The Circus is coming to town. France.Italy.Spain.Asia.

We have 3 spaces in Paris and 2 in southern france confirmed for July Fire Workshops. My new lovely friend Maria Garcia is helping me coordinate Spain festival dates...and Jade is heading up Italy. 

Photo : Charles Maridor Paris.Copyright 2009

Acrobatic yoga will take Europe this year :)...in the form of 2 blond Vikings and an Asian Pixie. We'll be teaming up with 2 french circus troupes for an Eiffel Tower show mid-July. I really look forward to playing with them this summer. We are looking for 2-3 more yoga studios in both France ,Italy and Spain for our acro workshops this July.

Photo: Brandon Gonzalez. copyright 2008
Photo:Charles Maridor Paris.copyright 2009

I'll be leaving in a few weeks for the summer and part of fall...teaching/performing Acrobatic yoga, Contact Yoga, and Fire Spinning Workshops in France...Italy, Spain, Greece, Burma, India and Thailand the following 2 months. 

Italy and Texas come together again this summer in Europe. Jade and I will join forces in France in June and make our way through Paris, Milan, and 6 other cities performing and teaching. 
photo copyright: Lynn Milena Powell

While in Europe, I'll also be opening for a Boston band I shot the video for at SXSW this year. They have several stops through out Europe and I'll be coordinating with local dancers...providing them all with costumes of course :). More info on that project as well. I am also collaborating with the lead vocalist on an upcoming book. He is a harvard educated poet, musician, and author of 2 previous novels. ..he is a real character. More info soon, I promise.


Photo Copyright: Pleasant Photography 2008

Please email me at Maranda@bigmodernart.com for more date info.

Mother's Day Weekend. Yoga.Art.Dance.nature.Full Moon Love

    Beating Drums to the Big Sky covered with expansiveness and gratitude


This weekend was a magickal gift...probably the best Mother's day weekend I have ever had. I'll write more soon on the love, insights and deep exploration...

I completed the Anusara Weekend Workshop with Christina Sell. 6 hours a day of beautiful reflections, deepened practice and lessons on getting supported, rooted and grounded in my practice and my life.

Saturday after a full day of yoga, I drove to Jacob's well in Wimberely. I celebrated the beautiful buddha full Moon with 30-40 of my closest friends...surrounded in Nature, organic houses, cabins, dancing, guitars, sitting around the fire and eating the biggest birthday cake I have ever seen. We woke up Sunday morning and made our way to the second story octagon dance space...filled with windows and perfect breezes...we celebrated/danced our life. It felt like a dream. 

I have often longed for community and a family. This year when I entered my friend's place in the woods...it felt like home, family...a community...finally.

So many of us artists are alone. We paint alone.Write alone. Sometimes a self-imposed isolation.Creating without distraction. Connecting on a real level...a deeper realization of my personal love/need for a community. This family that I have so longed for...surrounded me. I had created it. Truly the best Mother's Day weekend Ever. 

"Bodies in Urban Spaces" Fuse Box Dance Festival.

Last weekend I performed in "Bodies in Urban Spaces." This piece by Austrian Choreographer Willi Dorner, was part of Austin's FuseBox Dance Festival. A week of intense training/Rehearsals on top of epic jet lag (straight from the plane to rehearsals)...left me utterly fulfilled and totally exhausted. 

This was the most beautiful, physically and mentally challenging piece of art that I have ever experienced. Some days I fought through, struggling with my weaknesses and arguing with my mind and insecurities. I am so beyond grateful to have worked with such amazing people and performers. 

The places we had to go in our minds, to overcome fear, physical pain and limitations pushed our edges and bought me to my knees emotionally. When you mix sleep deprivation with physical exhaustion interesting things happen. All my weaknesses were laid out in front of me...and this time I chose not to look away. There are changes to be made. A major overhaul actually. 

I have a commitment to go deeper.get stronger.stop holding back.stop rushing in. 

I'm in a quiet place now. Words are of little use. I am recreating. Questioning. Reevaluating. Righting my wrongs. Painting a new vision. Willing to Change Everything. 

Living.

Looking it straight in the eye.

Takes a new kind of Bravery. 

A new level of honesty.

One that makes it almost too much...just to breathe.

This Time...This time I am taking it head on.

Holding myself to a higher standard. A new World must be born.

To hold this new heart. This new love.

To become someone that can be loved

that deserves to be loved. Someone Strong.

That I can be proud of...

SXSW Performace

I  I have been invited to perform an interactive piece at the largest Interactive Party at SXSW in Austin on Monday 3/16. 

 I am loosely choreographing pieces for 6 individual dance "pods" for the event. 

My dance group Tribal Moon will be performing, as well as my Acrobatic Yoga troupe, Circus Yogis.

I am welcoming any color, movement, or costume ideas under the theme "Living Systems".

I am incorporating several different Performing Art groups into the Piece.

Please email me if you are interested in participating.

Maranda@bigmodernart.com

Art through Movement

Karl Frost, Director of Body Research, lead a 15-hour Contact Improv Workshop Intensive this past weekend in Austin. He was in from California with his "Human Contact Project".

 I officially have 37 bruises...and counting. 

After a few U.S. tour date stops...he is on his way to Spain, Russia and the Ukraine. I had the Pleasure of studying with Karl, a nationally respected teacher of Contact. 

He strives to make art through movement in our daily lives. He is devoted to exploration of the Self through the lens of the body.

Just the Beginning...

Photo Copyright 2009. Charles Maridor. Paris.

I came back from Paris 3 weeks ago soaked with inspiration. truly open. truly ignited.

I am pulling my energy from a deeper place...

My creativity from  a different source...

My actions from a new motivation...

Many new ideas, paintings and workshops have blossomed.

I have formed a 

new collective for Performing Arts in Public Spaces.

More photos and information will be coming soon...along with a new website. 

(Modern/Tribal Dance, Improv, Contact Improv, 

Acrobatic Yoga, Aerial Dance, etc...)

We'll bring art and performance to the public with an interactive twist. 

We'll bring art to the masses and 

interject creativity and possibility into peoples' daily lives.

Please email me if you wish to "perform", be involved 

or would like to show up and witness the magic/madness.

Maranda@bigmodernart.com