Christos: The Engineer & The Poet

My name is Christos. I am a practicing chemical engineer and I also write and publish literature, mainly poetry and essays.  These two activities from the outside might look very different and incompatible.  However, in me, they have grown together and they have ended up having a symbiotic life that benefits both of them.

I started writing poetry in earnest at the age of 15.  Two years later, I would have to select a field of study for taking the entrance examinations in Greece for the University.  So, around the same time, I made the decision to study Chemical Engineering.  In both cases, my initial interest and enthusiasm for the subject was kindled by two excellent teachers.  One, a literature teacher, and an innovative poet himself, at the public school I attended.  The other, a practicing chemist, who tutored a small group of us, for about two years, for the grueling university entrance exams.

I ended up studying chemical engineering in the US, through a scholarship, and I have been working as a chemical and environmental engineer following my graduation.  I initially worked in research and development, figuring out processes that could be used to cover plastic materials with metal coatings, mainly for applications in the personal computer industry at its beginnings. After that, and until today, I have worked in the environmental field, managing the cleanup of heavily polluted sites. My work consists of organizing environmental investigations to determine how extensive the pollution is at a given site, coming up with an effective plan to clean up the site, and managing the teams that perform the clean up in an organized manner.  

In literature,  I am self taught.  Although I took a few literature electives in college, the bulk of my education came from my own incessant reading which continues, with the same appettite, today, and by my initial emulation of the work of great poets until, eventually, I found my own voice.  I write poetry in Greek and, over the years, I have published 7 collections of poetry in Greece.  One of them was short-listed for the critics award in 2014.

As I mentioned at the beginning, althoug not apparent at first look, there seems to be a compatability between these two activities of mine, poetry and engineering, in the way I function as a thinking person. It seems that, in the process of employing them, they feed off each other:  First there is the curiosity, the enthusiasm, and the laser-like focus on the subject.  Then there are the free associations of the mind that creatively combine all previous knowledge and observations.  At some point there has to be a leap, or several leaps, of the imagination.  And finally, there is the discipline of organizing the material in the most effective way and putting it to work either as a poem or as a finished engineering project.

Here, through the good services of Demi’s site, I offer you a sampling of my undertakings in the arts, that I hope you will enjoy.  And while, for now, the challenges of my engineering work seem to dominate the symbiotic relationship with poetry, in the end, it is poetry that defines that life: elegance in engineering solutions, as is elegance in language.

Panit Chantranuluck: The Performer & The Traveler

Hi, my name is Panit. I'm an actress who got to travel around as a cabin crew. Touring around is fun, the most fun part is that I got to see theater from all over. As an actress. I started when my dad sent me to acting class as a kid and we spent so much time putting on plays together. I remember the minute the light shone on the stage; all the anxiety had gone and my hands, holding onto each other, stopped shaking. You look around, your friends have disappeared, what is left over are the characters of that story we are in. “That's it!!!!”, I told myself. “This is my life now and in the future”. I kept on continuing to the next play and the next one and after that; it has never stopped. I tried a lot of different styles of theatre: Movement, musical, Shakespeare, mime, etc. No matter which part I get, theatre never makes me disappointed. I made new friends and met so many good people. As this passion went on, it took me to get a new part of life as a cabin crew. I got a chance to see many places and different types of shows. It helped me in growing up as a person and understanding human behavior even more. As an actor, that is really important. And now I'm at full speed on the theatre part and hope you enjoy the video that Demi and I have put together for you.

Witold (Witek) Gawlik: The Engineer & The Slackliner

Choosing engineering as a career seems to be rational. I wanted to contribute to the low carbon future of our planet and especially the one of my motherland, Poland. By contrast, choosing to walk on the line as a hobby seems weirder, less sensible and maybe exclusive to some circus showmen. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t expect to like it at first. I just wanted to try it. Since my roomie got overexcited watching that on YouTube, he bought a simple slackline set and wanted to repeat the crazy balance magic that he had seen. The first time was tough. I couldn’t walk even 5 meters on the line, but the seed was planted. I loved the feeling of struggling for a balance and I’ve noticed that with time it requires less effort. I wanted more, soon I wanted longer and higher. I started to hang out with people that were also passionate about this sport that was unpopular at the time but slowly began to grow in the coming years. Natural progression leads to the will of doing it on elevation. I tried a midline, which is the line on not a very large elevation. (You must know that even being secured with a harness, a leash and doubled line for safety, your survival instinct pulls you back. The vastness of the space around, the narrowness of the line make your subconscious whisper, “you are about to die”. The fear is not that straight forward to overcome.) When you think you are a pretty badass in the park, then you bring it a few meters up and, unfortunately, you realize you must learn from scratch. I was taming that fear. I joined a few festivals, I practiced between the building in the town square of Lublin at the Urban Highline Meeting, I walked between the mountains of Italian Dolomites and at the French Riviera Highline Meeting. I overcame my fear of height on the short highlines to discover later that I am still afraid, even paralyzed on longer and higher highlines. I would love to come back to highlining, I consider it as an essence of slacklining and even a way to refine ourselves. 

