The Roots - Rising Up ft. Wale, Chrisette Michele

Kevin Spacey on Being Successful

Realize the Potential

American Express gets 2 thumbs up for this one!!

Words of Wisdom...for the Soul of course

SKILLS: Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.

GROWTH: Don't join an easy crowd. You won't grow. go where the expectations and the demands to perform and achieve are high.

CHANGE: We generally change ourselves for two reasons: inspiration or desperation.

ACTIVITY: The few who do are the envy of the many who watch.

SUCCESS: Success is what you attract by the person you become.

By: Jim Rohn

Thanks mom....

Almighty Debt: Black in America

Last night mom and I watched a great special on CNN called Black in America: Almighty Debt. Making the connection between faith and getting through the rough economy, and living within your means. The most important thing, in my opinion, that Rev. Buster Soaries and TD Jakes touched on is faith AND work. You don't work, God won't work.

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead".

Here's TD Jakes challenging us to be Producers rather than Consumers...

Moving Forward

"I've made mistakes in my life.
I've let people take advantage of me,
and I accepted way less than i deserve.
But, I've learned alot from my choices and
even though there are some things I can never
get back, and people who will never be sorry,
I'll know better next time and
I won't settle for anything less than i deserve."

WE'RE BAAAAACCKKKK!!!!!

Love...on another Level...

T dot Music has Soul....

Lately I've become a HUGE lover and supporter of Canadian music. Please don't sleep on Slakah the Beatchild. This dude has way too much soul, it's almost killin' mine...

Fun with Chris Frampton!

My favorite photographer to work with in Toronto is Chris Frampton! This was our third time working together, and it's fun as always!!!

Ben Cameron: The true power of the performing arts | Video on TED.com

It's Time to Hustle...

This Dance Life: The 5th Element

Cat Jae and I sat down with the lovely Simone Maurice for her online dance series "This Dance Life", to talk about producing and creating Catalyst and The 5th Element!! For those who missed the show, here's some really good insight into what we created, and why we do what we do! Enjoy!

This Dance Life - The 5th Element from This Dance Life on Vimeo.

Have you ever REALLY Loved....

To the Emotional Depths of the Water...

I can't even lie...the past few months have been the worst I've felt in a long time. I'm a capricorn so I'm good at masking my feelings but only for so long, until my friends and family start asking me what's wrong. Calm on the outside can often mean terror happening on the inside. Which is what's happening to me right now.

The tears and frustration that are happening inside me are now starting to reveal themselves, and I'm starting to realize that I need to do something about it. Don't even wanna dance (right now). Sleeping in.... Mundane..... No creative juices flowing through me whatsoever.

So I'm taking a timeout...Stepping away to get back in touch with my soul.

See you on the flip side...

Tash

It's never too late to let God use you

On to the Next, On On to the NEXT ONE! HONEY JAM!

This one is dedicated to my homegirl, my little sister Tiff Mak!! This girl is talented in more ways than one, and she'll show you how on Sunday August 15th at The Honey Jam Showcase! Make sure you're there to witness history in the making!!!

Congratulations girl! It's your time to Shine!

The FUN REVOLUTION has begun!!!

The Fun Revolution has officially begun! Jae and I had the pleasure of collaborating with the World's Sexiest Comedian Nicole Arbour, to officially launch the Fun Revolution and Nicole's music at Lavalife's Summer Lovin Series this past weekend at The Mod Club! The show was a huge success and received raving reviews from those who were in attendance! Thank you's go out to all the dancers, Black Ice, XSD, Toronto Argo Cheerleaders, Galen & Kelly (drummers), and to Virgin Mobile for being the sponsor!!

Thank you Nicole for letting me be a part of this project!

Be on the look out for more fun coming your way!!

Think different...

Some see them as crazy, we see genius...RIP MJ...god bless your soul and your children...

It's Been a Minute...

What's happened in the past two months ?!?!!????


Produced "The 5th Element" with the Firestarter Jae!! We raised $1,000 for Free the Children's Artbound Initiative, with the proceeds going towards building an arts school in Kenya...


Sipped wine on a daily basis aboard the Voyager of the Seas, as we travelled through Italy and France...


Set my feet in the soil of the The Colosseum in Rome....

Ate the BEST PIZZA EVER and had the BEST WINE in Portofino....

Started to feel comfortable with the "uncomfortable"...

Lost 10 lbs! WOOHOO....




What's next??!??!

Stay tuned as I continue to paint the canvas...



The World is YOURS.....

CATALYST THE COMPANY PRESENTS...THE 5TH ELEMENT!!

Thoughts from the Soul Sistah

My dance career has existed in two worlds. Classical Dance and Street Dance.

Airplanes have taken me and my luggage to two different coasts. The East Coast, and the West Coast.

I sang the same song in both stories when I was at the point where I was trying to “find myself”. The lyrics went something like:

“Where do I fit in?”
“Where will people accept me for me?”
“Am I good enough to be here?”
“This isn’t working out, let me try something else...”
“I think I deserve to be here, but what do others think?”

But through growth, experience, and TONS of reading, I realized that it didn’t matter what city I was in, or what style I was doing. My location and what I was doing was irrelevant, so long as the soul was being satisfied.Me and jazz have a great time together, but locking really knows how to make me smile. Contemporary and I connect, but popping really knows my soft spots. Ballet was my first relationship, but hip hop has my heart forever. I’m a dancer period, but I gravitate to the street dances more because I have a deeper connection to them. They take me on journeys that are unexplainable. I also learned that when it comes to being on either the east coast or west coast, the location doesn’t matter. My home is purely where my heart is.

