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Author Archives: Ruby

About Ruby

Born in the mountains of Idaho, I spent the early years of my life learning how to figure skate, ski and traverse the country by air, van and foot. At age 10, I was re-located to San Francisco by way of family drama and I lived there for 19 years, with the exception of four years at Boarding School. When I returned to the West Coast for college, I began to examine my interests in audio engineering, writing, dance, music and performance art. In 2001, I took up social dance, and by 2003, I was traveling to other cities for Swing and Blues Exchanges. In 2005, I packed up my San Francisco life, stuck it in a storage unit, and struck out across the United States in my very first car, an '88 Ford Camper Van. After three and a half months of travel, dance, adventure and introspection, I settled in a Chicago suburb, with the help of a few local Lindy-Hoppers. Today, I live in Chicago and travel regularly from my home-base to teach dance. In between, I practice bodywork and am honing my web and graphic design skills. For fun, I concoct fancy cocktails, play drums and guitar, ride my bicycle whenever possible and engage in culinary experiments, which I foist on any willing participant.

Telling Stories with Dance

Last night I met with a fellow instructor/choreographer and we spent some time bouncing around ideas for a dance performance piece. In truth, I have about six pieces in the nascent stages of production, but the hardest part of the job for me is… finishing the job. It’s the filling in of the details, getting … Continue reading »

Categories: Choreography, Dance | Leave a comment

Embarking

Today, I confirmed that I have a subletter for my apartment. I’ve already packed my suitcase (which probably needs to be partially unpacked and lightened). Tomorrow I begin to put personal things in boxes to be stored away. A new person will fill my current space and be my place-holder, paying the bills so that … Continue reading »

Categories: Dance, Travel | Leave a comment

Why You Need a Partner for Your Art

I’ve been doing partner dance for well over 10 years now, but before I got into formal partner dance I was always seeking partnership in my art. As a college student, studying modern dance, I never had more fun or felt more inspired than when my friend Leah and I would go to the dance … Continue reading »

Categories: Change, Dance | 1 Comment

I Can’t Dance

I have a new rule that I have to dance every day. It’s based on my Law of Minimums. But some days I just don’t have it in me. If I’m mired in soul-crushing despair, or buried in a design project, it’s hard to change up my inertia to jump and bounce and flow in … Continue reading »

Categories: Dance | 1 Comment

What I Love About Social Dance

I went out to a local bar with a friend of mine that I know from the Swing Scene here in Chicago. As we stood to the side of the room, watching the band, waiting for a song that we wanted to dance to, I marveled over how isolated we were in this room full … Continue reading »

Categories: Dance | Tags: | Leave a comment

If Dancers Were Drummers

If I were a music teacher, I’d probably compare teaching Dance to teaching percussion… mainly due to one observation. A natural percussionist, can play soft or hard, slow or fast, but the way that they attack the drums is with a level of relaxation and precision that the unnatural percussionist probably can’t achieve. I don’t … Continue reading »

Categories: Dance | Tags: , , | Leave a comment