I spent this past weekend up in Tempe for the Mardi Love Spring Intensive Weekend at Plaza Studio. It was absolutely amazing! I couldn’t stop smiling during Saturday’s workshop because it felt so freakin’ good to be learning and drilling and dancing. The workshops were just hard enough that I felt challenged, but not so hard that I felt overwhelmed. And even when something was difficult, Mardi’s awesome attitude made everything OK.
Saturday’s workshop was about developing your performance, taking into account musical style, movement style, costume, etc so that it all meshes well. This is something that I really love to see in dance so it’s good to see one of the top dancers preaching it, hopefully lots of dancers will listen and bring more performances to stage that reflect this mentality. As part of the workshop she gave us a TON of costuming tip, from choosing a style to sourcing awesome vintage materials to actually constructing it, and she even passed her costumes around the room for us to handle and look at closely. Yes, I got to hold Mardi Love’s vintage assuit and yes, I gave it back to her. After that we learned some movement phrases and a bit of choreography that demonstrated some of her stylistic choices. I don’t usually like learning choreo in workshops because I know I’ll never use it again, but Mardi was nice enough to dance everything she taught after each workshop so we could film it and practice the bits we like. I’m sure there’s some moves I’ll lift from the video to start working into my own improv.
Sunday’s workshops involved all kinds of technique. YEAH! I love technique workshops. There were layering drills and footwork patterns across the floor and slow, slinky, ooey gooey combinations and I soaked it all up. Oh yes, and almost every single song Mardi played was just beautiful, to the point where after nearly every exercise, someone would ask WHAT WAS THAT SONG? I’ve got some new music to play with now 🙂
Saturday night was an awesome show with local talent, Bastet who came in from out of state for the show, and lots of Mardi Love! I was sitting in the front row and let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. There was a moment where she did this perfect little hip accent that was just right for the music and so beautifully executed that it brought tears to my eyes. If you ever get the chance to see Mardi dance live, especially in an intimate setting, DO IT! She is such an incredible performer, she knows her music inside and out and doesn’t dance over it, but with it. I was blown away by her dancing. Several of the other performers also brought some wonderful dance to the stage, especially Bastet, Dirigible Doumbek, and Kristina K.
I’m feeling so inspired, and also a little sad that I didn’t sign up for Mardi workshops at Tribal Fest. I guess I shouldn’t be greedy though, everyone deserves a little Mardi Love and it wouldn’t be fair if I got to study with her twice in one month and others didn’t get to study with her at all.