Hello beautiful,

I hope this seasonal transition and email find you well, and that we may dance joyfully through the season.

June to me means PRIDE and my birthday month (though Cologne celebrates PRIDE/Christopher Street Day in July), with lots of other significant events, such as Loving Day, Juneteenth, the Summer Solstice, Refugees' Day, end-of-schoolyear celebrations and goodbyes.

At this point in the year, I also like to do some midyear reflection, lots of strawberry eating, rose sniffing, cake-eating, hopeful for picnics, sunshine and warmth as spring flowers yield summer fruits in the northern hemisphere. It is a great time for dancing, some movers have the opportunity to participate in Ballet Intensives and other types of focused projects, performances, travel and growth, so also a key time to prevent injury and care for the body.

The parent of a curious, talented, and hardworking young ballet student asked me recently what resources I recommend for dancers to learn more about topics such as Anatomy, Kinesiology, Movement Science, and Injury-Prevention. They had noticed some of my articles on movement analysis and sustainable, mindful movement and wanted to see what further tools I might know of, so I recorded a video and wrote an article with what I've used to learn and which tools I refer to again and again:

​Read my Anatomy & Kinesiology Resources for Dancers article here​

Other creations, recommendations, and questions for you are:

Listening:

• Transitioning seasons from my beloved Spring Sensations Dance playlist on YouTube to
• ​Balletlicious Summertime Dance playlist on YouTube and updating them ongoingly
• ​Wave After Wave - Water, Sea, & Oceanic Sounds playlist on YouTube is refreshing on warm, sunny days as well as these:
• ​A Pirate's Life for Me - Music to Be Free playlist on YouTube and
• ​Juicy Fruits playlist on YouTube
• Olivia Rodrigo's "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love"

Reading:

• Started my second book by Carley Fortune (read One Golden Summer in September), Every Summer After, and now there is a film, "Every Year After" that I want to watch after I finish it
• Making a childlike Summer Reading list like Morgan Long

Viewing:

• ​Anatomy & Kinesiology Resources for Dancers - Dance Educator's Collection - Human Movement Analysis video on YouTube is my show-and-tell of my anatomy learning references, and a full list is included in the article above
• My parents again got us into following the Grand Sumo May Tournament Highlights on NHK (go Ura!) and we enjoy watching this exciting sport
• Binged the new season of Tina Fey's "The Four Seasons" series, hilarious and moving

Practicing:

• Dancing through life like the In Köln, tanzt man durch's Leben (In Cologne, one dances through life) IG
• Nourishment for energy and satisfaction, so glad to see Abby Sharp found a dancer who eats to sustain in What a Dietitian REALLY Thinks about this Ballet Dancers Diet (Lori Hernandez WIEAD)​
• Leti and Tori on Paper are celebrating Stationery Summer and I am also playing with my paper and supplies
• Planning birthday and summer fun times for myself, students & clients

Practicing Together LIVE / Adult Movement Classes:

• Online Yogalicious Gentle Yoga. 7-8:00pm CEST Tuesdays (7-8:00am HI) provides a delicious mindful movement feast which balances strength, balance and coordination for mind, body, and spirit and is adaptable to all levels and conditions (English)
• Online Balletlicious Adaptive Ballet Barre+, 8:30-9:30 am CEST Fridays (Thursday p.m. HI) consists of mostly supported barre exercises with a little dancey centre work, building a strong, body-friendly, and graceful foundation for dance at home or anywhere in the world. (English)

Inquiring:

• What are your favorite tools for studying anatomy & movement?
• How do you learn new concepts to apply to your dancing?
• Where do you keep resources for easy reference?
• How can I support your dancing & creative journey?
• How can I support you in harvesting the fruits of this season?

Gladly share your response to the questions above or provide other updates by replying to this email.

Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself, pay attention, and keep moving mindfully!

Love, Blythe

Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through your difficulties
and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life

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