"Tinsel Time," co-choreographed by Sarah Lass and Krissy Harris. Photo by Scott Shaw.

Sarah Lass, originally from Denver, Colorado, graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Kenyon College in 2013 before relocating to New York where she now enjoys dancing and gallivanting about Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. Sarah has performed at WAXWorks, Open Performance, Dumbo Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Roulette, Cleveland Public Theater, Dance New Amsterdam, and through a number of summer festivals including the Tisch Summer Dance Festival and Bates Dance Festival. She currently dances with Dante Brown/Warehouse Dance, Double-Edge Dance, Kayt MacMaster, and in her own work. Sarah’s original choreography has appeared in music videos, most recently with Michelle Birsky and the band Birch and under the direction of Rie Rasmussen, and she has presented work at Movement Research’s Open Performance and DanceTheRoof. As an arts administrator she currently works as the Studies Project Coordinator at Movement Research, Company Administrator with Tiffany Mills Company, and as a part of the front of house staff at New York Live Arts. She teaches intermittently, with experience working in academic, dance, and fitness settings, instructing toddlers and children as well as college students and adults. Sarah is interested in the intersection of anatomy, somatic practices, philosophy, physiology, art, and wellness. These investigations, in combination with her study and performance of improvisation and dance, aim at developing a sustainable, compassionate, and rigorous movement philosophy and practice.

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September 1-8, 2015

A few weeks ago I was at Earthdance in Massachusetts, taking Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser’s Dance Improvisation and Performance Intensive. In the midst of one activity, Angie reminded us that the we were not just constructing gestures, we were surviving the problem at hand.

I cannot think of a more accurate metaphor for my life right now than this. While I certainly have goals and ambitions, I cannot construct a pathway to them. These goals inform my score, if you will, and within this score I improvise, relying on whatever resources I have around me to make it through and to learn something in the process. In order to “survive” I’ve needed to find ways of engaging and re-engaging myself in my own artistic and personal research. Some things I’ve found to help with this survival are:

– Class: Finding something that can act as my rock, my foundation. For me, it is Klein. Finding teachers with whom I connect and sticking with them.

– Other interests: Though right now I’m focused on graduate school applications, I would normally spend that time reading and writing. I have an ever-growing list of books and articles to read, and I try to write every morning. I usually have at least one creative writing project going at a time. Everything I read and write informs dance, but it is a refreshingly different creative practice.

– Leisure time: I love the morning. For me, there are few things more relaxing and grounding than a gentle, leisurely morning. It’s (usually) a time of peaceful quiet and welcome solitude. Another fresh beginning. Unless I have rehearsal at 8 or work at 9, I wake up around 7:30 every morning. This gives me time to shower, get ready for the day, make breakfast, have some (or a lot of) coffee, maybe answer any pressing emails, and read The New York Times. And I can do all of this unhurriedly, which in NYC, is a rarity and most cherished opportunity.

– Friends: Everybody runs around the city with their own absurd schedules, so finding time to spend together must be done creatively. Whether it’s stretching after class together, or dropping into each others rehearsals, or grabbing food, making the people in my life a priority has made an often challenging and lonesome life and schedule here so much more joyful and ultimately meaningful.

Before diving into the week, I feel I must make a brief addendum: in some ways the following schedule is indicative of my day-to-day life, but the end of summer/beginning of fall has been a strange time, so in many ways it is not. For one, many of my normal classes were on summer break and for another, many of the projects in which I am currently involved were not rehearsing. Movement Research and Tiffany Mills Company, two of the organizations where I work in an administrative capacity were on a brief summer break. Finally, I am in the beginning stages of applying to MFA programs, so much of my current schedule is shaped around this new priority.

All of that said, every week is so different here (no matter what the season), that perhaps this is a good example of a typical week — sometimes I have more time for class, sometimes I’m rehearsing more, and sometimes I’m working more. I suppose one of the most valuable things I’ve learned since graduating and moving here is how to keep myself calm and focused amidst the relative chaos of an ever-changing schedule and constantly shifting obligations. The ability to shift gears quickly and a willingness to change plans when confronted with the unexpected has been key — it really is just a never-ending improvisation. Everybody finds their own way through it.

Tuesday

7:30am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Send in an application for a performance opportunity this fall (I’m developing a collaborative improvisational performance project with my incredibly talented friend and musician, Michelle Birsky). Pack my bag for the day.

8:30-9:15am: Head out into the world. Read on the subway.

9:15-10:00am: Klein.

10:00-11:40am: Christina Robson’s contemporary class. Leave early to get to Janet Panetta’s class.

11:40am-12:00pm: Speedy subway ride to Union Square.

12:00-2:00pm: Janet Panetta’s ballet class.

2:00-2:30pm: Stretch and cool down.

2:30-5:00pm: Various errands around Union Square and the East Village.