I came back closer to the ground. I started to connect my yoga skills with slacklining. Holding yoga poses on the line is an amazing feeling. Yoga is my other passion. I also love outdoor activities, hiking, climbing and recently, endurance sports. This year, I ran my first two sprint triathlons (750m swimming, 20km cycling, 5km run). 

I would like to mention that besides my sports activities, I run a blog and a YouTube channel to help people with mental illness in Poland. I went through sufferings of schizoaffective disorder. I got sick when I was 17. Now, after over a decade, I have opened up to people about this disorder. I want to confront stigmatization of people with mental illness and also psychiatry itself. I try to give hope to ones with similar problems to mine and emphasize the significance of pharmaceutical therapy. I’m surprised with the positive feedback and appreciation from my viewers. I believe that in Poland this kind of education and awareness is very much needed since mental health is still a tremendous taboo.  

I believe that walking on slackline also improves my mental balance in addition to the physical one.

CT Marie and Eric Doviak: The Creators and Stars of Rent Control

About the Show: 

Living in a city she no longer recognizes, a native New Yorker starts a shady business, inviting the diverse worlds of NYC into her home. Rent Control focuses on the characters who rent from Gigi, and the challenges they face within the apartment and with themselves.

By using the same location in each episode, the focus is on how various people approach and transform a room differently, and how these people impact Gigi’s relationship with her roommate, Buddy.

And just like Buddy and Gigi, Eric Doviak and CT Marie struggle to define themselves and what they do. Our process is trial and error. We learn by doing, while poking fun at ourselves along the way. 

You can hear us talk more through the podcast, Bar The Shouting at https://soundcloud.com/bartheshouting/show-torn-app-art

Check out Rent Control’s Instagram @rentconrol.theshow

Suzana Stankovic: The Dancer, The Mother, The Founder

Suzana Stankovic is a native New Yorker of Serbian descent.  She is a professional dancer, choreographer, actor, director, master ballet teacher, owner/director of Wild Heart Performing Arts Studio and founder/director of Wild Beauty Dance Theatre (formerly the Stankovic Ballet Company).

Suzana is trained primarily in the Russian (Vaganova) school of classical ballet among other dance styles. She is also formally trained in theatre. She began her dance training at a neighborhood school in her hometown of Astoria, Queens and then went on to pursue professional-track training at the Joffrey Ballet School and Steps on Broadway in New York City where she studied with esteemed master teachers. She studied theatre at Hunter College where she received a BS degree in English/secondary education. Suzana has also studied with select master teachers such as John Gould Rubin in New York City, whom she regards as one of her most inspirational teachers. 

As a performing artist, Suzana is noted for her emotional depth, artistic range and daring. Her credits include principal roles in classical ballets, avante-garde works, independent films, plays and music videos; collaborative principal roles with Tony Award-winners, filmmakers and visual artists; and, fearlessly blazing her own trail as an independent performing artist. 

Suzana has performed and presented her work at many of New York City's most revered venues and in festivals throughout Europe, receiving industry and critical praise. She continues to relentlessly explore new artistic territory. 

As a master ballet teacher Suzana guest teaches at studios throughout New York City and the tri-state area. She was on the ballet faculty of Peridance Capezio Center in New York City where she taught adult dancers of all backgrounds until resigning in August 2017 to further develop her own studio. 

Suzana is a sought-after teacher for her signature teaching method, which takes a holistic approach to dance and theatre instruction, informed by her own life as a dance-theatre artist. Suzana trains dancers as both athletes and artists, instilling a high standard of technique in her students while guiding them toward bold and authentic performance. Dance Teacher Magazine took notice of Suzana in March 2017 interviewing her for a feature in the June 2017 issue. 

Suzana is also a passionate arts advocate. She has been an invited speaker and writer on topics pertaining to today's independent artist. Her articles can be found in the Experts Column of Backstage.com, on the Backstage Blog and her own blog, Wildheartist, which can be found here.

Artist; teacher; producer; arts advocate; humanitarian- in all she does, Suzana aims to inspire individuals to surpass their perceived limits and live brave and liberated lives. 

Joanna Ma: The Engineer & The Cake Queen

My earliest memory of baking was back in elementary school when I would spend school breaks baking Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies with my cousin Fiona (an another amazing baker!) in New Jersey.  We’d make cookies in all different shapes and sizes – tiny cookies, pan-sized cookies, heart-shaped cookies….that was the extent of my baking then.  The only other time I’d have a chance to bake was for school bake sales, when I’d make cupcakes out of the boxed mixes, most of the Funfetti variety.  I don’t really remember other times I would bake, other than the fact that I really loved watching cake decorating shows growing up: Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, Cake Wars…practically any show with the word “cake” in it.  I could watch these shows for hours and never get sick of them.  I was amazed at what can be created from items that are all edible, and in just a short amount of time!  Every time I’d watch these shows, I’d say to myself, “I’m going to open up a bakery and make these awesome cakes one day”.

