Serenity
Don’t assume things can be swiftly changed just because it seems obvious that they ought to be. But also don’t assume that things can’t be changed, just because the prospect feels overwhelming.
Empathy
“Empathy” is a word that has lately been receiving rather casual treatment, like we’re all in agreement about what it means… but perhaps we aren’t.
AGMA and the Metropolitan Opera
Bondage
Artists are, by and large, progressives. We believe in equal rights for women, civil rights for LGBTQ individuals, and fair representation on our stages. Saudi Arabia’s rulers do not, and Metropolitan Opera artists should not be compelled to perform for them.
music and social movements
Resistance, Part 3: Change
My generation bore witness to extraordinary social progress. It is traumatizing to now see those with status, power, and money leveraging their resources to vigorously and viciously reverse that extraordinary social progress.
Resistance, Part 2: Flow
Free, expressive singing requires both skill and focused, uncomplicated conviction. I would argue that the conviction part is more significant than than the skill part.
Resistance, Part 1: Gravity
Resistance training is a dance with gravity. Practiced mindfully, it can enhance the quality, power, range, and expressive potential of all our movements.
Complicity
If you are unaware that something horrific is being done to you, you cannot defend yourself. You cannot advocate for yourself, or advocate for change. Your only option is to numb yourself against the misery while weaving stories about how everything happens for a reason.
trauma-informed fitness
Fitness
It’s one thing to know about anatomy in the abstract, but quite another to apply that knowledge to the training of someone else’s anatomy, given that each of our bodies is unique.
Capacity
Imposing learning on students does not lead to strong retention and integration of whatever it is you want them to know or get good at. It also does not foster a love of learning—quite the contrary.
Value
Grades reduce learning to a common denominator and rank students against one another, creating a situation where external validation by a teacher and comparative success over their peers become more important than actual learning.
Talent
When someone seems to have a naturally beautiful voice, all that means is that they intuited how to move their articulators in a way that provides for more expansive, consistent resonance. It absolutely does not mean that what they intuited cannot be developed—it can.
Dexterity
When you want to improve a particular type of coordination, remember that you’re not bringing a blank slate to the process. At least some of the coordination you have already habituated is likely to be at cross purposes with the new coordination you wish to develop.