me kissing you: me kissing Corian and Alex

Saturday, June 9, 2012

me kissing Corian and Alex

I've seldom posted two pictures in one blog post, and I hesitate to do it now, but somehow, after what I saw last night, this seemed appropriate.

Let's back up a second. Corian Ellisor and Alex Albarca are native Houstonians (well, Corian is from Humble, but that's sort of way north Houston), graduates of the University of Houston, and I'd seen them dance before they both moved to Atlanta. And, as they showed last night, they are best friends.

I heard them interviewed for their Big Range appearance on The Front Row and it was clear that they thoroughly enjoy each other. The interview was so much fun that I would have come to Program B of The Big Range even if I didn't already know several of my favorite dancers were appearing. The banter between them comes so naturally, so quick . . . well, as they say in the description of the dance, "Be(a)stie is what happens when two people share a brain and decide to make a dance."

Be(a)stie is such a good title for a piece about best friends, the "sharing the brain" and also the strains of that relationship. Make no mistake, this is a very funny piece. I've seldom laughed so much during a dance show. At the same time, they don't pull back from some tender things. I'm going to be talking about this for a while.

And you know what? If you're a presenter, you need to think about bringing this show to your venue. It's about an hour long, so it could stand alone, has some media needs (a hysterical video projection at the end), and no regrets for having them in your space. Go listen to the interview linked above and multiply that fun by at least 3. Thank me later.

This show needs to go on the road.

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about this blog . . .

So 2011 saw me dealing with a bad 2010 by posting a picture of myself, taken first thing every morning, as some kind of conceptual art project. You can see all 365 blurry, bleary photos here.

As it was, at it's core, a response to loneliness, I knew it was not something I could or should sustain beyond the one year boundary I initially set for it. But I sort of liked this photo blogging thing . . .

So I decided the next logical step was to reach out to other people. Not just reach out, but cross some of my own comfort zones and kiss them. Not on the mouth, not in a romantic or sexual way, just a kiss on the cheek.

So, this year, I plan on kissing as many people as I can. I won't even try to kiss someone everyday, but in various situations, I may just ask someone, "hey, can I kiss you and photographically document the event?" If they say no, no worries, I'll move on. If they say yes, I'll say, "I have this tiny release form granting me permission." (It is a tiny release form, postcard size.)

It's a small way to get me out of a rut I'm in and also to spread a little love. In the ancient Christian church, there was the custom of the "kiss of peace" (which survives in liturgical churches today as "passing the peace," usually signified by a handshake). I think of this exercise as something of passing the peace, too, of offering a kiss of peace to whoever will let me do it. And document it.

Wait---there's more! You can be kissed, too! If you're in the Houston area and would like to be kissed by me, let me know. Or if you're coming to Houston. Or even if you're not in Houston or coming to Houston, but want to be on a list of potential kissees, in the event that I might be traveling to where you are (I get up Austin a few times a year, I hope to get to Chicago this year, etc.), let me know that, too. you never know where I might pop up. Email me at neilellisorts (at) yahoo dot com.