At the end of my freshman year of college, I discovered that my local arts and crafts store offered Wilton cake decorating classes and I signed up immediately.  It’s a 4-part course that teaches everything from piping techniques with buttercream and creating royal icing flowers, to creating tiered and 3D-sculpted cakes with fondant and gum paste.  All participants who finish the course are qualified to teach a cake decorating course of their own.  After I finished these classes, I taught my own cake decorating for two summers in Chinatown for kids ages 7-13 and made a bunch of custom cakes for my friends and family.  Quickly realizing the number of hours that I’d put into making these cakes, I thought to myself, “Why make these cakes for free when I can try selling them?”  With some encouragement from my friends and family, I started my business at the end of 2013 and called it It’s Jo Cake!

It was rather difficult to build my client base for the first two years.  Still relatively new in the Bay Area, I didn’t have many connections.  Then, in 2015, I joined a coworking space in Oakland, California.  Having a supportive community makes a huge difference!  It’s Jo Cake is completely a side gig for me, but I had such supportive friends and family who all believe in me and helped make this happen.  I’d bring in cupcakes to the coworking space every now and then and people eventually started to call me “The Cupcake Queen”.  However, I didn’t want to make just cupcakes, I wanted to make custom 3D sculpted cakes, but I just didn’t have the right clientele for it.  It wasn’t until the Fall of 2016, I got my very first custom order: a burrito cake.  Since that burrito cake, the opportunities just started rolling in. I collaborated with a fellow tea maker to host our very own “Tea and Cupcakes Happy Hour” every first Friday of the month.  I’d make cupcakes that would complement her delicious herbal teas.  I started to get more orders for custom cakes, instead of cupcakes, and I catered my very first wedding.

2017 has been such a great year for It’s Jo Cake!  I’ve doubled in income and orders since last year, and having such a supportive community has made all the difference…so much that I was nominated as an Innovative Newcomer for the Oakland Indie Awards!  I was amongst 29 other local businesses.  It was an extremely humbling experience to have It’s Jo Cake! recognized as an actual business in the Oakland area.  This year has really allowed me to challenge myself and improve my cake decorating skills.  I made cupcake bouquets for Valentine’s Day, made my first tiered wedding cake, and entered my very first cake competition.  Now that I have a full-time job, it’s been quite difficult to juggle both a job and a side hustle so I haven’t been very proactive about taking orders.  However, when I do take an order, it’s a great challenge for time management.  I used to bake and decorate through the night, but it’s much harder to do that now with a full-time job.

I love cake decorating because it combines engineering and design and really challenges me to think outside-of-the-box.  I’ll take a look at an ordinary object and wonder, “How do I turn this into a cake?”  A lot of times a customer would present an idea and give me complete creative freedom.  Working on my cake business while job hunting has also helped me out tremendously during my job interviews. It gave me the confidence that I needed in my interviews. Putting my position on my Linkedin profile got interviewers excited about cake and made for a nice icebreaker during my interviews.  I’m excited for what’s to come for It’s Jo Cake!   If any of you want to get into cake decorating, go for it!   It takes a lot of time and a lot of patience, but it’s all worth it in the end when you see the reaction on people’s faces when they see your cakes.

Roman Yakobov: The Laboratory Singer

Born in a war-torn Tajikistan in 1991, I immigrated to Israel at the age of 4 where I spent 12 years of my life.  Since my early childhood, I was raised in a family where music was integrated in daily life.  I would often see my father play the piano or his accordion while my mother sang along.  However, in Soviet families, playing an instrument would rarely come as a career.  Both of my parents have an engineering degree and, like many others, wished their kids to become doctors.

Around the age of 9, I started playing on the accordion on my own and singing the songs I knew while strolling in the backyard.  I was strongly attracted to art of different forms such as painting and drawing but something much stronger brought my attention to singing.  Unfortunately, soon after I started, a family member approached me and said that I didn’t have a “musical ear” and should rather focus on school.  After a few such comments, that passion to pursue music started diminishing within me.

 When I arrived to the USA in 2007, a music teacher at my new high school heard my voice and asked if I sing.  Soon after auditioning, I joined the high school choir.  A year later, I started my education at a Jewish university where I took cantorial classes that have added a new twist to my perception of music.  Premedical education at the university felt superfluously hard and lacking the need of my analytical thinking.  For this reason, I changed my major to chemical engineering, which I pursued at a new university.  Having a hard time concentrating on one particular thing, I started taking vocal lessons with Maestra Bayburina concurrently.  I have been performing throughout my undergrad career and am picking up the pace these days while pursuing my graduate education.

As of today, my repertoire ranges from pop to folk to opera while arias are dominating.  Being exposed to several cultures throughout my life, I sing in several languages including Russian, Hebrew, English, Italian and Spanish.  The song I have decided to share for my Encounter was recorded at my workplace cubicle in the laboratory where I currently work.

Being well aware that music as a career can be very daunting, I dream of the day I can dedicate my full time to singing.  However, in the meanwhile, I enjoy music as a compliment to my engineering career.

