Can you get softer?

Softer still?

We danced The Sky Inside last week, not knowing anything as we spiraled slow. “What a relief,” Nancy said, “not to know.”

After the dancing we talked about form, not form; emptiness, not emptiness; time and the absence of time.

Jenn said that throughout our morning of dancing, she whispered to herself, again and again: “Can you get softer? Softer still?”

~

I was back at the prison for the first time since the performance.

One of the guys said that his favorite part of the day was the big messy dance party we had, after the show. That he was astonished, then delighted, that those who had come in from the outside to watch the dance, so easily came forward to now dance with them.

The mix of people dancing, from the outside and the inside. That is what caught his breath.

Another man, whose been inside for over 30 years, said that the performance on January 10th was the best day he’s ever had in prison.

Another said, “Dance is inherently cosmic.”

Someone else said: “I AM The Sky Inside, and I always will be.”

Still another: “Having people from the outside come in that day to watch us dance, connected us to the world outside — a world that is free — so on that day, January 10th, we were too.”

~

My housemate, Teagan.

Meeting them and having them move into this house that Glen, friends and family built — has been one of the best thing that has happened to me since Glen died.

There are new channels now, different pathways of understanding because of sharing this home with Teagan. Partly because of the generational difference between us, 20 years, but mostly because of who they are, which is wonderful.

There’s this concept they told me about, Relationship Anarchy, that I’m fascinated by.

Maybe you’ve heard of it, but I hadn’t, until Teagan told me about it one night over dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, and glasses of orange wine (also orange wine! I didn’t know about this until Teagan brought a bottle home one night).

And of course Heated Rivalry, which I haven’t been into, even though I know almost the entire world is. Last night we sat together and watched episode 5, because Teagan loved episode 5 (you have to watch all the other episodes leading up to episode 5 because OH MY GOD).

I made out loud sounds without knowing I was making out loud sounds because of how jaw-dropping, how fabulous, episode 5 is (I hope I haven’t ruined it, if you haven’t seen it yet, by setting the expectations for episode 5 high, so let me lower the burn for you: “Meh, it was okay”).

Right now, both of us are exploring the parts of ourselves that are lustful, and it has been so fun to swap stories about our sexy experiences.

I wrote what I wrote to you last week, and Teagan wrote what she wrote this week. I love what she wrote, so I’m sharing it here.

~

The next time we dance The Sky Inside is on Friday, March 6th and/or Saturday, March 7th.

You can choose to come to one or both dance sessions, 10am-1pm, in person or on Zoom.

Early Bird Investment ends on February 13th, at 5pm.

Email me if you’re interested.

artwork by Gabrielle Edison, after our Sky Inside Workshop last week.

xo,

Jo