Bucket List....I did WHAT?!? WHERE? (Dancing in Cuba)

I put together a bucket list back in 2009 (I think) which included all kinds of things I want to do but never really thought I would accomplish. After I started dancing I put "salsa dance in a club in Havana" on the list. Never did I think I would actually ever have the opportunity to go to Havana, Cuba let alone salsa dance in one of the oldest salsa clubs in the world. Little did I know...

In May of this year I went to Cuba. 

There are always live bands performing there. Wonderful bands that we choreograph performances to here, yeah, they perform there daily. They are right in front of you, they talk to you, take photos with you and pose for photos from stage. There were two guys there who were tearing up the dance floor. My friend and I watched them for a while until I said, "I would love to go dance with him." My friend took my drink and phone and said, "go ask him."

With the liquid courage from a few rum and cokes I walked up to him, (with my familia de Cubano wondering where I was going) simply held out my hands, and this happened...

THIS is why I love dance. We said not one word to each other as he took my hand and danced and laughed through the song as the band jammed on stage. At one point I looked up and we had an audience watching who were enjoying our dance just as much as we were. When the song ended I offered him a hug and said "Thank you" in English. I caught the look of surprise on his face as it registered with him that I was American. My Cuban family clapped as I walked back to our tables and I bowed playfully as it sank in that I had just crossed off that bucket list item.

Something I thought I would NEVER get to do.

Man, sometimes I look at this video to make sure it really happened. More on my trip of a lifetime later.

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings...

Things I learned in Vegas (The Good, Bad and WAY too Ugly)

Another bucket list item crossed off. I finally made it to Las Vegas and I now know why they call it Sin City. I am not the demographic they had in mind when they built the place. We were there for four days and by day three KayC was ready to go home.

Lesson #1 - Do not plan on doing much of anything when you travel all day after starting at 6 in the morning. When we finally fought the herds of people to buy shuttle tickets to the hotel and another massive herd of folks to check into our room, I was ready to curl up and sleep. No drinks for me on night one, I was too damn tired!

Lesson #2 - You will attract all of the drunk people of a certain skin tone who have an affinity for women of color but will never admit it sober. Men ran up behind us to take photos and quickly run off. One grabbed my friend's butt and then tried to pretend he didn't do it. Celebrity life is NOT for me.

Lesson #3 - Drunk women of a certain color will take their heels off and walk barefoot down a nasty street in Vegas for the sake of being "cute" 0_o

Lesson #4 - Yes, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but you might have taken it too far when you need two friends to almost carry you to your room. Oh, and drinks are served 24/7 along with no apparent open container law. Drink, drink, gamble, drink is the motto.

Lesson #5 - Dry heat is still heat. I am now an even lovelier shade of brown.

Lesson #6 - You must walk through a casino to get to....well, everything! Your room, the corner cafe, the restrooms, and there is a slot machine in every corner.

Lesson #7 - Take your allergy and/or asthma meds with you! As a matter of fact, refill your prescription before you go because you will need it. The smoke just lingers and attacks you at will. My furry one was sniffing my carry on bag after I returned home like "where in the hell have you been?!?"

Lesson #8 - The USA is the most out of shape, let it all hang out, show it to the world and let it jiggle country in the world! People really need to buy their size and cover it up.

Lesson #9 - If I return to Sin City I will venture off the strip and see hot the locals live. I can't imagine being around that 24/7 without having a severe care of adult ADHD.

It was all worth it with the new dances that were had. All in all it was a good trip and a new experience. The performance went well and all the instructors were full of compliments after we were done. What made this trip EPIC? We had a private lesson with a couple I have admired for years. I always thought she was badazz but seeing her in person...made me feel like a novice. I need to improve my salsa, like yesterday. And to top it off....they were both very humble.

But see for yourself. This clip is a few years old but her body movement is unmatched! And yes, she moves like that all. the. freakin'. time!

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings from  

A Groupie?!?

"I have fallen out of love with dance."

I said this to a blogger via email last week. It is not that I do not like dance anymore, but more so the "scene" was starting to turn me off from dancing socially. People are acting like they are still in high school. There are cliques who only dance among themselves and there are people whoring around on the 'down-low' while having spouses, children and significant others. 