Jeff LeBlanc: The PhD & The Guitarist

I started playing guitar when I was 13.  I was really bad at it for a long time but that was okay for an aspiring punk rocker in south Louisiana.  I stuck with it mainly because I enjoyed writing my own music.  Writing a song on guitar is not a planned out thing for me.  Usually I fumble around with my acoustic guitar.  Once in awhile, it goes well and I find a groove.  I usually start to think of a specific person or scenery or emotion.  Then, in a natural way, 4 or 5 riffs or so become strung together.  Then I call it a song.  And those songs usually only mean something to me….and probably I am the only one who ever likes them.

In the past few years, I developed an appreciation of fingerpicking on the acoustic and specifically, polyphonic styles.  Essentially, this means (what the name says) making a single instrument sound like multiple instruments.  I am not that good at it but, I am learning.  This piece that I shared for my Encounter is my first polyphonic composition.  It sounds a bit like bluegrass.  It is about a familiar scene from back home of grass covered in dew in the morning (I hope at least some people know the image I am talking about…I know it is weird…oh, and maybe a caterpillar will be there) 

Neil Muir, Michael Luke, Daniel Baamonde: The Sons of Pitches

From left to right: Michael Luke, Daniel Baamonde, and Neil Muir

Neil Muir, The Structural Engineer & The Composer

Hey everyone!  My name is Neil and I am a musical arranger/engineer in the NYC area.  I pretty much was born loving music – if you were my neighbor when I was a kid, hearing two boys beautifully screaming (in harmony) next door would be part of your daily routine.  Thankfully, I’ve quieted down a bit, but my love of music has only grown stronger. 

When it comes to music, I’m a tinkerer.  I’ve “messed around” with the piano, saxophone, clarinet, bassoon, and trombone, while also dabbling in operatic, gospel, Broadway, and pop acapella voice styles.  If you listen to me sing at any point, you’ll quickly realize that I am trying to figure out all the vocal parts of a recording – and occasionally adding a part that I think should have been in there. 

I love the freedom that I have to mess around with sounds, voices, instruments, and mediums, to fully communicate the meaning of a song while also highlighting the amazing talents of the people around me.  I hope you enjoy our rendition of Hallelujah as much as I enjoyed arranging and singing it.   

Michael Luke, The Medical Student & The Voice

Hey!  My name’s Michael Luke.  I started out as an engineer, planning to work in sustainable design, eventually moved to work in IT in the finance world, but now I have finally found my place as a medical student.  I have been a little all over the place but music and rhythm have always been constants in my life.  To be honest, I consider myself a dancer at heart but I have been singing since grade school so that must count for something.  Nowadays, I work as a cantor for masses and weddings but in my free time I play around on the acoustic guitar and scour the Internet for musical covers.  One day, I hope to intertwine my musical interests with my medical practice.

Daniel Baamonde, The Electrical Engineer & The Pianist turned Singer

My name is Dan, I am 24 years old, and music has always been a huge passion of mine.  I started taking piano lessons at 8 years old and continued for 10 years until I went to college.  In high school, I played piano for our school’s jazz ensemble and first chair trumpet for the concert band.  Playing music was always a de-stresser and an escape from boredom.  However, I was also really shy and terrified at the idea of singing.  But when I went to college, I decided that I would try and break my shell a bit and joined an acapella group that some of my friends were starting up.  From then on, singing is something that I do constantly, whether quietly to myself when I walk in public, or loud and silly to annoy my significant other.  To me, singing will always be important because it helped me so much with my transformation out of pretty debilitating shyness that always plagued me as a kid.

As for balancing music with my daily work as an electrical engineer, I have no issues.  I view hobbies as an essential part of my personality and, if anything, it is my job that I try to balance properly with them.  Having time to myself to enjoy the things which I love makes my work worthwhile. 

Nobuya Nagahama: The Dancer & The Storyteller

Hi everyone!  My name is Nobuya and I am a dancer originally from Tokyo, Japan.  I have been active as a dancer and choreographer in and around the New York area since 2006.  For almost 18 years, I have trained in Hip Hop, Locking, Voguing, Popping, Breaking, and House, in addition to over 9 years in ballet, contemporary, and jazz.  In my dance career, I have been fortunate to appear in numerous dance showcases and TV shows including: So You Think You Can Dance, Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Carnival Choreographer Ball, The Movement – A Theatrical Experience, and many showcases presented by The Love Show.

Being an artist means that your work is open to feedback, both the good and the bad.  Some of the good that I remember include the Season 5 audition for So You Think You Can Dance in 2008, when the judges commented that they loved my amusing dancing style and funny character.  Another highlight was a rave review from the New York Times that said “Nobuya is a scene stealer with his sinuous blend of popping and Voguing.” 

I have been grateful for the opportunities that I have had so far in my dance career including dancing with Dave Scott in the commercial, New Era.  For many years, I have performed the opening number at Carnival Choreographer’s Ball, the biggest street dance showcase in New York with the founders, Carey Ysais and Paulette Azizian.  Additionally, in Boom Stick, presented by The Love Show, I got to play the main character, Ash, and was happy to receive positive praise from the audience. 

