dEAR Friends,

There is a way for us all to talk without paying!! For Free!!! It's called Skype. You can download it from here...SKYPE.com

It's like MSN Messenger only (you can talk and chat and web chat internationally for free) only on Skype you can call actually phones through the internet (that you have to pay for, but it's soooo cheap. A pence a minute to the states, that about half a cent).

Please get on it and then find me by searching my name Jillian Johnson or my email jillianlynn@gmail.com

Then I can look forward to talking to you.

Much Love, Jillian

So, I have been too lazy to edit the following video so I just put it through an editing program I have on my computer and it did it for me. then I added a song and it's a masterpiece.

This video is from one of our spacelab classes that was held all about london. THe main character in the video is Darren Goad, our teacher. The class started at Embankment tube station and ended at the Gates of Hell (literally, Rodin's sculpture, there is a humungous Rodin exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art. We got to see the Gates of Hell up close!!)

Much Love, Jillian

FRIDAY: Okay, so I know I'm doing this out of order, but I an artist and I get to do crazy and illogical stuff.

Friday night I went out Salsa dancing with my friend, Natalie from Puerto Rico, Isabel from Minneapolis, Alexander from London, and a bunch of second year Lispa students. Three of us were Puerto Rican and the club (aptly named "SALSA") played mainly Puerto Rico music. I have never danced salsa before but that didn't matter because I was forced to learn fast. Men would grab and LITERALLY spin you onto the dance floor. And the dancing wasn't typical American style get-into-a-group-and-gyrate. It was all fast paced, high energy dancing. Dancing that makes you feel alive and beats in rhythm with your hips. It was a BLAST. So much fun. I wore my brown suede club dress and I looked hot.

Sadly I must have either kicked someone or been stepped on. The dangers of salsa....

Anyways, we closed down the club and got Falafel on the way home. It was such a night filled with laughter, enjoyment, and delight.

SUNDAY: One of the best nights in London ever!! Sunday Night! Who'd have thought?

So one of my classmates, Seriol from Wales, had his birthday last night and for his birthday we went to a Club called, Notting Hill Arts Club (very formal name for a bohemian arts and music live venue). Here is the description of the evening from their website: http://www.nottinghillartsclub.com/.

"London’s only Balkan/ Russian/ Baltic/ Gypsy/ Klez/ Mash/ Thrash/ Trash/ KULTURKlash!!! is back. Radio Gagarin's bi-monthly Experiments in Sunday Socialism sessions fill Notting Hill Arts Club to overflowing with a tundra melting mix of live music, digital DJ prowess, performance art, east European cinema, poetry, puppetry, poverty, latkes, blinis and vodka."

Emunah, the first band of the evening, was a Jewish Klezmer Hip hop band. There was an amazing violin player that mixed in with a male rapper, a female singer/rapper, a bassist, a guitarist and a guy who alternated between rapping and spinning. They were a great warm up for the rest of the evening. After Emunah, the group of us went to the dance floor where there was a big Man puppet head/mask, a big dog head mask, a bear (woman in costume), and a beard that was passed around. The wearer would either dance with said mask or begin a dance battle with the other mask wearers. It was perposterously fun and absurdly ridiculous. (I'm utilizing my adjectives today.)

The best band of the evening was a huge band called The Destroyers. Horns, Accordion, Dueling Violins, Flute, Guitar....it was hight energy and just plain awe-inspiring fun. Here's their description....

"The Destroyers are a 15 piece group based in Birmingham UK. Brought together by band leader and former starving student Louis Robinson (violin), the band are mix of recovering escapees from Birmingham's Conservatoire and musical firebrands from the Balkans recently arrived in the environs of the hallowed Bullring. Fired by the energy of Eastern European music, the Destroyers diversify and build upon traditional arrangements, whilst remaing true to the roots of their influences, which is to say they take no prisoners, make no apologies and go straight for the juggler on the Gagarin Dancefloor….. a musical force to be worshipped, adored and exalted with one's whole body starting with the feet."

The best part is that I got video of it all and I'm going to be posting it as soon as I have anytime.

Thursday we had voice class. It was a doozy. We first had to find lines of text from a poem that we really enjoy. I chose America by Allen Ginsberg.

"America when will you be angelic?
America when will you take off your clothes
After all it is you and I that are perfect and not the next world"

We whispered this text to our classmates and let it build and affect them till they were saying it. We did this in groups. I was in a group of three with my friends, Ana Mirtha from Spain and Diogo from Portugal. They both had poetry in their mother tongue and it was beautiful. Portuguese is very powerful while the Spanish was light and beautiful. Maybe it was the speakers but it was really interesting and delightful.

That evening a group of us went to the pub down the street, The North Pole, and had drinks and talked. I got home late.....

Holy crap! I've been busy this last weekend. I'm about to start my fourth week of classes and I've been out and about london every night for the past five days. BRILLIANT!

