Category Archives: Trance

ALBANY PARK The early Monday fire that tore through an apartment building and multiple businesses in Albany Park left people scrambling to find housing and owners and workers of the impacted companies trying to rebuild.

Multiple fundraisers are underway for the businesses, residents and even a skee-ball league impacted by the devastating extra-alarm fire, which is still under investigation. Heres how you can help:

The Christ Lutheran Church set up a GoFundMe to support residents of the apartment building displaced by the fire.

We hope to make contact with all residents of the building, so that we can support them in this difficult time, the church wrote on the page. We ask all Chicagoans to please contribute to help them recover as quickly as possible.

The 4335-39 N. Richmond St. apartment that caught fire had 21 apartments, though three were vacant. Residents had to evacuate, and although the city had the building might be saved, all of the residents were displaced.

Red Cross volunteers were on the scene Monday afternoon and are currently assisting ten people from ten apartments with temporary shelter and other accommodations, spokeswoman Holly Baker said.

Imagine losing everything in a matter of moments your house, your car, your clothes, everything, Baker said. In the middle of the night there were people standing on their sidewalk, in their pajamas, wondering What do I do now?

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33th) tweeted the fundraiser and said Monday her office is reaching out to our neighbors to provide assistance.

As of Wednesday morning the GoFundMe has raised more than $9,000.

One of the businesses decimated by the fire was Twisted Hippo Brewery. Its three-year-old taproom and the adjoining brewery were destroyed. The building will need to be demolished because of massive damage.

The Chicago area craft beer community immediately jumped into action to raise money to help the workers and the business. Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village launched a GoFundMe to support Twisted Hippo, and scores of other breweries pitched in.

By Wednesday morning, more than $137,000 was raised from more than 1,600 donors, including customers and fans of the brewery.

Its what Chicago breweries do, said John Carruthers, communications manager at Revolution Brewing, which contributed $1,000. Its owner Josh Deth, also gave $1,000. Its one thing to say lets all be friends and have a beer, its another to really step up financially.

The other business destroyed was Ultimate Ninjas Gym, which sat adjacent to Twisted Hippo.

Melissa Rogers, a coach at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville, set up a GoFundMe to support the sister location in Chicago with business expenses, salaries for managers and trainers and funds for part-time staff not covered by insurance. As of Wednesday morning it has raised over $33,000.

Professional ninja gyms featuring obstacle courses from warped walls to rope climbs took off in the U.S. following the success of the American Ninja Warrior TV show, Rogers said. Ultimate Ninjas are one of the OGs, and ninja gyms across the country have sent in donations.

Its a unique community, and a very fast growing sport, Rogers said. Ninja is about overcoming obstacles. This was an obstacle we never thought wed have to overcome, but if there is any sport that teaches you about overcoming obstacles, it is ninja.

Ultimate Ninjas four locations in the Chicagoland area each have elite youth teams that practice together, travel to tournaments and battle for bragging rights in their own competitions. Derrick Pizza Ninja Pavoni, who appeared on American Ninja Warrior three times and coaches at Ultimate Ninjas Chicago, took his kids to the Glenview location on Monday night to grieve with their fellow ninjas.

So they could feel what they needed to feel together as a group, if that was talking to one of the coaches, reliving the memories, or just honestly goofing off on the obstacles, Pavoni said. For the kids who have been around since the beginning, this is a really big loss. They literally grew up at the gym.

Rogers said her daughter, 10 year-old Cecily who goes by her ninja name Lil Beast, was moved to support the cause.

It was past her bedtime, and she came to my room and was trying to figure out how to put a little fundraiser together on TikTok, Rogers said. She did a sweet little post about how ninja is her life and how this happened to her friends, and she wants to be able to help.

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdS2rx61/

For over 10 years, Mike Fraser supported himself by running competitive skee-ball leagues at bars across Chicago. Last summer he partnered with Twisted Hippo to host a league and lugged over three of his vintage Beer Ball machines, an offshoot of Skee-Ball with unique wooden finishes.

On Monday morning, he rushed to the scene of the fire with his 35-week pregnant wife, made a beeline past caution tape, firefighters and news reporters to the site of the Beer Ball machines. They were ash and rumble.

I was in a trance, Fraser said. Skee-Ball is my livelihood and my passion.

Frasers league at Twisted Hippo is currently in the middle of its season with 18 teams and 65 rollers. The last two Beer Ball machines ever manufactured were lost in the fire. If he can track down others, they cost about $6,900 each.

The top-scoring player in the Twisted Hippo league, James The Shark Schwark, set up a GoFundMe to help Fraser replace the machines. As of Wednesday morning it has raised over $17,000. Other leagues across the country rolled in donations.