This has motivated me to inspire those all over the world. Aid them in finding those very things that make them genuinely happy, and help them discover where they feel at their absolute best! Help them to discover their element.

Through the rumblings of the Earth, I found hope, discovered faith, and found my element.
Through the rumblings of the Earth, I found what touches my soul.

Mark your calendars. You don't want to be anywhere else but at "The 5th Element" on Wednesday May 5th, 2010.

Some old notes I found...

Cleaning up my room today, I found some old quotes that I wrote some time ago, on the back of an old phone bill...

"We can't try to simply do things, we must do things..."

"Listening...the most underrated learning tool."

Night...

P90X....Again...

I know, I know, I've blogged about this already. But me and this exercise program have had an "off and on relationship". My nephew is my workout partner so we've been on the trek together. It makes it a lot easier to stay focused when you have a buddy!

I've officially completed Phase 1 of the 90-day lean workout! YEAH ME!!! After 3 weeks of waking up at 5AM to get my workout in before heading to work, I've lost between 3-4 lbs. YEAH ME AGAIN!!! I know it's not a lot to some, but it's a big deal to me!

When I see the results it makes me want continue with it even more!! I also have to add the fact that I've completely changed my diet in the past few weeks which has also contributed to some of the weight loss.

I've decided to make my health a priority this year, because it's something I never really focused on before. I figured, since I don't get sick, I must be fine. That's not always the case. When you're starting to feel sluggish, you're not sleeping properly at night, take a step back and look at how you are treating your body. Take a look at what you are putting inside it. I'm not here to preach about what you should or shouldn't eat, I'm just saying be cognizant of it. If you wanna be able to continue doing the things you love, you need to maintain your body, internally AND externally.

What's our first excuse for not doing something "I don't have time!"

WELL MAKE THE TIME!!!

We set times in our schedules for everyone and everything else but ourselves. I'm guilty of it too, and I'm slowly starting to change the order as to who gets priority.

Make time for yourself...your worth it!

My Drug for the Day...

Anita Baker + DJ Spinna = MAGIC

Chivalry...is it dead?

Def. of Chivalry
n., pl., -ries.
1. The medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood.
2. The qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women.
3. A manifestation of any of these qualities.
4. A group of knights or gallant gentlemen.

Does this exist anymore? I mean the more I look around, I realize that this concept is dying; if not dead already.

It's slow diminishing could be contributed to a lot of factors according to many men: "women killed it", "we're too needy" blah, blah, blah.

On the other hand have some fathers failed their sons in teaching that respect? I think a lot of men end up having a difficult time with this concept, because a) they don't even know what the word means, or have never heard of it, and b) they never had man to look up to be an example of this character trait.

Now with all these other ways of communicating with each other, I see the concept going from bad to worse. I may sound old school but I don't even think anyone even picks up a phone anymore to say hi. Do people even go on dates? We use Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Email, Text, BBM to communicate. And then we don't even spell out full words anymore, so when it comes time to have a face-to-face conversation, people are stuck because they don't know how to talk anymore! Ok - I'm going a little off topic now (my little rant about communication)!

MY point is - whatever the issue is, there are very few, and I mean VERY few men I see that have it. I think the only one I know is my father. He was an ABSOLUTE GENTLEMAN, and treated my mother like an absolute queen. (Miss you daddy). If you have a son, be an example of how to be a man. And if you're still young enough to still learn about the concept - look it up in the dictionary - it's not that difficult.

If you've been burned by a woman in the past, don't let it affect your future relationships and take it out on the next. There is never anything wrong with being courtly in your love.

Reality...

As defined by wikipedia...

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist."[1] Literally, the term denotes what is real; in its widest sense, this includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. Reality in this sense includes being and sometimes is considered to include nothingness, as well. By contrast, the term existence is often restricted solely to being (compare with nature)...

If right now is "reality", then I'd rather live in my dreams; it's so much better there...

Your Road Map for Success by John C. Maxwell

So this man is officially saving me. I haven't felt this good in eons, and it's a little scary, but a good scary!

First read: Your Road Map for Success - Highly Recommended...

Lesson Learned: "It's never too late to be what you might have become." George Eliot

I'm dedicating the rest of my journey to this one statement.

Thank you John :)

Heal the World...

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me and the entire human race

There are, people dying, if you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me...

Everything Remains Raw...

I had the wonderful pleasure of learning from the producer and director of this documentary, Moncell "illKosby" Durden. I urge every dancer, not just the street dancers, but every dancer to watch this film when it comes out. Educate yourselves...

Moncell came out and taught a workshop in Vancouver while I was living out there, and he previewed a lot footage of this documentary!! It was very inspiring, and I can't wait to see the finished product :)

2010...It's Here!!!

Well it's that time again! Where people look back at the previous year; what happened and what didn't happen! The time of year that fitness centres and gyms LOVE as many of us list physical fitness as one of our goals, and sign-up for those gym memberships!! LOL!! Whatever your goals are, one thing I keep in mind is are my goals S.M.A.R.T?? No - I don't mean if they're right or wrong! I mean are they:

S - pecific

M - easurable

A - ttainable

R - ealistic

T - imely

I've learned over the years that less is more. Rather than a bajillion goals; a few solid ones are good to work on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May you and your loved ones enter 2010 with an abundance of joy, happiness, and health. Live each day like its your last! NOW OR NEVER BABYYY!!!