O goodness, my back is so sore from dancing! I went to jazz again tonight, it was so great! I think I'm going to talk to the program director about doing an acting workshop for the oldest company.  She talks to them about being specific, but I think it would be really useful and fun for them if we did a workshop that helped them to think about exploring character in their dancing, in addition to more fully expressing themselves and their emotions.  I also think it would be SO FUN to do Viewpoints with them... and I also just love Viewpoints. 

Earlier in the day I uploaded some new head shots, I decided to go ahead with the weddings.com thing - hopefully that works really well :), I also spent a while doing some research on the primary differences between Finale and Sibelius - two top of the line music notation programs..... ugh, they pretty close it's hard to really compare them.  I'll probably go for the watered down, slightly cheaper version of either of them ... most likely Finale... ??? But I don't know Sibelius seems nice too. They have free trials that I down loaded so we'll see.  It's all so I can notate sheet music for the Christmas Album I put out last year.

  I'm working on a campaign to RE- market it this year, to see if I can finally make a profit on it :S.  It's still a good album and a lot of people didn't know about it.  I'm learning a lot about social media marketing right now and if nothing else it'll be a good test of that.  BUT I'd like to also offer the sheet music for download via this site. Many of the Guitar parts are easily transferable to other instruments that pair well with harp, and why the heck not?  If I could get them independently published and sold in stores that carry harp music, they'd be a great, simple go-to for Harp and Guitar, and everybody wants to hear a harp at Christmas so harpists can never have too much Holiday sheet music..  

It will also be a good push for me to learn a notation program well... no deadline like a holiday!

Anyway... that was today... on ward and upward! 

 Let's see, today I emailed a few venues to get some fall gigs lined up.  Hopefully those pan out.  I did some work on a log line for my acting business :). That may be a little vague but I'll go into that more another time.  I got my external hard drive figured out so I can send in my broken one a get a new one because I'm within the warrantee.. yay. I worked on ordering some covers for my PA system, that should be awesome.. and more money... 

I also bought a new phone! I got and HTC One - my old phone doesn't support MOST of the things I need be efficient with social media marketing and stuff, so I'm excited for this one to have all the tools on it that I really need. I was also going to do some writing and a little more booking today but that didn't happen :S.  

O I also got an offer to be a Preferred Vendor through a wedding website I'm a part of... it'll be a small investment but the site does a lot of proactive marketing for you if you choose to go ahead with it, and they don't offer it to very many people but it's supposed to double your  gigs........... I dunno.  I'll probably do it just to give it a try.  It would be a sum of money to last me 6 months.  So... I dunno.  But it's flattering regardless.  The woman who called me today said she was tearing up at the end of my Harlem Video... regardless of any outcomes with the website it's nice to know my art touched someone :). 

Taking some inspiration from my amazing friend Megan, I thought I'd take some time before I go to bed just to write a little about some of the things that I did to further my art today.  My day started with teaching: a dance class of varied levels of ability haha, and then some private students.  I started with one new student today, and it reminded me of the incredible responsibility it is to teach.  Every time someone tells me their goals as an artist for the first time, no matter how different they are from mine, or how large or small, I think "Val, you better bring it, this person is counting on you to know more than they do and to guide them through new things.  Get it together." The next thought is inevitably about the many amazing (or not-so-amazing) teachers that have taught me solid technique, artistry, and the skills I needed to teach myself some things.  Then I just pray that I can give, without compromise, all that I was given and all that I wish I would have gotten before... I don't know, before I went to college, or moved to New York, or ... got to be this age? I love teaching, it pushes me to be the expert. I've learned so much from it, the most important thing being that I know nothing haha.. 

Later I worked on a slightly more artistic rendering of an exercise my amazing business coach, Emily Grace, had me work on a couple weeks ago.  The exercise was originally just for acting but I've been wanting to apply principles to other facets of my career.  I only have Acting and Songwriting so far, but I actually think I need to do a teaching one. 

I also made some songwriting goals for the next 3 months... they're pretty serious, and there's a lot to accomplish.  But I believe I can do it.  It'll be worth it.  And hopefully you all will enjoy it  enough to purchase things that I create haha. 

Lastly, tonight I went to a dance class.  I teach at this studio so I can take complimentary class, and the director is amazing!  I'm learning so much from her about how to be a positive business leader.  She loves and knows absolutely everyone and she's constantly checking in with people on both their personal and professional lives.  Recently I ran into her and she asked me "How are all your classes going? Do you have any questions? ... Are you happy?"... I've never had an employer ask me that before.  It's amazing what that does for me as an employee.  I am happy, but if I weren't I would know that it would matter to her, and that makes me want to stay, and observe her mission statement for the studio and be a really great teacher, because she's a really great boss. 

After class I was just jotting down some ideas about positive things from her class I'd want to integrate into mine, and I got thinking about all the amazing dancers there.  They could easily be working in New York, they have all the skills.  I keep having the thought that we should have a business seminar for all of them, to give them an idea of what the city is like - one of those things I wish I would have understood better (or paid more attention to).  And when I thought about what I might say I started crafting this... 

... I don't know.. is it cheesy? 

Well, it's been a good day... time for bed.  Tomorrow will be great as well :)

....all in one place where you can watch them all :)