I recently read this article, discussing the idea of borrowing from other countries. By borrowing for other cultures, the article discusses getting foreign languages tattooed onto you (like a Chinese or Japanese character tattoo) and fusion bellydance. While, the article discusses specifically gothic tribal bellydance (sometimes called Raqs Gothique), the same issues arise with every [...]

My research project is still in the works. I have to admit, it’s a bit disappointing, because I hoped to get to the image processing stuff by now. During the school year, I will have two classes per quarter (the Midwest seems to favor the quarter system, which means I take 6 classes per academic [...]

Lately, on a lot of boards I read, there have been discussions on dance education. Here are some things I’ve learned since beginning my dance education. 1. Study from a good live teacher. I know there are dance DVDs, which can be great supplements I’ve heard from friends (I personally do not use DVDs in [...]

Watching one of my acquaintances successfully defend his thesis was a great experience. The physics department is small, but the best part of it is a sense of community. We all genuinely were excited for this guy and went to the defense, despite some of us having to drive in relatively far or possibly cutting [...]

Sometimes, all three harmoniously exist. Other times, they clash. I have to miss Danielle’s Fusion Floorwork workshop this Sunday. One of the grad students found out about a sneak preview of the new Batman movie a few months ago. It’s IMax and allegedly was filmed so that it’ll look its optimal best. Having paid for [...]

Part of being a dancer is finding music. I use Emusic to get my music; the quality is quite good for mp3, and it’s cheap (if you haven’t taken up Emusic on the 50 free mp3s yet, comment with your email address; if I invite you to Emusic and you accept, we both get 50 [...]

One of the best things about living in Chicago is there is a plethora of dance events. One of the worst things about being a grad student is there isn’t enough time or money for it all. I’m not 100% busy or completely broke, but neither item flows as freely as I’d sometimes like. For [...]

The school year (September through mid-June) was such a rush of academic stuff (adjusting to my move, classes, picking a research advisor, TAing, misc. personal things, etc.) that summer has been a nice welcome. I do take classes and try to practice once a day during the school year, but my first priority is school [...]

A few days ago, to stave of the summer boredom, I decided to start a blog regarding my life as a dance student and a grad student. For dance purposes, I go by Aleksie, hence my blog name. I currently am in Chicago, but I’m a bit of a nomad. I went to Smith College [...]