

Edmonton Fringe Festival Part 5

While in Edmonton, Canada for The International Fringe Festival the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There took time to Busk on The Fringe Grounds. This not only gave us more opportunities to perform but was a fulfilling way to connect with people and invite them to our show!

I've cut together a few great moments. Check it out:

Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6

Edmonton FRINGE Festival Part 4

Our tech rehearsal is finally here which means we get see the performance space for the first time. The Fringe festival only allows 3 hours in the space to take care of all technical issues such as; lighting, sound, spacing, etc. We managed to cover all our bases and more. By more I mean we managed to sneak in a little photo shoot.

Our venue is on the King Edward School campus, only two blocks from the FRINGE sight. The school is absolutely breathtaking!

The King Edward School first opened its doors to students March 9th, 1914, the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper was moved to note that its new shower baths "will be a novelty to many of the children, who never before saw hot water come down like rain." The new school also featured 17 classrooms, an automatic heat regulator (also notable for its day), separate playrooms for boys and girls and dedicated manual training and domestic science rooms.

Named for the eldest son of Queen Victoria, King Edward was the first school in Edmonton constructed with reinforced concrete. The Bulletin reported it took a million pounds of cement and one long train load of gravel, millions of brick (sic), miles of pipe, carloads of glass and in all about five train loads of material. But there is very little lumber or wood in the building, for it is built to be fireproof. (source)

We are honored to be performing in such a historic building in their community.After tech rehearsal Lauren Cox and I, James Koroni, invited everyone over to our hosts home to eat dinner, prepared by us. Our hosts have an organic garden that provides half of their produce and the other half comes in every Tuesday from a farming co-op, which is evenly split amongst local families. You basically receive whatever can be grown with current weather conditions in consideration. With our host family out of town there were so many veggies to eat. The trick is, you must use what is available which was mostly onions, potatoes, cucumbers, parsley and peas. We got creative with some tempeh and here's the result:

Marinated Tempeh with green pearl onions and string beans Green onion, red quinoa Garlicky baked potato wedges with parsley Oven roasted sweet onions Cucumber salad with cherry tomatoes

We're excited to see how local produce can inspire every meal for the rest of our stay here in Edmonton.

A gallery from today for your viewing pleasure: [flagallery gid=8 name="Gallery"]

Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6

Edmonton FRINGE Festival Part 3

And... it begins. Tuesday night after rehearsal was the official Edmonton FRINGE Festival kick-off. Before heading over to the event the whole The Man Who Wasn't There family ate dinner at Chianti, an Italian cafe and restaurant in Old Strathcona.

We reminisced about our journey here over a bottle of wine and merrily ate pasta at an affordable $8.99 a plate. Through our process, I can say that we've all seen tremendous growth and this was certainly something to celebrate.

After dinner we migrated to a cocktail hour at a local bar called The Pint. A private back room with a square bar at it's center was surrounded by members of every show in the FRINGE this year. Accompanying each cast were hosts from Edmonton who had graciously taken each cast in for the two weeks.The rest of the night is simple: socializing, drinks, laughs, ketchup flavored potato chips, Oreo cookies and then Zzz's.

Here are some photos from today:

[flagallery gid=7 name="Gallery"]

Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6

Edmonton FRINGE Festival Part 2

After our first relaxing day in Edmonton we all went our separate ways because five different homes were taking us in for the next two week. For the first night Lauren Cox, Maya Oliva and I, James Koroni, went to a home just four blocks from The FRINGE sight. Our generous hosts have a two story home with a basement, a beautiful tree with two swings in it, three bright children and two handsome guinea pigs. In their backyard there's a raspberry bush, two kinds of apple trees and every Tuesday a fresh shipment of organic produce is dropped off. Wow! Too much excitement for one day. We called it an early night.

A bright and sunny morning brought us into our second day in Edmonton. We knew there was a lot on our schedule so we had a slow morning to get ourselves grounded before embarking on today's journey.

Our new hosts provided us with fresh strawberries from the farmers market, organic flax seed granola and freshly cut mango slices. I just mixed all three together! The sweet fruit with crunchy granola made the perfect breakfast with French press coffee.

We met at the FRINGE offices where we were each given an artist tag and transit pass to cover our travel expenses for the rest of our stay. We then took a car across the river to Mile Zero Dance where we will be rehearsing for the next few days.

Rehearsal went swimmingly. Maya Oliva, a Canadian born, Italian artist who now lives in New York City only joined our The Man Who Wasn't There family a week ago. Today was officially her first day to run the entire piece. She not only came ready to execute what she had been given but also incorporated her own experiences and artistic voice. We're excited to see her redefine the mother character in The Man Who Wasn't There!