Fraser called the support bananas and thinks Schwark just really wants to win the league.

Everyone is joining together in unification over Skee-Ball. Which is just really cool, Fraser said. Ive cried more in the past couple days than I care to admit, and every now and then you see the funds rolling in, you see that so many people care enough to help support my dream.

The Twisted Hippo league will not miss a beat and plans to resume play at Glascotts Saloon, 2158 N. Halsted St, at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Fraser said the league hasnt lost a single roller.

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Here's How To Help Albany Park Neighbors And Businesses Trying To Rebuild After Devastating Fire - Block Club Chicago

The production powerhouse that is Terry Golden has cut a reputation for himself over the last year on the back of a relentless release schedule of heavyweight main room records that have earned him the respect of industry peers, DJs, fellow Producers and a string of record labels that have been proud to add him to their ranks. Into 2022 it seems like Terry has only one thing in mind global domination. With more releases that are keeping up this incredible release frequency and his Art of Rave weekly radio show growing exponentially to the point of now broadcasting on over 40 global radio stations every week, theres only one direction of travel for Terry and that is very much up the ladder of the industry.

Final is vintage Terry Golden in every sense of the word. Its bold, unforgiving, euphoric and devilishly tasty in the melodic and feel-good departments. After a hectic intro of slamming drums, synths and bass, Terry takes us back to the golden days of classic uplifting Trance with a stunning supersaw lead and breakdown that builds up into a frenzied crescendo before he unleashes the full power of Final. Shimmering higher end leads and mid-range melodics balance as a counterweight to the forceful sub bass and kicks that engulf the low end of the frequency spectrum with an experts touch in mix and separation of instrumentation that only the top tier of Producers know how to achieve. The full stack of the production is crisp, clean and utterly powerful to listen to at volume and will no doubt be doing the damage on the airwaves and on dancefloors across the globe in the coming weeks and months.

We have given you all plenty of warning about the rise of Terry Golden over the last 12 months and were now seeing the fruits of labour materialise into serious success.

Final is out now on Undertake Records and is available on all good online dance music stores and streaming platforms.

Stream & Buy Online Now:https://mtxmusic.ampsuite.com/releases/links?id=299

Terry Golden Online:https://soundcloud.com/djterrygoldenhttps://www.instagram.com/djterrygolden/https://www.terrygolden.com/https://www.facebook.com/DJTerryGolden/

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Terry Golden Shows Off His Production Talent With Final - One EDM

Is it too much to call Egypt an everlasting source of inspiration, one that keeps creative minds brewing with revelations? We wouldnt say so. While on a trip to Cairo and Luxor, Istanbul-based Ukrainian designer Katerina Bielobrova was captivated by Ancient Egyptian architecture. They reminded her of the work of Italian surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico, who founded the metaphysical art movement, compelling her to create these bright and colourful abstract illustrations titled The Scale.

I was observing the architecture of Hatshepsut and Karnak temples, and it felt surreal, Bielobrova, a member of the Association of Illustrators, tells #SceneHome. Their physical scale and perfection of shapes absorb the air and make you question if youre still on earth. She adapted the design elements of these iconic temples to Chiricos art which constantly featured architecture - akin to taking a lucid trip into the dreams of late 19th and early 20th century artists.

Recalling the visuals of her 2021 trip, Bielobrova played with perspectives and altered the scales of things. One of Karnak Temples main attractions are its great columns, a forest of 134 giant sandstone columns over 20 metre in height with blossoming papyrus capitals. Bielobrova decided to make this iconic scenery even more enormous by viewing it upwards, and scaling down the sun.

While Bielobrovas project was inspired by Chiricos art, she isnt alone. Chiricos paintings helped inspire books, music and even video games. Through the times, Chiricos work responded to art and architectural movements such as neo classical and neo-baroque styles, while always maintaining his metaphysical themes.

This metaphysical perspective played to Bielobrovas strengths. Self-proclaimed graphic designer by day and illustrator by night, Bielobrova focuses her work on posthumanism and modern society. Speculating human consciousness and its future, she paired the painters style of incorporating architecture into art with her exploration of compositions, shapes and spaces with eye-popping colours to create these rescaled illustrations of Egypts monuments.

