30 days, 30 dances ...: 18. watch a Ted talk / RSA animate video

11.02.2011

18. watch a Ted talk / RSA animate video

I've been watching Ted talks since a couple of years now and they cover a range of interesting topics. But of late, I've been more fascinated with RSA animate videos. It's such a creative way of portraying rather humdrum lectures. This one's pretty funny and interesting at the same time:

And this one too. I just love that she took a rational dig at Rhonda Byrne's The Secret.

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What is 30 days, 30 dances?

30 days. 30 dances. Fairly straight forward right? Well, let me just state that I don't dance. Well, not unless you add some alcohol to my system. That story's for another day (besides you've probably heard it, it's not original, there's nothing exciting about it). My dances are different.

The idea spawned from Miranda July's rather intriguing, albeit brilliant, film, The Future. In the movie, Sophie, a dance instructor, panics about a routine, uninteresting future and promises to pursue her life-long dreams in the present. She chooses to do 30 new dances for each of the next 30 days and post the video on YouTube. She stumbles upon "dancer's block" on day 1. She encounters it for the next few days and eventually, she gives up. At some level, I really connected to Sophie's despair. Also, a dear friend convinced me to try it out.

So I set about creating a list. For me, 30 days 30 dances, signifies a mix of creating something new and a to-do list. I have a long list of interests I want to pursue but I never find the time (a lie) and energy (the truth) to finally accomplish something worthwhile - everything gets initiated, but nothing gets to the finish line. These hobbies include watching movies, music, photography, cooking, reading, writing, learning the guitar.

So every morning, I will pick a random dance and before the end of the day, I will have to finish the dance to the best of my ability. I don't want to set many rules. I also hope that I can allow destiny (big word, I know!) to participate a little in my life. For the most part, I let my moods govern my life. 30 days 30 dances will force me to do something I "don't feel like" doing at that moment of time. In some respect, get me out of my comfort zone a little, even if it's something as insignificant as having a sandwich for dinner.

Choosing to blog about it was an impulsive decision, and a scary thought because I feared it would die a slow death like my previous blog did. But I thought maybe this blog will police the program I have embarked upon. Even if nobody's reading this, maybe I will feel obligated to keep posting about my dances.

Will I do this again after 30 days? I hope I will grow to like it. Will I be successful? Time will tell, it always does ...