Martin Keogh has a blog!

It looks SO much nicer than mine. Wow.

Here’s where you find it: http://sandgrainsintopearls.wordpress.com/. Maybe he’ll write about the “erection question” (what do I do if I have an erection while dancing?) so that I don’t have to. :)

Already he’s posted some gems:

• The Ten Sins of a Contact Improvisation Teacher
• The Difficult Student — some suggestions what to do about a student in a class whom no one wants to partner with

Oh, who is Martin Keogh? He’s a popular and influential contact improvisation teacher and dancer. He’s been a major part of both the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston contact improvisation communities, and has taught all over the world. I believe enough of his teaching has passed into common practice that I’m not entirely aware of how many of his ideas and techniques have become a part of my teaching and dancing. He has a short bio on his main Web site.

I’ve only had limited exposure to Martin, but I’ve noticed the following things about his teaching: (1) his use of words and images to evoke the imagination of his students; (2) an emphasis on building a community through the course of the workshop, on having it be more about just the instruction; (3) his masterful transitions between exercises, or lack thereof — at the end of every exercise is another, and you’re excited by where things are going and what is happening next; and (4) a rare mix of corporeal and the magical, managing to both root us in our bodies and make us dream a little. I should add that this doesn’t imply any deficiencies in any other area of his teaching, whether it be clarity, thoughtfulness, structure, specificity, etc.