I suppose most of that will always happen but it is a bit disheartening when you treat an art form as such and only want to enjoy it. Because of everything going on I had pretty much stopped social dancing outside of supporting loved ones and good friends. 

I still perform with my salsa group. We have received some amazing offers to perform. Without them and my adopted Cuban family I think I may have stopped dancing all together by now. I think both groups are the reason I may have found my dance mojo again.

We received an invite to share the spotlight with a great salsa group who were coming to the area. Before I was a member, the girls danced with this group the last time they came to the area a few years ago. I had no idea I was in for such a treat! The group of  seven musicians combine Jazz, R&B, Classical and modern Cuban (known as Timba) to create a unique sound that literally makes you get out of your seat. 

The lead singer introduced our group and we got a chance to share the spotlight with these truly incredible musicians. They are gracious and humble (we also met them backstage before the show) and even danced with the crowd after the show. (try getting an American "musical celebrity" to do that). The best thing after the show was having them tell US thank you!

Thank us?!? Nope, thank you! We danced, laughed, sang along with the songs and even beat on the stage along with the drummer. We had so much fun that every time a musician had a solo they would come straight to us at the edge of the stage. I guess we had too much fun with the band because while waiting for a photo-op after the show, a young college student called us groupies.

O_0

Groupies?!?

Who you calling groupies?!?

If dancing through a concert, having the band introduce you as "special guests" and having the lead singer dance in the middle of your group in the dance area and using your group to start the conga line makes us groupies, then yes young buck. I will take that title. I will take it proudly and you know why?

Because dancing with them made me realize why I fell in love with dance in the first place. THAT will make me a groupie any day!

The band ended their concert with a conga line lead by the singer through the crowd (while still singing, of course) and around the audience. We picked up people as we went and had an absolute blast. In fact the band director (piano player) was introducing the last song and one of my fellow dancers and myself were at the stage chanting "conga, conga" and he stopped his speech to say "Yes, ladies. We are going to conga."

*KayC giggles like a school girl*

I think you should conga too :-)

Click here to buy their music Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

       

Smiles, Salsa and Sweet Memories

These past few weeks have been absolutely wonderful! My ladies Salsa group has performed a few times around town in the past week and they are an absolute riot to be around. I have so many wonderful memories with them. I am truly blessed to have been invited to join their group.

The original routine that I learned after joining this group was tough for me. I had to learn to lead and in doing so became responsible for memorizing the routine, the hits on beat and keeping time with the music. As a lead, if you mess up you also mess up the follower who is dancing with you. No pressure there!

I LOVE this routine, maybe because it is my original routine with the group. We danced to the Swedish group I mentioned here. We were missing 4 ladies (2 couples) but it was a fun night.

We also performed at a family friendly daytime event. There was a toddler there who 'bounced' on beat to the lesson. Absolutely adorable.

We have the debut of the new routine this weekend with the big three day conference and everyone is excited. Life is still good. I am enjoying each day and there is still a constant smile that seems to creep its way to my face. I am not sure how or when I got here but I am certainly enjoying the moment.

Hope all is well with you blog family!


Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

I Moved...Did you? Baila!

National Day of Dance has come and gone. Did you move? I DID!

Part of my movement was cut short when I had to meet a fellow performer to get my top to wear to the National Day of Dance Festival. But I more than made up for it later :)

I made my debut with my Salsa performance dance team. We participated at a festival in one of the more popular areas of town. It was sponsored by a local television station and they had many performances and dance schools present.

It was blazin' hot and by the time our time slot came around I was soaked! Since we did not have enough ladies to perform our routine, we had our Salsa dance school Director come out with us and conduct a Salsa lesson. The crowd seemed to love the first song but by song two...let's just say the 100 degrees in the shade was too much for them.

I don't know if you watch the show that started the MOVE movement but the guys who performed the robot pop lock routine went on stage after we did. Let's just say they were even more phenomenal in person than on television. As I stated before, the temperature was hovering around 100 in the shade and they had on complete gear and performed for the entire 15 minutes. My group wore tanks and shorts and my tank was soaked by the middle of our first song! I give them major props for that one! The crowd really enjoyed them.

After sweating off about 5 pounds of water weight I made it home in time to walk the furry one, relax a little and drive to my next engagement. It was the birthday party of one of my Salseros. Let me preface this by saying, their parties are good old fashioned house parties and they are invite only. I am not sure how I got on this coveted list but after attending my first party, these are a must!

