dawndreams.ca

The photo below was taken at the JCI Fashion show. If you click the image it will bring you to the full portfolio of images, I encourage you to check out the great local photographer Budianto Nasrun gallery for a treat!

Here is a link to the Fashion show itself. The experienc  of being with all these beautiful people was really neat! I am usually a bit more rough and clownish, so it was great to get cleaned up and pretty with the models,  I think I might just suit that look .

Wow,  I’ve been very busy with life and haven’t told you what I have been up to over the past while ~ I apologize, but it’s because I am having too much fun!

I have been working with the Public Dreams Society a lot this past while, including the Canada Day Parade in Vancouver and Abbottsford!

(We are a brief moment at 4:55)

This short clip represents only a small fraction of that day and by that time the parade was going so fast most of the floats had to RUN! It was great fun, so exciting to see so many smiling faces in the crowds and when I did get to stop and do some tricks it was welcomed with great applause! I am so thankful for the opportunity to perform and the appreciation I get from performing these silly human acts.

Soon, I will be performing my stilts with Public Dreams at the Illuminares Festival for the first stilt performance I have ever done! It’s totally exciting, especially since they have taught me to build my own peg stilts and we have been practicing playing soccer with them on!

I look forward to posting some of the backdated material I have soon.

OMG ~ I am working so hard, with the rest of our committee,  to put together this awesome juggling festival for the Vancouver Peeps! It’s going to be an amazing weekend, I can’t wait!

Here’s the details

The MadSkillz Collective features some of Vancouver’s finest jugglers, hoopers, flow artists and ground-level circus misfits, who have banded together to develop and showcase their mad skillz! The first of its kind in Vancouver, The MadSkillz Juggling Festival (madskillzvancouver.com) has been developed to provide a forum for collaboration and cross-pollination, creating a new style of circus and performance art… not to mention juggling, spinning, flowing FUN!

What?
3 days of workshops (see below for a partial list… even more to come!), 2 Cabaret performances, a late night juggling party, games, prizes and some of the most eclectic skillz you have ever seen.

Why?
Didn’t your mother ever tell you to go out and play? It’s good for your brain, body, and being!

When?
June 11-13, 2010

Where?
VANCOUVER!
Friday– Juggling Jam, Workshops, and RENEGADE Show at the Wise Hall from 2pm-1:30am
Saturday – Workshops at UBC from 10-6; GALA showcase at the Rio Theatre at 7:30pm; Juggling PARTY till 3am at a surprise location.
Sunday – Workshops at UBC 10-2, then Games (with PRIZES!) until 5pm… then RAFFLE prizes will be drawn!

How?
Get yourself out there to improve your skillz, and mingle with the other circus freaks! Connect through the facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184748874952
Or pre-register on the official website:
http://madskillzvancouver.com/

Cost?
Preregister for the WHOLE weekend (including ALL workshops, shows, jams and party times!) for $40 (at the door, $50).
$20 Day Passes and $25 Kids’ Passes (with adult admission) will also be available at the door.

OR, for only $15, just come see the amazing Gala Show on Saturday June 12th! Incredible performers in all sorts of circus disiplines are coming together for one night only! Featuring top notch performances from:
Bekka Rose (Vancouver, Canada) will feature Vancouver’s best club juggling talent with an artistic twist!
Giulio Lanzafame (Italy) will be honouring us with his brilliant balls/toss juggling routine.
Ryan Mellors and Dawn Monette (Vancouver, Canada) are excited to present the North West Coast’s best contact juggling duet piece!
Aaron Gregg (Victoria, Canada) is a hilarious Comedy Juggler who will make you laugh your face off!
MCP (Scotland) is one of the best Contact Staff Manipulators in the world!
Alley’Oop (Newfoundland, Canada) is a well traveled hoop performer who was a feature of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
Micheal Bean (Vancouver, Canada) will tie the whole show together as the M.C. for the evening.
PLUS MORE! This will be the most grandiose Juggling Show this town has EVER SEEN! Doors open at 7:30pm; get there early to get a good seat! After the show will be a SUPER FUN TIMES YEAH JUGGLING DANCE PARTY until 3am! Featuring SURPRISE DJs at a special surprise location, come and shake out your sillies and get your late-night juggle on!  All are welcome, but note that this a DRY event, please and thank you!