In addition to dancing, I also teach and choreograph.  I teach Hip Hop to adults with various dance backgrounds (ranging from several years to first dance class EVER) at Peridance Capezio Center in New York and I teach kids at TMH Dance in New Jersey.  As a teacher and choreographer, one of my proudest moments has been when one of my students, Haruto Maeda, won the Grand Champion in Apollo Theater Amateur Night with one of my choreographies in 2015.

I hope that you enjoy my Encounter and if you would like to see more of my choreography, I encourage you to visit my YouTube channel.  Enjoy!

Danielle Verdecchia: The Engineer & The Performer

Hi everyone!  My name is Danielle and I work as a civil engineer for a construction company in New York City.  My time outside of work is spent attending Zumba and dance classes (over the course of my 15 year dance career, I have taken classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and modern), tutoring students in math & science, enjoying time with my family and friends as much as possible, and singing.

Singing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Almost every home movie that my family possesses has a segment of me doing impromptu karaoke – there’s even a floppy disk (yes, an actual floppy disk still exists) that my parents have of me singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” at 2 years old in our garage during a rain storm.  Some of my most fond memories involve music in one way or another.   

My grandmother, Joyce, was a wonderful singer.  Any time that she was around my sisters and I she would sing to us – sometimes the songs were serious, with lyrics that were sentimental about the three of us growing up, and other times the songs were silly, designed to keep us laughing while we played in her pool.  She always encouraged me to develop my voice in different and special ways.  I can remember her attending my school chorus performances, taking me to my New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) event try-outs, and even having special rehearsals and lessons with me when we would spend Saturdays together.  She imparted to me as much musical knowledge as she could and always reminded me that my singing voice could be used as a tool to bring joy to others.  That was one of the most powerful lessons that she taught me – that music could affect people’s emotions and moods and it was a gift to be shared by all.

I work full-time as an engineer, therefore, at this point in time, my singing usually takes place during my drive home from work or in the shower after a long day.  Previously, I had been a member of multiple acapella groups, however my current schedule makes it a little difficult to participate in a structured group in that way.  I have had the opportunity to sing at multiple weddings, which is an incredible feeling – I enjoy getting to be a part of someone’s special day and providing them with any added joy that I can.

I chose to perform the Adele song,  All I Ask, for my Encounter because, in my personal opinion, Adele is one of the greatest voices of my generation.  Her music focuses on her vocal abilities and a true emotional connection to her audience, rather than flashy dance moves or effects which can sometimes be distracting.   All I Ask is a song that all people can relate to – needing good memories to cherish and hold on to during painful points in life and hoping that people in your life try their best not to hurt you along your journey.

To conclude, I just want to give a big thank you to all of those people who have helped to shape my life and have allowed me to pursue my goals – my teachers, my dance family, my acapella group family, and my family & friends – thank you all so much, it has meant the world to me.  Also, I would like to give a special thank you to OneSoundNYC and Lucas Fable & Mixerhead Dave at Mixerhead Studios for making this recording possible.  I truly hope you all enjoy it!  This was my first time in a studio and it was an extremely fun and memorable experience.  

Akshay Anantapadmanabhan: The Professional Mridangam Artist

Born in Mumbai, brought up in New Jersey, studied in New York and moved to Chennai, India to become a full-time professional mridangam artist.  The one thing that stayed with me throughout all my experiences is music.  My art today is a reflection of all those influences. 

I took the “plunge” as a full-time professional musician about five years ago and moved to Chennai.  Why?  Well, Chennai is to Carnatic music as New York is to Jazz. And to be the best, you have to compete against the best.  I have always envisioned becoming an ambassador of the mridangam and Indian rhythm in hopes of spreading their unlimited potential.  An inspiration for me in this realm is definitely Zakir Hussain and how he has established the tabla as one of the most popular Indian percussion instruments globally.

For me, this journey has been incredible so far, filled with learnings, struggles and successes.  Moving away from my family, friends, and my lifestyle to pursue the art that I love certainly seemed like a daunting task when I left.  But now, I feel like I have found myself in music – an Encounter that I hope to develop and cherish for the rest of my life.

For more information about my music performances, projects, and experiences, visit: www.AkshayLaya.com

Follow, Share, Like @AkshayLaya

Erick Chang: The App Developer & The Pianist

Hi! My name is Erick and I am a chemical engineer turned app developer who works in New York City. Outside of my job, I enjoy playing jazz piano.

I started playing piano when I was in the 1st grade.  I hated practicing scales and had made a deal with my parents to quit when I got to the 4th grade.  But when that time came around, it was too late – I didn’t want to give it up.  Especially when I realized that it got the attention of girls in my class.  From this realization, I knew piano was going to be important to me in the future, especially with a career in engineering and all.

Most of my time between then and around college was spent learning classical and romantic pieces.  I have done a few recitals here and there and at one point I even performed in a small library at a well-known university in New York City.  However, performing for others was not too appealing to me, so I stopped.

It was not until the end of college when I began to develop an interest in jazz piano.  I cannot describe why, but I guess there is something about jazz that stirs both my brain and my emotions in a positive way.

