Enduring the weird. Reflections after a workshop

"Feeling good is not a special quality" - explained my Butoh dance teacher Anna Barth many years ago. You could have thought she was being cynical, but instead my heart sank. Like a wise temptation, the sentence expressed what one suspects but searches for in vain when the standard of Instagram images naturally elevates comfort to a desirable standard. This sentence opened up a space that hospitably granted access to a variety of moods and feelings. The aim was no longer to lead a happy life, but a rich one. When dancing, this manifested itself in such a way that I shamelessly no longer...