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Fall in a Trance With These Abstract Artworks of Egyptian Monuments - CairoScene

Music lovers in the city flocked to Empress Botanical Garden last weekend to attend the Sufi and mystic music festival, Ruhaniyat. Hosting its 21st edition, the festival managed to transcend the audience to virtuosic paradise.From the exuberant performance of Gujarati bhajans by Hemant Chauhan and group, to mystical Baul songs by Bengal's Paravathy Baul, the crowd witnessed an array of diverse music from all across the country. "All the performances were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience and every artist received a standing ovation," said Sachin Mane, organiser. Other performers included Narayanji Dhongade, Mukhtiyar Ali and Hifzur Rehman , with their respective groups. Returning to the city after a span of two years, Ruhaniyat offered a musical blend of euphoric devotion and spirituality. Most importantly, the festival ensured that living traditions and unique aspects of intangible heritage were nurtured. "The response has always been fantastic and encouraging in Pune. However, it felt amazing to come back after two years to the city of music lovers," shared Sachin.All COVID-19 protocols were followed at the event. Wearing masks and temperature checks were mandatory. "Due to COVID protocols, we had to limit the audiences to 50 per cent. However, we were overwhelmed by the cheering and standing ovations received," added Sachin.The occasion was graced by many well-known names like Dinanath Kholkar, Milind Lakkad, Sacheen Ratnaparkhi, Phiroz Poonawala and Dr Tarita Shankar.

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Punekars transcended into a Sufi trance - Times of India

Since the very dawn of man and his beating of a primitive percussion instrumentarguably the first semblance of music he also likely nodded his head or tapped his ape-like foot in the artistic expression of dancing.

But music and dance don't always go together. Consider that classical music aficionados usually appreciate the symphony while seated in a chair.

On the whole, it's safe to say music as an art form has a connection and correlation with dance. Music can motivate humans to abandon themselves to their movements, as in "dance like no one is watching."

This week, Music Historicity's ongoing examination of various musical genres presents a discussion of EDM, or Electronic Dance Music.

Dance may not be a necessary element of music, but music surely is a needed element for the art form of dancing.

The 1984 historical comedy-drama "Amadeus" contains a memorable scene where the Emperor attends an opera rehearsal and sees actors dancing to no musical accompaniment. The odd sight causes the ruler to then nullify his own previous decree against ballet being permitted in operas.

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Music and dance are inextricably linked in numerous song examples such as The Twist, The Loco-Motion, The Humpty Dance, The Monster Mash, Le Freak, The Hustle and The Safety Dance.

The advent of the Moog synthesizer in the late 1960s boosted momentum for electronic popular music.

It was Wendy Carlos then known as Walter Carlos who, in 1968, released "Switched On Bach," a collection of 12 public domain tracks by the classical composer, as performed on a synthesizer keyboard.

The album rose to No. 10 on Billboard, won three Grammy awards and reached Platinum sales in 1986.

The use of synthesizers buoyed the development of a musical style that seemed well-suited for dancing --Disco. An early example can be heard in Donna Summers' "I Feel Love" and other similar dance hits.

The electronic side of synthesizer music is well known in the German band "Kraftwerk," whose self-titled 1970 debut album set an early standard for EDM. In 1975, a 3:28 abbreviated version of the original 22-minute-long title track from their fourth album, "Autobahn," reach No. 25 on the US Billboard charts.

Check out Kraftwerk's 1981 "Computer World" album, one of my favorites.

Originally from South Florida, Mark Potzler is a talented music professional who has years of experience as a club DJ.

"I have a problem with the tag 'EDM,'" Potzler recently told me. "Even though it's a catch-all phrase for electronic dance music, all electronic music isn't all about dancing. Kraftwerk, for example, is not necessarily dance music, but the band definitely is electronic."

His point is that electronic music and dancing are mutually exclusive concepts.

The start of the 1980s saw the emergence of different sub-genres of electronic music such as Synth-pop, House, Techno and Freestyle.

"When I was growing up, the popular style was called 'Techno,' which is what everything electronic was referred to as," Potzler said. "But now, Techno is its own genre and EDM is more specific. The point is, people have to realize that the term 'EDM' has evolved and now means so much more than it used to."

By the 1990s, more EDM sub-genres had become prominent, including Progressive House, Breakbeat and Trance --which in turn has its own sub-genres such as Progressive Trance, Tech Trance and Uplifting Trance.

Various sub-genres can be specified by the beats per minute, or bpm, of the drum or percussion track. For example, Trance music is generally 120-150 bpm. It's also characterized by the building of tension and electronic elements throughout the song, culminating with a release or "drop."

Some well-known Trance artists include Paul van Dyk, KLF, Art of Trance and Age of Love.

Moving into the 2000s, emerging EDM styles included Trap music, Dubstep and Electro House. Example artists are Lil' John, Oris Jay and Daft Punk, respectively.

"To me, Daft Punk is the modern day perfect production," Potzler said. "For the older generation who appreciate Steely Dan and their production quality, Daft Punk is the same way with quiet and gentle songs as well as some that are big and loud. The dynamics in their songs are just amazing --they're clean, rich and full."

