1/27/20

Day 4 Class Notes

I. To-do misc.
A. Office hours Mon/Wed 8 am-1:30, Tues/Thurs 8am-11:30
B. Due date for the first big check is Feb. 5th
C. Email professor about potential work as a writing assistant for him
1. It would be like retyping material
II. Mental Warm-Up: Andy Williams “And We Were Lovers”
A. Background
1. Greater than Frank Sinatra
2. TV show in 60s and 70s
3. He would sing the intro songs to movies
4. About the song
a) Being lovers meant that he had fallen in love with the person
b) Not about sex
B. Video notes
1. Very round voice with powerful ebbs and flows
2. Song tells a story and is almost talked
3. Sounds like he is singing into the back of his throat raising his soft palette
4. Interesting use of past tense to emphasize the past-tense of the story being
sun
5. “I will remember...that we were lovers”
a) Implies that they are no longer lovers
6. Music crescendos with the change of direction of the song
7. The song is about someone he had loved
a) The lover died
b) “My happiness survived”
8. He loved her still even after she died
9. A very standardly handsome man singing a love song
III. Hatshepsut Continued
A. Pillars
1. Sitz im leben
a) You can quickly transform your identity, skills, emotions, and
worldview
b) Your nature is not fixed
c) Your sitz im leben and your identity are in large degree under your
control
2. Stop wasting time
 a) Trust your capabilities and say yes to new opportunities even if
they carry the risk of failure
(1) Failure is where you grow
b) Do not waste a single second
(1) Move forward as fast as you can and go for it
(2) Get things done
(3) No nonsense
3. Self-control then discipline
a) A wonder woman’s first victory is the one she wins over herself
b) Self-discipline comes first
c) A wonder woman is one who is willing to get a grip on her life and
take control of areas that will bring them success or failure
d) Her responsibility is her self-control and then discipline to
maintain it
e) “A wonder woman knows that she can never take others farther
than she has gone before, for no one can travel without until she
has first traveled within”
(1) Look inside first and then go out and do it
f) We all can be better at this, we just have to start now
g) Conquer yourself first, then conquer the world
(1) Potential leaders fail because of inner issues that then
materialize into outer ones
h) Wonder woman’s motto is “How to get out of her own way”
i) If you were to kick the person responsible for most of your
troubles you would be kicking yourself
4. Automaticity
a) After constant repetition, your behavior becomes subconscious, a
process called “automaticity”
b) When you outsource your behavior to a goal-enhancing
environment, desired behavior becomes automatic and
subconscious
c) Automaticity frees up your working memory to meditate and plan
for other challenges
d) “Practice being good” -Dr. Donley
e) Your character can become second nature for you
5. Do things in order! Prioritize
a) Things have to be done in order, because if not things do not work
out and you are left unsatisfied
 b) Prioritization is essential, you have 24 hours in a day prioritize
them
6. The Wholeness of Life
a) Take care of yourself, spiritually, mentally, and physically
b) Must come off the accelerated speed that you are in right now to be
a real human being
c) There is more to you than work
(1) Find your wholeness
d) Taking time helps you to be successful and protects your longevity
(1) Prevents burnout
7. Listen to great music
a) Hatshepsut was a very good dancer and would listen to primarily
the lyre and would listen morning, noon, and night
b) Musical intelligence means using the arts to develop students’
skills and understanding within and across disciplines
c) Studies show that listening to classical music benefits the brain,
sleep patterns, the immune system, and stress levels
d) Dr. Donley talked about how he eats and takes vitamins and also
listens to music and mixes these different disciplines to maintain
his health
(1) I like the mix of scientific nutrition and less usual means of
treatment
(2) Meta disciplinary
e) Violin is the most beneficial health-promoting instrument
IV. Recharge: Vera-Ellen and Donald O’Connor “Something to Dance About”
A. Background
1. Vera-Ellen was one of the greatest female dancers of all time
2. Donald O’Connor was one of the greatest male dancers of all time
3. Commoner and a queen sneak down below to dance together and talk in
secret
B. Video notes
1. Ellen has an ethereal quality to her dancing
2. Both seem to simply glide across the stage
3. Invigorating how they both change the dance stye so smoothly
4. He is tapping while she does almost ballet but the moves are similar but
have different qualities
5. She has beautiful expression and use of her upper body
a) Both are not just dancing but also performing
6. She breaks the fourth wall
 7. The musical transitions are timed perfectly with the transitions of dance
styles
a) All of it flows together though that the transitions are barely even
noticeable
8. The dress is designed to move with her the way that it did, it is part of the
performance
9. Danced on barrels and monuments and props
a) Made use of the entirety of the stage
b) No flat floor
c) Moved around the entirety of the set
10. Dance did not need to be flashy because the quality of the performance
wad there
a) Dance today is not as meta disciplinary as it was back then
b) A dance studio today is a single-specialty and very tunnel-visioned
and thus the dancers made are not great they are just experts in
their single discipline
11. The greatest dancers in movies do not get remade because people cannot
remake them
12. Michael Jackson surrounded himself with the greats and changes his sitz
im leben and makes himself successful
V. Reflections on Hatshepsut
A. She was so young
1. Finished education at 10, saved Moses at 7, started ruling at 18
2. Responsible for the architecture of the acropolis
B. Behavior was dictated by her beliefs and that made her the person that she was
1. Self-disciplined, and knew what she wanted and imagined herself there
and then did it
2. She was all of it, she was stunning, and smart, and powerful, and knew
how to play the game
3. Predicted potential obstacles and roadblocks
a) Learned from her father’s right-hand man
b) And then when the time came he backed her
4. She surrounded herself with the right people
5. She trusted herself
a) She embraced who she was and owned her power
C. You do not have to be well-liked to be powerful and accomplished
1. There are people that hated her so much that they wanted to kill her in the
afterlife and erase her from history
D. She was very focused
 1. She knew what she wanted and did not let herself get sidetracked
2. But she also took time to take care of herself and her health
3. She had both laser-focused clear goals but also took time out to care for
herself
E. She took care of her people
1. She gave her people vacation time and clearer hours
2. Better production from workers who are well-rested
VI. Lecture and tell everything in a story because people remember stories
A. The best story always wins
B. Dr. Donley tells stories while teaching
C. Dancers we watch tell stories etc.