Oh noooo.

Safe travels!

I wish I could forget them so that I could read them for the first time again. Those books did things to me.

That's so cool! I should try that next time a poem's not working :)

... it has taken me a long time to realize that failure and giving myself permission to fail at things has made me a better artist. I do get the terror of it.

(Related - there is a trilogy of books by Spider and Jeanne Robinson, called "Stardance," "Starseed," and "Starmind." I think you'd like "Starseed" a lot. There's a scene in there with a dancer in a studio trying to make something, and she fails, again, and again, but it's still worth doing.)

Those are all worthy things to do. I know a guy who is a pianist and conductor (like - a really good one, conducts the Montreal Opera every so often, that good) and sometimes he gets stuck and just does scales, because doing scales is always worthwhile.

Stuck? Do whatever dance scales are.

Use that as a base "thing to do". Something you already know will either help you refine a technique, or you'll try a variation, or you'll figure out what The Next Bit is, or maybe you'll just get better at that one thing.

So - with the knowledge that I'm not a dancer, but I do do a different performing art - I know you've done some choreography in the studio already. I also know you're looking forward to choreographing more!

If the creative juices aren't flowing - go back to the work you've already done.

Is advice a thing that would be welcome/helpful here?

Oh! Two people on props, too, how can I forget our props team.

A total of 848 audience members over four shows, all of whom went home having had a really good time.

When times are hard, find a community and make some art together. It's exhausting, but it's worth it. I'm so proud of everything we accomplished.

Like an advent calendar about an advent calendar, yes please

This seems very much like what the phrase 'a distinction without a difference' was made for.

"For some reason it never picks up on lupus."

(Though it's not a bad question for weeding out the people whose judgment about professional context isn't great, I guess.)

The rest of the application form was very normal! Apparently the gif thing was to "get to know my personality," which seems like what an interview would be great for.

It was also used as a chopping board at one point!

I went with one I frequently use in a work context.