They are invite only because they feed you, supply the adults 'spirits' and beverages and then move the tables out and party! When I say they feed you, they fire up the grill and put on steak, tortillas and shrimp kabobs. You wrap it up with this freshly made salsa, slap on some beans and eat until your heart is content! That is the BEST cook out I have been to and not only is the food flowing, but we could not help with anything! The Southern girl in me kept asking him to sit down and let us help, his response was "No, I like doing this. Did you have enough to eat? EAT! EAT!"

After the tables are moved out of the house, the lights are turned off, the disco ball is cranked up (yes, I said disco ball) and the DJ hits the tunes. My people of color may have invented the house party, but my Latino family perfected it! After the traditional Birthday rueda, there was a really large Tres Leches cake. Tres leches cake is the most delightfully rich and moist cake I have ever tried. After all of the eating at the beginning of the night, everyone has cake, more to drink and dances until....well, the last person drops! I have always called it quits early and never witnessed 'the end' myself. Their parties are better than any club I have stepped foot into.

In case you need proof, here is a short clip when the 'dance floor' was relatively empty. The dj was playing a merengue song (Salseros rest on merengue songs :) and the dance floor is considered empty at this point...





Yes, that is a Merengue version of In Da' Club and they were jammin to it! You know it's a good party when they give up on the air conditioning and just open the back door and hook up the fans. We danced, laughed, drank and sweat up a storm until the early hours of the day. I had wonderful Mojitos and on my way home I could not stop the smile that had found its place on my face as I celebrated with wonderful people on my National Day of Dance.

So, enough about my day. What did you do?



Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

Baila! (Dance!) - National Dance Day

July 31 has been designated as National Dance Day by a Producer of one of the dance reality shows. The purpose is to prove that dance can MOVE an entire country. Of course I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the idea!!!!

Since the recession (are we still calling it that?) I have nixed my gym membership and replaced it with more free dance. Latin nights with my name on the list, Salsa socials, performance group rehearsals and good old fashioned house parties.

I am issuing a challenge, a double-dog dare if you will (remember those?). On Saturday, July 31 you must move! I don't care if you get up and Tango through a song (Lovebabz), get your Bob Marley on (MsKnowitAll) or shake your thang (Monique) I just want you to move. I would give you a time limit but let's face it, if you get into it you will most likely move longer then you planned anyway and that is more than average. Just get off the sofa and shake it baby!

Yours truly has great plans for July 31 and I intend to update you on what KayC did for National Dance Day. You can guarantee I will get in more than my fair share of dance and movement before the day is out ;)

Tell me blog fam....how do you plan to celebrate National Dance Day? What can you do to participate?

A little something to give you a head start. If this does not make you move nothing will! Come on, do the dance. You KNOW which one I'm talking about ;-)






I'm a fool, I know it. But you feel good don't you? Dancing and laughing...



Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

Learning to Lead

I mentioned earlier I was invited to join an all-women Salsa performance group. Practices have started and yours truly was picked to be a lead. HA! My friend and I both started at the same time which made it a little less intimidating to join a group of ladies (even though they are very friendly, warm and understanding) who already know the routine. We have a few practices under our belt now and let me tell you blog family leading is NOT easy!

Since learning to dance Salsa I have wanted to learn to lead because there are always an abundance of women at the dance venues. Before joining the performance group, my friends and I vowed to learn to lead because we thought it would be fun. It is fun but very different than following. Parallel life comparison, right?

When you learn to follow it is about leaving your arms loose for the man to...well...do what he wants to do with you! Your job as a follower is to keep your feet (left, right, left. right, left, right...at least in Casino style Salsa) and not stop dancing.

When you learn to lead it is all about timing. Knowing where your partner is in relation to other people on the floor. Keeping them safe so they will not bump into anyone or get stepped on. Have an idea of what you want your partner to do so the dance is not boring. It is your job to keep your partners steps smooth, know where she is and make her movements flow. Even in a choreographed routine it is about timing, steps and flair in the turns. Taking great care to make your partner look good. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Similar to life off the dance floor hardwoods leading and following is a difficult challenge to master. It takes a very open-minded individual to go from being a follower to a leader and be able to successfully flip that from a leader to a follower in the next dance. Now that I am learning to lead, I have to make a conscience effort to follow. My instinct is to immediately take the guys hand instead of giving him my own.

