What's Inner Reformation Up To?

Dancer, Tessa Priem, as she makes her video book.

Howdy, Everybody. It's been a while since I've made a blog post regarding my art projects. Before I write, I want to say I hope everyone is doing okay. It's a tough time. Please hang in there! There's lots of joy & happiness, lots of pleasure waiting for us in life. E.g., flowers, food, birds, daily walks, and so on—the simple, elegant, beautiful things around us. 
         
​With that said, how bout we begin. What has Inner Reformation been up to regarding art? I'll tell you :) 


Tessa's Solo Dance Show
Say, I haven't seen Tessa talk much about her solo performance lately. Has her danced autobiography fallen off her radar: Not at all! Tessa has been SECRETLY working on her solo show. Remember that enormous tumor she had removed from her body in May 2019? Well, during that recovery process, Tessa binge-read. From that challenging time came a brilliant idea: SHE SET HER MIND TO MAKE HER SOLO SHOW LIVE (on the Internet) FROM HER BASEMENT! Knowing that a million people would beat her to the punch, she's been quietly working (for at the time, NO ONE was doing LIVE performances from their home).

Low and behold, on Friday, March 13, 2020, the virtual dance world was BORN. On that day, Tessa went, "Oh crud, everything has changed." At that moment, Tessa realized there was no one she needed to "beat" because the entire world was going to beat her to the punch after all: EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER was shifting to ONLINE performances. 

While she says this cautiously and with a great deal of respect and serious concern, Tessa feels this is good in many ways. She perceived the arts needed to move in this direction. Though sad and alarming, the shift can be a blessing, she hopes. Now, Tessa can work at her solo show as she's always desired to: at her pace. 

So there you have it, folks: Tessa Priem is working to make her solo show LIVE from her basement. Her secret is out of the bag. It will probably take her a century to make it happen, though! Good thing she hopes to live till the age of 100 :) Stay tuned. In the meantime, Tessa's got LOTS more to say about her solo narrative. She hopes you get to see it someday and that that day comes MUCH sooner than later (i.e., FAR less than a century away).


The Written Autobiography 
Is Tessa still editing her autobiography? Does she realize that it's an insane endeavor: YES!!!! Tessa is still working on her written autobiography. It's coming along wonderfully. It's a slow work of art because Tessa is an intense perfectionist. Sure, she's TOTALLY terrified by this artistic effort, but her very life depends on it. The project, interestingly, keeps Tessa SANE and alive. She has the perfect set of co-editors; she couldn't have dreamed of more amazing people to work with. The feedback from her rough drafts has proved invaluable, as well. Thank you to all who have helped thus far.

What is Tessa currently doing with this project: Outside of her intense editing sessions, Tessa is working to make this book available in at least three formats: a written version, an audio version, and a VIDEO BOOK. She's already recorded the Introduction and the first two chapters. Stay tuned!


Tessa's Bible Studies
I have my suspicions Tessa may be a machine. She essentially wrote two books in six months--her autobiography & this Bible study. Is she: Tessa isn't at all a machine; she's very much human and fragile. For personal reasons, Tessa darn near lost her faith over the past two years. Being in a spiritual crisis, she hunkered down and drew closer to Jesus. Her Bible study on Luke's Gospel is freely available for anyone to study. It's written by a struggling woman who's studied theology and has been reading Luke's Gospel since her early 20's (Tessa is now 37!). 

What's next with Tessa's Bible studies: Tessa hopes to get Luke somehow published within the next two years. Whatever proceeds come from that, she hopes to donate to Mekane Yesus Church in Ethiopia (more on this later. It's a wild/cool/unexpected story!). She also hopes to start writing her study on Acts (note: Tessa ran out of steam and had to postpone its writing for 2020). She's also thankful that 100 people wanted to be a part of this study for Luke 2020. Thanks be to God!  


Inner Ref's Outdoor Dance Project
So, what is this: Tessa pursued a year-long Outdoor Dance Project throughout the year 2019-2020. This project came about totally by accident. You can read all about it here!

Now that she's finished with her year-long Outdoor Dance Project, what does Tessa hope to accomplish with her year's worth of work: Thank you for asking. Lord willing, this will be Inner Reformation's first product produced and sold for purchase. Tessa is eager, excited, & hopeful about this effort. There are many logistics to figure out, but she can't wait to show you the finished products. Time will reveal more. Stay tuned :)


The Thriving Project
What's this? I'm interested in thriving: This project coincides with Tessa's written autobiography. In time, she'll share more. For now, the project is basically this: how can people thrive in life/how can you thrive in life? 

Do you want to work towards thriving: Check out Tessa's first two videos on the Thriving Project, Video #1 & Video #2. Also, you can join the push-up challenge with her. She'd love to nominate you. You can check out her friend, Dave Lyons, too, who's KILLING IT in this challenge to raise awareness for mental health. Let's overcome, folks! 


Conclusion
Well, friends, thanks for reading some of my updates on the work of Inner Reformation. There's a lot more I could share. I could tell you about the team of amazing people Inner Reformation has been building. I could tell you about Rose Dancing and some other artistic hopes I have. For now, this is quite enough. Take care, everyone. Be safe, stay sane. Enjoy the journey!

Love, 
Tessa 

P.S. People sometimes comment, "I don't know how you do all you do." The answer is: I don't like to sleep, and I've had an internal drive within me since my early 20's to do all that I am doing now. Don't worry, though, I intend to work on my sleeping. That's part of The Thriving Project :) God's blessings. 

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If you want to learn more about all I do, visit my about page! Of course, the best way to keep up on Inner Reformation is to follow me on Facebook & Instagram. You can also subscribe to Inner Reformation on Youtube where I post all kinds of lovely outdoor dance videos. Feel free to like, share, or comment on this post. Finally, if you need to reach me, feel free to contact me. Enjoy the journey! Love, Tessa