Here are a few moments from today's journey:

[flagallery gid=6 name="Gallery"]

Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6

Edmonton FRINGE Festival Part 1

After three months of rehearsal and performing in various New York City venues we, the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There, were ready to depart for The FRINGE Festival in Edmonton, Canada. We excitedly and sleepily arrived at LaGuardia Airport on August 12th at 3:30 AM with hopes to get through airport check-in and security with ease. This wasn't the case. Our check-in alone, with our group of nine people, took over an hour and a half to complete. We then arrived at Airport Security around 5:15 AM. With a boarding time of 5:45 AM and our flight at 6:15 AM we thought we were set but that was before we noticed the line was longer than that of Splash Mountain at Disneyland.  This is when we started to sweat. Fortunately with our New Yorker sense of urgency and a lot of sarcasm we managed to get on our flight right on time.

We finally arrived at 1:00 PM with a warm greeting from our hosts, Heidi and Gordon.  Our hosts took us to their home in the south end of Edmonton.

Our hosts live in is a cozy home with family portraits lining the stairwells, an organic garden with tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, apple trees etc. and a scent of fresh baked bread that filled every room. Heidi even crocheted a scarf for everyone in the cast and production crew!

We spent most of the rest of the day lounging, drinking virgin daiquiri's and eating veggie burgers. Our jet-lag soon wore off and we were basking in the sunshine of the most ideal day to arrive in such a charming city!

I've captured a number of moments for you to get a glimpse of our experiences here thus far. Enjoy!

[flagallery gid=5 name="Gallery"]

Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6

A Dancer In Need - Mishay Petronelli

Mishay Petronelli is an extraordinary dancer and friend in New York City. Her mother passed away on Friday, July 27 and with the high cost of funeral expenses, medical and legal fees, Broadway Dance Center has created a fundraising webpage for you to assist her family in this time of need. If you have the means to help please make a donation OR follow the link for opportunities to dance in support of her and her family.

DONATE HERE

The Man Who Wasn't There OPENING

Our ensembles' interests and talents are as diverse as the group itself. We come from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Providence, Jamaica, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Between us we have worked on performance projects across the globe. We are interested in what we have in common as human beings. We believe that performance is a bridge, that it is deeply imbedded in our nature, and provides a means toward social change and greater understanding of our shared condition.

Help us get to Canada and back us on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/60934704/the-man-who-wasnt-there

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Three performances will be held in Shapiro Theater: August 3 @ 8:00pm August 4 @ 7:00pm and 10:00pm

The production will then travel to Canada and participate in the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. August 12-26

FT Collab Members - Bryan Quick, A Writer Mei Ann Teo, A Director Adam "Robot" Nash, A Composer/Musician Adrian Silver, A Choreographer/Dramaturg Mariana Ortiz, A Producer Lauren Cox, A Dancer Mary Ellen Beaudreau, A Dancer James Koroni, A Dancer Jessica Myers, A Dancer Kevon Simpson, A Dancer

We ask you to join us on this journey, toward asking the right questions, engaging in a serious investigation, and gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. Click to enlarge images:

Desire To Experience

In the beginning, all was played in my memory in reverse, starting with death and ending with birth. I don’t fear death. I fear birth. Here is where I seek answers. -James Koroni

In the beginning, she sat in the middle of the sunny warm patch on the linoleum tile floor. She wore the color blue, pale, worn out. The ocean waves knocked. -Mary Ellen Beaudreau

In the beginning, between the heat and the fireworks I was unable to sleep. -Jessica Myers

In the beginning, there was no enemy. -Lauren Cox

In the beginning there was the end and all were confused about which way to turn next. There were no orbits, and so bodies collided, and as they collided, entire galaxies were birthed from the chaos. This was long before trust would come and ruin everything. In the beginning there was fear.  So all was created, to balance, all this stupid shit out. -Kevon Simpson

Click here to read more about TMWWT!

Join the Facebook Group and be a part of the journey!

To support this piece of performance art click here!

One Love - The Movement

Clara Lofaro is a profound recording artist who's currently fulfilling her residency at Canal Room in New York City. For her upcoming show, One Love, she has teamed up with three other magnificent artists to create an evening of splendor.

Just to keep the evening moving, various dancers from the Enforced Arch community will be freestyling in between sets. This is a super high energy line-up with great songs through and through. Come on out to enjoy the music and see what's behind the hype!

For more information click here!

Lady Gaga 'Born This Way' NOH8

A celebration of individuality. Inspired by the NOH8 Campaign.

For more information go to: NOH8campaign.com Created and Choreographed by Chris Downey Directed by Dano Cerny and Chris Downey Cinematography by Daniel Herman Edited by Jim Hughes Post Production by Collin Samatas

Sunsetboys - Notic Nastic (official)

Enforced Arch creative directors, Tracey Katof and James Koroni produced and choreographed this music video for Notic Nastic, a recording artist from Berlin.

