creating through transitions

I’ve been re-reading parts of Agnes DeMille’s memoir Dance To The Piper (which I highly recommend if you want to get an inside peek at historical moments in dance history, plus feel inspired by one choreographer’s persistence, passion, and dedication to dance with a sense of humor and humility.)

There’s a scene where Agnes goes to visit Martha Graham, along with Martha’s friend, mentor, composer, and fellow choreographer Louis Horst.

Martha is in a huff because she feels her latest work is not good enough. After she rehearsed her dancers for hours upon hours, changing and re-creating entire scenes right up until showtime, she is having a breakdown. (Apparently this happened with every show she did.)

“The winter is lost. The whole winter’s work is lost. I’ve destroyed my year. This work is no good,” Martha says.

After some back and forth, Louis says to her:

“One cannot always create on the same level. The Sixth Symphony followed the Fifth, but without the Sixth we could not have had the Seventh.... One cannot know what one is leading into. Transitions are as important as achievements.”

Ah, the transitions.

Can we remember that life really is a series of transitions strung together by occasional pinnacle moments?

Can we remember that not everything we create will be a masterpiece, but that we need to keep creating anyway?

Can we remember that through the challenges, the stretching, the painfully long, the piercingly tough transitions, we are not alone?

If we can remember, we can find peace.

We can connect and collaborate with our fellow artists and humans, to create more presence and love in this world.

We can muster up the courage to keep creating and expressing what’s inside, in the face of whatever we are transitioning from, through, or into. For what else are we supposed to do in this life?

Don’t let the critical voices in your head shut down your creative flow. And if those voices do show up, keep going anyway. Just like Martha did.

In the crazy state that our world is in, we need creativity, self-expression, and healing more than ever.

Do your thing. Make your stuff. Dance your dance. And share it.

I’d love to hear from you on this -

• What kind of transitions are you in or creating right now?

• When in life did you think something you created wasn’t good enough, and what happened after?

Please share in the comments below and help us all feel less alone.

to creating through transitions,

Jess

how to know if you suck at art or not

Let’s be real for a moment -

Most of us don’t just want to make art, we want to make good art. The kind of art that sells out tickets and blows up the internet.

But how do we get to the good stuff?

I’m pretty sure it’s by be willing to suck, along with practicing, training, practicing, learning, practicing, having mentors, practicing, and more practicing.

You have to start somewhere and do the thing if you ever want to get to the “good” status.

But even with raving fans and critical acclaim, you might still think you suck.

“No artist is pleased.” (- Martha Graham)

Take Bruce Springsteen, for example. He called his Born To Run album “the worst piece of garbage I’d ever heard,” and it went on to launch him into stardom. (source)

He thought it sucked, but he put it out there anyway, and look what happened as a result.

So how do you really know if you suck at art or not?

You don’t know. But keep making it anyway.

If it’s coming from an authentic place within you, if you enjoy the process, if you feel incomplete when you’re not doing it, then please keep going.

You might suck at it, you might think you suck at it, other people might think you suck at it, but what matters is that you do it anyway.

So...

If you stop yourself out of fear of sucking - or fear of succeeding - here are a few things that might help you out of that rut:

1. Get clear on your big why. What’s the motivation behind your art? What higher purpose is it bringing you towards? WHY do you need to do it? Do some free writing on these questions or check in with your heart until you know the answer. When you have a greater purpose in mind, it’s a lot easier to get out of your own self-criticising ego and be willing to put yourself out there.

2. Fall in love with the process. Stop thinking about the final product, and instead get really present to each step of the way. Arrange your working environment to be one you love. Find the collaborators who light you up and work with them. Have a blast in the process, find your flow, and it won’t matter so much what happens in the end.

3. Anchor yourself in a creative practice that no one can take away from you. While some art compels you to move towards reaching a bigger audience or to fit into an industry standard, there’s other art that can be just for you. This is your private journaling or painting practice, your at-home karaoke sessions, or your dance breaks in the kitchen. Keep up with these practices no matter what, and you’ll stay connected to your creative source throughout any of the ups and downs of art making.