Speaking of grandiose shows, the Renegade Cabaret at the Wise Hall on Friday night is sure to be out of hand itself!  A Renegade show is an open mic-style stage for any and all jugglers who wish to participate. This show is 19+ (cash bar, yeah!) and will be a hilarious, ridiculous riot! Heckling is enthusiastically encouraged! Don’t miss out on the weirdest of the weird… come down and become part of the show!

And of course, 30+ WORKSHOPS all weekend long, from beginner level basics to ground-breaking next level skillz! Here are just some of the incredible workshops that will be presented by facilitators from across North America:
Beginner Horizontal/on body Hoop
Beginner Vertical/off body Hoop
Intermediate Poi-style Hoop
Intermediate Self tosses and Partner passing Vertical Hoop
3 ball Mills Mess Devil Sticks
“Getting Over The Hump” – Intermediate into Advance Contact Juggling Transition
Advanced Contact Juggling incorporating foot, leg, and body
Beginner Three Ball Juggling
Intro to Siteswap
Advanced Siteswap
Table Juggling
Building Blocks of Poi – steps to hybrid moves
Contact Staff Dance
Flow-wand
Beginning Double Staff
Beginning Partner Poi
Poi/ Double Staff Hybrids (Advanced Doubles)
Foot Juggling
Beginner Hoop
Advanced Hoop
Beginner Unicycle
Explorations in Fan Tech
Fan Spinning & Tossing
Partner Fans
Intermediate 3 Club Tricks
Beginner Contact Juggling
And MANY MORE to be announced!

So come on down, step right up, and join the circus!!

Check out the website or facebook for more details!
http://madskillzvancouver.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184748874952

Photo by Jonathan Hanley

So I have some deep philosophies about the color green and have given a great amount of thought. Wikipedia says that the word is close to Old English, meaning, to grow.  In some ways the color of new growth is neon, and this bright new color is my favorite, the green of choice.  In Vancouver, you have to appreciate this to get through the rainiest days. If you understand the correlation of the green of this new spring growth with the rain that supplies this growth then you can appreciate how this land really is all about new growth.

I’ve learned a new word, the word Solastalgia . This word is connected to nostalgia and refers to the missing of one’s land that has changed environmentally from some destruction. It is this missing of the green lands which once filled our back yards, but have eroded due to climate change, or pollution or simple destruction of peoples presence. I wear green so often because of this solastalgia. When I look out my windows and see concrete for miles lining the shores I miss the great trees that should be here. This is a tree friendly city and I still miss the green.

I dream of a day where the rooftops are built to be strong enough for gardens and trees. I hope we grow food on each balcony. I wish that this whole city could live under the canopy of trees that once lived in this place, in the not so distant past.

My friend Carmen once said to me “if we all chose to move out to the country side, then the country side will soon become a city”.  In this I agree and realize that I cannot stay in the lush green all the time the way I would like to, if I would like to get what I need to do done, I have to stay here and encourage the city to become more green.

Right now, I stand out in a crowd, because I took this new growth of the trees that were once here and I attempt to replant this idea simply by embodying this color. When people ask, I find it is difficult to explain, that I represent what was once here before the gray sidewalk,  new growth.

One seed is all it takes

I dream one day you will join me.

To fulfill this goal more thoroughly, I have decided to join the Green Peace team as a street canvasser.  I need a bit more money for school than performance is giving me, although I believe performance is picking up quick, I think I can balance both.

3 balls in the air -  school, work and juggling performances. This will be the biggest thing I have ever juggled.

