I have just returned from what was undoubtably one of the most inspiring and exciting experiences of my entire life.  Twelve days ago I set out to Adelaide, Australia with my dance mentors Mark and Ella Magruder and five other young adult dancers who I had previously studied dance with at Sweet Briar College.

In Adelaide, we attended the 2018 Panpapanpalya conference, the second joint dance congress combining Dance and the Child International with the World Dance Alliance for a week of dance workshops, performances, scholarly gatherings, and movement creation.

Expect several posts in the coming days addressing all the fabulous things I learned there.

Tonight I would just like to acknowledge how wonderful it is to know that there are communities of people out there willing to come together from all over the world to celebrate and experience their art together.

I would also like to make a vow to myself, that I will not let the inspiration I’ve found from this experience simply slip by. I will reflect on the experiences of this past week and I will use them to fuel my own art. In the words of our closing speaker,

“you’ve experienced all of this, and it’s been wonderful, now go DO something about it.”

After all, dance is about action.

Learn more about Panpapanpalya here!