Today, EDM festivals are held around the world, the largest in North America being the Electric Daisy Carnival. The three-day event is held in Las Vegas, in May, features dozens of DJs and is attended by well over 100,000 people per day.

If you want to buy a pass to all three days of EDC this year, it will cost you only $430.

As a DJ, Potzler realizes that playing recorded music at a club can be a performance not unlike that of a live band.

"It depends on my mood," he said. "As a DJ, you can influence everyone's mood by playing certain songs at a certain moment. As long (as) I sense that everybody on the dance floor likes a tune and can relate to it, they'll dance to it."

Potzler said his mood for playing music at a club can range from Hip Hop to Reggae to Rock music.

"I like the light-hearted, fun, party music, no matter what genre," he said. "I don't get deep into poetry. It's okay, but I don't want to have to think too deeply about lyrics because you'll lose me."

When he's driving in his car, on his way to work, Potzler plays "what some would consider workout music. Something fast-paced and exciting. 'Sun Came Up,' by Sofi Tukker, is not so much a story song as just an expression of a love of life.

"For the drive home at the end of the night, it I might be really tired and I need music to keep me awake. Or it could be that I'm so cranked up that I need some Chill music to bring me back down," he said.

An example of Chill music would be "You Wish," by Nightmares on Wax. Sirius XM has an entire music channel devoted to Chill.

"My favorite part about EDM is that producers and creators have been able to turn an otherwise boring song into something fun and danceable," Potzler summarized.

For your humble narrator, my EDM favorites include the aforementioned "Computer World" album by Kraftwerk, Major Lazer, Thievery Corporation and the first five Devo releases arguably not EDM, but heavy on the synthesizer.

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Music Historicity | Drop the beat: Electronic dance music covers a wide spectrum - The Southern

Plymouths very own trance record label, Cohesion Records are delivering their first event post lockdown at the popular night-time venue, The Depo.

This epic event will be bringing in former Radio 1 DJ and Dance Anthems founder, Dave Pearce alongside other local artists delivering a night to remember.

On Saturday, February 12, Dave will be playing a trance set, showcasing all the tracks that he has made household institutions to those who have heard him on Radio 1 over the years.

Read more: Footloose The Musical with Jake Quickenden bursts back onto Theatre Royal Plymouth stage

Dave has been prolific during lockdown with his livestreams attracting hundreds and thousands of viewers and last year his trance anthems album returned to the top spot in the Top Ten UK Dance Albums on Apple iTunes. He also is spreading airwaves with his globally syndicated radio show, Delirium .

Just this week both of his dance Anthems and trance anthems have reached the top 10 on the Official UK Dance Album Charts - so get your dancing shoes on.

This weekend he will be bringing his epic set to The Depo.

Cohesion records are a Plymouth-based record label and owners, Matt Edwards and Simon Mcann have both made their mark on the music scene- especially locally.

The duo has released music by numerous local artists such as Nick The Kid, Hakka, Kyle Pepper, Felicity Wiseman, James Lord, Evolving Sounds Audio and Sam White amongst others in the industry.

From there they've also played extensive prestigious gigs at events including Ministry Of Sound and bookings in Ireland, Ibiza and Thailand.

The local record label has had massive league support from Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten and amongst others and Dave has signed one of the tracks called meltdown to his Whos Afraid of 138? label.

The Depo will welcome trace-lovers through the door this weekend and alongside Matt, Simon and Dave there will be Plymouths own Tommie Quick, Aiden Howard and Taz Dore.

A Cohesion Records own Racheal Shock, who is known as the duo in Brainbashers, will also be joining the set.

To buy tickets for the epic event at The Depo, you can see here .

You can stay up to date on the top news and events near you with PlymouthLive's FREE newsletters enter your email address at the top of the page or go here .

Read more: DJ Tom Zanetti heading to Plymouth Pryzm

Read more: Tour of Britain 2022 route announced - but Plymouth has been snubbed

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Epic trance music DJ Dave Pearce performing at Plymouth club this Valentine's weekend - Plymouth Live

The Mark Morris Dance Group will visit Hancher Auditorium on Friday with their performance Pepperland, a tribute to The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It will be their first time in Iowa City in 25 years.

Dancers costumed in fluorescent 60s style suits move in a trance-like dance to reworked music from the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. This is the Mark Morris Dance Groups Pepperland and theyll be at Hancher Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 18.

The esteemed Mark Morris Dance Group hasnt been to Iowa City in 25 years, and Chuck Swanson, Hanchers Executive Director, is excited for their return.

