From Blog Director Jill Randall:
Four years ago, I launched the column "My Dance Week" on the blog. It became a very popular column for dancers of all ages; readers love gaining a window into dancers' lives and all that a week includes: dancing, training, teaching, family time, commuting, down time, lots of emails, and much more. Cleary, as a community, dancers are super busy, multi-tasking, and wearing many hats during any given day or week. Life is far from dull; the calendar is very full. Oftentimes, the schedule is too packed.
For 2018, we are trying some new angles with "My Dance Week." We are reflecting more, asking questions, and considering wellness.
We are lucky to have Bay Area dancer Valerie Gutwirth sharing with us this week. Valerie was the first dancer back in February 2014 to write out her week for the column. Check out her original post here.
Valerie Gutwirth is a performer, teaching artist, mother, and wife based in Oakland, California. She has an 85% position in Berkeley Unified School District, teaching dance at two K-5 schools (Thousand Oaks and John Muir). Valerie also teaches Yoga for Alignment at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley and performs with the group MoToR.
So, we asked Valerie to write about the basic details of the week, but to mainly focus on the questions – both macro and micro – about her work, her career, and her weekly schedule.
My Dance Week: January 4-11, 2018
By Valerie Gutwirth
My main questions these days are about recognizing stage and chapter change. These are midlife questions; they reverberate in my life as a teacher, a parent, an artist, and a performer. I have decided to let myself spend the month of January asking the questions without answering them; filling the space with wondering, seeing what (if anything) reverberates, lumping the quotidian with the global.
My main resolution going into 2018 was: “Take your time; show your work; model what you want to see.”
Thursday: big earthquake at 2AM!
HOW CAN I WORK TO BALANCE ON SHIFTING GROUND?
CAN I GROUND MY STUDENTS AND MYSELF, AND THEN HELP US GO DEEP?
7-8:30: Home yoga practice to prepare for teaching
9-10: Teaching Yoga for Alignment at Shawl-Anderson
11-12: Prep time at John Muir
12-3:30: Teaching at John Muir
3:30-5:30: Prep time at John Muir
6-bedtime: Family time
AM I CATCHING THE HORRIBLE COLD?
Friday: I caught the horrible cold, and it’s raining.
SHOULD I GO TO THE Y OR STAY HOME AND PRACTICE YOGA?
HOW TO CRAFT A MENU OF MOVES FOR THE MAIN TRANSITION SECTION OF THE 5TH GRADE PLAY?
HOW CAN I TREAT MYSELF IF I MAKE IT THROUGH THIS DAY?
5:30-6:45: Home yoga practice
7-8: Prep time at Thousand Oaks
8-10:30: Teaching at Thousand Oaks
11:30-12:30: Prep time at John Muir
12:45-3:30: Teaching at John Muir
4-bedtime: Home
HOW TO STRUCTURE THIS WEEKEND AROUND BEING SICK?
WHY KEEP DOING WHAT I’M DOING? WHY CHANGE? WHAT TO CHANGE TO? WHERE ARE MY STRENGTHS? CONNECTIONS? WHAT EXCITES ME?
Saturday: congratulating myself for taking medicine
HOW CAN THE FAMILY WORK TOGETHER TO HAVE A RESTORATIVE WEEKEND?
9-11:30: Breakfast with friends
11:30-12:30: Home chores
12:45: Tea with another friend
2-5: Seeing and Understanding Bodies seminar at The Yoga Room
5-6: Grocery shopping
6:30: Home to collapse! Everybody else is out . . . blessed solitude.
HOW TO USE INFO FROM TODAY’S SEMINAR TO THINK ABOUT NEXT WEEK’S YOGA FOR ALIGNMENT CLASS? (Note: I don’t teach information from the class, which is a graduate seminar. But I do find myself turning the ideas from seminar over in my own practice, and try to set a class sequence that references them.)
Sunday: feeling somewhat better, sleeping a lot
HOW WILL YESTERDAY’S SEMINAR SHOW UP IN DANCE CLASS THIS MORNING?
8:30-9:30: Home yoga practice
10-11:30: Randee Paufve’s class at Shawl-Anderson
12-1: Couples therapy
1:30-6 or so: Cooking for the week
5-bedtime: Family time, making a list for catching up on school prep work tomorrow
HOW TO HELP MY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR GET HERSELF LOTS OF OPTIONS FOR COLLEGE?
Monday: still viral, still sleeping
6:30-9: Prep work for John Muir and Thousand Oaks
9:30-11:30: Yoga class with Mary Lou Weprin at The Yoga Room
12-6:30: Prep work for John Muir and Thousand Oaks
6:30-bedtime: House chores, family time
CAN I FIND A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY TO SUPPORT ONE OF MY MORE CHALLENGING STUDENTS?
HOW WILL I STRUCTURE THE LINDY HOP VIDEOS AND CREATE SMOOTH, EFFECTIVE TRANSITIONS FOR MUIR 5TH GRADERS?
WHICH PERFORMANCE PIECE FOR WHICH SECOND GRADE CLASS? CAN I DESIGN A WAY TO TRY ALL THREE WITH EACH CLASS, OR SHOULD I JUST BE A DICTATOR? WHAT SIGNS WILL I LOOK FOR?
Tuesday: my hugest teaching day, still viral but better, and a good night’s sleep.
HOW CAN I TAKE MY TIME, SHOW MY WORK, AND MODEL WHAT I WANT TO SEE, TODAY?
WHERE ARE MY PLACES OF REST AND REFUELING?
6:30-7:30: Home yoga practice
7:45-9:15: Prep at John Muir
9:15-3:10: Teach at John Muir
4-5:30: Meeting of school district Equity Teacher Leaders
6-bedtime: Dinner, family time
CAN I FIND A POSITIVE, CONNECTED WAY TO CRITIQUE A PROBLEMATIC INITIATIVE AT WORK?
WHAT KINDS OF SUPPORT DOES MY SPOUSE NEED TO MEET HIS WORK CHALLENGES?
AM I LOSING MY VOICE?
Wednesday: lousy sleep night, lost my voice
WHY DID I NOT MAKE AN EMERGENCY SUB PLAN FOR THOUSAND OAKS?
HOW CAN I SAVE MY TEACHING DAY?
5:45-7: Work out at the Berkeley Y
7:15-8: Prep at Thousand Oaks
8-10:30: Teach at Thousand Oaks – SILENT TEACHER DAY!! Super fun, actually . . .
10:30-12: Errands
12-1:30: Prep at John Muir
1:30-2:15: Teach at John Muir
2:30: Home to meet the stove repair guy and write this!
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Related posts:
Artist Profile: Valerie Gutwirth
Dance Education Essentials: A book/journal by Valerie Gutwirth and Jill Randall
Blog Series: Becoming a Teaching Artist
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Life as a Modern Dancer 
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