i'm changing my name to...

Joanna and the Agitators. Whoa.

Just had about a million mini panic attacks after writing that down and seeing it in black and white.

It feels freaky and scary to let go of TinHOUSE and to take hold of a name like Joanna and the Agitators.

But

(OMG, another panic attack just infiltrated my entire being…am doing my deep breathing and finding my feet underneath me)

it also feels exactly right.

Beautiful and technically amazing dancing just doesn’t cut it for me.

I wish it did because there are so many of you out there who are soooooo good at it, it makes my mouth water.

I have watched you my entire life in awe and wonderment.

But I am never going to be that sort of dancer.

I mess up the counts. I forget the choreography. I am terrible at following directions. I don’t do my pliés.

Instead I start thinking about how to get a truckload of dirt onto the stage without anybody noticing.

Sheesh.

This is what I am interested in:

Spending as much time outside of the dance studio as I spend inside to know what is happening in the world and to understand how that knowledge engages with the body. Sweet Agitation: A term Glen used on our hike the other day to describe the notion of stirring things up gently, without a lot of fanfare, to create a tiny rupture in how we perceive the world around us. Making dances and facilitating dance experiences that upend the status quo. And with that,

I am now Joanna and the Agitators: Sweetly agitating; persistently upending.

(panic attacks are still present but slowly abating).

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful spring day and are experiencing some sweet agitation yourself.

Warmly,

Joanna of Joanna and the Agitators