Music, Notic Nastic

Director, Joshua Katcher

Producers and Directors, James Koroni & Tracey Katof

Dancers, Charles Alexis Desgagnes, Christopher Nolen, James Koroni, Julio Hugo Penagos, Katherine Roarty, Keshia Robinson, Lauren Cox, Tracey Katof

Featured designers & location http://rhls.com/ http://www.bravegentleman.com/ http://www.mooshoes.com/ http://skyhighmurals.com/

Bombshell Hair Class

Jul 14: NYC - Bombshell Hair, New York School of Burlesque 4-6pm, $30

For pinup modeling or a glam night out! Discover how to curl any type of hair, create long-lasting Victory rolls, glamorous waves, sturdy up-dos, and how to create hairstyles to withstand hot studio and stage lights or vigorous dancing! Also learn how to incorporate accessories for quick vintage looks and how to troubleshoot mishaps. Bring your accessories, hair flowers, vintage hats, and all of your hair questions. This is primarily a demo class with question and answer.

Click here to register through the New York School of Burlesque!

Book Dance Jobs by Brian Henninger

If you've decided to become a professional dancer in the commercial industry you may have noticed it's not a smooth ride. Whether your dream is to perform on a Broadway stage, in music videos, on tv, movies, on world tours etc. there are few succinct resources. Book Dance Jobs, by Brian Henninger is a in-depth collection of industry secrets from top industry professionals.

Brian Henninger is a professional dancer who has danced behind artists such as Mary J. Blige, and for companies like Reebok and Lancome, and in major motion pictures and TV shows like Saturday Night Live. He has been able to travel the world, meet thousands of other dancers, and perform for sold-out crowds.

“Book Dance Jobs is an excellence source for a dancer who needs to know a step-by-step plan to begin a successful dance career. I would recommend it to all dancers wanting a career in dance.”

- Rhapsody James, Choreographer (Beyonce, Britney Spears, Diddy, Step Up 2: The Streets)

OVER 90+ pages of info. from the Dancers and Choreographers for: Beyonce, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Jessie J, Mary J Blige, Step up 2: The Streets, Saturday Night live, Broadway shows! Give your career the kick start it needs!

You can read more about Book Dance Jobs HERE!

Catching Up With Sebastian Grubb

Enforced Arch 'Mover' and contributor, Sebastian Grubb takes life one step at a time but carries the world in his arms. Tackling fitness, nutrition and dance in one lifetime may seem overwhelming but for him, it's done with grace. He is thrilled to share his expertise with the world and has recently launched a website where you can get the best of all three worlds in one place. I had the opportunity to briefly interview him and here's what he had to say:

You have a very diverse background of expertise. Why did you choose to bring them together into one website? My life is organized around bridging my different interests. Movement, food, creativity: balancing these make up what I consider the foundation of a good life. In the end, my primary pursuits are health and happiness, and professionally that means working as an artist and trainer. I also don't see such a big divide between the categories; you need to eat well to move well (over the long-term), and dance certainly fits into the pursuit of fitness also.

What do you expect someone to get when they stumble upon SebastianGrubb.com (supposing they came for nutrition and they peruse the dance section)? I hope they might see the connection, see how different pursuits aid each other. Dance is an ancient, ancient human tradition; every culture has their own dance. That's strong evidence for the importance of everyone dancing. So someone can come to my site and think, "Hmmm, maybe I'll go out dancing this week or take a dance class." On another track, I notice that people who do pursue dance and/or fitness do not necessarily also pursue healthy eating, or have misinformation about what is actually healthy. That's why I have written and posted nutrition articles on the site.

Please tell me about Sebastian Grubb's philosophy of movement and lifestyle: My philosophy around healthy living is: to make time to move creatively and vigorously most days of the week, to eat almost exclusively whole plant foods, to sleep well and foster healthy social relationships. In more specific terms, exercise for at least 1 hour on 6-7 days per week; eat as many vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains as possible; sleep 7-10 hours a night, depending on need; practice sensitive, mature communication and healing psychological wounds.

What is a typical day in the life of Sebastian Grubb, what do you eat, what companies do you spend your time with? I have an unfortunately chaotic schedule, owing to shifting dance rehearsals, performances, and touring. That said, I generally dance 20-30 hours per week and train fitness clients 12-15 hours per week, in small groups and 1-on-1. I often train clients in the morning and evening, with a rehearsal in between. I work like this 6 days a week. And I perform about 20 weekends per year, with about 12 of those being outside California.

