Photo by Pam Bolig (www.boligphotography.com)
The skinny...
My name is Megan Morse Jans and I am currently an MFA candidate in dance at the University of Maryland College Park. I am blessed to be able to spend my days speaking about the intricacies of our art form, dancing with amazing friends and colleagues, and serving the student body of the university as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. The course I teach is Dance Appreciation, where I get to share with my students how dance and culture intertwine and help them see the importance and value of an arts education. Truly...I'm a lucky gal.
For a long time, I have been a fan of Batsheva Dance Company and very interested in the work of its artistic director Ohad Naharin. Naharin has created a language of movement he calls Gaga. It is an improvisational technique that stimulates incredible creativity and feels amazing. This summer I have the opportunity to study this technique, in depth, at the Gaga Summer Intensive in Tel Aviv, Israel.
For me, this is the chance of a lifetime. I am wife and mommy, living my dream of deeply studying my art form, but life as an artist is not exactly...lucrative. The reality is that on my own, I cannot afford this trip. I have received funding from the university to attend the intensive, but it will not cover everything.
Through this amazing journey, I hope to not only to have a wonderful and enriching experience as an artist, but to bring back this experience and share it with my students as well. I feel like one of the best gifts I can give them as their teacher, is a worldview. So please, will you help me see the world?
What I Need & What You Get...
Through this campaign, I hope to raise $3000 toward my trip to Tel Aviv. This, along with the funding I will receive from UMD, will pay for travel to Israel, lodging for my two-week stay, tuition for the intensive, local travel to and from the intensive, and food (hey...a dancer's gotta eat, right?)
I've created the following perks for donating:
$10 A thank you note.
I would promise a handwritten one, but my handwriting is so bad I will spare you the strain of trying to interpret it. I will mail you a thank you note filled with my deepest gratitude!
$25 A postcard from the Holy Land
While I am in Israel, I will send you a postcard from the Holy Land (I will do my best to write legibly)!
$100 A picture of me dancing in Israel (and a postcard)
Not only will I send you a postcard, but also upon my return I will send you a picture along with a written account of my adventures and a-ha moments on this life-changing trip.
$500 A video thank you posted on my website
I will send you a postcard from Israel as well as a picture and reflections on this amazing journey, and I will also create a video retrospective of the trip where I will thank you by name. It will be posted on my website www.meganmorsejans.com.
In the event that I only raise part of the money, it will still go toward this trip. I believe firmly that this is an important experience and I am committed to raising this money. Even if it means I have to have a bikini car wash. And I am really, really pale so please let's spare the greater Annapolis area the blindness they will all suffer as a result of the glare coming off of me in a bikini, and make this campaign a success by donating.
In the event that you are unable to donate, worry not! There are still ways you can help. Please consider sharing my campaign with others. Spread the word!
Thank you so much for helping me with this project! I can't wait to share my experiences with you! To learn more about my work as a teaching artist, performer and choreographer, please visit www.meganmorsejans.com.