People will always have opinions and judgments and they are none of your business, unless you make it so or use the criticism constructively for your process.

Now go do your thing.

good or not, here we go,

Jess

p.s. I subjected myself to criticism and performing something that I thought sucked this week, when I was invited back to New York’s Got Talent for Season 3. Despite feeling like it sucked, the audience voted me through to the final round where I’ll be competing for a chance to win a 6-week run of my own show Off-Broadway. Getting closer to that reality really kicks the “fear of sucking” into high gear, but I’m taking my own advice and staying connected to my big why and the process. If you’d like to come out and see the show on August 23rd, I would love to see you then! (Even though I’m terrified and don’t yet know what I’ll be performing!) Tickets are here.

p.p.s. There are 2 spots open for the Creative D’Answers 2-day retreat in NYC. This is a unique opportunity to spend time with me in an intimate setting, both in the studio and on fantastic adventures around the city, all designed to connect to you to your creative power and confidence. Join us here!

enough of the mopey energy. we need your creative power.

You can wait for the stars to alignYou can wait for the right kind of sign You can hope and pray for an answer You can tiptoe around like a dancer

But no matter the season or time No matter if you don’t have a dime If there’s something you want to do The power of creation is in YOU.

Because the stars reflect your light The signs show up with your might The answer was in you all along The dancer can choose her song.

- Jess Grippo

.....................

Enough is enough, *|FNAME|*.

It's time to take your power back.

We can't sit around and wait for the answers to appear, for some made-up hero to save us, or for justice to happen by chance.

We need to live by our values.

We need to dance powerfully into our answers.

We need to be clear on who we are and what we desire so that we can start magnetizing dream opportunities, instead of being a victim to things not working out.

Mopey energy attracts mopey things.

You are not the 8th dwarf named Mopey. There are only 7, and they can play happily or grumpily or dope-ily with Snow White in their own fairy tale.

This is your world.

You write the script.

You are a powerful, creative force and we need you to step up your game do what you came here to do.

Create. Dance. Share your gifts. Connect with humanity. Be the change you wish to see in the world. (to quote Ghandi)

If life throws you a crappy situation, or if someone or something doesn't quite work out the way you expected, be angry or upset or whatever you need to be, and then follow it up with gratitude for that lesson. It's there to help you let go of what's not working so that you can hone in on what will work better than you could have ever imagined.

What do you want right now? What do you wish was happening in your life? What's the dream that seems out in the distance?

And the most important question - Who would you need to BE in order to receive all of that?

Be that person now.

..........

If you're ready to reclaim your creative power more fully than ever before and let go of what's been holding you back from your greatness, join me in NYC on July 29th and 30th.

I've created a 2-day experience designed to:

• strengthen your confidence & self-expression
• discover the truth & creative solutions inside of you
• create spontaneous art in community
• be stretched, challenged, & supported as you move physically, emotionally, & spiritually into higher vibrations and power

Get the details and register here.

with a fire in my belly and a torch in my hand, Jess

p.s. Ever get stuck in wishy-washy energy?  Here's a 2-word mantra to help you get your creative power back:

(I'll be doing more videos like these on Periscope, so be sure to follow me there and on YouTube to catch the recordings.)

you will cry. it’s part of the creative process.

I hung up the phone with my writing coach and belly-flopped onto my bed in a fit of crying. Ugly crying. The kind of crying that feels like a monster has been hiding out in your belly for years.

“Shit. I’m really doing this. I’m really going to publish a book. I’m really going to share a message I believe in and risk being ridiculed, criticized, who-does-she-think-she-izzed.”

I realized that the excuses I had - “I’m not big enough. I’m not ready enough. My business isn’t stable enough...” - no longer held enough weight to hold me back from taking action.

It felt terrifying and vulnerable. Hence, the tears.