WEDNESDAY:

Carla (classmate from Northern Ireland) and I attempted to go to Caryl Churchill's new play "Drunk Enough to say I love you" at the Royal Court Theatre but the standing room tickets had all been sold out and we weren't interested in paying 25 pound ($50 bucks) for normal tickets. (we're planning to try again this week.) HOWEVER, on the way to the theatre we met up with Marta (classmate from Portugal) and she was on her way to meet up with a friend of hers and so we all decided to grab a bite together. As we were walking to find a place there was a clothing store with a girl out front saying, "Free chocolate, Free Champagne!". Carla, Marta's Friend, and I all just kept walking but marta stopped and asked if we had to buy anything and the girl said NO. The Store was having a little Christmas party. So we went in had free champagne (four glasses), free strawberries dipped in white godiva chocolate and rolled in coconut, free currant tarts, free cake, free godiva chocolate squares, and free FOOD!!! The clothes were all a for older women and totally overpriced.

After that wonderful experience, Carla and I separated from Marta and her friend and went to an Indian restaurant in Notting Hill. I'm not a huge fan of Indian food (Carla convinced me) and it was DELICIOUS. I think the the states just doesn't make very good Indian food, because this place was no five star but the food was great.

WEEKEND INSTALLMENT ONE.........Thursday to come......

Party at Jill's house!! Here is some video of a big bash I had at my house recently. You can see some of my classmates as well.

Cheers!

I need to sit down and talk a little about where I am in my life right now.

School is amazing. I have been blessed. The program is what Lecoq was before he died. They are taking the pedagogy, evolving it, being true to it, and adding exactly what is needed. Pair that with my own head space. I have grown up alot in the past five months and it is reflected in the way I approach class, heck, the way I approach life. I am accepting of everything. I look at the Universe as an open catalogue where I am achieving my dreams. My dream is to have an internationally touring theatre company that creates moving theatre cultural exchange and social instigation; that (in the broad and romantic scope) changes the world.
At LISPA, I have that dream at my fingertips. Talking to my classmates from around the entire world, they all want the same. Some haven't articulated as well as I have, but once I share my dream their eyes light up and their head nods, their movements get more sweeping and active. I feel my energy bouncing in them and back to me. More than my head and body is being fed here, my spirit is being fed.

Saturday we had Spacelab for two hours, the teacher is a Swiss, named Aurelian Koch. He completed the Lecoq school in 1991. He went back and completed the L.E.M.(it is a separate part of Lecoq's school. essentially Labratory of Movement Studies) and now he works as a designer, puppet maker, freelance set designer. He showed our class some of his work and it was visually awe inspiring. The Spacelab is essentially a form of the L.E.M. for Lispa but it is not a separate course, it is part of our cirriculum.

Everything at LISPA is about experimentation and observation. Nothing is wrong or right because everything is an exploration and has an something interesting about it. This a wonderful place to learn and create from. The master teachers, Thomas Prattki and Amy Russell, conduct classes like a labratory of performance. Try and try again and what did you see, hear, feel, experience.

Our Alexander/Feldenkrais teacher is named Ilan. He is from Israel. He is a short lovely man with a mop of hair that is white as snow. Our class with him this week, he took us to a park. It was slightly chilled but the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The first half of class we spent being aware of space and playing games that made us aware of each other. Then towards the end of the class we explored our vision, our whole vision, starting by placing your hand on the sides of your face and then moving our hands out the sides along your peripheral vision. It's amazing how wide your vision is and it is also amazing how exploring the length and wide of your vision makes you feel very open and free and happy. You take in the world more.

Our Acrobatics teacher is a rough brit but he is incredibly skilled and he knows how to work you really hard. my Thigh were burning and sore for three days! But I can see how is execercises are leading towards proper acrobatics and handstands. He has real skill and I feel like he is very familiar with how to push someone to proper physical achievement.

Aside from the wonderous wonderfulness of the school. My classmates charm and encourage me everyday. My flatmates and I had a big party last night, about 70 people came. We laughed, danced, had philosophical discussions, we talked about our dreams, we got out my guitar and my ukulele and played music, sang, and were just all around joyous. There is so much diversity and sooooo much to learn from them. We are already talking about cultural and creative exchange between our countries!!!! (I'm on my way.) When I get the funding for my company, there will be nothing but open doors and interesting theatre to be made. I am going to change the world, bring understanding, move masses of people to believe they can be what they want. Cynicism is the death of creation.

I was sitting in a cafe on Wednesday before my interview for my job. This cafe had a huge front window that looked onto the street. I was in Piccadilly Circus. I was writing in my journal about school and about what I will achieve and a bus pulls up out front the cafe, just waiting at a stoplight. On the bus was written, "We are the People we've been waiting for."

Fucking right we are. I am the person I have been waiting for myself to become.

Here is a short tour through my flat in London!! I'm very charmed by the place.

Finally, I have internet in my flat!!! So, for your viewing pleasure...here is a montage video I made of my trip to Paris.

Enjoy!

Portobello Road.