The music theory behind jazz is really intense and I don’t really have the patience for learning it, at least not right now.  Therefore, a lot of my playing of jazz comes from noticing patterns and just playing with feeling, with very little knowing of “why” and instead, simply just “do”.  This is in contrast to my engineering lifestyle where it is crucial to understand the “why” behind doing things.

Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 is a pretty well-known waltz nocturne by Chopin that most people can recognize, even if they don’t know it by name.  I think I first learned it in the 8th grade.  I heard a jazzy version played in the train station on my trip to Taiwan earlier this year and started looking for jazzy renditions on YouTube.  I found one that I liked and that is how this recording was made.  I have gotten pretty good at learning songs by just watching people play them on YouTube.  I thought playing Chopin for my Encounter would be a nice tribute to my 8th grade self. 

Megan Webster: The Engineering PhD & The Poet

Wisconsin was a wonderful place to have my childhood. I grew up with a big backyard and trees and lakes. We canoed and hiked and played tennis in the summers. We skied and built snowmen in the winters. I was surrounded by beautiful nature, sprinkled with towns and the occasional city. There were stories everywhere. During my junior year of undergraduate, I was lucky enough to get to study abroad in wondrous Madrid for five months. Awash with history and steeped in culture, I fell in love with that old city. There were stories everywhere. After I obtained my Bachelors in chemistry though, I knew that I needed to move. Wisconsin would always be my home base, but traveling to Europe had opened my eyes to what more lay beyond my familiar borders. When it came time to go to graduate school, I knew I wanted to head east. I moved to New York City, the typical starry-eyed Midwestern kid who can’t believe the height of the skyscrapers, the speed of the cabs, or the price of the cocktails. And I fell madly in love with the culture, the languages, the art, and the sounds. There are stories here, many stories—rich, vibrant stories.

I may be a chemical engineer now, and it is a career that I’m very excited to continue to pursue, however I have been writing since before I knew letters. My mother worked as an accountant at a car dealership when I was very young and she would bring home any extra company planners at the end of the year that hadn’t been used. On weekends, lying on my stomach in the living room while Dad watched the Packers and Mom read, I would take up a pen and write “stories”. In truth they were scribbles that looked to me like my parent’s mysterious cursive handwriting that I wanted to figure out but hadn’t quite cracked yet, but I understood what the words meant. The desire to communicate and entertain and use lines and shapes to tell people things fascinated me.

I never got over that fascination. Throughout my professional life and personal life I have worn, and will continue to wear, many hats; this world is a complex, fascinating place and there are so many things to explore and discover. One of the constants throughout my life though will be writing.  This I know. 

Brian Sforzo: The IT Guy & The Swing Dancer

Every week when I go into work my co-workers know me as the IT guy.  I'm there to fix all of the problems; from complicated folder security administration to simple password resets.  In my opinion, an IT person is doing their job best when there is nothing to do.  In other words, when I don't hear from people it usually means things are running smoothly and it gives me more time to work on institution analysis to find solutions to bigger known inefficiencies.  So I walk around school campus with my geeky collared shirts looking proper, collected, and ready to help.  Little do my co-workers know; at night and on the weekends, I turn into a completely different person.  

When the workday ends, there's little time to eat, wash dishes or watch TV.  I have about an hour to accomplish all those end of the day cool down tasks and then it's off to the gym. Most people go to the gym to work out and get in some cardio.  For me, once 9 PM hits in the exercise room, I turn on music, start warming up, and when my partner arrives, we start doing West Coast Swing.

I have fallen so deeply in love with this dance. It is the culmination of all my hard work as a salsa dancer of 12 years taken into a completely new shape. For the past 2 years I’ve been strictly giving my attention to West Coast Swing. The beauty of this dance is that the boundaries of connection to the music and how you intertwine with another dancer are seemingly limitless. I’ve noticed that most people that excel in this dance are those who have background in other styles of dance and it makes the dance so rich. Furthermore, for those looking to learn; the teachers have put so much time and energy into what they’re dancing, in and out of West Coast Swing, that they’re able to teach it to others with such clarity and attention to detail. That being said, I’m part of this amazing community outside of my 9 to 5 job and it pushes me to have greater goals and become a better dancer.

All of the practicing (averaging around 12 hours a week) that gets done at the gym and out social dancing leads up to a big event. Imagine comic con for dancers. People gather from all around the world at hotels in these beautifully laid out ballrooms to dance together. Upwards of 500 people can be at these events. There are 4 main elements to a West Coast Swing event: Inspiration, Workshops, Competitions, and Social Dancing. Each one of these 4 elements is designed to pull people in and then you’re simply hooked forever.

The reason I became a West Coast Swing dancer is because of Benji Schwimmer, Ben Morris, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann. I was captivated as I watched videos of these dancers. To me, these people are visual expressions of what music says. The way they move and create seems to me, boundless and magical. From watching them, I knew I wanted to get behind the scenes and understand the truth behind the magic, hoping one day I too could become someone who has the ability to visually express music that well with a dance partner. That I too could inspire others the same way as these dancers, who I work to learn from every chance I get, inspired me. I’m lucky I now get to watch and learn from them in person.