Mark Morris is a very important choreographer in the world today, he said. Weve really presented over the years [in the world of dance] some of the best, some of the finest, and so yes, its time that we do bring Mark Morris in.

Swanson said he is particularly excited for the Pepperland show because of its colorful aura and the celebration of familiar 60s music. Being able to remember when the album came out makes it even more special for him.

RELATED: Hancher director Chuck Swanson announces retirement

Company Director for the Mark Morris Dance Group, Sam Black, said that the group also looks forward to seeing Iowa City again, and experiencing Hancher for the first time.

None of the current dancers have ever performed with MMDG at the Hancher Auditorium before, Black wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. Weve heard wonderful things about the new theater, and cant wait to see it in person and perform there.

The city of Liverpool asked Mark Morris, founder of the Mark Morris Dance Center and choreographer of Pepperland, to create the production for the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017. The group has regularly performed the piece ever since.

Morris said that when he was approached, he found the idea for this type of tribute crazy and good, which is why he decided to do it.

Both Morris and Black said that they look forward to being able to tour around the country again, and particularly getting to share Pepperland with a wider audience.

I would like people to leave the performance feeling like theyve had just enough, and they adored it, and they want to go have a drink and talk about what a wonderful time they had together, Morris wrote in an email to the DI.

Pepperland was scored by composer Ethan Iverson, specifically inspired by The Beatles songs Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, With a Little Help From My Friends, A Day in the Life, When Im Sixty-Four, Within You Without You, and Penny Lane.

Iverson has a long history with Morris, including being his music director for five years. He was also in a jazz group called The Bad Plus, which he said gave him experience reworking rock music.

When Morris asked him to write the music for Pepperland, Iverson said he recalls heading to an old friends house, listening to the original record while holding the cardboard cover in his hands, and calling Morris back to say, I can do it.

Pop music often has an underlying dark side as opposed to the original sound, Iverson said. His reworked version of With A Little Help From My Friends in Pepperland has some unexpected starts and stops through the music, as well as a wrong baseline, composed specifically with Morris choreography style in mind.

There are way too many Beatles tributes out there, in fact since we launched Pepperland there is even more than before, Iverson wrote in an email to the DI. However, there is still room to do something unexpected and valid if you know how to look.

Link:

Beatles tribute 'Pepperland' to hit Hancher stage - UI The Daily Iowan

Courtesy: Olivia Parks

From the six-year-old in a fabric Speedo cap with goggles too big for her face and the woman she became we bid you goodnight, swimming. You watched my first belly-flop dive transform into the final stroke of my career. Now, after fifteen years, cheers to alarms set before dawn for hesitant leaps into frigid pools. Obsessing over the clock, down to the very hundredth of a second. Moments of helplessly laying on deck, staring up at the sky with legs dangling over the pools edge in a desperate attempt to gasp for air. The crawl to class from exhaustion and seemingly permanent soreness. The stench of chlorine seeping through pores to the chagrin of fellow classmates. Perpetually raccooned eyes from goggle burn. And, the ever-so classic rejection of plans: Sorry I cant, I have practice.

Helplessly in love with you from the age of six, you are the life I chose. Dedicating not only my body to you, but my heart and soul. Hours, days, and years devoted to staring at that incessant black line. Asserting my entire existence into training with a hypoxic gaze. Nevertheless, nothing about you is simple. Among the many wins, I have had my fair share of losses. The highly anticipated last lap, hitting the wall, then checking the scoreboard . . . only to be flooded by utter devastation. All I can say to this is: there has never been and will never be a boy who can break my heart like you. There have been months in which you were my greatest enemy. Still, in a chlorine trance, I came back.

In spending my youth perpetually chasing down endless lane-lines, I proudly look back with no regrets. For fifteen years, I have relied on you for structure, confidence, and friendships. Before and after school, with absolute consistency, there you were: waiting for me. Of everything youve done for me, you introduced me to my teammates and coaches: the people I love. Because of you, I have been fortunate enough to work with Coach Marko Djordjevic, Coach David Marsh, Coach Joey Gracia, and Coach Kirk Kumbier who have made monumental impacts on my life on and off the deck. Most of all, you led me to Coach Abi Liu and her partner KR Liu. No words can describe the influence these two women have had on me. All I can do is strive to live by their example every day. These are the people who made every grueling set, post-race heartache, and the all-encompassing hardships of life worthwhile. For that, I am forever grateful.

However, in the last three years, the dream of completing my career of you became more like a memory. Dealing with the following matters since high school, you were still by my side. Despite a panic attack disorder, severe depression and anxiety, the trials and tribulations of psychiatric medications, and an eating disorder that landed me in an outpatient program, I clung to you for dear life.

