Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Yoga with Anthony


Today when I went to Barbara Benagh's yoga class at Down Under Yoga, Anthony was tagging along. A good friend of mine asked him if he was taking class too and he looked at me and said, "Yes!" He insisted on waiting for Barbara to see if it was OK for him to join in and when she gave him the OK, he settled onto a mat between Carolyn and I and there started his yoga journey.

It was a wonderful , blissful experience taking yoga with Antony and although the class was a deep, internally based class, he stuck it out and I could tell he felt so much.

No he may not go every time, but maybe he will...it is addicting and I know he enjoyed Barbara's teaching.

After class, he said to me that yoga was kind of like starting a church. If you felt you wanted to teach people about the type of yoga that you liked, that you could open your own studio and then people could come to you and you could tech them how to feel yoga the way you wanted them to feel it.

It was a very enlightening  and spiritual thing for him to say. He gets it!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sunday Musings



1. The best thing about kid's yoga is that it helps children create a space inside themselves where they can go to by with themselves.
2. Children's learn better through rich details often not given in adult classes.
3. Sometimes I think my mouth is a better flamenco dancer than I am because of my infinite ability to describe movement and sensation, but last night in my dream, my body did everything my mouth can do and more.
4. A good way to teach children to stay in their spots while dancing (and to not move closer to/farther from the mirror) is to tell them, "Watch yourself and make sure you are not getting larger/or smaller".
5. Besitos are a little flamenco sugar!
6. There are so many deep seated connections between the flamenco body and the yoga body.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Free Fun Fridays 2011 Schedule


Free Fun Fridays 2011 Schedule

The Highland Street Foundation will be offering its Free Fun Fridays program again this year. Starting July 1st four different cultural attractions across Massachusetts will provide free admission each Friday throughout the summer. In all 36 diffrent attractions will be open for free this summer! Visit www.highlandstreet.org for more information.


Friday July 1st
Museum of Fine Arts            
465 Huntington Ave – Boston
Buttonwood Park Zoo
425 Hawthorn Street – New Bedford
Edward Gorey House
8 Strawberry Lane – Yarmouth Port
Heritage Museums & Gardens
67 Grove Street-Sandwich

Friday July 8th
Plimoth Plantation                
137 Warren Ave – Plymouth 
Worcester Art Museum
55 Salisbury Street – Worcester
Cape Cod Museum of Art
60 Hope Lane – Dennis
New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury Street – Boston

Friday July 15th
Museum of Science              
1 Science Park – Boston
Higgins Armory Museum
100 Barber Avenue # 11- Worcester
Discovery Museums                          
177 Main Street – Acton
Garden in the Woods
180 Hemenway Road – Framingham

Friday July 22rd
Franklin Park Zoo                 
1 Franklin Park Rd – Dorchester
The Sports Museum
TD Garden – 100 Legends Way – Boston
Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Route 183-Stockbridge
Peabody Essex Museum       
161 Essex St – Salem

Friday July 29th
Boston Children’s Museum
308 Congress St – Boston         
American Textile Museum
491 Dutton Street – Lowell
New Bedford Whaling Museum
18 Johnny Cake Hill – New Bedford
Shakespeare on the Common
Boston Common- Boston

Friday August 5th
Institute of Contemporary Art 
100 Northern Ave – Boston
Cape Cod Children’s Museum
577 Great Neck Road South – Mashpee
Springfield Museums
21 Edwards Street-Springfield
Concord Museum
53 Cambridge Turnpike – Concord

Friday August 12th
Columbia Point – Boston
Arnold Arboretum
125 Arborway-Jamaica Plain
Tanglewood (BSO)
297 West Street-Lenox
Stone Zoo
149 Pond Street – Stoneham

Friday August 19th
Boston Harbor Island Alliance 
Free ferry transportation to the Harbor Islands
408 Atlantic Ave – Boston
Children’s Museum in Easton
9 Sullivan Avenue-Easton
USS Constitution Museum
22 Charlestown Navy Yard – Charlestown
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1000 West Columbus Ave – Springfield

Friday August 26th
Old Sturbridge Village                                                                                                 
1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd – Sturbridge
New Repertory Theatre
321 Arsenal Street-Watertown
Berkshire Museum
39 South Street – Pittsfield
EcoTarium
222 Harrington Way – Worcester

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Dos Breves: Two Short Sessions Celebrating the Music of Spain

                    DOS BREVES
   Two Short Sessions Celebrating the Music of Spain
 Presented by the Boston Arts Consort, Linda Papatopoli, Director
                The Kaji Aso Studio, 40 St. Stephen Street, Boston

Breves No. 1, Friday, July 1, 6PM:   FOR GUITAR AND PIANO   Solo music and duets especially arranged by the performers exploring the relationship between Spanish guitar and piano composition.  Tom Rohde, guitar & Linda Papatopoli, piano.

Breves No 2,  Friday,  August 5th,  6PM:   DANZA   Spain’s classical music and flamenco and the influence of the Americas will be highlighted with flamenco artists Eva Lorca & Roberto Rios, clarinetist Liz Leehey & pianist Linda Papatopoli.



