Hi-gay-tus

Yes, that’s right. I’ve been M.I.Gay. A hi-gay-tus.  Gay-WOL.  I’ve been away, and I’m sure you’ve all missed me tremendously!

Well, maybe not so much. In any event, a whole Winter Quarter has passed by, and I experienced a major lack of time to devote to writing. Now that it’s Spring Break (2 weeks, whew!) I’d like to come back to updating you all with posts, pictures and parlance.

Overall, Winter Quarter has been a good, albeit long course of study.  I still taught three hip-hop classes – who will be performing in the next few days at the elective Informance. I’ll be sure to post some videos here! I’m also currently on a piece with seven brilliant dancers to music from Slumdog Millionnaire. It’s been an interesting process, as this will be my first choreographic piece in almost four years.  It’s definitely had its challenges, but I look forward to rehearsals every week and the infinite creative abilities of all the dancers and the dance itself.

I’ll be staying in Columbus for a few days this holiday break, and then I’m off to fabulous Akron, Ohio to see my dear friend Lisa Ferrugia (MFA’11) perform at the American College Dance Festival.  I’ll also be auditioning for scholarships to the American Dance Festival there on Thursday, and then I’ll spend another day back in town.  Then, I’ll be heading to the East Coast! I can’t wait.  I’ll be visiting my former hometown, Philadelphia, for a few days, along with a brief stint in New York City.  I miss the EC so much! I’m looking forward to eating good food, walking around the city, and taking dance classes at places like Koresh and Broadway Dance Center.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be be back much sooner this time!

SNOW-HIO!

A few wispy, fluffy inches of snow descended onto Columbus this weekend and I whipped out my iPhone to take a few pictures. Enjoy!

Sullivant Hall

The Wexner Center

The Oval

T-3

It’s been a few days since the airports have reopened in Bangkok, which lessens my stress about making it home on time.  I honestly can’t believe it! In three days I’ll be on a plane leaving the freezing Midwest for the warmth of Thailand.

I was on the phone with my mom yesterday and she sent me these pictures via her friends at 2bangkok.net.  Jupiter, Venus and the moon were aligned in such a way that it looked like a smiley face was hovering over the city! I hope this is not just a coincidence with how things are ‘resolving’ at home – I give it quotes because, as I said in my earlier post, I think the situation is more temporary than actually progressing towards actual resolution.

Still, in less than a week I’ll be at the beach, reflecting on this incredibly dynamic year of major changes in my life!  Here’s a close-up shot of the ‘Smile over Thailand.’

Resolution…?

After a week of being at a complete standstill, stranding almost 350,000 travellers in the city, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport reopened.  With still a lot to be done, the first flight allowed to leave the airport left for Sydney, Australia early this morning.

The High Court of Thailand decided that the current ruling party (People Power Party) has to disband due to committing election fraud. The current PM has now been deposed, and cheery, happy protesters are leaving the airport as we speak.

I’m glad that things are moving in a more sensible direction, but I give the title a question mark because I’m not so convinced everything is resolved.  I have a feeling this is a temporary solution, as the PPP is already convening under the name of a new party (For Thais Party). Doesn’t anyone use history as a guide? This is exactly the same thing that happened with Thaksin Shinawatra’s party when he was ousted.  Thai Rak Thai => People Power Party and now it looks like the same thing is happening – a proxy government.

The protesters have said that they will continue to take action if things continue the way they do, but at least I’ll have an airport to fly home to in a week. I’ve already made contingency plans with friends in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in case I get stuck!

I’ve decided I’m going to take a chance and keep my flight schedule as is – and hopefully everything will be fine when I get home too. I’m excited for Catalina to visit me, and for new year’s down in Krabi with a whole chortle of friends from years past.

Here are some pictures from the past few days, courtesy of the BBC.

CHAOS in Thailand

In a week from this Wednesday, I am supposed to be on a flight from Columbus to Chicago, then to Tokyo and from there to Bangkok. At this point, I don’t know if I’m going to make it home because of the airport closures.  At first I thought, alright, it’s only going to be a day or two, but now the People’s Alliance for Democracy have spent one whole week occupying Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang International Airports in the capital city.

Mass confusion. Chaos. Disruption. A nightmare. Misinformation. Lack of information. Headaches. Traffic. Standstill. Stalemate. Stuck. Lost. No way out. No man’s land.

As a Thai person, I feel ashamed and embarrassed to see my country going through such a civil crisis that has no end in sight. I’ve been to many protests in my short life and I understand and sympathise with the intentions of the PAD, but I feel like they are hurting, not helping Thailand especially in these times of economic woes.  It’s the height of tourist season, and to cut off our main arteries to the outside world will cause trillions of dollars in damages.  I think about all our exports, our cargoes, our business and the tourism industry in general suffering from all this.