I need to make sure in learning to lead I have not forgotten how (and when) to follow.

On and off the dance floor...



Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

Excited, Honored and Somewhat Speechless

It is no secret that I absolutely love to dance. I started taking ballet, lyrical and jazz lessons a few years ago which led me to a wonderful Salsa group. Salsa has been my addiction for about 2 years now and I have submerged myself into the "Salsa Scene" enjoying every spin, dip and cross body lead.

Recently I have been asked to join one of the Salsa performance groups. Imagine my delight when I received my official invite to come out to a practice and see how I like it. I was honored to be asked to be a part of the invitation only group, especially since I have only been dancing in venues (outside of class) for about 7 months or so. All of the scolding from my teacher saying "you need to learn to follow" and "relax" paid off :)

The start of 2010 was difficult for me but this news more than makes up for it. I am like a kid waiting for Christmas as practice starts in February. My other performance group (like the sound of that) is gearing up with a few great choreographers that will take us to the next level. I am elated to take classes with a former Principal dancer from Ailey and Dance Theater of Harlem! This year will be filled with great music, great dancing and tons of fun.

In honor of my newest accomplishment, I have included some of my favorite Latin music. Enjoy!



I love Los Van Van. They have been granted special permission to briefly leave Cuba and perform in Miami. I wish I could go!


Heard this salsa song at a recent feliz campleanos party.
Instantly loved it.


A little Bachatta by Aventura. Looking forward to the day when my SO is a dancer. Bachatta is a great Dominican dance but I can imagine how hot it is with someone you are dating.



Peace & Blessings...

Therapy on Hardwoods

Everyone has a vice. It is that thing that helps you through a bad day at work, a bad week or a bad situation. That one thing you look forward to at the end of the day when you start the journey home. For me it is dance...I call it my "therapy on hardwoods."

The past few weeks have been rough. My mother has been lying to me about several situations and work has me stretched really thin with no pay raise in sight. I was in desperate need to just lay it all down for a few hours. Luckily I have the perfect outlet.

A friend and I have a standard dance date during the week and we both needed each other to help us forget the woes of the world. About halfway through the night he commented that I "haven't thought about it all night, right?" He was right, I had not thought about my troubles until he asked about them. I danced myself into a happy stupor with Salsa, Meringue and Bachatta all night.

Some of my usual dance partners were there and I gained some new ones before the night was over. A couple of days later we did it all again at another location. This is my new therapy, I have a love and appreciation that makes me want to learn more and get better at it. If something can make you forget the rest of the world, why not keep doing it? It is a constructive vice...I think I may just keep it. Continue to get better at it. My therapy on hardwoods.

My vice is Salsa...what is yours?


Peace & Blessings...

Letting Him Lead, Learning to Follow

Dancing has taught me that I did not know how to let a man lead. Salsa is all about the woman learning to follow. If he steps back, you step forward, if he lifts his arm, you turn. Don't watch your feet, trust your partner to lead you. Relax your arms and let him lead you through a series of intricate arm movements and spins, just keep your steps with your feet. When in doubt, back rock. If you do not learn to follow it looks awkward and both people stop dancing. It does not flow, there is no rhythm and no grace.

I remember my first Salsa class, "Just relax your arms. Let me lead. Just follow" my instructor said to me in his strong Cuban accent. I couldn't get it at first. What did he mean relax? I am relaxed! I couldn't make it flow, I couldn't make it pretty and graceful like I had seen other couples do on the dance floor.

Salsa is a lot like life.

I first learned a type of Salsa style called Casino or Casino de Rueda where couples dance in a circle with a caller and you are constantly changing partners. Like real life you can fake anything in a group, the same is true for Salsa - following in a group is easy to fake because you know the steps and what the man is going to do. But the minute you step out of the group and start to dance freestyle with a partner is when the truth comes out. When people can see that you can not follow.

But when you surrender...the minute it clicks and you "Just relax and follow" it becomes a beautiful dance between two people. When you have a strong lead and a great follower people will stop to watch. They will admire the fluidity that comes through. It becomes a beautiful thing when you are letting him lead as you learn to follow...