Workshops are the way I learn my timing, connection and musicality. These great dancers that I spoke of are the best at this dance competitively worldwide, but I’d like to add that it isn’t any placement or accolade that impressed me. Watching their videos alone peaked my curiosity. It’s simply the way they dance with so much passion and dedication. Their abilities to dance are equal to their abilities to teach. I learn something every time I go into one of their classes. There are several other great performers and teachers aside from the others listed above. It takes a good eye, patience, some bravery and willingness to learn to become a dancer of this type. It is not easy and I believe requires help from others who have a better understanding.

Competitions are where I get a very rough (can’t stress this enough) estimation of where my dancing stands in comparison to my peers. It is not necessary to compete to improve, but it drives me personally to learn more at a faster rate. We have choreographed competitions and social dance competitions. Choreographed means that everything danced to personally chosen music is planned in advanced. Social dance means that nothing is planned in advanced, people dance with randomly selected partners (Jack and Jill comps) or specific partners (strictly comps) to randomly selected music. I find each of these categories fun to dance and inspiring to watch others do. Judges watch my peers and I dance in these categories with hopes of getting to the next level. There are five divisions of dance level: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All-Star, and Champion. Right now I’m an Advanced dancer and I’m practicing to be ready for the All-Star level someday!

Social dancing allows us space to play creatively and dance with each other. This happens at local dances and at big events. At the big events, people pull all-nighters where they’ll dance from midnight all the way until the first morning workshop. I find it’s a great way to test what I’ve learned in all the workshops I’ve attended and play with the never-ending combinations of movements that can be made with another person while attempting to fuse it all with the music.

West Coast Swing goes beyond the world of leading and following stretching into the world of dance conversation. The roles are still defined as leading and following, but the line is hazed to give liberties that once were not there. We dance to all styles of music.  This style of dance isn’t your typical swing classification - everyone thinks of zoot suits and poodle skirts and milkshakes. West Coast Swing is more malleable and something that everyone who gets involved with gets to define. There are some rules that keep the connection grounded between you and your partner, but once you start to understand those rules the dance feels nothing short of flying. I get to share my visual expression of music with a partner. My partner gets to share their visual expression of music with me and we get to share with each other on the dance floor. This is also the space in which I make bonds with my friends and where I met my girlfriend. My best friend and I DJ at some of these events and all the while I get to social dance with my girlfriend. It’s awesome to share what you love with people you love!

I’m Brian Sforzo, I’m a 9 to 5'er and my passion lies in dance. West Coast Swing is my favorite visual expression of dance and I work so hard to be able to live comfortably while living out my dreams. None of it is easy, but all of it is beyond worth it. In this life you only get one body and you only get one chance to do all the things. Never give up on yourself and find what you love by working super hard.

John McGinty: The Actor & The Signer

Hi! My name is John and I am a professional actor in New York City.  As an actor who happens to be deaf, I am pleased to share my accomplishments in theatre, film, and TV:  

NY: Fêtes De La Nuit (New Ohio Theatre), Veritas (The Representatives), Movements of the Soul (BPAC). Regional: Tribes (Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Everyman Theatre), Pippin (CTG/Deaf West). Television: I Killed My BFF. Web series: High Maintenance; Don't Shoot the Messenger. Workshops: Cyrano (NYTW/Deaf West); Brindlebeast (Fat Chance) Another Kind of Silence (Playwright Realm). Other: Member of Heidi Latsky Dance and Executive Director/Resident Casting Director at Senses Askew Company.  Upcoming World Premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's new play..  

I hope you enjoyed my Encounter and I encourage you to visit my website for more performance pieces:

 www.johnpmcginty.com   

Wei Dai: The Engineer & The Lindy Hopper

Hi!  My name is Wei and I am a mechanical engineer who currently works in the wind turbine industry in Texas.  When I heard that Demi was putting Encounters together, I was stoked for an opportunity to show off my favorite dance, the Lindy Hop.  Just like Demi, I felt an artistic calling from outside of my 9 to 5 engineering career; this swing dance hobby has since four years ago nurtured my personal and musical growth.

When I was growing up, I always had an interest in music.  Trained to play the accordion, the 9 year old me obtained incredible memories associated with musical expression.  However, as I stopped maintaining practices, I realized I wasn’t going to be professional at playing music.  The “go big or go home” mentality put a pause on my artistic interests.

Fast forward to 2010, when I was still burying my face in mathematics, physics, and chemistry as an engineering student, I realized there was a much more pleasurable goal for myself in having artistic expression.  It was not so that I would gain fame or recognition, instead, I discovered art as an outlet; a way for me to ignore other’s judgement and to enjoy time on my own.  I started warming up my accordion skills with small bands and performing at school gigs and I immediately realized that the greatest gift of creating art is the art itself. 

Finally able to rest on the journey to seek happiness in my art, I reaffirmed my desire to create art once again.  The only question I had was: How?