The next day, I was the one in the coach’s shoes with a private coaching client of my own. It felt like I was listening to myself from a day prior -

This client has evolved so much over the last few years - from not dancing at all, to bringing it into her life in a consistent way and sharing it. Lately she’s been making YouTube dance tutorials and has been feeling stuck on the messaging behind them - Why should others watch and dance along? What makes them different? How does she keep sharing and growing her work?

Through the questions I asked and holding a safe space for her to speak her truth, she shared parts of her story and the WHY behind this project - things she’s never said aloud before.

It was powerful.

Towards the end of the session I asked her how she was feeling and she said, “Like I want to cry. Now that I’m clear on this and I’m believing less and less in the negative voices in my head, I actually have to get out there and do it. I have to live fully. There’s no more hiding.”

[cue the tears.]

Oh shit. That.

When the excuses aren’t real anymore. When it’s just you and your art, your work, your calling.

There will be a time when you just have to do it. Your busy schedule, your lack of money, the small size of your mailing list, your skin breaking out way more than usual and fearing how it will look on camera… all those excuses will stop mattering as much when you really connect to your WHY.

And then you will cry.

Just like I did. Just like my client did.

You will cry it out so hard and then you’ll wipe away the snot and tears and feel a power surging from deep in your belly, up through your heart, radiating out of your throat and head, and then you will do it. Ready or not.

The tears just make space for the courage you didn’t know you have.

(click to tweet that.)

Let it flow and welcome to the club.

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Do you have a project or a message you’ve been wanting to get out there?

Are your fears & excuses getting in the way of you creating what you truly want to?

You don’t have to go at it alone. Stewing in your own head is only making the situation worse. (Really. Stop stewing in it.)

I’m here to help. There are a handful of spots open to talk to me 1-1 and explore -through my unique style of guidance - how I could support you in breaking through the fear and stuckness to move into your vision in a confident, free, and fun way.

Click here to read more and book your spot.

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to the tears that set you free,

Jess

don't read this. go dance it out.

On the small chance that you didn't take my advice and you actually did open this blog post, Hello.

I'll keep it brief because the main message today is to really get in your body and move - not just talk about it.

A slight epiphany occurred yesterday when I realized I had fallen into the mode of talking about dance a lot and facilitating a lot of dance for others, but it had been a loooooong time since I just simply danced it out for myself.

The art of “dancing it out” is a practice, just like meditating or writing morning pages. You need to experience it on the regular to get the most benefit from it.

I went live on Facebook with an impromptu dance break, and I welcome you to join and watch here if you need some motivation to get moving.

(I anticipate more of those coming soon, so friend me on Facebook if we’re not already friendly there!)

Go dance and I’ll see you next week!

to your movement,

Jess

to those who just wanted to dance

It's been hard to find words in follow up to the tragedy that happened in Orlando earlier this week. I wish I had something profound to say, but I'm realizing that often it's more about the action you take than the words you speak.

So instead of trying to make something up to write to you that doesn't feel totally authentic, I'm going to share the words from others that touched me, along with the actions I took. Hoping they bring you solace or comfort if you're needing it.

Here goes:

Crying. Feeling emotions and letting them flow through. Resisting the temptation to fill up my time with anything that would take me away from the depth and the expression of feeling. This video by Kyle Cease was a great reminder that feeling your feelings is actually a way to contribute to the healing of the world.

Donating. Sending a bit of funds towards this campaign to raise money for the Orlando victims. If you can't donate money, donate time in sharing or prayer.

Remembering. Remembering that love is more abundant than hate. Of all the articles and Facebook posts I read, this blog post by Margaret Nichols hit home the most - reminding us, via a story that reminded me of the movie Happy Feet, to remember who we are and how it can heal.

Creating. Keeping the creative flow alive. Dancing. Expressing. Channeling the pain and emotions in a creative way. Sharing the silly to the sacred and everything in between. I have a hunch that artists are needed most during these crazy times, so don't hold yourself back.

Connecting. Hugging people in real life. Not just with the heart emoji. Get together with the people you love. Tell them you love them. Be in community and support each other.

Let's band together in love and in dance and change this world for the better.

from my heart to yours, Jess