Give’r

My life is blessed with fortune, in that, I am gifted with beautiful and amazing things in a random, seemingly coincidental way. Today, I was given a new Splash logo for my website by Ryan Mellors. Aren’t I the luckiest girl ever?
Check it out, I’m not leaving this up permanent, I will be adding it to the beginning of my videos after this.

The cauldron went out last night, meaning we have finally finished this epic run in Vancouver history. It was an amazing show of art, sports and culture. In fact, I have never seen Vancouver’s culture come out in such full force before! This town in brimming with artists and eccentrics and they all came out to show everyone what crazy ideas they had to show the world! I sincerely hope this opens up a new breath for this city, lets show Broadway what we’ve got!

For me, the beginning comes at the end, here is a full cut of the performance that me and the Madskillz folks did for the first round of the torch relay! This was my first fire performance ever! (even though I have been spinning for 5 years, funny, eh?). Enjoy!

I bought stilts last summer and have been practicing on them for a almost 9 months now. I feel like I can go out into the world with them and show everyone how super tall I am, YAY! The hope is to be able to juggle, contact juggle, spin fire and do everything except unicycle on top of stilts, making all of my shows have double the impact!

I also bought some fabric to make my first pair of basic stilt trousers and I am looking for materials to cover the feet like shoes. I think it is important to the whole character to have full feet, giving the audience relief to their suspension of disbelief!

Here we go folks, I can now stilt walk on 2 ft stilts for your parties (soon to be 4ft as these are adjustable)! The hope is that I can do almost all my juggling, high up in the air! WEE!

New Costume Photos in the Promo Gallery

With the Olympics coming to Vancouver in just under 6 days, I have been busy preparing for gigs with costumes and rehearsals. The city has changed, the tourists have begun descending upon this small city, ZIP lines, Jumbotrons, pretty lights and art installations have appeared in every corner! This city is about to POP! In preparation I have created a costume archive, check it out! Watch for me during the Torch Relay on February 12 as I will be doing a fire performance with my troop! I will be performing on all the streets I can. I am totally excited to be a part of these celebrations. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Vancouver’s juggling scene has been one that struggles to find space to continuously happen every week. This year has been exceptional, as Christa has been having a hula hoop jam in front of the art gallery every Saturday for the past 2 years! This means that the jugglers always have some place to juggle every week that is free, open to the public, available for others to see and has an amazing amount of skill!

We made a small video a few weeks back, and unfortunately it was a week the hoopers weren’t around. I guess that means we will have to make more videos soon! Check it out & come down to play Saturdays!

I busked hard this week and it is fulfilling, inspiring, humbling and personally creates so much magic. Contact juggilng gives me reason to talk to so many strangers of different ilk, of all ages and class, ethnicity and origins. I get to hear so many stories of what my lucid ball brings out in them. “Is that made of electricity?” a little boy asks, a cute little girl demands more “tricksies” to which only my most difficult moves can impress the 5 year old, then business men tell me that it’s pure magic when I do a palm circle.

It’s exhausting, and although I do have many photos taken of me, I have none to show. I have been on the beach for the past 4 days, working as hard as I can – but I know I could push harder. I stretch before I leave, and in my breaks. I bath and stretch when I get home, but my back still feels like it wants to seize sometimes. Ryan has been giving massages ~ I am so grateful for them.

Although I am always juggling, school gets in the way most days and now this is back to training. I am out of shape in my training regimen, but it gets better with time. My body rolls feel flowy like and isolation after 5 days on the street, and I can head roll the 4′ acrylic now. My shoulder is still in pain at times, even after 6 weeks break and I’ll be honest when I say I am glad it’s raining today. I need the day off to get my life in order, my body rested and my mind together as I prepare.

Busking is a strange and lonely job, yet it puts me into this meditative state. The world glows after a day of training my bliss, sharing it with anyone who’s around to see, get paid a wage I could live off of. It becomes a state where my thoughts form in poetics, where the world feels perfect.