I always ask: What am I going to be for Halloween this year? In my opinion, one of the best parts of the holiday is the opportunity to try on being different characters. I worked for many years in a setting where it was part of my job to be in costume for the day. My first year, I started with a shocker: my usual clothing but with multiple “injuries” like a bandage on my head and knee, a sling, crutches, more bandages. It was too scary, in a real-life sort of way, and folks were repulsed. So then I went with standard fare like witches and pumpkins, until I started to see symbolism in the costume choices: I provided transportation as part of the job, so I dressed like a chauffeur; or, I often tidied up and arranged furniture, so I came as a 50’s housewife, complete with heels, shirtwaist dress, the hairdo, and a vacuum hose over my shoulder. As the loving, happy person on site, Raggedy Ann was a natural.
Some years it felt important to be sensitive to the times and I made my own Liberty costume (found the headdress pattern in a fabric store and dyed old curtains grey green for the robe). And then came the years when some part of my soul needed to be expressed so I devised a way to be a tree, a spider, a squirrel, an owl, or an opposite, like a couch potato. These costumes provided self-expression and the time and attention that went into creating them felt very satisfying.
This year, I have no event to attend, no community to dress up for, and I feel like there’s something lacking in my life. It’s my own doing. The soul-searching that is occurring this year brings me to realize that I need to create community and invite others to join me in playfulness and/or personal clarity.
I do get to explore a variety of personalities in my current work, which doesn’t feel at all like a “job.” As a Nia Technique teacher and trainer, I guide students to explore the different “energy personalities” drawn from Martial Arts, Dance Arts and Healing Arts which we use to provide diversity for our bodies in movement experiences. My body loves the opportunity to switch between power and precision, playful and expressive, calm and aligned, for instance. I come out of class feeling like a more complete person than if I had just stayed with one style.
