My university education gave me a really strong technical and theoretical foundation in dance, but the one thing it lacked was an emphasis on just how hard it is to be a working dance artist in this day and age.  One of the things that helped me get to where I'm at has been advice from my peers, mentors, established dancers and other professionals in my field.

If you're an emerging professional dancer or a dance student on your way to graduation and want some really REALLY good info on the big bad world of working as a professional dancer, you should definitely sign up for the On The Move/Danse Transit 2008 conference.

This is a new hip-hop combo that I choreographed for my teen recreational classes.

I'm back in Vancouver after a wonderful four months spent living and dancing and making work in Washington DC. I've met many amazing and beautiful people while I've been here, and I'll be holding all of the memories really close to my heart while I'm home.

Boris is one of these people.  He is the mastermind behind Danceaday.com - a site where he makes, films and posts one dance per day, every day.  He invited me to share the process with him, and the day before I left DC we filmed three different dances, in three different locations.

As I was lying in bed last night I came up with an outline for a new work. This project has been at the back of my mind for months, years - but until now I have not had enough distance.  Have not felt strong enough to tackle it.

I want to make a piece that is mostly auto-biographical. It will be a duet between myself and a male dancer. The concept of the work will revolve around my dysfunctional relationship with my ex-husband.

This post is inspired by some questions I've been asked by students from Lakes District Secondary School, my alma mater in Burns Lake, BC, Canada.  

I've gotten some great questions from the dance students at LDSS, and I"m going to attempt to answer some of them to the best of my abilities.  If you'd like to read the questions, you can find most of them here (some of them I got via email).

Ok, here we go...

1. What inspires you to continue dancing?

I am inspired first and foremost by my love of dancing...because to me, I don't feel complete unless I am moving and creating.  Loving what I do is essential to my happiness and well-being, and to put it very simply - I cannot imagine not dancing.  

Of course I always try to be brief but sometimes I ramble - you'll find the rest of the answers after the jump - please click below!