I get it now. I...get...it! I was dancing recently to a great live salsa band and my partner and I was in a groove. My partner was enjoying the music so much he spun me out too far and I followed. He had to come and get me.

He looks up and says in a strong Cuban accent "Hey, where did you go?" My answer? "You spun me out there. I was just following!" We both laughed and continued to enjoy the music and dance to a live version of this song:



Peace & Blessings...

Why I Dance...

I've had many people ask questions about my choice to take up dance so late in life. They say "Yeah, that's cool" while giving me the side-eye and indifferent body language when they hear my answers.

Typically as Blacks/African-Americans/Afro-Americans (whichever you prefer) we do not delve into other cultures. We typically have no interest in learning about other people. I have always had a curiosity of other cultures, other languages and other people. Growing up I wanted to take dance, gymnastics, girl's scouts...all the things that wold require you to meet other people from other backgrounds. Unfortunately, growing up as an only child with a single mother there was no "extra" money to do any of those things. Money became even tighter after I started college and non-existent throughout my marriage.

Finally when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance to take dance, ballet, jazz, African, modern and that opportunity led to free Salsa lessons which led to free Bachata and Meringue. Yep, all of it is free!

Now as I get deeper into dance and want to improve my technique I think I will finally pay for an advanced class. That is only after two years of dance. Why do I dance? Because I finally get to fulfill a long-term desire and a longed for dream.

Dancing has placed incredible people in my path that I would not have met otherwise. And above all else...even when I am having a horrific day (like last Wednesday) I can go to a free Salsa event and the minute a man (many of whom I have never met) leads me into that first turn, a smile magically appears on my face and I forget all the B.S. in life and just enjoy that moment for every uplifting feeling it brings.

THAT is why I Dance!


Peace & Blessings...

Art Imitating Life

My performance group has started practicing for our next show which is on my birthday! This is our "best of" show which revisits all of our favorite dances, music and poetry. Since our cast has changed over the last few years some dances have different choreography.

I have been cast in a dance called "Four Women" to the music of Nina Simone with the same title. Guess who I play? Aunt Sarah! With every thing going on in my life right now I get cast as Aunt Sarah. HA!

Here are the lyrics to my part:

My skin is black
My arms are long
My hair is woolly
My back is strong
Strong enough to take the pain
It’s been inflicted again and again
What do they call me
My name is aunt sarah
My name is aunt sarah

We have practiced this song for the last two weeks and I had a difficult time getting into the mindset of Aunt Sarah. She starts the song which means I set the tone for the entire piece. Black skin? Check. Long arms? Check. Wooly hair? Check. I'm suppose to be strong? Well...uhhh...CHECK!

I can do this. I CAN DO THIS! I can take what life has thrown at me. It is okay to retreat, regroup and reactivate. I forgot the regroup and reactivate part. But it is perfectly normal, it is human and every so often we fall and like babies learning to walk we just sit there and cry about it.

I had to give myself permission to grieve. Grieve for something I desperately wanted and found out I may not have. I have made the journey through the first few steps of the grief process and like everything else in life I will learn from this experience and move on.

I am bent and bruised but will not be broken. Funny, my Artistic Director had no idea what I was going through when she cast me in "Four Women." It is simply art imitating life.

If you haven't heard Four Women:

Four Women - Nina Simone

Peace & Blessings...

Vacationing in Your Own City...(Week in Review)

I had to take vacation time last week before my employer took some of it back. With gas prices over $4 a gallon and plane tickets almost doubling, I decided to take a vacation in my own city and do some things I always wanted to do but never seemed to find the time.

During the early part of the week I had brunch with a friend from high school at a quaint coffeehouse cafe. I think my brunch totaled about 10,000 calories, but it was well worth it. I Indulged with a chocolate-whipped cream-concoction masking itself as coffee along with a to-die-for croissant sandwich followed by an extremely rich piece of Oreo cheesecake. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? It was good laughing and catching up with my friend. We sat in the covered patio while it rained, then the sun came out and it rained again before we called it a day.

Gotta take time to do that again.


I finally made it to the aquarium and it slipped my mind that it's summer and everyone is fitting in their last vacation before school starts. Many times I was almost run over by kids saying "excuse me" in various languages. The only two I understood were in French and Russian(I think). At least most of the patrons were friendly (especially when I almost walked through a family photo) and I took some great pictures. The two above are a few of the best.