In the wee morning hours before UCSD left for the 2019 Division II NCAA Championship, I laid helpless in an Urgent Care bed at 3 a.m. Amidst one of the best seasons of my career, there I was: hyperventilating and trembling from a vicious panic attack. Unfortunately, this wouldnt the only time I end up here. Come 5 a.m., a few hours prior to our flight to Indiana, I was discharged. Some may think the pressure of you induced this episode; but its impossible to blame the genetic inevitable. Completely exhausted and drained, I got on that plane by 8 a.m., motivated by the desire to compete for the team I love. Two days later, I stood alongside three other teammates on the second place podium for the 200 Medley relay; I became an All-American athlete that day. As I received my trophy, the same question Ive asked for years looped through my mind: What is wrong with me?

The priority of you got me up in the morning, forcing me to seek treatment and hold myself accountable. Regardless, uncontrolled galactic highs and profound lows persistently cycled without definitive reason. What is wrong with me? continued to play on repeat. Just five months shy of the final victory lap of my career, we sat side-by-side in silence, listening and processing my clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The dream of you began to slip away faster than ever. Feeling isolated and ashamed, the unconditional love of family, coaches, and teammates overpowered those initial thoughts. To everyone reading this, its okay to not be to okay. Being an athlete, in any sport, is so difficult even without lifes afflictions or curveballs. That being said, embrace asking for help and please, hold yourself as the priority. Jordan Phillips team captain, my roomie of four years, and ultimate best friend gifted me my dearest memory of you after my last practice. Still in the pool, Jordan told my weepy self to follow her. Confused as ever, I obliged and stared at her as she settled underwater in a corner of Triton Pool. Then, she pointed out beyond my gaze. When I turned around, there it was, simple, symmetrical, and stunning: an empty 25 yard by 50-meter pool. We sat there on the bottom, silently admiring how this concrete hole has given us a world of possibilities. By the hand of circumstances we would have never fathomed nor predicated, this unexpected version of my finish line was met at UCSDs Senior Day. After everything, I decided not to compete. Instead, I celebrated our decade and a half of memories together. If anything, this is my final race; the embodiment of all of the chlorine burn, sweat, and tears leading up to this moment. Even after my tan-lines fade, the athlete mindset youve ingrained in me has changed my narrative: this disorder isnt a hindrance, just another challenge to overcome.

Despite the titles, school records, and awards that accumulated in my athletic portfolio over the years, none of them compare to the opportunity Coach David Marsh and Coach Joey Gracia granted me: the ability to give back to you. Coaching the kids of Coronado Swim Team Elite has completely reshaped not only how I see you, but myself. Being around younger athletes as one who has just finished her career spins a fresh outlook on what it means to be a young person in a sport like you. Resonating with their excitement, joys, and silliness is reminiscent of how I was at that age: the possibilities unlimited and the need for speed boundless. Without you, I would have never met them: my little heroes. Therefore, I am most thankful, rather unmeasurably grateful, for this aspect of you.

I say good night, because Ill see you in the morning. I wont be putting on a cap and goggles tomorrow but the qualities you have forged will follow me for life. Such as a permanent internal clock doomed to consider 7:00 a.m. as sleeping-in on a Sunday morning. The certainty to give 110% to expectations or tasks in any future career. Understanding how to allocate time wisely. How else would balancing coaching, being a full-time scholar-athlete at UCSD, and somewhat of a social life be possible? Although at times met with absolute disdain, appreciating a body that has allowed me to achieve goals I once considered impossible. Looking back at everything I have done and been through; then confidently looking forward to everything I will do.

With that, goodnight from my six-year-old self in the fabric Speedo cap and goggles too big for my face and the woman I am now. After everything weve been through, I owe it all to you.

Thank you; I love you.

More:

"Goodnight, Swimming": A Retirement Letter To The Sport - SwimSwam

As the drummer beats his rhythmthe heels of his palms resounding against stretched animal hideI move. I am moved. Arms reach and retract, spine twists and tilts, legs stretch and sweep across the vast, golden wood floor.

This being an improv dance class, my body is mine to do with whatever I wish. I quiet my over-anxious brain and allow the music to guide my body in carving out a path through space. Coming from the restrictive, highly choreographed world of ballet, improv feels as freeing as skipping naked, newly feral, through a lush, flower-soaked field. I move. I am moved. Overtaken. Once the music ends, I emerge from a trance to find I have no idea how I got to where I am in the room or what movements got me here.

History and culture offer a treasure trove of attempts to interpret dances unique power over our bodies and minds.