On the other side, this is essentially the people rising up against a fictitious, corrupt government. The Thai people have had enough, and are finally speaking out, if by doing so using extreme measures. Their argument is that this is a small inconvenience and sacrifice compared to the injustices of past and present corrupt governments and leaders who have taken advantage of their power for selfish means. I see that – but at the same time, when is it enough? Maybe that’s simply the question – it never is enough until it’s all over.

Currently, neither side is willing to give in. The PAD refuses to leave the airports until PM Somchai Wongsawat resigns, and he has not given any indication he will do so, claiming he won by democratic elections. This is a pure lie, because his party, a proxy party for the Thaksin administration, bought votes in the more rural provinces in order to win.

In any event, it seems like one side has to give in, or the stalemate will stay indefinitely.  HM the King’s birthday is on December 5th, and I would think that things would change before then in order to avoid disrupting those celebrations (as his birthday is a national and sacred holiday), but there’s been no light at the end of the tunnel.  Of course, my selfish side wants it to be all over so I can go home spend time with my family, but I also hope for the best for my country. If that means more pressure from the PAD, so be it, but maybe by other means.

I am glad that the Thai government has paid for all accommodations and food for stranded tourists, as they should.  I also can’t imagine the craziness and confusion that must have taken place when the PAD first stormed the airport.  Thailand has never been good with crowd control.

Here are some pictures from the protests at Suvarnabhumi:

GivingThanks

So, it’s Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are my 20 thanks, in no particular order:

1. Being in an amazing graduate program in dance, where I get to fulfill my dreams of studying to be a dancer/choreographer,

2. My fabulous roommates who I get to come home to every night, who ask me how my day was, are always supportive and with whom I share delicious (and healthy…mostly) late-night dinners,

3. The amazing MFA Class of 2011, who shares much hilarity ensuing from classes like Group Forms, Technology and Resources (aka writing our mock proposals even though they are for two years from now),

4. My laptop for not dying, albeit losing battery every time I disconnect it,

5. My young, burnt-out brother who wants to desperately head home for the holidays and was severely irritated when he realized that EVERYTHING closes on Thanksgiving Day,

6. My new Ohio State (women’s, because they fit me better) fleece pants because they keep me warm on cold Midwestern days,

7. Barack Obama, for becoming the 44th president of the United States,

8. The RPAC, for being open every day this week!

9. My new friends here in Columbus, both inside and outside the Dance Department,

10. My amazing friends from my life in Philadelphia, who are always checking up on me to make sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing in this new, soul-ful life as an artist (as opposed to my soul-less life under the Stetson administration)

11. My family and especially my mother, who calls me every so often to ask me if my hamstrings have loosened or if my neck is still strained from TURNING MY HEAD AROUND,

12. My father, who despite my many attempts at telling him I’m studying dance, still believes I’m in the Drama Department,

13. Rachel Maddow, who is one of the most brilliant and hilarious anchors on television,

14. Anderson Cooper, who is one of the hottest people on television and keeps me updated with what’s going on outside of my life in sweatpants, tank-tops and dance-belts,

15. My Bose headphones for giving me pure, beautiful music when I need to step away from the world,

16. Maesri, a Thai company that makes it so much easier to make Thai food (krapao, tom yum) in a hurry…basically, cut open, pour, mix, add protein and legumes, c’est fini!

17. ‘Senior’ students in the MFA program, who talk to me late at night on facebook telling me that it’s all going to be OK,

18. My students, who, as tired as I am when I get to Pomerene Hall, allow me to  leave feeling inspired and revitalized from their energy, spirit, humor and dedication,

19. Leftovers,

20. Me being in this program. Thank you, Dance Department. Thank you, Ohio State. Thank you, America, for giving me yet another amazing opportunity!

Dance Videos…

Here are some videos on modern dance I find interesting. There’s a wide range. Some are pieces by my favourite dance companies, and others are more random.

“Connect Transfer” by Shen Wei Dance Arts

“Folding” by Shen Wei Dance Arts

“Rite of Spring” by Shen Wei Dance Arts

“Revelations, Part 1″ by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

A high-larious video of Ellen DeGeneres visiting the Ailey studio!

Part 2-2 of Ellen’s visit to the Ailey studio.

“Promethean Fire, Part 1″ by Paul Taylor Dance Company

“Promethean Fire, Part 2″ by Paul Taylor Dance Company

A class taught by one of my favourite teachers at the American Dance Festival, Gerri Houlihan

“Three” by Batsheva Dance Company

“Morphoses” by the Wheeldon Dance Company

My high school, International School Bangkok’s dance team performed this in March ‘08.