The baseball game was my next stop in the week as I love, love, LOVE baseball!!! There are a variety of reasons to go to the stadium but the most important is the great hot dogs! They cost an arm and a leg, but I swear they are the best dogs I have ever had and they are huge. Top that off with cotton candy (the kid in me :) and a great game that came down to the last out in ninth inning. My friend (pictured with me, it was extremely hot until the sun went down) is not really into baseball, so I gave her a crash course. We really enjoyed the variety of theme-music for each player as they came up to bat, and we REALLY enjoyed the pitcher's mini-video as he made his appearance. (We both have degrees in Film & Television so it's in our blood) We were still singing "one, two, three, you out" when he was pitching, that song was definitely catchy.

To top that off, along with the drunk college kids that decided to battle it out by shouting their college at each other after the beers kicked in (we had great seats, BTW), it was Fireworks Friday. We got a free fireworks show after the game. Gotta love this city!

The Black Arts Festival is in town so my week ended with a tribute to Judith Jamison dance performance. There were three groups performing (picture to the left is of the second group, I forgot my camera so I missed a great photo op at the end) and the first two were okay, but everyone seems just okay when you are followed by anything with Ailey in the title. The third piece was a duet danced to A Case of You. Let's just say I would be grateful to drink a case full of that male dancer. Even Ms. Jamison gave props to that great specimen of a male (her words, but I agree :) at the interview with the three Artistic Directors after the show.

The female lead was wonderful as she executed lifts that had the audience gasping. Yep, they had me ready for my own performance group to start back up. As usual, women were flocking the male dancers outside. When will we learn to appreciate without having to have it? My people, my people...

It was a great week. I highly recommend anyone to take a vacation in your own city. I did all of that and still found time to be lazy on at least three days. The next time I will bring my camera with me everywhere, since I missed a LOT of great photos.

Oh well....back to work.

Books, Heat and Drums

I decided to lighten the mood of this blog and post something upbeat and happy. It was bright and hot outside this weekend and I decided to venture out before dance practice to give one of my line sisters some support.

The book signing was held downtown and I forgot how much it costs to park, but it was good to get out and walk around. I had not been a pedestrian in the downtown area since college some 10+ years ago and the landscape has changed drastically. I loved seeing the families and couples of all colors walking around to various locals enjoying the hot summer weather.

And to top it off, I got a chance to support my line sister and buy a copy of her book (which was edited by another LS of ours, gotta love networking :). So, if you get a chance to stop by your nearest bookstore or library make sure to pick up a copy. She’s a good writer.

After dance practice I attended a West African Drum Show. One of the drummers is a part of my performance group so a few dancers went to the show. They had a guest master drummer that gave me a few Azucar Negra moments. It was a fun outing for Saturday night, nothing like seeing people get up and move to live drum beats.

Hmmm…we should go to another performance when we are not tired from dance practice. I bet we could wear that dance floor out! (Not that we didn’t give it a good shot this time :-)

Peace and Blessings,

Rhythms from a Drum

Rhythms,
Slow, sweet rhythms
You start to play
I step out of the shadows
As you look at me slyly



Slowly
You beat a sweet rhythm
Never danced before
But you take me
To another place, space, time



The rhythm speaks to me
Sweet, methodical and erotic
I see you look at me
Sideways, as you beat that drum



Everyone is gone
It is just me, you and her
As you beat that drum
Playing us into sweet ecstasy




The drum speaks sweet things
Beyond my body to my soul
I catch your eye
And you look at me



A slow smile crosses your lips
As the rhythm picks up
My soul, mind and body forgets the crowd
And dips, sways and swings




To the rhythms you beat
Out of that thing called a drum
Make it talk to me
By the end everyone wants some



You work me into frenzy
As you beat that drum
My body feels it
My soul feels it
As our eyes lock


Rhythmically
Hypnotically
...As you beat rhythms on the drum

"Big" ...Big Boi and the Ballet

In my effort to broaden my cultural experiences I attended the collaboration of the Ballet and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. With dance lessons coming more frequently for an upcoming show in July, I thought the meeting of two opposites (rap/hip-hop and ballet) would be a great experience.