Today I went shopping on Portobello road. I got a Pomegrante, two red peppers, 3 zuchinni (called "courgettes" here), a sweet potato, goat cheese, 5 figs, and a loaf of Rosemary and Potato bread. All for under 5 pounds. You can bet this country girl is coming back.
It was all open air, local farmer, organic, and beautiful. Why don't we have this in the states? Why don't farmers have stalls anymore? Why do we shop in Grocery stores? THEY SUCK. Just standing next to the stall made me feel healthy and good. All of the colors and smells of the market were lovely. I talked and joked with the seller while next to her another seller was barking advertisments about what they offered.

This felt wholesome. It felt right. Flourescent lights, blue light specials, canned vegetables.....that feels not right.

Umm....did i mention I really like it here?

Tate Modern = A little piece of heaven

I spent 5 and a half hours at the Tate Modern museum yesterday. It was phenomenal. All of the artists that have moved me, inspired me, or awed me were there. Duchamp, Dali, Picasso, Calder, Picabia, Pollock, Ernst. My mind was blown.

I breathed next the Alexander Calder's mobiles, I could have touched (but I didn't) Jackson Pollocks paint, I stood next to a reproduction by Richard Hamilton of Duchamp's Large Glass. I'm not much into celebrity, but I have to admit I was star struck. I even found more art to confound and amaze me. If you get a chance look up Christian Marclay and his music/movie/collage work. It was amazing. Also the main exhibit was by a guy named Holler. He made tube slides that you could slide down from the 2nd, third, and fourth floors of the Tate. At the bottom of the slide I hung out for bit watching people. There wasn't one person young or old who didn't get off the slide with a smile. Lovely.

One room was dark with a rectangle projection on one wall. The video projected was of a lighthouse beacon rotating. It would switch from the sunset and the lighthouse beacon to a direct shot of the mirrored bulb casing that rotated. It was beautiful, hypnotic, and magical. The mirrors in the light casing would occasionally reflect the sea then reflect the light. It was the combination of nature and man. It really paralleled how the sun is our earth's beacon as a lighthouse is a ship's beacon. Gorgeous. I sat in the room for about 45 minutes and floated though the next part of the museum.

Another thing......check out the artist/mayor of Albanian and how he decided to use color (building painting) to revitalize the country. I can't remember the last name of the artist that did a video on this guy and his city. Anri Sala is his name.

Awesome. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. AWEsome.
Much Love, Jillian

So, I am getting my much needed rest time. I've been spending that time packing, planning, seeing family and friends, talking to classmates, doing copious amounts of Laundry (and I mean COPIOUS, my brother's (8 loads) and mine(3)), and watching the TV series LOST. In four days, I'm coming close to the last three episodes and trying to figure out if I want to buy the next season...if I have time to watch it.

This is the slowest my life has been in a long time and probably the slowest it will be for a long time. I'm lathering myself in free time. It's nice. I'm not feeling bad for it either. I'm enjoying it;m writing, doing meditation, taking long walks in the country side, working through myself internally.

Holy crap, by the end of this week, I will be so prepared to move to another country and start grad school.....hell yes.

I am back in the town I grew up in for a week before I leave for London. I'm going to be spending this time packing (two suitcases, a carry-on, my uke, and a purse are all I have to pack my life in), getting money ready, working for my dad and brother a little, and seeing family and friends.

I thought that this week would be a recuperation week but it definitely doesn't look like it's going to be relaxing. However the best thing about being home always is the country. It's beautiful out here.




Rolling hills, farms, ranches, and mountains. The morning after I arrived home my brother needed help sodding his backyard and boy am I tired. (I even got a blister.)

















But hey, hard work never killed anyone right?





Me and my bro, done for the day.






Anyways, t-minus 5 days and counting till I take off for England. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Woohoo!

A few months ago I was reading and studying Buddhism. It is the only organized religion that I can see myself having a strong faith in. Lately I have been on a very spiritual journey, induced by huge changes occuring in my life (i.e. moving to a new country, starting grad school, ending a relationship, leaving friends and family, health issues....) and in my meditation one contemplation that I read when I was studying Buddhism is coming back to me.

Contemplate the Corpse. I contemplate the decay of a corpse from human to dust and I think about how all we have becomes dust in a matter of time. All that is left is your spirit or your soul, even that becomes part of everything. So I meditate on detachment and personal solidarity. If I have nothing, I have me and I am part of everything. I have me.

Sometimes it comes to me as "Starting over at Zero". If all I have is me, then that is a wonderful thing that I have. My spirit or my essence is a strong foundation for amazing things. My essence is strength, emotion, vulnerability, motivation, observation, and beauty. Those are great building blocks. I'm a great person!

This meditation reinforces my future. Everything is possibly if you intend it. My friend Dani and I have been talking about the power of thoughts and how you think of things. If you want something, imagine that you have it already and the universe will be affected by your thoughts. It's a fun outlook on life. It's looking at the world like it is a plentiful, bountiful and overflowing space that offers all you need. You just need to imagine it and believe. The man who writes free will astrology has a book called, "PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings". It's just an outlook that can change everything about your experience.

Our thoughts, positive or negative, have so much power. It is my choice to think positively and in such a manner that I can achieve all of the things I desire.

I just need to put it out there!

Oh, and every strong female friend I have should read the comic book series by Alan Moore. "Promethea".