As you might have guessed, I eat a lot. Here's my basic structure: Breakfast based on fruit, lunch based on salad, dinner based on steamed vegetables. Add to that a lot of whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes. And add a snack mid-afternoon, and an additional meal, usually a second dinner. This past year I have been learning a lot about training less to avoid injury and burnout, and about eating denser calorie sources, like nuts and seeds. It's funny that part of my challenge has been moving less and eating more, but that's just how it is.

I also do fitness-specific training for myself, like circuit strength-training, running, etc. This totally depends on the intensity of my rehearsals, if I am doing a lot of lifting of other dancers, learning a new style, or getting ready for a performance weekend. In general I fit in 2 strength training sessions per week, usually right before a rest (or low-intensity) day. Again, it's about the whole picture and a long-term perspective of sustainability.

Here's who I'm currently working with in the dance world: AXIS Dance Company hired me in 2009 and it has been a phenomenal learning and growth opportunity for me. We work 12-20 hours per week, on average, and I do almost all my touring with AXIS. I have been performing with Scott Wells & Dancers since 2008, which is a project-based gig. And then I freelance and make my own work. Currently I'm rehearsing with Christine Bonansea on a dancetheatre piece inspired by Sartre's play, "No EXIT". I'm also choreographing "WORKOUT", a dancetheatre piece based on fitness training and fitness-specific subcultures. It's very entertaining, vigorous, and interesting for me. WORKOUT will premiere this December in San Francisco.

What legends in the dance community, or perhaps not in the dance community, inspire you? I have always been inspired by older dancers. This started when I was in college and looked to young professionals in their twenties. Now I am inspired by dancers in their thirties and beyond. I love watching someone dance who is in their fifties or sixties and has this whole body of experience and movement history. It really shows. I'm looking to cultivate that in myself, as an aesthetic choice and even as a subtle spiritual practice. In the Bay Area I've been most inspired by Joe Goode and Scott Wells, both of whom are remarkable dancers, but who've also attracted communities of dancers and audiences around their work, which continues to evolve.

Growing up I performed in musicals and also saw a lot of them performed, some live and some on video. I remember being particularly inspired by Gene Kelly. I also watched most of Charlie Chaplin's films and draw from them to this day.

I should add that I am inspired by watching athletes; I love the pure effort, and the grace that comes from finding efficient ways to move. In college I was really inspired by bodybuilders and strongmen, both of whom have taken this process of molding and changing their bodies to an extreme. It takes such diligence and belief in their own ability to shape their world. I really admire that, though I would say my own fitness practice is much more balanced today than it was when I first pursued fitness via bodybuilding.

What's coming up for you and how do we follow your inspirational work? Thanks for asking! I have a lot of upcoming projects. Earlier I mentioned "WORKOUT", which premieres in December. I am also about to begin making a commissioned work for AXIS Dance Company. And AXIS has two big projects this Fall, making long works with outside choreographers Amy Seiwert and Victoria Marks. We will basically have two rehearsal intensives back-to-back over three months. Those will all be more like 30-hour dance weeks. You can catch all this in video and social media on-line via facebook, twitter and youtube. Here are some specific websites to check:

http://www.axisdance.org http://www.sebastiangrubb.com/gallery http://www.youtube.com/sebastiangrubb http://www.youtube.com/user/axisdancecomp

Images of Sebastian Grubb from The Narrowing, for AXIS Dance Company. Photography by David Papas

Thank you Sebastian Grubb for taking time to share this information with the Enforced Arch community. We are looking forward to all your upcoming creative projects and celebrate your achievements thus far!

Be sure to check out his new website HERE!

Lauren Cox

Lauren Cox was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and competed nationally as a Rhythmic Gymnast with the aid of ballet, modern & pilates for 11 years. She then trained, choreographed and competed with the Hip Hop Troupe Culture Shock Oakland while studying Afro-Haitian and Sociology at San Francisco State University. Lauren then immersed herself into Samba, culture and language in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil for one year. She moved to NYC in 2010 in order to converge and elevate and has had the pleasure of dancing with James Koroni, Nappy Tabs, Rhapsody James's "Motivating Excellence" and has appeared in the play “Lemon Meringue” and Saturday Night Live. She is excited to be working with up and coming director Mei Ann Teo for the Dance Theater piece "The Man Who Wasn't There" to be performed at various locations in NYC as well as Canada's Fringe Festival. She continues to develop her own vocal, choreographic and teaching skills in order to bring herself to an international platform.

"By simply living as a consciously healthy mind, body and soul.  I am a strong believer in leading by example and so by feeding myself knowledge, compassion and acceptance I can offer others the same thing.  There are so many issues in today’s world, if we all took full advantage of our time, space and experience our similarities and needs would be more important than our differences.  I choose to act through art by telling a story and being honest and committed." -Lauren Cox