The films The Red Shoes and Black Swan feature leads who are driven to demise by seeking perfection in the art of ballet. Their obsession with dance consumes them, and in forsaking all other aspects of life, they destroy themselves. At the end of The Red Shoes, our female protagonist jumps in front of a train, showing us that to dance is to forget the world, to be swallowed whole.

In some films the desire to dance itself is toxic, Adrienne L. McLean writes in Dying Swans and Madmen: Ballet, the Body, and Narrative Cinema. [M]erely associating with the world of ballet can prove fatal. As for the protagonist of The Red Shoes, McLean notes, Vicky is doomed merely because she is a ballerina.

Black Swan grows the roots of this artistic annihilation theme even deeper. Near the beginning of the film, the prima ballerina whos being forced into an early retirement walks into traffic, a not-so-subtle message that without your art, there is nothing. Throughout the film, our main character is haunted by increasingly intense hallucinations involving her rival/understudy, a talented up-and-coming dancer who happens to bear a passing resemblance to her. This dual perceived competition, with another and within herself, leads her to seek a level of artistic perfection that ultimately can only end in self-destruction. Dance as self-absorption that bloats beyond the bounds of sense and reason.

Since a dancers body is at once brush, paint, canvas, and artist, self-involvement is practically a prerequisite. To be obsessed with dance is to be obsessed with yourself. While the prospect of artistic perfection is intoxicating, its pursuit can paradoxically spell loss of creative freedom. When dance is more than a hobby, the ecstatic freedom begins to be eaten up by the intense restriction of aesthetics: technique, musicality. Whats more, professional dances all-consuming nature demands physical, social, and psychological sacrifices. So is it the seeking of perfection, the self-absorption, or the dance itself that invokes madness?

Of course the mad artist trope isnt confined to dancers. Musicians, visual artists, writers, actors: no artist is safe from the titillating perceived connection between madness and creative genius. Think films like The Soloist, about a schizophrenic cello prodigy, Birdman, the tale of an aging actor on the precipice of insanity, and of course Wes Andersons new work The French Dispatch, which includes an abstract painter who loses his mind in pursuit of artistic perfection.

The idea of the mad artist is so compelling, psychologist Dr. Sybil Barten said at a symposium on the subject. Both madness and creativity are rooted in the unconscious.

Some scholars argue that creatives were historically seen as mad because regular people needed a way to explain their genius and their odd behavior. In the Victorian era, being mad simply meant deviating from the norm. Creativity requires risk-taking, spontaneity, non-conformance. These behaviors surely signified madness.

I have been lost in the throes of artistic creation as both a writer and a dancer; the former feels absorbing, while the latter is transformative, nearly spiritual. As a full-body endeavor, I cant help but feel dance is the most intensely overwhelming and consuming of all the arts. A 2005 study found that dancers reported much higher levels of absorption than other athletes. The researchers explained that absorption is correlated with spirituality and altered states of consciousness.

Of course, most of the time dancing is coded as a feminine pursuit, especially when it comes to cultural depictions of ballet and modern dance. That means hiding underneath the more obvious morals of these stories, I see the insidious reinforcement of our cultural belief that for women, to indulge in art is to forget their proper place in the world. To devote yourself to perfecting your artform is to reject your role as societys caregiver: a cardinal sin that cant be left unpunished.

As we learn from the original fairy tale of The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen, dance is also a power that can be used against you. The story is actually about a young girl whose shoes get cursed because of her vanity, and she is forced to dance for the rest of her life. When the girl should have been tending to her dying adoptive mother, she went out to a fancy ball instead, so she is doomed to eternal dance: Dance you shall, the man who curses her screams. Dance in your red shoes till you are pale and cold, till your skin shrivels up and you are a skeleton! Dance you shall, from door to door, and where proud and wicked children live you shall knock, so that they may hear you and fear you! Dance you shall, dance!This is dance as torture, brought on by the sin of selfishness.

In the horror film Suspiria, the dancer is not the victimshe is the one in control. Dance is a way to channel supernatural forces for malevolent purposesto torture or maim others. The story revolves around a mysterious modern dance company thats also secretly a coven.

In one of the most terrifying scenes in the 2018 remake of the 1977 film, we watch as the new company member dances her predecessor to deaths door without ever touching her. Their bodies are connected by the dance, so as one woman twirls and whips and contracts, in a different room, we see the other being flung around like a rag doll, her body grotesquely contorting, bones snapping, until she is left a simpering pile of sinew. The satanic series of movements has been employed to transfer the lifeforce of the older dancer into the new one. One persons ecstatic creative freedom is anothers pain and suffering. The separation of the two women reminds us that sometimes this harm is invisible to us.