5:00-6:00pm: Subway back to Brooklyn. Reading time on the train.

6:00-7:00pm: Feast. Ravenous from the day. Hang with the roommates.

7:00-9:00pm: Work on an administrative project for Tiffany Mills.

9:00-11:00pm: Phone call with one of my brothers. FaceTime with my best friend in California.

11:00pm-12:00am: Netflix and bed!

Wednesday

7:30am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Research the MFA programs in which I’m interested. Start writing down a few notes for a personal statement and collect some books and articles for a potential writing sample.

10:30-11:15am: Subway to Gibney Dance. Reading time.

11:15am-12:00pm: Klein.

12:00-2:00pm: Donnell Oakley’s contemporary class.

2:00-3:00pm: Stretch. Hang with friends. Shower and get ready for work.

3:00-3:30pm: Subway to Union Square. Reading time.

3:30-4:30pm: Relax in the park. Eat something. More reading.

4:30-5:00pm: Walk to the west side for work at the NYLA box office.

5:00-10:30pm: Work at NYLA. Pretty slow since the season hasn’t started. Do some more work for Tiffany and then read.

10:30-11:15pm: Subway home. Call the parents on the walk back.

11:15pm-12:00am: Putz around on Facebook. Wind down. Sleep.

Thursday

7:15am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Send out some emails about graduate programs and contact my professor about my trip to Ohio next week to rehearse with her. A couple scheduling phone calls and then preparation for an interview I have this afternoon.

10:30-11:15am: Subway to Gibney Dance.

11:15am-12:00pm: Klein.

12:00-2:00pm: Janet Panetta’s ballet class.

 2:00-2:30pm: Stretch. Cool down. Make myself look better.

2:30-3:30pm: Subway to midtown west. Prep for interview on the ride. More prep time in a coffee shop.

 3:30-4:30pm: Interview for a part-time job at an arts management consulting company.

 4:30-5:30pm: Subway home. Reading time.

 5:30-6:30pm: Feast. Send out thank you emails.

 6:30-11:00pm: Graduate school applications. Call my parents.

 11:00pm-12:00am: Netflix. Bed.

 Friday

8:00am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Finish an article I started last night. Open online accounts for all the graduate programs to which I’m applying. Send out a few emails with questions about the programs and potential visit dates.

10:30-11:15am: Subway to Gibney Dance. Reading time.

11:15am-12:00pm: Klein.

12:00-2:00pm: Donnell’s contemporary class.

2:00-4:00pm: Rehearsal for the collaborative project with Michelle. My friend Krissy stops by to hang out and prepare for her collective’s rehearsal tomorrow.

4:00-4:30pm: Get ready for work.

4:30-5:00pm: Subway to Chelsea.

5:00-10:30pm: Work at NYLA.

10:30-11:15pm: Subway home. Reading time.

11:30pm: Bed.

Saturday

8:00am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Graduate school application work. Clean the apartment. Laundry.

2:00-5:00pm: Finish up an administrative project for Tiffany.

5:00-6:00pm. Klein in my apartment.

6:00-10:00pm: Plans for a friend’s birthday falls through, so I spend the night reading and relaxing. Bed early.

Sunday

8:00am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times.

11:00-11:45am: Subway to Gibney Dance. Reading time.

12:00-2:00pm: Christina’s contemporary class.

2:00-4:00pm: Hang with friends at Gibney.

4:00-5:00pm: Audition for Abraham.in.Motion, Kate Weare, and Brian Brooks Moving Company. Everyone is here!

5:00-5:45pm: Subway home. Reading time.

6:00-9:00pm: Take a walk and then go to dinner with my friend Amalia.

9:00-10:00pm: Read. Chat with my mom. Bed.

Monday

8:00am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Graduate school applications.

1:30-2:30pm: Subway to a coffee shop in Chelsea.

2:30-4:00pm: Meeting with another dancer/teacher to discuss her experience at graduate school.

4:00-5:00pm: Dinner and reading. Walk over to NYLA.

5:00-10:30pm: Work at NYLA.

10:30-11:30pm: Drinks with a friend in Chelsea.

11:30pm-12:30am: Subway home. Bed.

Tuesday

8:00am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. NY Times. Graduate school application work.

9:30-10:30am: Klein in my apartment.

10:30-11:30am: Subway to East Village. Reading time.

11:30am-12:00pm: Warm up and review rehearsal videos.

12:00pm-3:00pm: Rehearsal with Dante Brown.

3:00-4:30pm: Subway back to Brooklyn. Encounter a massive delay.

4:30-6:00pm: Post office and groceries. Drop things off at the apartment.

6:00-7:00pm: Subway back into Manhattan.

7:00-9:15pm: Tiffany Mills Company Board Meeting. One of the board members brought cupcakes!

9:30-10:30pm: Subway home.

10:30-11:30pm: Hang with the roommates. Bed.

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