Flash Mobs

I’ve recently discovered ‘flash mobs’ captured on video on YouTube so I thought I’d post them here. I find them incredibly fascinating, as a type of performance art that is both performer and audience-driven. Basically, hundreds of people are given instructions, such as where to go, what time and how long to literally freeze in place. I love interactive art, and in these situations the audience is directly confronted with the performance, and in some cases, chooses to visually and/or physically interact with the performers.

These have taken place all over the world in such cities as New York, Paris and Tokyo. Maybe I can organize one in Bangkok when I’m home this winter!

New York City’s Grand Central Station:

Berlin’s Alexanderplatz

London’s Trafalgar Square

Paris’ Eiffel Tower

Tokyo’s Ginza district

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A new America

That pretty much sums it up.   First of all, we live in a new country. It really feels that way. On November 5th, I woke up and downloaded every video podcast I could find about the previous night’s election results.  You can find one of my favorite videos in this post, uploaded by The Daily Kos. It’s a great summary of election night’s coverage.

I was so mad at myself because I was in the restroom at Union when CNN projected Ohio went to Barack Obama. I was mid-business when I heard screaming and yelling outside. I had just missed it! I had to make sure I was with my friends when the big news poured in.

It felt like New Year’s 2000.  I’ve been in this country for eight years, and never had I felt so much a part of American culture and society. It was as if a whole new world had opened – a world of optimism, hope, and positivity -  a world of believing in one’s dreams and abilities.  Barack Obama Sr. was an international graduate student when he first came to the United States, just like me.  Still today, the thought that I can achieve my dreams here in America through hard work, persistence, motivation and endurance gives me the chills.  I think to myself – that’s why I’m here! That’s why I’m at Ohio State, studying what I love. That’s why I chose to leave that secure, financially stable world of being an admissions officer at an Ivy League university.  I took a risk, made a decision, and have never been this happy in my entire life.

I remember a few months ago during the Democratic Primaries, John Stewart said that in Hollywood, whenever there is a woman or an African-American as president, aliens invade Earth or there is some sort of huge meteorite heading our direction. High-larious! Maybe now we’ll find out if Roswell actually happened. Speaking of which, I can’t wait until the new Star Trek comes out. Has anyone seen the trailers? They’re quite steamy! Who knew Captain Kirk could be such a looker?

Here are some pictures from election night. Please note, the blue drink in my hand was called an ‘Obama-tini’. Just wait…I have a feeling the next administration is going to inspire a ton of creativity in many areas!

Obama-tinis!

Obama wins Ohio!

Halloween/Obama Weekend

“]Obama on the screen

Man, I wish I were a US citizen just so I could vote. I’ve lived in America for the past eight years. I pay American taxes, but I don’t receive any of the benefits, yet everything that happens politically affects me. I went to a rally this afternoon for Barack Obama and it really changed my life.  I know it seems cliche or cheesy to say so, but it was the first political rally I’ve ever been to, and I must say that I was incredibly affected by the energy of the crowd and the positive messages of change and progress.

Michelle Obama spoke first and talked about how we only have two days left…and that we shouldn’t be overconfident. Anything can happen and we have to make sure we do our part. When Barack started speaking, he was drowned out by the thousands of screaming, enthusiastic supporters. I looked around and saw people of all backgrounds, all ages. Gay couples holding hands, young and not so young people of all races, children on their parents’ shoulders, teenagers taking pictures with their iPhones.  I thought, man, this is the future.  One moment that really stood out was when Barack talked about how even though some of his supporters can’t vote, they have still knocked on doors, called people and contributed in their own ways.  He said, one day maybe their children or grandchildren will be able to vote, and not only that, but run for president, just like himself. Then I realized it – his father, Barack Obama Sr., was a graduate student in the US – just like I am now. I was incredibly touched.

So many things happened today that made me think about fate and destiny. First of all, there were thousands of people at the rally.  I was there with my friends James, Eleshia and Tammy, all grad students at Ohio State and as we searched for a place to stand, I heard a woman’s voice call out my name. I looked behind me, and the voice belonged to a woman I hadn’t seen in more than five years.  Julie Brodie was my first dance teacher in college at Franklin & Marshall, and after my sophomore year there she left to teach at Kenyon College.  When I told her I was at OSU, she said, “wait, are you getting your MFA in dance?” I told her I was, and she screamed! It was such a lovely moment.  Then I thought, how could it be that right here, in this moment, on this corner of the street, at a political rally for Barack Obama, in this city in Ohio, I would run into someone who so long ago made an impact in my life? Such a coincidence may not be a coincidence after all.

Us hanging out at the rally