Researching a new story recently, I came across an interview with Martha Graham. There were so many treasures in it. What a brilliant thinker she was. This statement about “ideal dance bodies” gave me pause, as it is something I have considered myself: “They’re so satisfied, like a pretty cat, you know. They stroke themselves… Read more: An Ideal Body?

Psychologically, the ride home from work also helped me transition from Emma the dancer to Emma who had a full life outside the studio. Otherwise, I had a tendency to carry the studio home with me — the trials and tribulations, the worries, the overthinking.

One hundred years ago, Anna Pavlova arrived in Australia with a company of dancers, ballet masters, dressers, musicians, managers, sets, costumes, luggage, pointe shoes — and even an aviary. Her 1926 tour was gruelling, glamorous and expertly promoted. Audiences packed theatres, critics reached for superlatives, and crowds gathered at railway stations to catch sight of… Read more: Looking Back: Anna Pavlova’s Australian Tour, 100 Years On

Something about it wouldn’t leave me alone. A week on from seeing SCO’s Aphrodite, I was still thinking about it. Not because I was moved, but because I wasn’t. The work left me emotionally untouched, yet it triggered a cascade of conflicting thoughts I’ve been wrestling with ever since. Perhaps it’s the NIDA course I’ve… Read more: Art’s Aphrodite Complex: What Lies Beneath the Shine

Yesterday was my first Arts On Tour Salon. If I’m honest, I expected to feel a bit out of place. But instead, I made a new friend in the first five minutes—a playwright with a background in computer science, an insatiable curiosity, and a brilliant mind. Meeting him reminded me of my NIDA writing class,… Read more: What I Learned at My First Arts On Tour Salon