How have I lived eighteen years without knowing how to move from my upper arm and not my elbow? Of course, this is a very specific example of how the exercise we did in Ondrej’s class today made me consider my body in ways I hadn’t before. The exercise consisted of one person on the floor and the other person touching a body part, thus triggering the other person to move their body from that specific part. This seems easy, at first, but once you start doing it, the true complication arises. I realized that at the beginning of my time on the floor, I had no idea what I was doing. Often times, I would move from my thigh only to realize I had been using my pelvis the entire time. It was incredibly thought provoking to really focus my energy into a specific body part. By the end, I think I had the hang of it and Ondrej’s advice about not making the movement big really helped me understand the point of the exercise. It wasn’t about moving per se, but rather about gaining control over how you move.

Trajal’s class was a flurry of absolute excitement and inspiration. Reading the piece he gave us about Hector Xtravaganza was eye opening to the life of these incredible people. The tragedy and triumphs he had in his life were overwhelming and to know he died was very thought provoking. The beginning of these balls was a time of tragedy for a lot of the stars and it’s important that anyone studying or enjoying this practice recognizes that. Reading about Hector today really helped me understand the extent to which their lives were complex. While Hector inspired me to consider historical context, browsing the costume shop inspired me to let my inner-Medea fly. One moment that really struck me during my time in the costume shop was when I was in the middle of two racks, completely surrounded by clothes, knowing that I could use any of these articles for my look. This moment was incredibly inspiring and I found myself just getting lost in the articles of clothing, imagining how they would look both on me and on the imaginary Medea in my mind. Having this freedom to browse was so inspiring. Judy was perfect in helping our artistic sides flourish, especially as I grabbed a pair of gold scissors and exclaimed, “Judy! Can I take these?” Of course, she said yes, and added the finishing touch to my look. Now, I am inspired and ready to slay.

The last part of class was deeply thought provoking. Our discussion on cultural appropriation was one that could have been used to advertise this university. We seemed to bounce back and forth between Professor and student, adding almost everyone’s voice to the conversation with different examples and ideas so we all understood what appropriation was and how it manifested itself in dance. The moments that resonated with me the most were those in which we talked specifically about Trajal’s work. Just from working with him for a few days, I can trust that he is not someone who would malignantly steal from a culture to make his own original work. So putting appropriation into terms that I could relate to his work helped me understand the complexities of the idea and its presence in dance. Instead of just hearing that people cannot replicate a dance practice or use it in their work without appropriating, it was more helpful to hear that Trajal does not replicate a dance practice, but rather gains influence from it and uses it to create original work. These hardcore examples (specifically in dance) really helped me grasp the concepts. And beyond that, it inspired me to have a continued conversation about cultural appropriation with my friends and family. I hope that my discussion with my mom helped her understand that “Italians using spoons to twirl their spaghetti” was not a form of appropriation, but that girl who wore an indian-style dress to my prom last year might be appropriating. Surely, further discussions will ignite from this.