Finger Movement Symbols and Full Body Writing ;-)

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
October 30, 2005

Hello Everyone!
I just got back from a marvelous performance of dance and opera at  
the San Diego Lyric Opera, that is performing in a  brand new theater  
here in San Diego. My parents and I enjoyed it soooo much. You see,  
most of the time I stay home at my computer, and sometimes I feel a  
little isolated, except for the internet of course... so this was a  
big event for me to go to live theater again ;-)

I grew up in the theater, and was in professional ballet training at  
age 10, performing weekends and balancing that with school, and  
later, when Sutton DanceWriting was invented, I worked for a time  
with the Royal Danish Ballet, writing their dance movements from the  
audience of the Royal Theater in Copenhagen...for some reason all  
those memories flooded back today, while I enjoyed the performance  
here in San Diego...

SignWriting is so unique...it is bringing this wonderful List  
together...and you all are so vibrant and enthusiastic...and it is  
fascinating to share writing signs with all of you...you are the  
younger generation of signwriters! There was a whole group before  
you, you know...and that history needs to be documented now...and you  
are just starting to make your own history in your respective  
countries...

This week is an unsual week, because on Monday and Tuesday I am  
working on a paying job to notate Full Body Movements for a  
presentation on Wednesday in Norway...writing the Timber man  
movements that we discussed earlier on the List. There is a deadline  
because the work has to be ready by Tuesday to be incorporated into  
Harald's presentation, so if you don't hear from me too much in the  
next two days it is only because of that job, and then I will be back  
again to teach on the List on Wednesday...

I got such a pleasure reading your messages when I got back...and of  
course you are all correct. Dots and other Finger Movement Symbols do  
have meaning and are important...

Shane was just doing what I had suggested...to take a look at the way  
we write 11 and 12 in ASL and that those movements were similar to  
some of the numbers Shane was trying to write...But I am planning to  
give you more attention and information, Shane, about numbers 11-20,  
on Wednesday...

And Thierry needs some of those details too, about writing Finger  
Movements, so I hope to write some better lessons explaining those  
symbols later this week...Finger Movements have always been hard to  
write because they are so tiny!

And Lucyna - thank you for your report! I am sorry that got glossed  
over...In fact, I will go read it write now and respond!

Val ;-)