Q:  When did you start doing your art?  How did you get into your art?

A:  When I went to graduate school in 2011, I immediately realized that the world outside of academia would be limited if I did not explore my non-engineering talents and interests.  The problem was that I did not know where I could go to release my energy and develop my creative self-expression.  Frustrated, I decided that dance classes may be a good place to start.

Although I signed up for salsa classes, I ended up at a swing dance event by mistake instead!  What I saw at the swing class was beyond my imagination; I was amazed at how two strangers become partners to engage in a single dance and how they are able to execute complex movement without preparing ahead of time.  Even more amazing to me was the lack of any verbal communication during the dance.  It simply blew my mind that partner dance can exist without set forms or moves.

I was hooked immediately.  Time flew by so fast since my discovery because I became fully immersed in the swing dance community.  Looking back, it was easy to see the attractiveness of this art form to me: Lindy Hop was the canvas and the sport that I needed to balance my day to day routines and chores.  With this dance, I gained the confidence to live my life with hope and I look forward to self-expression through this art form.

Q:  How do you balance doing your art with your job and other responsibilities?

A:  I feel grateful that I have now developed a rather easy balancing act with Lindy Hop and my 9 to 5.  Lindy Hop is very physical but requires very little mental focus unlike my job.  Lindy Hop relies on being in the moment and avoiding overthinking.  “Letting loose” is the only way to let my musicality do its work.  If anything, dancing helps me relax from work because it undoes the knots I made during the day.  Besides, I can’t complain about the exercise since I can get in shape while having fun!

It took some time to fine tune the balancing act.  During the first few years, I struggled with getting enough sleep and sometimes dancing late would take a toll on my work.  I would also sometimes let a heavy work load at my job get in the way of me making time for my art.  At this point, though, I have found a comfortable balance that works for me where I am able to do my 9 to 5 and attend weekly dances and even yearly cross-country conventions.

Q:  Why did you specifically choose this piece to share with the Encounters community?  What does it mean  to you?

A:  Lindy Hop is really different compared to other partnered dances because it demands not the aesthetics of ballroom, but the practicality of a sport.  Therefore, I wanted to share a piece that demonstrates both the freedom and the utility with the dance moves.  I like this performance because I was in the moment and having fun.  I was dancing with Grace Durant, one of my favorite follows in Texas, who was able to keep our wordless communication channel wide open.  The result was an incredibly fun dance that was improvised on the spot, never the same as another Lindy Hop expression.

It’s an understatement to say that the different arts are very different and I love what Encounters has to offer when it comes to focus and passion.  Lindy Hop represents something slightly different: freedom and change.  To participate in this dance is to have no plans at all – no directions written in stone.  I hope the Encounters community will find something new and inspiring in this fantastic hobby of mine.  

Ellen: The Artist & The Teacher

Hi!  My name is Ellen and I am an Associate art professor from New York City.  As an artist, the media that I primarily work in are drawing and painting.  Recently, I decided to dive into the world of animation to explore my artistic vision in a new context.  

I have always enjoyed drawing because it is a physical and tangible way of seeing the world. Sketching from life is a way of capturing moment-to-moment rhythms and actions. Consequently, it was a natural progression for me to bring together a sequence of images into an animation.

The video animation, The Road to the Bridge, has both literal and metaphoric meaning.  The story depicts a relationship between two people while the media brings together hand drawn images and digital tools.  Furthermore, collaborating with my daughters on this animation, I tried to bridge the gap between generations.

I see visual arts as a way for us to explore how we perceive ourselves, especially in relation to one another, and that is what I hope to share in my Encounter with all of you.

Demi: Why I started Encounters

Hi!  My name is Demi and I am a chemical engineer who loves to dance, compose, and write.  I decided to start this project, Encounters, out of a desire to celebrate the artistic talents of the everyday person.  

I see life as a story book and I believe that we are the characters that we read.  As the offspring of an engineer-artist duo raised in New York City, I have been fortunate in my story thus far to have Encountered such a diverse array of characters from different walks of life.  From voice over child actors to basketball players to engineers to dancers to construction workers to PhD experts.  In my story, I have come to discover that there is so much more to the characters that I have Encountered than meets the eye.  

Artistic dichotomy exists in so many of us and I wanted to celebrate that somehow.  I have met chemical engineers who break dance,  construction workers who write poetry, basketball players who paint, and accountants who film.  Often times, our talents and passions are not always at the forefront of our lives because reality takes hold - there are bills to pay, mouths to feed, and families to take care of.  Although reality may sometimes feel like a spreadsheet, I still believe that it can be infused with our dreams and passions.  Therefore, I decided to create Encounters to provide a platform for people like you and I to share the side of us that doesn't always get to be seen in Society; the side of us that is purely dictated by our dreams and passions.  

We may not have the time to produce a perfect version of our artistic work but we all do have a unique creative voice to share.  So many of the characters I have Encountered inspired my own artistic voice and that is what I will be sharing with you through this project.   

In the end, Encounters is my homage to the wonderfully mysterious and never-ending depth of the human character.