I was wrong.

First, let me say that I have always wanted to attend the ballet, but have found it difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. I have also never attended a Outkast or Big Boi concert.

Our seats were fantastic for a show that may have gained a few more followers for Big Boi and/or the ballet, but probably succeeded in losing more. I was expecting a compilation of greats. Great music accompanied by great dance delivered by even greater dancers. What I got was a great concert with flashy backdrops and dancers who looked more like deer caught in headlights than dancers. Three separate entities (concert, dancers, backdrops) on stage that never quite meshed together.

I attended the closing show thinking they would "go all out" as most performers do at their last show. The choreography seemed to just miss something and never really interpret or showcase the songs. In fact, the dancers were dancing a slow ballet to Bombs Over Baghdad.

There is nothing slow or delicate about that song.

Let me not forget the singer (can't remember her name) who decided that coming out in a tutu and dancing with the very talented prima ballerina was a good idea. When she broke into the robot I thought she was joking. I remember being really confused when Big Boi shouted "Throw you hands up" to the audience. The audience was kind of taken by surprise on that one and I heard someone ask "Do we throw our hands up at the ballet?" Could not stop the laughter at that one.

At the end of the night it was like everything else in the world. Some people raved about it and huddled in groups talking about how wonderful the meeting of the two opposites were.

Others of us wondered how this great idea of merging two opposites just seemed to not quite meet in the middle.

My First Ailey Experience

I had the fortunate luck to attend a student show of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The best part was that I went as a chaperone with a group of high school ladies and attended the show for free.

I am happy I waited until now to see Ailey for the first time because I appreciated it so much more after beginning to study dance. The control of some of the dancers was outstanding! I can only dream that I will be able to become half as good. Maybe one day I will be able to do the leap pictured above :) (Ha!)

The student show took place during the day and was only about an hour long. I look forward to next year's calendar, when I will make sure to attend a regular show. (and probably attend the student show as well ;-)

I was completely mesmerized watching them, and they were wonderful inspiration for my own show later this weekend.

Smashing Stereotypes

My dance troupe recently performed with a Master Chorale. It was extremely interesting and liberating.

Let's set the scene, our very eclectic, colorful and very African-American troupe performed at a Jewish temple with an all Caucasian chorus.

Not amused yet? Hold on.

The chorus performed Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes and Mack Wilberg’s Dances to Life complete with two Steinway pianists as we danced very lyrical and ballet heavy numbers complete with high lifts and throws. Mesh all of that together for a very entertaining Sunday afternoon.

Now, if we can only get a copy of the DVD. Judging from the conversations of the patrons after the show, I am more than positive there are some hilarious looks on the faces of the crowd ;-)

Falling in Love (with Dance)

I am falling in love with dance. My performance group is having a joint show with a master chorale and dancing to traditional choral music is totally different and much harder for me than the modern, african and the calypso type of dance we do for our show. I am starting to enjoy the vastly different chorale music because it makes you dance different and feel the music differently. And of course I have a major lift that takes a couple of guys to pull it off comfortably. (Yes I have been dropped, but not by this group of guys :)

Ballet is quickly becoming my favorite. Learning ballet technique makes it so much easier to dance other dances. It teaches balance, technique and lines. I realized I was falling in love with ballet on Saturday. With the drastic weather changes, I had been at home sick for the past three days and had a bit of cabin fever by Saturday. So, I bundled up and went to dance practice to watch. We had a guest ballet instructor who is wonderful and I sat there disappointed and a little upset that I had missed a chance to practice with her. At that point I knew I was in love.

Traditionally, I am too old to become a dancer but it will not stop me from learning to dance. Dance to me is a creative outlet that came into my life at a perfect time. I wanted to take ballet as a child, but being the only child of a single mother means making sacrifices that other children never had to understand. But learning to dance now, later in life, makes me appreciate it so much more.

Preparing for the Stage

My performance group is preparing for a number of upcoming shows. Next week we are performing at an elementary school diversity program, which should be a lot of fun. We are performing our signature piece the "bele dance" which the children should love because of the drummers and colorful costumes and a few kid-friendly age appropriate poetry pieces.

I have mentioned dancing with the performance group a lot in previous posts, so here is an unedited piece from the drummers practice. More to follow...