Friday, June 17, 2011

OMAYRA AMAYA Flamenco Dance Workshop AUGUST 22-28 2011 BOSTON MA





Registration is now open! Discounted early registration rates are available now until Aug 1.

To register, go to http://www.flamencoboston.com/workshops

CLASS SCHEDULE
The full schedule is here for technique (all levels) and choreography (intermediate/advanced) workshops.

Monday to Friday
Aug 22-26
technique 6 - 7:30 pm
choreography 7:30 - 9 pm

Saturday and Sunday
Aug 27-28
technique 11:00am - 12:30pm
choreography 12:30 - 2pm

LOCATION
Boston Percussive Dance: 185 Green Street, Cambridge MA 02139

CONTACT
lauren@flamencoboston.com

PRICE: Early Registration Discount until Aug 1
$200 one workshop
$350 both workshops

REGULAR PRICE (after Aug 1)
$35 single class
$220 one workshop
$420 both workshops

Space is limited.
To register via PayPal:
www.flamencoboston.com/wor
kshops


WALK-IN & CANCELLATION POLICY
Class size is limited. Walk-ins for single classes may not be available if the class is filled. A cancellation fee of $30 will be retained if cancellation is received two weeks before start date. No refunds will be available after that time.



 I found a nice write up about Omayra at Arte Y Vida Chicago.  Check it out!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

'Carla and Leo's World of Dance'

Young adults discover culture, music and history: 'Carla and Leo's World of Dance'

By April MacIntyre Jun 16, 2011, 0:58 GMT

Parents will want to check out "Carla and Leo’s World of Dance," a story that takes young readers ages 8 to 12 on a journey to the magical dance school of the beautiful Miss Paulina, who leads 10-year-olds Carla and Leo on a worldwide tour of ballroom dance.
“I really enjoyed this delightful book’s social message of learning and practicing dancing as the means to bring boys and girls together in a shared venue. At a time when boys and men are becoming ever more socially isolated by living their lives in a high tech world, Agatha Relota’s dance journey promises to be a salvation. Parents of boys should encourage their sons to learn how to relate better with girls, starting with, ‘Shall we dance?’ “-Dr. Philip Zimbardo

Parents will want to check out "Carla and Leo’s World of Dance,"story that takes young readers ages 8 to 12 on a journey to the magical dance school of the beautiful Miss Paulina, who leads 10-year-olds Carla and Leo on a worldwide tour of ballroom dance.

Future Dancing with the Stars contenders will learn of ten styles: the waltz, foxtrot, swing, merengue, mambo, cha cha, rumba, salsa, tango, and samba.

For each style, Miss Paulina provides its cultural and geographical origin as well as rhythmic step patterns. All this is presented with a delightful narrative written by author, fashion model, dancer, and mother of two, Agatha Relota.

The book pops with more than 50 colorful illustrations from Paris fashion illustrator Thierry Perez, and Jessica Alba penned the charming introduction.

This book will please both children and their parents with a fresh take on ballroom dancing that inspires and educates.

Readers of all ages are sure to finish the book with a new rhythm in their steps, ready to dance their way around the world.

Carla and Leo come alive vividly through the beautiful illustrations of Thierry Perez. The fancy world of ballroom dancing is demystified and intrigues the reader to pursue lessons in classical dances.

The explanations of all ten dances with their rhythm and timing will make young readers understand and appreciate the art form and want to have fun learning it too.



Agatha Relota is an author, fashion model, dancer, and mother of two. In 2006, Agatha’s nieces asked that she teach them to dance. She found there were few if any books on ballroom dance written to inspire children.

This void of literature was the seed for her book, Carla and Leo’s World of Dance.

She wrote the book with the belief that dance can teach children valuable skills to take beyond the dance floor, such as manners, self-confidence, and discipline, as well as a heightened awareness of the world’s cultures. After working for years on the book, her resolve to bring the world of dance to children became even more inspired recently when she became a mother of two.

Represented by Storm Models in London, Agatha built a modeling career for herself that includes such highlights as editorials for the likes of Vogue, W Magazine, and L’Officiel. She’s also worked with such world class photographers as Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein, Juergen Teller, David LaChapelle, and Scavullo. Prestigious brands she’s worked with include Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermes, Nina Ricci, Ap by Bruphils, Georges Rech, Hanro of Switzerland, Jitrois, Laura Biagotti, Long’s Jewelers, Louis Feraud, Nespresso, Nordstrom, Pools, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bill Blass, Claude Montana, Issey Miyake, Jeremy Scott, and Elspeth Giibson. Agatha has also appeared in TV commercials as well as in music videos with Robbie Williams and Sir Paul McCartney.

Agatha’s career as a dancer began when she took up ballet at the age of four. She then joined the New Jersey Ballet School at 10, where she regularly performed the Nutcracker at the renowned Paper Mill Playhouse. Agatha took up ballroom dancing at the age of 17 and was soon competing in the various styles; her love of dance has never waned.