But the power of dance can also be wielded for good. The bizarre, disturbing cult favorite Netflix show The OA, also uses a specific series of movements to channel supernatural forces. This time, the choreographys goal is the opposite of that in Suspiria: it seeks to reverse death. In this case, five movements done by five people in unison, repeatedly, can slowly return life to the recently departed. These movements can also open portals to other dimensions, revealing dance as more powerful than death, and capable of opening up infinite new worlds and possibilities. As a society that exalts words above all else, its easy to overlook the fact that movement can convey meaning far beyond the bounds of any vocabulary.

These scenes recall ancient rain dances, fertility dances; dance as prayer. An order of Sufi Muslims spin themselves into a frenzydervishes whirling until they lose all sense of their bodies in space and timeas a form of meditation, a search for the divine. Dance as a way to tap into a higher power.

Perhaps dance is a supernatural dabbling that shouldnt be taken lightly. Perhaps it is its own peculiar sort of madness. Or maybe its just brain chemistry. Dances transformative power might simply be the state of artistic flow, a state not everyone finds comfortable to inhabit. In a flow state, your brain dampens its executive function network and allows the default mode network to take over. (Brains of creative geniuses actually show increased activity in both networks simultaneously.) Letting your default mode network drive for a change can feel discombobulating at first. But thats precisely the point.

Writers rave about the creatively generative power of walking, about how the movement of the body jolts the brains machinations. Just imagine the rush, then, of the movement itself being both generator and outcome.

While writing, I still experience the flow state, but it is not nearly as immersive as my dancing flow. One difference is that the production and consumption of writing is separated by time, the creator separated from the consumer. Dancers encounter their audience live and in person, creating an unreplicatable kinetic electricity. You can practice all you want beforehand, but once the music starts, there are no more chances for editing.

Words are too literal, too specific. Dances meanings are mushy, subjective. Subjectivity can also be scary, disquieting even, but it can also be freeing. Movement succeeds where words fail.

Writing is creating something to send out into the world; dancing is creating yourself.

I struggled for a long time with how selfish dancing felt. You spend hours a day staring at your reflection in the mirror. I lost myself in dance. In wanting so badly to succeed, I prized perfection over my health: ignoring inflamed tendons, pounding laxatives, breaking bones, losing toenails. Now, freed from the pressures of professional success, dancing feels like freedom again. Therein lies the important distinction. To lose myself in pursuit of balletic perfection was indeed, for me, a self-destruction. A madness. Losing myself in the creative flow of dance is self-liberating.

For me, dance is meditation, escape, therapy. It requires nothing less than living exclusively in the moment. To dance is to be swallowed by the now, to live in the perpetual present. To dance is to lose yourself in a fugue outside of time, just beyond words, cushioned from concern.

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The Creation of Yourself: On the Flow and Fugue of Dance - Literary Hub

In a bid to make up for their cancelled Timeland festival in December, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have announced a one-off show for punters in Melbourne dubbed Return Of The Curse Of Timeland.

The outdoor gig will take place March 5 at Burnleys Reunion Park, with the band themselves set to perform a three-hour marathon set. Though its less than King Gizzard had planned to deliver at Timeland the band were booked in to play for six hours over four sets its twice as long as they typically play.

Joining the band are a trio of acts that due to appear at Timeland Stonefield, Ajak Kwai and Nice Biscuit as well as Babe Rainbow, Bones & Jones & Folk Bitch Trio and DJ Sophie McAlister.

Itll be King Gizzards only Australian show until at least November, with a sprawling run of tour dates in North and South America, Europe and the UK (including their appearance at this years Coachella) taking up the bulk of their 2022. Tickets for the show will go on sale at 10am tomorrow (February 18).

The show comes off the back of King Gizzards first remix album, Butterfly 3001, which was released independently last month. As its title implies, the new record is comprised of new takes on tracks from King Gizzards 18th album, Butterfly 3000, which they released last June.

In a three-star review of the original release, NMEs Becky Rogers said: It may be set apart from the rest of the Gizzverse repertoire, but Butterfly 3000 sounds familiar nonetheless.

Given that theyre self-confessed music-geeks, its no surprise that King Gizzard have considered every element right down to the mid-phrase time changes (Blue Morpho) and dub-trance experimentation (2.02 Killer Year).

But this formulaic approach lacks surprise once youre a few tracks in, youve heard it all. It might not be a total hot Gizz summer, but at least weve got a few extra bangers to bask in.

King Gizzard are due to release their 19th album, Made In Timeland, sometime in 2022. It was initially supposed to be given out for free at its namesake festival, though the cancellation led to those plans being scrapped.

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard will perform a three-hour marathon set in Melbourne next month - NME.com